Looking ahead, the 2024 NFL Draft will be a pivotal event for NFL teams seeking to secure their franchise quarterback. It’s important to consider many factors when building a professional roster, but winning a Super Bowl is ultimately unlikely without a great QB.
So, which quarterbacks will be the key to opening that door for teams in 2024?
Ranking the Top QBs in the 2024 NFL Draft
10) Jalen Milroe, Alabama
After an early-season benching, it wasn’t clear if Jalen Milroe was going to get an extended opportunity as Alabama’s signal-caller. But now he has, and he’s a big reason why the Crimson Tide are SEC champions and CFB Playoff contenders.
Through the 2023 season, Milroe has thrown for 2,718 yards, 23 touchdowns, and just six interceptions. And on the ground, he’s accumulated 468 yards and 12 additional scores.
Milroe might be better served returning to school to keep stacking development on both the mental and mechanical side. But his tools are undeniable. His arm strength was obvious on his game-winning TD throw against Auburn, and he’s an electric creator.
9) Michael Pratt, Tulane
Michael Pratt might be the best Group of Five passer in the 2024 NFL Draft. He’ll no doubt win over NFL teams on the All-Star game circuit, and he has a long NFL future ahead of him as a quality backup and spot-starter.
Pratt is a four-year starter at Tulane, and that experience has afforded him one of the best operational profiles in his class. Pratt is poised in the pocket, has excellent field vision and window identification, and can use his arm to layer pace and touch on throws.
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Pratt’s arm is only above average at best, and he’s not an elite athlete. Those factors alone relegate him to a backup projection. But in a league where QB security is becoming more and more valuable, Pratt has the intangibles and toughness to be an excellent security blanket.
8) Carson Beck, Georgia Bulldogs
Every Georgia quarterback inherits a bright spotlight, high expectations, and suffocating pressure. But in 2023, Carson Beck has taken it all in stride.
Beck succeeded Stetson Bennett, who himself was a fourth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. And there’s a good chance that Beck would go even higher if he was to declare for the 2024 NFL Draft today.
Through the conference championship, Beck completed 289 of 399 passes (72.4%) for 3,738 yards, 22 touchdowns, and six interceptions. Though he’s not as creative as Bennett was, he’s been an assassin from the pocket, and his method of success is very translatable.
Beck’s consistency and autonomy have improved from game to game, and he has a special blend of arm talent and anticipatory vision, which allows him to hit tight windows with precision from the pocket.
Beck may return to school. If he does, he’ll be a candidate to go in Round 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft.
7) Shedeur Sanders, Colorado Buffaloes
Everyone was interested in how Shedeur Sanders would play after transferring to Colorado from Jackson State. No one could have projected just how productive he’d be in his first year at the Power Five level.
Of course, Sanders’ placement in the 2024 NFL Draft ultimately depends on whether or not he declares. However, he’s pushing to be an early-round candidate in a deep and stellar 2024 NFL Draft QB group.
The Cinderella story quickly faded for the Colorado program as a whole, as they ended the season at 4-8. And Sanders never had much help at all from his offensive line. He was throttled back and forth by a stacked UCLA pass rush in Week 9, in particular.
Nevertheless, Sanders did well in his first year at the Power Five level. Through 11 games, he completed 298 of 430 attempts (69.3%) for 3,230 yards, 27 touchdowns, and just three picks.
Right now, the odds are leaning toward Sanders returning to school for the 2024 campaign. Were he to do so, he’d be one of the top early signal-callers in the 2025 NFL Draft class.
6) Michael Penix Jr., Washington Huskies
Michael Penix Jr. is a bit of a throwback prospect because he’s not the most dynamic athlete. But he’s been simply undeniable as an ascending early-round prospect this year.
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Penix has 4,218 passing yards, 33 touchdowns, and nine picks to this point. He’s a Heisman contender and a Pac-12 champion, and he’s led his team to the College Football Playoffs.
Penix’s health issues are serious. They include two torn ACLs and a shoulder problem. That medical history may scare off some teams later on. But if Penix’s medicals check out for teams, then there aren’t many arguments to keep him away from Round 1 real estate.
Penix has excellent field vision, aggressiveness, and competitive toughness. He’s made every throw asked of him this season, and his ability to be a plug-and-play passer helps him tremendously.
On top of his superb in-structure qualities, Penix also has a wicked arm to match. He’ll easily have the strongest left-handed throwing arm over Tua Tagovailoa once he makes the NFL leap, and his driving velocity is a fusing element for his accuracy and intangibles.
It’s not brash to say Penix could be an NFL starter in a similar mold to Matthew Stafford or Philip Rivers — a surgical pocket operator with the arm strength and elasticity to make the most of any opportunities given by a defense at any level of the field.
Like any other QB prospect, Penix has his flaws. As evidenced by his two-interception Week 8 showing, he sometimes tries to force ill-advised tight-window throws, and his precision can be volatile. But if you want a tools-rich gunslinger in the pocket, Penix more than qualifies.
5) J.J. McCarthy, Michigan
At the start of this season, J.J. McCarthy was seen as a promising player with great potential. He’s since leapt into the QB3 discussion.
There were lapses early, but McCarthy has trended up in 2023 with 2,630 yards, 19 touchdowns, and just four interceptions on a 74.2% completion rate in 13 games.
McCarthy was volatile earlier in his career, but he’s starting to become more steady and controlled in structure, and his tools are easy to like. He has a loose arm capable of hitting tight windows, and his elite creation ability and rushing value give him an edge over other young QBs.
McCarthy has everything he needs physically to be a plus NFL starter, and the flashes of operational growth in 2023 have been exciting. At the same time, however, McCarthy will be called upon to elevate his offense more than he has in the future.
McCarthy might need another year to reach his full potential, but his steady play helped the Wolverines outlast Ohio State. The next test is whether or not he can outplay Alabama in the CFB Playoffs.
4) Bo Nix, Oregon
Bo Nix has quickly made the NFL world forget his struggles at Auburn. Now, in more control of his urges and physical talent, he’s a very real first-round QB candidate.
At 6’2″ and 213 pounds, Nix is one of the most dynamic running and off-script QB threats in college. He’s a quick, flexible, short-area athlete with excellent creation ability and the arm strength and flexibility to generate velocity off-platform.
Nix’s development on the operational side suggests he can be a quality NFL starter.
Week 7 was a big checkpoint for Nix, who dueled against fellow 2024 NFL Draft prospect Penix in a high-pressure Pac-12 matchup. The Ducks didn’t get the win, but Nix did everything he needed to do to give his team a chance, completing 33 of 44 attempts for 337 yards and two scores.
Nix didn’t break stride after the demoralizing loss, either. He came back with four near-perfect games against Washington State, Utah, California, USC, Arizona State, and Oregon State, earning wins in all instances with his accuracy, arm talent, and quick decision-making both in and out of structure.
On the season, Nix has completed 336 of 435 attempts — a whopping 77.2% completion rate — for 4,145 yards, 40 touchdowns, and just three picks. He’s operating at a level of efficiency rarely seen, and he also has the talent to generate big plays.
Nix dueled Penix again in the Pac-12 title game and lost. But he took the loss with grace, and for NFL evaluators, he’s shown everything needed to be an early-round pick.
3) Jayden Daniels, LSU Tigers
No 2024 NFL Draft quarterback prospect has helped their stock more than LSU’s Jayden Daniels in 2023. Daniels was viewed as a Day 3 sleeper prospect in the summer, but he’s quickly proving his merit as a legitimate QB3 contender.
Through 12 games in 2023, Daniels has completed 236 of 327 passes (72.2%) for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns, and just four interceptions. If those numbers aren’t gaudy enough, he’s also accounted for 1,134 yards and 10 scores on the ground.
It was a universally agreed-upon conclusion in the summer months that Daniels had the requisite athleticism and arm talent to be an NFL quarterback. That creation ability and running value were his primary selling points in 2022.
But in 2023, Daniels has completely reworked his game in the pocket, dicing up defenses with his quick processing ability, anticipation, smooth mechanics, accuracy, and situational precision.
With Daniels, you have to ask, “What prevents him from going Round 1 in the 2024 NFL Draft?” Because with each passing week, the answers to that question dwindle more and more.
Daniels has the high-energy athleticism and playmaking potential to elevate an offense, and he’s also able to work in structure with absurd efficiency. There simply aren’t many boxes he doesn’t at least check.
2) Caleb Williams, USC Trojans
Caleb Williams is the reigning Heisman winner after throwing for 4,537 yards, 42 passing touchdowns, five picks, and running for 10 more scores in 2022.
His production is impressive, and looking at the tape, he stands out as a premier QB1 candidate. It’s ultimately a situation where Drake Maye and Williams are QB 1A and QB 1B in the 2024 NFL Draft cycle. It’s still a coin flip between the two, and there are reasons to pick Williams.
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Williams possesses all the necessary qualities to become a top-tier NFL quarterback early on in his career. His hyper-elite creation capacity and composite arm talent that will not only enable him to generate big plays but also allow him to withstand adversity and extend plays for himself.
That said, Williams is a flawed pocket operator outside of his generational creation ability. His mechanical discipline is still improving, his decision-making under pressure can be spotty, and his accuracy can also suffer in the short and intermediate ranges.
Against Notre Dame, all of those flaws were on display for Williams. He rebounded a bit against Utah a week later, but his high-variance play style can still grant opportunities to defenses in high-leverage situations.
None of this changes the fact that Williams’ physical skill set is very much worth banking on as a franchise QB option. And that was very evident against Washington. He’s a special talent — well worth the investment as a franchise QB in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Who Is the Best QB in the NFL Draft?
1) Drake Maye, North Carolina Tar Heels
The 2024 NFL Draft QB class is being led by two talented quarterbacks who are neck and neck in terms of skill — Williams from USC and Drake Maye from North Carolina.
While Williams is a fan favorite, Maye doesn’t always get credit as an equally viable QB1 candidate. He may not have Williams’ hyper-elite improvisational skills, but this 6’4″, 220-pound Tar Heel is a talented athlete with rare arm strength, elasticity, and anticipation ability.
Decision-making was the lone factor keeping Maye from legitimately challenging Williams earlier in the season, but two of his best games have come in recent weeks — a 442-yard, three-touchdown outing against Syracuse and a 273-yard, four-touchdown outing against Miami.
Maye was less consistent in a Week 8 loss against Virginia, but his anticipation, arm talent, and adept seam-passing ability showed up again in a 310-yard, two-touchdown outing against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
Maye, for his size, still has exceptional off-platform ability and athleticism, and there’s a strong argument to make that he’s more disciplined, more decisive, and more accurate than Williams in structure.
As C.J. Stroud has shown early on in his NFL career, it’s the passers with the best balance of physical talent and operational utility that find success. Both Maye and Williams have bright futures, but Maye might best fulfill that definition in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Honorable Mentions
- Cameron Ward, Washington State Cougars
- Jordan Travis, Florida State Seminoles
- DJ Uiagalelei, Oregon State Beavers
- Spencer Rattler, South Carolina
