Pick Six Podcast: Is Nathan Peterman actually the best bet to open as Bills' starting QB?

Chris Trapasso joins Will Brinson to discuss the remade Buffalo Bills and also look ahead to the 2019 NFL Draft

By Cody Benjamin

May 28, 2018 at 1:03 pm ET • 2 min read

Even after trading up to take Josh Allen in the first round of this year's draft, the Buffalo Bills enter the 2018 season with plenty of uncertainty at the all-important quarterback position, and yet they might be the second-best team in the AFC East.

CBS Sports NFL Draft writer Chris Trapasso joined Will Brinson for a Memorial Day edition of the Pick Six Podcast (a daily, 30-minutes-or-so podcast on the NFL -- subscribe: via iTunes | via Stitcher | via TuneIn | via Google Play) to discuss just that, not to mention dissect a couple of holiday beer favorites and the top 2019 draft prospects.

In forecasting the 2018 Bills, who sent Tyrod Taylor to Cleveland during free agency to kick off Year 2 of the Sean McDermott era, Brinson and Trapasso agreed that while Buffalo is due for decline after its first playoff appearance in almost two decades, there's also a case to be made that the Bills are the clear-cut No. 2 in a division still owned by the New England Patriots.

"It's not out of the question," Trapasso said of Buffalo once again finishing second to the Pats, noting that just as many questions surround the stripped-down Miami Dolphins and rebuilding New York Jets.

Speaking of questions, the real one, for Buffalo, centers on which quarterback will replace Taylor in 2018?

Trapasso acknowledged that Allen is the obvious long-term hope under center and should produce "wow plays" that incumbent backup Nathan Peterman and veteran pickup AJ McCarron can only dream of doing. But he also suggested that Peterman, who threw five first-half interceptions in his first action replacing Taylor, is actually the safest bet to start on Opening Day.

"They really like him," Trapasso said. "He's one of those practice stars [and] it wouldn't absolutely stun me if he starts Week One."

Asked by Brinson which quarterback he would start if given the choice, Trapasso echoed short-term support for Peterman.

"Anything that [McCarron] did that looked good in 2015 was boosted by that really loaded Bengals team," he said. "[I'd start] Peterman just knowing that he's been in a few quarters, just because I don't think he'll be as much of a deer in the headlights."

Then again, with the Bills firmly in rebuild mode and headed toward a season that Trapasso anticipates will end with something like a 6-10 record, he also wouldn't hesitate to turn the keys over to Allen, the first-round pick.

"Sure, he's going to throw some interceptions, he's going to miss some guys," Trapasso said, "but if he hits a 40- and a 50-yard touchdown, then I think [with] what they're trying to do, that will be enough. They want to run the football and play good defense."

Listen to the entire Pick Six Podcast discussion on the Bills, their QBs, the 2019 draft and a couple of Memorial Day beers below, and subscribe for your daily dose of NFL talk via iTunes | via Stitcher | via TuneIn | via Google Play: