The Pencil Neck
Hall of Fame
Beginning the experiment earlier with a lesser talent under the the guise of a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. The trade out, (3) high draft picks vs $37MM GTD/4 YR $72MM contract. A rookie draft pick would command $20MM over 4 years. That's a difference of $52MM. $52MM that could be used to sign two or three above average free agents.
Well, there goes the concept of building through the draft, huh?
Now, let's step back and consider this,
odds are Luck, Mariota and Bortles will out perform Osweiller, Wentz achieves Mayock prediction of Luck's ceiling or Goff performs at his prediction of Aaron Rodgers ceiling. The risk for the greater reward is in favor of patience and trading for Wentz or Goff.
If, if, if, if.
There's nothing to say that Osweiler is going to be worse than Luck, Mariota, or Bortles. There's nothing to say that Bortles is going to be the Jags starting QB past next season, or that Luck's chances to become a good QB are blown by the damage he takes behind that line. There's nothing to say that Mariota will ever play more than 5-6 games in a season.
But most importantly, the odds of Wentz being the next Luck (assuming that Luck evolves into some great QB) or Goff being the next Aaron Rodgers are not very good.
You remind me of that guy on First Take claiming that Vince Young was going to win multiple Super Bowls and be a perennial all pro, except you're doing it with Wentz, Goff, and Bortles.
I would have been fine if OB and Smith had chosen to package up all those draft picks and move up to take one of those guys. Because that is one approach and if they think one of those guys is worth it and that they can pull it off, great. But I'm also fine with them getting the best QB on the FA market to address a glaring need, especially since they still have room to make more moves if necessary.
The only important thing is that they make the right decision. It all comes down to their assessments being right.