After a one-year hiatus, quarterbacks are once again the talk of the NFL draft

Washington Commanders coach Ron Rivera was asked at the scouting combine in February to describe what traits he would be looking for should his squad wish to partake in the anticipated feeding frenzy of quarterbacks when this year's NFL draft kicks off Thursday night.

"The guy in Kansas City … No. 15," Rivera joked with an if-only-it-were-that-easy-to-find-another-Patrick-Mahomes smile.

Like all coaches and general managers, Rivera understands all too well that success and continued employment depend heavily on finding the right quarterback. When he had Cam Newton healthy and in his prime, Rivera's Panthers crushed the NFC and went to Super Bowl 50. When the NFL's brutality rendered Newton prematurely old and washed up, Rivera's Panthers struggled and fired him despite his being the two-time NFL Coach of the Year.

And now Rivera is 22-27-1 in Washington. He's back on the hot seat, still lacking a bona fide starting quarterback, and perhaps praying that Florida's freakishly gifted Anthony Richardson is still unattached when the Commanders are on the clock with the 16^th pick.

That, of course, appears to be wishful thinking.

Unlike last year, when the top four quarterbacks were taken 20^th, 74^th, 86^th and 94^th, this year's draft could see five quarterbacks go in the first round, four of them in the top 15.

The Panthers already traded with the Bears to move from ninth to first so they have their choice of Alabama's Bryce Young or Ohio State's C.J. Stroud. Houston is expected to take whichever one of those is available at No. 2.

The Cardinals pick third, don't need a quarterback and are shopping the pick to teams that need one. A trade partner that would guarantee Arizona lands the top non-quarterback is QB-starved Indianapolis at No. 4.

Asked what he's looking for in a quarterback, Colts General Manager Chris Ballard laughed and said, "One that wins?"

Again, if it were only that simple.

Obviously, it's not. Otherwise, Mahomes — the magician with two league MVPs, two Super Bowl MVPs and two Lombardi Trophies under his 27-year-old belt — wouldn't have gone 10^th overall in 2017, eight spots after the Bears traded up to No. 2 to select Mitch Trubisky.

Seattle has the fifth pick via Denver and the Broncos' costly overestimation of Russell Wilson's longevity. Seahawks General Manager John Schneider got this pick and an out-of-nowhere breakout season from Wilson's replacement, Geno Smith. He then rewarded the 33-year-old Smith with a three-year, $105 million extension but insists Seattle very much could use the pick on Richardson or Kentucky quarterback Will Levis.

Asked how he could justify that sort of overkill of resources at quarterback, Schneider made a good point, saying, "Because they don't grow on trees." His coach, Pete Carroll, made another good one, saying, "We've been drafting in the low 20s for such a long time that we just haven't had a chance at one of these types of guys."

The Lions, Raiders and Falcons have picks 6-8 and can't be ruled out as teams that could draft a quarterback. Teams that could trade up or take a QB that falls are Tennessee at 11, Washington, Tampa Bay at 19, possibly the Ravens at 22 and the Vikings at 23.

Several NFL folks mentioned the variety of shapes and sizes and skill sets among the top quarterbacks in this year's class.

"The beauty is in the eye of the beholder," Ballard said. "You're getting a lot more athletes playing the position. So you're going to get some tall, some short, the ability to move, navigate the pocket, escape from the pocket, create plays with their feet."

Young is both short (5-10) and slight of build (204 pounds). So Carolina no doubt has weighed the durability risk against the reward of Young's proven playmaking ability at Alabama.

"I know who I am and what I can do," Young said. "Respectfully, I've been this size my whole life."

Stroud doesn't, or hasn't been as willing to, consistently move as well as Young, but he's bigger (6-3, 214) with elite arm strength and is probably the most accurate among the top quarterbacks.

"I think I'm a ball-placement specialist," Stroud said. "I didn't do a lot [of running with the ball] in college and I feel like I should have. It's something I do regret. But when you turn on the film and you really watch what I do, I have used my athleticism not only in the Georgia [playoff] game, where I did it a lot. I've had tough third-down runs. I've had tough fourth-down runs."

Richardson's running ability is well-documented from his 13 starts at Florida. He's also 6-4 and 244 pounds and runs a 4.43 40-yard dash. He compares himself to a young Newton, and others see that as well.

"I'm able to do everything on the field — run over people, jump over people, run past people," Richardson said. "Throw the ball pretty well. Just tying it all together."

Thoughts on Levis in NFL circles seem to vary the most when it comes to the top quarterbacks. He's one of those boom-or-bust prospects, but no one disputes that he has the strongest arm. Including Levis.

Asked why he was throwing at the combine when most top prospects don't, Levis shrugged and said, "Because I got a cannon and I want to show it off."

Tennessee's Hendon Hooker could be another quarterback taken in the first round somewhere among the top five quarterbacks. He has great accuracy and can run, but he's also a 25-year-old who tore an ACL toward the end of last season.

So how in the world does a team take all this information based on what already has happened and project it to the next level?

"Sometimes you have to see the future," Colts coach Shane Steichen said. "Predicting the future for these young [quarterbacks] is probably one of our hardest jobs."