I’m back! And with my final quarterback rankings for the 2024 NFL draft. I know it’s been a long time since I have written anything. I have been very busy; those who follow me on Twitter know that I have been working on the Cheesehead TV draft guide, watching film, and doing a podcast for CHTV’s YouTube channel. My schedule has finally cleared up a bit and I can start writing again.
To the point of the article, these are my final rankings regardless of team. This quarterback class overall is pretty weak to be honest. After the top 6-7 guys there is a huge drop off, and just not a lot of quarterbacks have draftable grades. As always, you can read all my other articles here.
Top Five Quarterbacks
- Caleb Williams, USC: Caleb Williams has probably the highest upside and lowest downside of all the top quarterbacks in this draft. He could bust like Johnny Manziel or he could hit like Patrick Mahomes. His ability to create is his greatest strength and biggest weakness. He needs to learn to not rely on it.
- Drake Maye, North Carolina: I feel Drake Maye has a higher floor than Williams because he has already shown he can play in an offense and go through progressions. He has crazy arm talent where he can put the ball anywhere, but his decision making can be questionable sometimes. He is just a two-year starter, but he has a lot of upside.
- Jayden Daniels, LSU: Jayden Daniels has had a very interesting journey, starting out at ASU and looking really good as a freshman — then not good the next two years. His transfer to LSU has taken him from someone that was viewed as a day three pick to a first rounder. He has always had the talent. He was also finally able to add bulk to his frame. The former Tiger still has work to do, like protecting his body when he runs.
- J.J. McCarthy, Michigan: A lot of scouts are divided on J.J. McCarthy. Some love him and some feel he is another year or two away. I am of the opinion he still needs developing, but more like one year on the bench to learn a pro offense and how to be a pro quarterback. The former Wolverine needs to be in the right place.
- Michael Penix Jr., Washington: Michael Penix, Jr. has somewhat of a similar story to Daniels although with Penix it was injuries that clouded his future. His history is well documented; shoulder and knee surgeries. He is one of the best deep ball throwers out there, it’s his intermediate game that needs work. His age and injury history will work against him.
The Best Of The Rest
6. Bo Nix, Oregon: Bo Nix is another player that struggled at his previous stop (Auburn), but found himself after transferring. Oregon did not ask Nix to shoulder too much of the burden, and made the offense pretty easy for him. Almost too easy. The vast majority of his passes were within 10 yards of the LOS. So he will need to convince teams he can run a pro-style offense.
7. Michael Pratt, Tulane: Michael Pratt has been one of the more underrated quarterbacks in this process since even the 2022 season, where hardly anyone knew who he was. He may not have the upside of say a Jayden Daniels or a Drake Maye, but it’s still there. His biggest strength is reading the defense, knowing where to go with the ball, and throwing a very accurate, well-placed ball. His arm is pretty average, but he has what it takes to become a starter.
8. Spencer Rattler, South Carolina: Spencer Rattler is another one of the “cast offs”. He had a big redshirt freshman season for Oklahoma, then struggled, then transferred to South Carolina for his last two seasons. He also had some maturity issues coming out of high school that seemed to follow him early in his college career. The former Gamecock was wildly inconsistent as a passer throughout his career, although he showed some improvement in 2023. He needs to sit and learn.
9. Austin Reed, Western Kentucky: Austin Reed set some big-time single-season records for Western Kentucky in 2022, but he kind of fell back to Earth in 2023. It wasn’t all his fault. They lost a lot of players to NFL/graduation. Reed has the upside to be a solid back-up quarterback who can get you through a couple games. Talent wise he’s pretty average, but he knows his limitations and plays within himself.
10. Tanner Mordecai, Wisconsin: Tanner Mordecai started his first few seasons at SMU and put up some really big numbers with some talented players (Rashee Rice, for example). Mordecai looked to be a good mid-round option with some upside, but he transferred to Wisconsin where he didn’t have much talent around him outside of Braelon Allen and his numbers suffered tremendously. The former Mustang is still that same record-setting QB. I think he was just in a bad position this past season. He has some starter upside in him.
Around The Block 