At the end of the college football regular season, it became clear that there were three top quarterback prospects who are likely to go high in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. However after that trio of USC’s Caleb Williams, North Carolina’s Drake Maye and LSU’s Jayden Daniels, there is some debate about the next quarterbacks. We previously reported in the Hot Press how NFL teams view Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. The one remaining quarterback who appears to have early-round potential was Oregon’s Bo Nix. WalterFootball.com reached out to sources at five NFL teams, and two clubs said they had Nix on Day 2 of the 2024 NFL Draft and the other three said they thought Nix would go in the first round.
One director of player personnel from an AFC team that does not need a quarterback told WalterFootball.com:
“We gave him a starter grade. We think he could be a low-end starter, and at that position, that means he would go in the first …. We have Bo rated fourth, ahead of McCarthy. There is a lot to like about Bo; he just doesn’t have special arm talent. But physically, he’s more talented than Baker Mayfield, Sam Howell, Brock Purdy or Kenny Pickett.”
The 6-foot-2, 217-pound Nix enters the NFL with a lot of experience after being a multi-year starter with Auburn and Oregon. In his final season as a starter, Nix completed 77 percent of his passes for 4,508 yards, 45 touchdowns and three interceptions. He also had six rushing scores. Nix showed more dual-threat ability in 2022 with 14 rushing scorers, but he displayed improved pocketing-passing ability during 2023.
“It’s not a stretch for him to go in the top-20 or top-25,” said an NFC director of player personnel.
It looks very possible that quarterbacks could go as first three selections of the 2024 NFL Draft, but there are still other franchises picking lower in the top 20 that are in need of long-term starters. Teams like the Giants, Falcons, Broncos, Vikings, Raiders and Seahawks could all be candidates to select a quarterback with a top-20 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Given that multiple teams are projecting Nix to go in the first round, he looks like he has a good shot of being a first-round selection this April during the 2024 NFL Draft.
