As many as eight first-round picks in the 2019 NFL Draft will be on the field tonight in Alabama vs. Clemson: Part 4, but you've heard a lot about all them already. 

How about the young quarterbacks, Tua Tagovailoa and Trevor Lawrence, who won't be eligible for the draft until 2020 and 2021? 

They've pieced together tremendous seasons leading their loaded clubs to this point and though vastly different in size, both are bound to be serious NFL prospects when their respective times come. Let's examine where Tagovailoa and Lawrence are today, what they need to improve, and how they stack up with signal-callers from the 2018 and 2019 classes.  

Tua Tagovailoa

Where he is today

If Tagolvailoa was entering the NFL five or 10 years ago, he'd be a super-polarizing prospect and probably not widely considered a first-round pick, much less in the conversation to go No. 1 overall. Just ask Russell Wilson.

Tagovailoa is listed at 6-foot-1, far from the "ideal" or traditional height at the quarterback spot in the NFL, but it rarely fazes him on the field. He's the best anticipation thrower -- relative to his age and collegiate experience -- since Jameis Winston, and we all know when Winston was selected. The Heisman runner-up has a live arm, too, and seemingly reads coverages well, rarely looking confused as to where the ball should go.

Looking ahead

Tagovailoa has impressive pocket presence, but like most quarterbacks his age, it's a part of his game that can improve. Because he's a plus athlete for the position, he can "over-extend" plays behind the line at times. In other instances, his improvisation gets first downs on scrambles. I will say, he'll probably want to scale back how much he runs with the ball a bit next season, as it's not something he'll be able to lean on at the next level.

Tagovailoa's miles ahead of the vast majority of sophomore prospects from inside the pocket, with his accuracy to all levels of the field and full-field reading. Going No. 1 overall might be out of his control though. If the bigger, slightly more athletic Justin Herbert has an awesome season with Oregon in 2019, his more classic size will probably lead to him being the consensus top prospect in 2020. But Tagovailoa is certainly on track to be a first-round pick, and taking him ahead of Jake Fromm at this juncture is a no-brainer.

Trevor Lawrence

Where he is today

Lawrence had the best true freshman quarterback season we've seen since ... Deshaun Watson in 2014. Heading into tonight's game, the 6-5 freshman has completed 65.3 percent of his passes, with 27 touchdowns, four interceptions and a solid 8.0 yards-per-attempt average.

His 2018-2019 campaign isn't totally stunning. Lawrence was the No. 1 overall recruit in the entire country, per 247 Sports last year.

He's shown a veteran's demeanor in hostile environments and hasn't backed away from taking deep shots down the field through tight windows. Clemson smartly didn't put a ton on Lawrence's plate initially, as his first game with more than 20 attempts came in October. But the tall signal-caller was up to the task when the Tigers needed him against Boston College on the road and in a back-and-forth, high-scoring affair against South Carolina to end the regular season. Lawrence completed over 70 percent of his passes at over nine yards per attempt with two touchdowns and a pick in those outings combined.

Looking ahead

To me, Lawrence is the favorite to be the first quarterback picked in 2021 and the first overall selection given the value of the position he plays. His accuracy, aggression, and strong arm are big positives, and he's willing to take the check down when it's available. Better pocket presence and sustaining the excellence from his freshman season will be paramount to getting locked into QB1 status.

Quarterback comparison

Teams that passed on a quarterback in the loaded 2018 class still have hope. While there's a much less likely chance those teams find a franchise signal-caller in the 2019 class, the 2020 group features Tagovailoa, Herbert and Fromm, and Lawrence is the unquestioned headliner in 2021.

Based on what we know from the rookie seasons of the famed 2018 quarterback group, here's how I'd rank the passers from 2018 all the way to 2021, when Lawrence is first eligible to make the leap to the NFL.

Ranking the top 2018-21 draft QBs

1. Baker Mayfield
2. Trevor Lawrence
3. Tua Tagovailoa
4. Justin Herbert
5. Sam Darnold
6. Josh Allen
7. Drew Lock
8. Dwayne Haskins
9. Josh Rosen
10. Lamar Jackson
11. Daniel Jones

As many as three quarterbacks could go in the first round in 2019 -- Lock, Haskins, and Jones -- but as is typically the case, the demand outweighs the supply at the position.

The Giants (who'll have pick No. 6), Jaguars (No. 7), Broncos (No. 10), Bengals (No. 11), Dolphins (No. 13), Redskins (No. 15) and probably another team or two will be in the quarterback market this offseason.

Some of those clubs -- probably those picking outside the top 10 -- will be forced to wait until 2020 or 2021 to address the signal-caller spot via the draft. The silver lining that comes with patience in this situation is that a select few will have a great chance to ultimately get a better quarterback than what was available in 2019.