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The NFL draft well that kept furiously pumping out star quarterbacks the past couple of years suddenly has run dry.
The drought could be temporary, of course, and it still is possible the current crop of draft-eligible passers that has scouts shaking their heads at the moment could end up producing another Russell Wilson.
But as the league heads to Indianapolis for the annual scouting combine this week, the prevailing view is one of dismay at the dearth of potential difference-makers available at the game’s most important position this year.
West Virginia’s Geno Smith, Matt Barkley of USC or Arkansas’ Tyler Wilson sounded a lot sexier before mediocre-to-poor senior seasons, and most of the prospects behind them are considered more “project” than “The Next Andy Dalton.”
“When you look at where the quarterbacks are [in the draft] this season, there’s not one that there’s a consensus on,” ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. said last week. “There’s no quarterback that screams out, ‘Take me, because I’m that much better!’ There’s nobody.”
That wasn’t the case the past two years, as Cam Newton, Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III led what seemed like a parade of instant-impact QBs into the league.
But unlike last April, when Luck and RG3 were the first two players taken (with the Colts cutting a legend for the former and the Redskins mortgaging the farm for the latter), no immediate saviors appear to be available for the Jets, Chiefs Jaguars, Cardinals or seemingly dozen other teams desperately in need of a capable passer.
“It’s a reach just to call this an ‘average’ class,” an NFC general manager told The Post last week. “I don’t see one guy who you’d say is capable of walking in the door Day 1 and carrying you. You’re going to have to be patient with all of them.”
That includes Smith, the versatile QB given the best chance by scouts of coming close to the instant success recently of Newton, Luck, Griffin, Wilson, Dalton or Colin Kaepernick.
Smith is considered the top passer in this year’s draft, but he isn’t the no-brainer he appeared to be a year ago, or even as recently as five games into last season.
That’s because scouts remain perplexed by the utter meltdown that began at that point and culminated with a dreadful showing (just 187 passing yards and sacked twice for safeties) against fellow QB prospect Ryan Nassib and Syracuse in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in December.
Smith was considered a lock for the Heisman Trophy after throwing for an eye-poppping 24 touchdowns and zero interceptions in the Mountaineers’ 5-0 start. But he quickly lost that status after flailing away amid a five-game losing streak, then did himself no favors by subsequently declining an invitation to play in the Senior Bowl.
Barkley also underperformed as a senior and cost himself dearly in the process. He was ranked squarely alongside Luck and Griffin in last year’s class, then gambled — badly, it turned out — that a fourth season at USC would make him the certain No. 1 overall pick.
Some scouts say Barkley now is no longer assured of even being a first-round pick thanks to a season that saw the Trojans finish in turmoil at 7-6 and their quarterback miss the school’s bowl game with a shoulder injury.
That shoulder is sure to receive intense scrutiny this week as the NFL’s scouts, coaches and GMs convene on Lucas Oil Stadium. But in Smith’s favor (and Barkley’s favor, as well as that of North Carolina State quarterback Mike Glennon) is the fact so many teams badly need a passer.
Even so, the crop of QBs is considered so mediocre that a lot of those teams are thinking twice about drafting one, even though the need is so great.
That would explain why the Chiefs and new coach Andy Reid, holding the No. 1 overall pick, are making more noise about trading for Nick Foles or Alex Smith — neither an elite QB — instead of drafting Geno Smith or Barkley.
“If you’re looking for a backup who might end up panning out in a few years or maybe you’ve got a really good core to surround somebody like [Geno] Smith or Barkley, then this is the draft for you,” an AFC scouting director said last week. “But other than that, there’s no reason to get excited.”
bhubbuch@nypost.com