Build your team around a player who has been drafted in the last 3 years, who do you pick and why?

[DanielsonTHAGOAT]

Who would you pick to build your team around? Can be any position.

[Everlong]

JJ Watt. I'm not sold on any of the QBs enough yet to want to build my entire franchise around them, and Watt has quickly become the best defensive player in the league. If you can build a defense (particularly a defensive line) around him then you're going to have an outstanding unit.

[Messiah]

With Tim choosing JJ Watt, I am assuming we aren't including the 2014 NFL Draft. If so, then it has to be a quarterback but going forward, I don't know who I would choose between Luck, Newton, and Wilson.

So far in their careers, Newton at his peak is a good amount more dominant than Wilson and Luck are and his physical traits are bonkers; in my opinion, he is the best of the three right now. Wilson is the most consistent game-by-game and throw-by-throw. Luck is the best pure pocket passer.

Difficult choice. I think all three of them have bright futures (Luck just gets overrated so much because he still has a lot to fix just like all young QBs do). Gun to my head, I probably would take Luck.

[CavingSiberian]

Russell Wilson.

Not only is he reliable, he is a class act all around. <3 that man!

[The Legend]

Andrew Luck. Bottom line is if you don't have the right quarterback then nothing else you do matters and Andrew Luck more so than anyone else at the position has proven himself to be the right guy.

[SKS]

Probably Wilson or Luck, because franchise type QBs only come around so often. If you have a chance to get someone that has a good shot at developing into one of those types, then you take them.

[DanielsonTHAGOAT]

Honestly I would build my team around Newton and Luck. They've proved that they can carry their team and show amazing athleticism as well as having a great IQ in football.

There's no way I'd pick Russell Wilson as a person to build my team around. He is extremely overrated.

[Everlong]

Honestly I would build my team around Newton and Luck. They've proved that they can carry their team and show amazing athleticism as well as having a great IQ in football.

There's no way I'd pick Russell Wilson as a person to build my team around. He is extremely overrated.

I find all three to be pretty overrated, honestly. They're all solid players but the hype makes them all out to be way better than they are currently. A lot of that has to do with future expectations, which I can understand.

This is a way bigger problem with Luck and Wilson than with Newton, who people seem to have largely moved on from with the hype movement. But it's an issue with all three, and probably Luck more than anyone.

[Messiah]

Honestly I would build my team around Newton and Luck. They've proved that they can carry their team and show amazing athleticism as well as having a great IQ in football.

There's no way I'd pick Russell Wilson as a person to build my team around. He is extremely overrated.

I find all three to be pretty overrated, honestly. They're all solid players but the hype makes them all out to be way better than they are currently. A lot of that has to do with future expectations, which I can understand.

This is a way bigger problem with Luck and Wilson than with Newton, who people seem to have largely moved on from with the hype movement. But it's an issue with all three, and probably Luck more than anyone.

I agree Luck is overrated, but I also think you are underrating (or for better word, undervaluing) them by saying you would build your team around JJ Watt over them. Don't get me wrong, JJ Watt is without a doubt a better player at his position than Wilson, Luck, and Newton are at quarterback. But QB is still, far and away, the most important position in football and Luck, Wilson, and Newton are 24, 25, and 25 years old respectively. I don't think we are going to see any young quarterback for a long time as good as those three are (I am not a believer in Jameis Winston) and I think you have to strike while the iron is hot. Those three have extremely bright futures and at the end of the day, a legitimate franchise quarterback is more important than any other position, even if the person playing that position is JJ Watt.

[Everlong]

I don't foresee any of Luck/Newton/Wilson ever getting as good at quarterback as Watt currently is at defense.

If I had to choose one of those three QBs it'd probably be a tough choice for me between Newton and Luck (I think Wilson is a definite third there). But when I have a chance to pick between a guy who is currently the best defensive player in the game vs. quarterbacks who are borderline top ten and may never become one of the top 2/3 at their position, I'll take the best defensive player in the game.

[The Legend]

I don't foresee any of Luck/Newton/Wilson ever getting as good at quarterback as Watt currently is at defense.

If I had to choose one of those three QBs it'd probably be a tough choice for me between Newton and Luck (I think Wilson is a definite third there). But when I have a chance to pick between a guy who is currently the best defensive player in the game vs. quarterbacks who are borderline top ten and may never become one of the top 2/3 at their position, I'll take the best defensive player in the game.

You really are overvaluing a defensive player here though Tim. You don't need superstars on defense taken in the first round. One guy doesn't make that much of a defense on defense. A Top 10 quarterback instantly makes you a contender to win the Super Bowl and that's the bottom line.

I find it interesting though in how our teams by in large frame the question. The Packers have Aaron Rodgers and no defense so Tim is on the hunt for defense.

I've watched 20 terrible quarterbacks try to play the position for 15 years and I am forever seeking the QB.

[Everlong]

A Top 10 quarterback instantly makes you a contender to win the Super Bowl and that's the bottom line.

Definitely not. Top four or five, maybe. But would you say that Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, Tony Romo, Matt Ryan make their teams instant contenders for the Super Bowl?

The Chargers missed the playoffs 3 or the last 4 years.
The Steelers have missed the playoffs 2 years in a row.
The Cowboys have missed the playoffs 4 years in a row.
The Falcons were the NFC's worst team last year and have won a single postseason game in Matt Ryan's 6 years as starter.

Outside of Rodgers/Brady/Brees/Manning, there's not a single QB in the league whose very presence makes his team a contender.

[Messiah]

But when I have a chance to pick between a guy who is currently the best defensive player in the game vs. quarterbacks who are borderline top ten and may never become one of the top 2/3 at their position, I'll take the best defensive player in the game.

This is where you are either criminally underrating them or overlooking how young they are. Neither of the three are even 26 years old yet. At 25 years old, Aaron Rodgers was just starting out for Greenbay and while he balled out, he rode the bench for 3 years prior and coming out of California was a very raw prospect with a bunch of mechanical flaws. Peyton Manning didn't really take it to a next gear until about 27 years old. Not saying any of those three are the next Peyton, but again Luck, Newton, and Wilson are the cream of the crop of the young QBs right now. Peyton is 38, Brady is 36, Brees is 35, Rivers is 32, Romo is 34 coming off back surgery, Roethlisberger is 32 and struggles getting through the season in full health every year, and Eli is 33 and already looks like he is on a huge decline.

Those are 6 of the 10 best QBs in the NFL right now (I don't consider Eli a top 10 QB). I don't have much confidence in Romo's back holding up, Manning is likely going to hang it up after this season and I have doubts about his arm strength even if he doesn't, and who knows how much longer with Brees and Brady. Could say the same for Roethlisberger too given his injuries. My point is this, Newton, Wilson, and Luck look to be the three guys who by the time they hit 27/28 with the best chance to take over as being at the top of the most important position in the NFL. We already saw with Watt that the Texans still end up with the #1 overall pick. He is a fantastic player and one of the best defensive players I have ever seen honestly but it still doesn't touch the impact that a quarterback has. And I think it will be sooner rather than later when we see those guys creep into the top 5 (I would already consider Newton in the top 10).

I don't foresee any of Luck/Newton/Wilson ever getting as good at quarterback as Watt currently is at defense.

I don't think any QB in the history of the NFL was as good as Reggie White was. But there are a lot of QBs I am still taking over White.

[Messiah]

A Top 10 quarterback instantly makes you a contender to win the Super Bowl and that's the bottom line.

Definitely not. Top four or five, maybe. But would you say that Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, Tony Romo, Matt Ryan make their teams instant contenders for the Super Bowl?

The Chargers missed the playoffs 3 or the last 4 years.
The Steelers have missed the playoffs 2 years in a row.
The Cowboys have missed the playoffs 4 years in a row.
The Falcons were the NFC's worst team last year and have won a single postseason game in Matt Ryan's 6 years as starter.

Outside of Rodgers/Brady/Brees/Manning, there's not a single QB in the league whose very presence makes his team a contender.

If the team sucks, the team sucks. But if the team is good, I can say that I DEFINITELY trust my odds in the postseason with Rivers/Roethlisberger/Romo/Ryan with a weak 3-4 DE than I do if I had JJ Watt with a weak QB.

[The Legend]

A Top 10 quarterback instantly makes you a contender to win the Super Bowl and that's the bottom line.

Definitely not. Top four or five, maybe. But would you say that Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, Tony Romo, Matt Ryan make their teams instant contenders for the Super Bowl?

The Chargers missed the playoffs 3 or the last 4 years.
The Steelers have missed the playoffs 2 years in a row.
The Cowboys have missed the playoffs 4 years in a row.
The Falcons were the NFC's worst team last year and have won a single postseason game in Matt Ryan's 6 years as starter.

Outside of Rodgers/Brady/Brees/Manning, there's not a single QB in the league whose very presence makes his team a contender.

Roethlisberger in his prime did make the Steelers instant contenders. The problem for him is he's over the hill and in serious decline. I wouldn't necessarily say Romo or Ryan are actually top 10 QB's in the league right now.

Maybe that overstates it to some degree, but I guess I'll reword it this way, a top QB automatically makes his offense better. JJ Watt doesn't guarantee a good defense. If all a defense has is one JJ Watt teams will game plan against that guy and take him out of the game. You can't game plan a Brady, Manning, Rodgers, Brees out of the game in this day and age.

[CubsIn5]

For me it has to be Andrew Luck. Defence is important but even if he is the best DE in the league you still can't build a team around them. You want someone who makes everyone around him better and thats usually your QB with a great football IQ.

[Kyle]

I would want Luck. I think he is the guy that can lead an offense to a Super Bowl in the next 6 years.