The 2024 quarterback draft class could be one of the deepest in years. In this year's class, there are up to six quarterbacks viewed as first-round picks by some analysts, including USC's Caleb Williams, North Carolina's Drake Maye, Oregon's Bo Nix, Washington's Michael Penix Jr., LSU's Jayden Daniels, and Michigan's J.J. McCarthy.
All six of these quarterbacks had tremendous success during their collegiate careers. Williams and Daniels both won the Heisman Trophy, McCarthy won a national championship, Penix took Washington to the national championship game, Nix was the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year, and Maye was previously the ACC Player of the Year.
This is notably better than the past few draft classes. So far, the 2023 quarterback class looks to have one surefire hit in Houston Texans' QB C.J. Stroud. Overall there were three quarterbacks taken in the top five and four taken in the top two rounds. Outside of Stroud, Anthony Richardson, Bryce Young, and Will Levis still have a lot to prove.
The year before in 2022 had one of the most shallow quarterback classes. Only one quarterback was taken in the first round – Kenny Pickett. Outside of Pickett, no other quarterback was taken until the third round. The only successful pick appears to be Brock Purdy, who was selected last overall.
One year prior in 2021 was the last time at least five quarterbacks were taken in the first round. Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Justin Fields, and Mac Jones were all taken, yet only Lawrence remains a starter for the team he was drafted by.
If the 2024 draft lives up to expectations, this class could be the best one since 2020. The 2020 quarterback class has produced five starting quarterbacks in Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Tua Tagovailoa, Jalen Hurts, and Jordan Love.
Despite the potential and depth of this class, some analysts do not believe that quarterback is even the deepest position group in this class. NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein considers quarterback to be the third-best position group in this draft, behind offensive tackle and wide receiver.
Though this year's quarterback class could feature a rare amount of strong passers, it doesn't mean it's the deepest group. For one, quality offensive tackles can be just as hard to find and this year's group is offensive line and offensive tackle heavy.
It's also not surprising to see wide receivers ranked ahead of quarterbacks. In many draft classes, there are quality receivers from the early rounds until the later rounds. What makes this year special is there are several top-end receivers that could be drafted in the first half of the first round. Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr., LSU's Malik Nabers, and Washington's Rome Odunze are all considered top-tier receivers in this draft and could get taken early.
Uncommon Knowledge
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