Each SDS roundtable discussion involves the SDS staff providing individual answers and comments to questions covering a wide range of sports and non-sports topics. In this discussion, we ask the question: Which SEC QB from the 2019 or upcoming 2020 NFL Draft will have the best NFL career?

Previous roundtable discussions:

Jon Cooper, SDS co-founder

OK, I’ll bite. Joe Burrow is going to have the best NFL career. The prototypical NFL pocket passer will have success in the NFL. Now, whether he wins a Super Bowl will depend on if he has even a quality roster, but Burrow is the most ready for the NFL out of all the selections. I love Tua Tagovailoa, but the injury-riddled history is just too much for me to overcome. Jarrett Stidham will have the best opportunity to have a huge career with New England, but I still think Burrow.

Connor O’Gara, Senior national columnist

It’s probably a bit basic to say Joe Burrow here, but I will. Yes, I realize that there are concerns about the idea of playing in Cincinnati. I’d argue there are concerns about playing in Miami, Detroit, Denver or pretty much anywhere that isn’t New England. I’ll go with Burrow, but not based entirely on what we saw in 2019.

Part of the reason I was so high on him back in 2018 was because of his attitude. Teammates loved him, and he played the game like Jim McMahon that year. When the skill and system caught up, he was incredible. Nobody fit the ball into more tight windows, nobody had better pocket presence, and nobody was tougher. That’s a killer trio for the face of a franchise.

I’ve heard so many people claim that Tagovailoa is the better prospect than Burrow, but it’s just the injuries that are holding him back. I’d argue that besides the fact that Burrow was more durable, he also showed up better against elite competition than Tagovailoa.

But I will say, this is an interesting question because of the promise that Lock showed and what Stidham is expected to inherit. I’ll still take Burrow’s ceiling compared to the question marks surrounding the rest of those signal-callers.

Chris Marler, The SEC Podcast co-host

It’s between Drew Lock and Jarrett Stidham for me, and it has much less to do with talent and way more to do with what is already in place around each player. Stidham also got the benefit of sitting a year behind the GOAT before Tom Brady left for Tampa Bay.

The NFL can really chew up QBs and spit them right back out if they’re thrown into a bad situation. I think Tua and Joey Heisman are clearly the most talented QBs on here, but I don’t trust either franchise that is supposed to draft them. Also, I have no idea why Jake Fromm is even on this list.

Michael Bratton, News editor

That’s impossible to answer this question until we know where Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa and Jake Fromm land.

If you talk to any genuine NFL player that played with Sam Bradford and they’ll all say what an outstanding talent he was and how he could have been a star in the NFL, but the reality is he went to a team that did not put him in the best position to be successful and his career never materialized. That’s just one of many examples of that type of career for elite NFL quarterback prospects.

Since we know where Drew Lock and Jarrett Stidham have landed, I’ll go with Stidham at this point between those two. He’s been coached by Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels, that’s all that really needs to be said.

Adam Spencer, Newsletter editor

I think this comes down to whoever ends up in the best situation. I know it’s a bit of a Mizzou homer pick, but I like Drew Lock’s chances to be the best NFL quarterback to come out of this group. The Broncos are a well-run organization and have talented players on both sides of the ball. If coach Vic Fangio can manage to not rip Lock in the media every chance he gets, there’s a good shot that Lock can develop into one of the top 15 quarterbacks in the league as soon as this season. I’d like to see them snag a receiver in the first 2 rounds of the draft this month, but there’s talent all around in Denver.

Joe Burrow going to Cincinnati is like King Leonidas leading a band of 300 Spartan soldiers to Thermopylae. Sure, Burrow will give it his best effort, but there’s just too much stacked against him with that poorly run franchise.

Jarrett Stidham, meanwhile, might have the pressure of replacing Tom Brady in New England. You never want to be the guy who replaces the legend (unless you’re Aaron Rodgers). Jake Fromm’s 2019 season at Georgia really soured me on his potential NFL prospects. The only situation I see where he could have a good career is if he somehow ends up in New Orleans sitting behind Drew Brees for a year or 2.

The only other challenger to Lock that I see is Tua Tagovailoa, and that all depends on where he ends up going in the draft. Miami? That’ll be a disaster (see: Burrow to the Bengals). Chargers? That could actually work out pretty well. I do think there will be a trade that shakes up the current top 5 draft picks. Will it be the Dolphins moving up to snag Tua? Or, could the Chargers leapfrog them? I’ll be watching closely.

Chris Wright, Executive editor

Joe Burrow makes NFL throws.

I started hammering that early and often last season. While NFL Draft analysts continued to fawn over Jake Fromm as a potential 1st-rounder, by late September, I already was writing why isn’t Burrow being considered for the No. 1 overall pick?

He has everything you want. He has the size to absorb a hit. He is elusive enough to avoid most knockout shots. He’s a fantastic decision-maker, by design or with improv. He’s accurate on lasers and rainbows and, what I noted and appreciated most frequently, he loves to throw over the middle.

NFL QBs don’t make a living picking on corners. Those guys are too good. The best QBs punish the middle of the field, from checkdowns to seam routes to deep posts, routes that expose linebackers and safeties. The obvious caveat: You have to have a strong enough and accurate enough arm to exploit those openings because there are more defenders defending the middle of the field.

A couple of other QBs in this class might have a stronger arm than Burrow, but nobody is better suited to excel in the NFL.