The 2014 NFL draft saw only one quarterback land in the top 10 for the second consecutive year. The Minnesota Vikings traded into the first round to select Teddy Bridgewater at No. 32 and that pushed the day-one passer total to three, which still falls short of the tallies from 2011 and 2012.
This year's trio of Bridgewater, Johnny Manziel and Blake Bortles — much unlike first-round passers in recent years — appears to face more of a "prove it" climb to starting Week 1. At least that's how their respective teams are making it appear for organized teams activities.
Below is an examination of the latest QB depth chart news and rumors for their respective teams in OTAs, using Ourlads.com depth charts for an additional point of reference.
Minnesota Vikings OTAs, QB battle
Latest Ourlads QB depth chart (May 21): 1) Matt Cassel 2) Christian Ponder 3) Teddy Bridgewater
Cassel signed a two-year deal in the offseason after injecting some life into the Vikings' long-dormant pass offense in late 2013, as Minny went 3-3 with him at the helm. The Vikings did not pick up Ponder's fifth-year option, which is unshocking given his performance since being selected 12th overall in the 2011 draft. Bridgewater is considered by many draft experts as the most pro-ready quarterback in the 2014 class.
5) Christian Ponder has dropped 2% body fat, gained 5 lbs of muscle. Will share 1st team snaps in Vikes OTAs, along with Bridgewater/Cassel.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) May 25, 2014LATEST ROOKIE SIGNINGS: Jeremy Hill inks deal with Bengals | Chiefs secure Dee Ford
Cleveland Browns OTAs, QB battle
Latest Ourlads QB depth chart (May 21): 1) Brian Hoyer 2) Johnny Manziel 3) Tyler Thigpen 4) Connor Shaw
Any game the Browns spend without Josh Gordon provides a major hit to this pass offense, and it's a wonder how much this benefits the veteran presence of Hoyer over throwing a rookie into the fire like Manziel. On the bright side, either passer will receive protection from the league's best left tackle in Joe Thomas. The quarterback competition will likely come down to one of these two, even if Manziel is nominally third-stringer for some period of time.
Cleveland Browns treating Johnny Manziel as third-string QB at OTAs: http://t.co/hlf1r0nZ4w
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) May 21, 2014And here is something people on television will talk about.
Johnny Manziel parties in Las Vegas, hanging out with Gronk and spraying champagne http://t.co/cd7HWgNA27
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) May 25, 2014Jacksonville Jaguars OTAs, QB battle
Latest Ourlads QB depth chart (May 19): 1) Chad Henne 2) Blake Bortles 3) Ricky Stanzi 4) Stephen Morris
Jags Coach Gus Bradley masterfully kept his secret about taking Bortles No. 3 overall and could employ similar deception in the early portions of this offseason. Perhaps Bortles appears the second-teamer before seizing the starting job come preseason. Or Henne could show that his brand of serviceable — 2013's 76.5 passer rating — is a notch above where Bortles is in development right now. We shall see, though Bortles is reportedly wowing coaches with initiative.
OTAs: #ReportsAre #Sources The Jags coaching staff is impressed with how Blake Bortles has grasp 90% of the Playbook
— Emory Hunt (@FBallGameplan) May 21, 2014NFL DRAFT: Picks that made too much sense | Complete final results