METAIRIE, La. -- Andrew BrandtDeangelo Williams Authentic Jersey doesn't remember exactly how vocal it was, but he did "feel kind of a rumble from the coaching side of the room" before the Green Bay Packers drafted Aaron Rodgers with the 24th pick in 2005.
"Like, ‘Are we really gonna spend our top pick on someone that won't help us this year, maybe not next year, maybe not the year after, maybe never?'" said Brandt, who was a vice president with the Packers at the time, when ironman starter Brett Favre was still just 35 years old.
"But then more of the managerial http://www.authenticsteelersshop.com/shop-by-players-carnell-lake-j... side of the room was like, ‘Listen, these scouts spend seven months putting the board together. Let's trust the board. This is our highest-rated player. Yes, he plays a position where we have the most durable player in the history of the league. But this is what our board is telling us.'"
It's a dilemma that all teams with a Hall of Fame quarterback face at some point, including the New Orleans Saints this year with 38-year-old Drew Brees: Do they find a worthy successor in the draft, or do they find someone who can help the star win another Super Bowl before he's done?
Teams such as the Arizona Cardinals with Carsonhttp://www.coltsshopauthentic.com/shop-by-players-21-vontae-davis-j... Palmer, the New York Giants with Eli Manning, the Pittsburgh Steelers with Ben Roethlisberger and the Los Angeles Chargers with Philip Rivers have similar choices to make.
It's an even tougher decision this year, because most draft analysts aren't very high on the 2017 quarterback class, with question marks surrounding every prospect from Deshaun Watson, Mitchell Trubisky and Patrick Mahomes II on down.
"I think all you can say about any of these guys is that they have a chance -- not that they're the answer," said ESPN analyst and former Indianapolis Colts general manager Bill Polian, who faced the dilemma when the Colts had Peyton Manning.
Polian said the Colts might have drafted Andy Dalton in 2011 if they had known the extent of Manning's neck injury.
"But I'll say with the exception of Deshaun Watson, none of these guys [this year] are Andy Dalton," Polian said. "For a number of reasons, notCustomized Jersey ability-wise. You just don't know who they are. ... None of these guys are Drew Brees coming out of college, that much I can tell you.
"So I guess the short answer is, it depends on the year."