2024 NFL Draft: The Quarterback Class

[WNY_FOOTBALL_DUDE]

The now the moment, you all have been waiting for. Lets talk about the NFL Draft. I am going to start our journey by talking about the quarterbacks, arguably the most important position on the field.

FIRST ROUND
1. Caleb Williams, Southern California
2. Drake Maye, North Carolina
3. Jayden Daniels, Louisiana State
4. J.J McCarthy, Michigan
5. Michael Penix Jr, Washington

SECOND ROUND
6. Bo Nix, Oregon

I averaged together the NFL Draft rankings from CBS Sports and ESPN together. We have already talked about Williams, Maye, and Daniels. What are your early impressions of these six guys?

 

[ducky]

JJ McCarthy 1st round.

Nix and McCarthy will both be lucky to get off the board before the 5th.

 

[Clayton]

Caleb Williams and Drake Maye are locked in top 2.

Jayden Daniels seems more boom or bust. Late development out of LSU has worked before with Joe Burrow. Got better as he went at LSU. There haven't been enough elite running QB prospects to make a proper comp on him. Should go top 5.

I think there is a pretty big drop after that. Nix might honestly be the most accurate QB of the bunch. His footwork isnt great, though. I think he'll succeed if he finds a proper system and can stay in structure. Denver, Pitt. Maybe Belichick.

JJ McCarthy is young. He should go somewhere and sit a year.

Penix I think will go rd2. I don't think an NFL GM will roll the dice on him as the franchise guy.

 

[Mebert]

Caleb Williams and Drake Maye are locked in top 2.

Jayden Daniels seems more boom or bust. Late development out of LSU has worked before with Joe Burrow. Got better as he went at LSU. There haven't been enough elite running QB prospects to make a proper comp on him. Should go top 5.

I think there is a pretty big drop after that. Nix might honestly be the most accurate QB of the bunch. His footwork isnt great, though. I think he'll succeed if he finds a proper system and can stay in structure. Denver, Pitt. Maybe Belichick.

JJ McCarthy is young. He should go somewhere and sit a year.

Penix I think will go rd2. I don't think an NFL GM will roll the dice on him as the franchise guy.

Probably a good bet, but the qb draft cycle is always different, and desperate teams talk themselves into someone being their hidden gem. I could see a team love his arm talent and believe they have a quick fix for his throwing motion that won't impact other aspects of his throwing.

 

[Clayton]

Probably a good bet, but the qb draft cycle is always different, and desperate teams talk themselves into someone being their hidden gem. I could see a team love his arm talent and believe they have a quick fix for his throwing motion that won't impact other aspects of his throwing.

I do think teams will get desperate. I guess the way I see this draft is that the first three QBs should go to teams that need QBs and the rest should go to teams who already have a guy but wouldn't mind developing another.

 

[Mebert]

I do think teams will get desperate. I guess the way I see this draft is that the first three QBs should go to teams that need QBs and the rest should go to teams who already have a guy but wouldn't mind developing another.

Penix is an ideal pick for the Jordan Love path.

 

[Clayton]

Penix is an ideal pick for the Jordan Love path.

I dont think I agree with that. Penix will be playing in the NFL at 24 next year. Last year, Love was 24 after sitting on the bench for multiple seasons.

 

[Mebert]

I dont think I agree with that. Penix will be playing in the NFL at 24 next year. Last year, Love was 24 after sitting on the bench for multiple seasons.

On age no, but on need I think so. His arm and accuracy are awesome. He needs some time to work out a few things to hit his potential.

 

[Shanemansj13]

JJ McCarthy 1st round.

Nix and McCarthy will both be lucky to get off the board before the 5th.

I think between Nix, JJ and Penix. JJ has the lowest ceiling but also could have the highest floor.

Penix has the highest ceiling. Injuries a concern but the best of those 3 easily imo
Nix I think he is backup material but still a chance he can be something. Not likely.
JJ can be a lower tier starter as his ceiling but could be in the same boat as Nix. Not likely at all.

 

[Shanemansj13]

Caleb Williams and Drake Maye are locked in top 2.

Jayden Daniels seems more boom or bust. Late development out of LSU has worked before with Joe Burrow. Got better as he went at LSU. There haven't been enough elite running QB prospects to make a proper comp on him. Should go top 5.

I think there is a pretty big drop after that. Nix might honestly be the most accurate QB of the bunch. His footwork isnt great, though. I think he'll succeed if he finds a proper system and can stay in structure. Denver, Pitt. Maybe Belichick.

JJ McCarthy is young. He should go somewhere and sit a year.

Penix I think will go rd2. I don't think an NFL GM will roll the dice on him as the franchise guy.

Agree with most of this.
Penix might have the best fundamentals in this draft but still a handful of questions and injuries. I think outside of the top 3 QB's he would be the most likely to succeed.

I do agree with Nix, could be a system guy.
I think Nix and Penix could drop to the 2nd round.
Mccarthy seems like a lock in the 1st, which is funny. If someone takes him top 10 it will be Danny Dimes all over again. Accuracy not the problem with Mccarthy, he just a game manager and does nothing special. Not saying he can't succeed- just not worthy of a top 15 pick. I think he can be a lower tier starter in time.

As far as the top 3. I think Daniels could have the highest ceiling but lowest floor but I lean more towards that ceiling. I think he can be special.
I am still not sure what I think about Caleb. If he goes to the Bears I think it would be a disaster especially if they keep this coaching staff and FO.

 

[Clayton]

On age no, but on need I think so. His arm and accuracy are awesome. He needs some time to work out a few things to hit his potential.

It might be a bit like Levis last year where he comes in halfway in the rookie season. I think Penix is more proven and polished than Levis so maybe he goes rd1 but I dont think rd2 is a death sentence for QB prospects at all. Especially with how long seasons are now and how injured QBs get.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

Caleb Williams and Drake Maye are locked in top 2.

Jayden Daniels seems more boom or bust. Late development out of LSU has worked before with Joe Burrow. Got better as he went at LSU. There haven't been enough elite running QB prospects to make a proper comp on him. Should go top 5.

I think there is a pretty big drop after that. Nix might honestly be the most accurate QB of the bunch. His footwork isnt great, though. I think he'll succeed if he finds a proper system and can stay in structure. Denver, Pitt. Maybe Belichick.

JJ McCarthy is young. He should go somewhere and sit a year.

Penix I think will go rd2. I don't think an NFL GM will roll the dice on him as the franchise guy.

I think if Penix or McCarthy get beyond Denver at 12, Seattle likely drafts one at 16. Maybe it wouldn't be the right move but Penix or McCarthy likely don't get past Seattle's pick. If it's Mccarthy, he likely sits behind Geno for a year or maybe year and a half. Penix maybe sits at the start too but would probably take over sooner depending on who the HC hire is. Either way, Seattle has to draft a young QB prospect and unless they see someone in a later round that nobody else sees, it would have to be one of those 2, imo. If those two QB's get beyond the 12-13 picks, it likely means someone took a chance on Nix, likely Denver.

 

[sharkymcwrath]

Jayden Daniels seems more boom or bust. Late development out of LSU has worked before with Joe Burrow. Got better as he went at LSU. There haven't been enough elite running QB prospects to make a proper comp on him. Should go top 5.

I'm hoping the Pats take him with their #3. I'm not a huge fan of the running QB style but the dude also has a solid arm and is accurate. Regarding "boom or bust" I think the meter leans more towards the boom side.

Being that Williams seems to have something wrong with his stupid brain I'd prefer Maye or Daniels before him.

 

[Iggloo]

JJ McCarthy 1st round.

Nix and McCarthy will both be lucky to get off the board before the 5th.

You are basically wrong. Someone will take these Qbs way higher than they should because of the shortage of talent at this position and incredible demand for players. Maybe not first round, but all these guys will be gone by the third round.

 

[PDay8810]

we shall see. I think Williams is the guy.

Jayden Daniels seems fragile.
A taller Murray at best.

 

[Clayton]

I think if Penix or McCarthy get beyond Denver at 12, Seattle likely drafts one at 16. Maybe it wouldn't be the right move but Penix or McCarthy likely don't get past Seattle's pick. If it's Mccarthy, he likely sits behind Geno for a year or maybe year and a half. Penix maybe sits at the start too but would probably take over sooner depending on who the HC hire is. Either way, Seattle has to draft a young QB prospect and unless they see someone in a later round that nobody else sees, it would have to be one of those 2, imo. If those two QB's get beyond the 12-13 picks, it likely means someone took a chance on Nix, likely Denver.

Vegas, Seattle and Denver should all be looking at QB imo. Maybe Pitt.

Charlie Campbell has McCarthy going #12 to Denver in his mock. If you think about Sean Payton's years with Brees then McCarthy probably could run that style eventually. McCarthy's stock seems the most likely to be mid-late 1st 'stash' QB of the bunch so maybe he does go 12.

I do think Bo Nix is better than Geno Smith and Drew Lock coming out of college and in a similar mold with similar questions. Footwork, lots of easy stuff in college...how does it translate? Nix I think is notably more accurate than Lock and Lock in general probably needs to move on somewhere else as a permanent backup. That said, new coach in Seattle means whatever 'mold' they had previous looked for might be irrelevant. So maybe Penix is the play. Seattle is probably thinking that they just need an arm good enough to get it to Metcalf deep and read defenses enough to utilize JSN. It might just be a baseball play where having a starting pitcher just matters more than anything else they could pick because they already have their offense for the most part.

 

[Clayton]

I'm hoping the Pats take him with their #3. I'm not a huge fan of the running QB style but the dude also has a solid arm and is accurate. Regarding "boom or bust" I think the meter leans more towards the boom side.

After watching the Mizzou game again just for his tape (and we have at least two draftable secondary players) Daniels really looks the part of an NFL star. He can run structured plays. He can improv on the fly. Maybe not the best arm but more than good enough and he can fly as a runner.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

Vegas, Seattle and Denver should all be looking at QB imo. Maybe Pitt.

Charlie Campbell has McCarthy going #12 to Denver in his mock. If you think about Sean Payton's years with Brees then McCarthy probably could run that style eventually. McCarthy's stock seems the most likely to be mid-late 1st 'stash' QB of the bunch so maybe he does go 12.

I do think Bo Nix is better than Geno Smith and Drew Lock coming out of college and in a similar mold with similar questions. Footwork, lots of easy stuff in college...how does it translate? Nix I think is notably more accurate than Lock and Lock in general probably needs to move on somewhere else as a permanent backup. That said, new coach in Seattle means whatever 'mold' they had previous looked for might be irrelevant. So maybe Penix is the play. Seattle is probably thinking that they just need an arm good enough to get it to Metcalf deep and read defenses enough to utilize JSN. It might just be a baseball play where having a starting pitcher just matters more than anything else they could pick because they already have their offense for the most part.

Yeah, it's anybody's guess as to what these teams do. Who they have as a HC will weigh into it for sure but I can easily see the top 6 QB prospects off the board in the top 16. Too many teams in need and that would even be including someone trading for Fields possibly. Maybe one of them lasts until Pittsburgh's pick if some weird stuff happens so then what do the Steelers do is the big question.

 

[sharkymcwrath]

Jayden Daniels seems fragile.

I keep reading this yet when I use google to find out if the guy has an injury history all I get is one head injury in which the defender was supposedly head hunting. One injury in his college career. That's all I can find anyway.

Yes, his style lends itself to injuries but some of that can be coached out of him(sliding instead of going head on) and contrary to a bunch of people online saying he's too skinny, he's 210lbs and can put on another 10 to 15 easily.

I think he's going to be a solid NFL QB if he lands on the right team.

 

[shopson67]

JJ McCarthy 1st round.

Nix and McCarthy will both be lucky to get off the board before the 5th.

McCarthy wouldn't have come out if that was his projection. Both could be 2nd round, but I think Nix could go earlier. A lot depends on what happens with Fields and Cousins.