The first three quarterbacks chosen in the NFL draft might not be the oft-linked trio of Johnny Manziel, Teddy Bridgewater and Blake Bortles, after all -- not according to the latest mock draft by NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah, anyway.
Jeremiah now projects Fresno State quarterback Derek Carr, who is reportedly high on the list of the Oakland Raiders and was called the draft's best "natural thrower" by Cleveland Browns coach Mike Pettine, to be chosen by the Arizona Cardinals with the No. 20 overall pick. Jeremiah has Cleveland taking Bridgewater with the second of its two first-round picks, at No. 26 overall.
If a February report that 17 NFL quarterback coaches preferred Carr over Manziel still holds true, it should be no surprise that Carr's name is somewhere in the top three on the quarterback boards of at least some clubs, if not many.
Which would mean that at least one among Manziel, Bridgewater and Bortles is not.
A few other notables from Jeremiah's latest mock draft:
» Ohio State cornerback Bradley Roby has to like what he sees. Jeremiah's previous mock pegged him for the No. 20 pick to Arizona, and now has him headed to Pittsburgh at No. 15. A year ago, the difference between the reported contracts of the No. 15 pick (Kenny Vaccaro) and the No. 20 pick (Kyle Long) was more than $1 million.
» Other forward jumps from Jeremiah's previous mock: Alabama linebacker C.J. Mosley from No. 21 to No. 9 (Bills), and Washington tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins from outside the first round, to Green Bay at No. 21.
» Johnny Jacksonville? It has a ring to it, for sure. The aforementioned Manziel goes to the Jaguars with the No. 3 overall pick in Jeremiah's latest mock. A fan base that has been short on offensive excitement for some time could certainly warm up to Manziel's scrambling exploits, assuming they translate to the next level. Manziel, for what it's worth, was in Jacksonville this week.
» The Dallas Cowboys could be awfully pleased to see a linebacker talent such as UCLA's Anthony Barr fall to them at No. 16. If the aforementioned Mosley is the second linebacker drafted after Buffalo's Khalil Mack, that could help push Barr down the first-round ladder.
Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter @ChaseGoodbread.
