How many quarterbacks will go in round one?

[T-Rac]

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Last year, the draft saw five quarterbacks selected in round one, for the first time since 1999. And there continues to be a very good chance that five quarterbacks will be drafted in the first round tonight.

The four mostly-sure-fire first-round picks are Kyler Murray, Dwayne Haskins, Drew Lock, and Daniel Jones. And they could all be gone by the time the 20th pick is made.

That’s when it could get interesting. With so little clarity regarding which team(s) covet which quarterback(s) beyond those first four, it’s entirely possible that another quarterback gets picked before the round ends, either with a team holding a low pick using it on a quarterback, or trading it to a team who will.

Last year, after four quarterbacks went in the top 10, it was expected that Lamar Jackson would be the next one to go — even if he lasted until pick No. 32. This year, there’s no consensus as to who the fifth first-round pick may be.

That dynamic also makes it impossible to rule out a chance, slim as it may be, that two different teams covet two different quarterbacks beyond the top four, putting six total quarterbacks into round one. If it happens (and it most likely won’t) that would match the class of 1983 with six first-round quarterbacks.

Adding to the prospect of at least five quarterbacks being taken tonight is the simple human dynamic that surely is at play among the owners who have in recent years secured young franchise quarterbacks, and those who haven’t. At some point, after enough neighbors buy new cars, it’s time to buy a new car.

That’s how ownership can ultimately wreck a meticulously crafted draft board. The owner gets what the owner wants, and it doesn’t require a directive to get the point across. Billionaires often communicate in stray comments, trusting that those whom they pay will be smart enough to figure out what the owner is really saying.