The 2024 NFL Draft has the potential to be a historically significant quarterback class. For over a year, there has been hype about USC quarterback Caleb Williams as the presumptive No. 1-overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. North Carolina’s Drake Maye, meanwhile, was considered the sure-fire second quarterback prospect. But after the 2023 college regular season, NFL teams have not reached consensus on the grades of the quarterback candidates.
WalterFootball.com spoke with numerous sources, including area scouts, national scouts and scouting directors, and learned that teams across the NFL have the quarterbacks stacked in different orders. Some franchises have LSU’s Jayden Daniels as the top quarterback prospect, while others prefer Maye or Williams. Thus, there is not a clear-cut consensus across the NFL about who is the top quarterback and the order of the top quarterback prospects.
One AFC director of player personnel said:
As a team, we had Daniels as the highest-graded quarterback. I personally had a higher grade on Maye, but as a team, we had Daniels first, Maye second and Williams third.
WalterFootball.com learned, however, that for other teams that order was flipped. There were also teams that liked Maye the most. Heading into the 2023 season, Williams was viewed as the slam-dunk top quarterback and No. 1-overall pick for the 2024 NFL Draft. That opinion still survives among some teams as well.
An AFC national scout told WalterFootball.com:
I’ve done all of the top quarterbacks. Caleb is the generational talent to me …. To me, he’s definitely the top quarterback, and that’s how we graded him.
During the leadup to the 2024 NFL Draft, a lot will change as the players will do their interviews, pro days, and take pre-draft visits. Other quarterbacks could rise, with Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy being a potential first-rounder. Perhaps later in Round 1 other quarterbacks could get drafted, because it only takes one team to fall in love and there will be teams needing a quarterback that are picking later. Hence, Oregon’s Bo Nix or Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. could factor into consideration for franchises in the market for a quarterback. With teams differing on the question of who is the top quarterback, the period prior to the 2024 NFL Draft could be a crucial time for the prospects.
