The NFL Draft begins in less than a week, meaning you only have so much time to listen to people endlessly speculate on which teams will draft who, and when they'll do it. Then, immediately after the draft concludes, you'll start hearing about next year's draft.

Well, I'm starting the process a little early.

In a Friday Five last March, I wrote about the five quarterbacks you'd hear about the most leading up to the 2018 NFL Draft. In my top five, I had Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Mason Rudolph, Josh Allen and Luke Falk. I also had Lamar Jackson and Baker Mayfield as honorable mentions. Of those names, as far as I can tell, only Falk hasn't been mentioned as a possible first-round pick this year.

So what about 2019?

First things first, the 2019 QB class isn't as "deep" as the 2018 class is. Or, at least, as the 2018 class is considered to be. There aren't any blue-chip QB prospects heading into next season that fit the bill of "Prototypical NFL First-Round Draft Choice." The odds are that more players will emerge during the season than seem obvious now, but I'm ranking the five college quarterbacks most likely to generate the most draft buzz at this time next year.

5. Ryan Finley, NC State: When trying to project how NFL teams will view a prospect, it's important to remember that they love size. The bigger the better. Well, Finley certainly meets those standards as he's listed at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds. He could stand to bulk up a bit, but his frame works.

Also, while he's not a household name, he's been solid as State's starter the last two seasons. He's thrown for 6,573 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions while completing 63 percent of his passes. Had the 2018 draft class not been so deep, there's a decent shot Finley would have left Raleigh after last season. The extra year of college ball could pay off handsomely should he stay healthy.

4. Jake Bentley, South Carolina: This is more of a speculative pick than one based on production to this point. Through his two seasons with the Gamecocks, Bentley has played in 20 games, throwing for 4,214 yards, 27 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions. He's also completed over 63 percent of his passes.

If he takes another step forward in 2018, there's a good chance he'd consider leaving school a year early, and that NFL teams would be happy to see him do so. First of all, he's listed at 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, so he has the size. Another thing that's working for him is the offense he plays in. South Carolina isn't running the spread; it's more of a traditional pro-style offense, and NFL teams love QBs who play in pro-style offenses because it's so much easier to project them at the next level that way.

3. Drew Lock, Missouri: I don't have Lock here based on my evaluation as much as on what I've heard others say. NFL teams like Lock and I get why for the most part. He's 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, and he's put up some crazy numbers at Mizzou. In his three seasons, he's thrown for 8,695 yards and 71 touchdowns. Last year, he threw 44 touchdowns to only 13 interceptions.

Where I become skeptical is his accuracy. As strong as Lock's 2017 season was, he still only completed 57.8 percent of his passes, and that was a career high as he's only at 54.5 percent during his college career. Also, Lock's stock could suffer due to coaching changes. Josh Heupel was Missouri's offensive coordinator the last two seasons when Lock emerged as the team's quarterback, but he's left to take over at UCF. In his place is Derek Dooley, and while it's only one game, Lock didn't look all that impressive against Texas in the bowl game without Heupel calling plays. So this will be an interesting case to keep an eye on in 2018. I can see Lock becoming next year's version of Josh Allen in that he'll be extremely polarizing.

2. Justin Herbert, Oregon: This is another projection pick because Herbert's only played in 16 games at Oregon over the last two seasons. I'm probably higher on Herbert's NFL future at this point than most, but I have reason to be. When he's on the field, he's impressive. He's completing over 65 percent of his passes and has 34 touchdowns to only nine interceptions. These are all good things.

He also has NFL size at 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds. Throw in the fact that he has some mobility (344 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground), but he's not what anybody would consider a runner, and his stock looks better and better. Should he stay healthy in 2018 and have a strong season, I could easily see Herbert becoming the latest Oregon quarterback to become a first-round draft pick. He might even be the first one off the board.

1. Jarrett Stidham, Auburn: As high as I am on Herbert, however, I think Jarrett Stidham is the most likely QB to emerge as "The Man" in 2018, even if I prefer Herbert myself.. The former five-star prospect out of high school had a solid start to his career at Baylor in 2015 and then transferred to Auburn via a stop at juco (where he didn't play football) in time for 2017. While he didn't put up the video game numbers we typically see from Baylor QBs, he still managed to complete 66.5 percent of his passes with 18 touchdowns and six interceptions in the SEC last season.

Although he wasn't great against Georgia in the SEC title game, he completed 37 of his 51 passes (72.5 percent) for 451 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions during his regular season meetings against the Bulldogs and Alabama. Performances like those matter to NFL scouts.

Should Stidham have another strong season in 2018 with Auburn and continue to succeed against top defenses, his draft stock will soar heading into next spring. His combination of production and size (he's 6-foot-4) will make him attractive in a draft class that isn't likely to have a "sure thing" option.

Honorable Mention: Jake Browning, Washington; Will Grier, West Virginia; Daniel Jones, Duke; Trace McSorley, Penn State; Clayton Thorson, Northwestern