With The First Pick
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Build it and the quarterback will come, 2020 NFL Draft and beyond

By Jeremiah Bogan

SANTA CLARA, CA - JANUARY 07: Trevor Lawrence #16 of the Clemson Tigers celebrates his seventy-four yard touchdown throw during the third quarter against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Levi's Stadium on January 7, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - JANUARY 07: Trevor Lawrence #16 of the Clemson Tigers celebrates his seventy-four yard touchdown throw during the third quarter against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Levi's Stadium on January 7, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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Not eligible for the 2020 NFL Draft, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields looks to be a top prospect next year. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Not eligible for the 2020 NFL Draft, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields looks to be a top prospect next year. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

Too often teams draft their quarterback before they are even ready, the 2020 NFL Draft included. Should you build the team before you get your quarterback?

Yes this is a reference to the famous line “Build it and they will come” from the movie Field of Dreams. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk some football. Fielding a Super Bowl team is merely just a dream for most teams. Often times teams find themselves in a constant rebuild after their beloved highly drafted quarterback turns out to not be the franchise savior; the 2020 NFL Draft will be no different.

More times than not, it’s not actually the quarterback’s fault and it is more so the situation that he was brought into. Quarterbacks aren’t the sole purpose for a team winning nor are they the sole purpose of a team losing and many fail to understand that. Not every quarterback is a bust just because they aren’t built to come and carry a team every week.

Those level of quarterbacks are special and can’t simply just be created because you spend a first overall pick on them. Most teams need to take on a new approach if they want to truly see their “franchise quarterback” succeed. You have to build at the corner stone positions before you go select your quarterback of the future.

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On offense you want to find a stud tackle to keep your quarterback upright and a special skill player that’s going to get him out of trouble. Defense is a little different idea though as you want to build your defense up the middle the way a baseball team is built at its core positions. The only exception being is if there is a special edge rusher you can select. Ideally you want to select an interior defensive lineman, who is going to anchor your team in the run game and can get after the passer.

From there you want to get a linebacker who can be the heart and soul of the defense; to finish it off, you need to get a playmaking safety on the back end who is going to create turnovers.
Developing these cornerstone spots first even allows for a team to put money into other positions to build a Super Bowl contender while the quarterback is still on his rookie contract.

Coincidentally next year’s quarterback class is the place to start with your quarterback as well, it’s time for some teams to get their affairs in order to prepare the way for their franchise savior. If you wanted to build it up starting with this draft class, this is a perfect place to start; here are 2020 NFL Draft prospects that are worth building around.

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