logo

Top 10 2024 NFL Draft Quarterback Rankings (With Grades)

By Jake VickersApril 20, 2024
https://i.ibb.co/tQhbFRy/1.jpg

www.maizenbrew.com

It's that time again, folks; we are just ten days away from the 2024 NFL Draft. This 2024 quarterback class is extremely polarizing, to say the least. This year, I watched and studied 22 of the top quarterback prospects and only gave out 12 draftable grades, my lowest at a position to date. As the league continues to evolve, the demand for a promising young single-caller has never been greater. As a result, we have seen many prospects get talked about as potential premium draft picks.

 

This class has great top-end talent with blue chip prospects, such as Caleb Williams and Drake Maye, but is also scattered with numerous high-floor and high-upside talent on day two and into day three of the draft. Before we start, I just wanted to give a disclaimer that quarterback is the position with the most value in the NFL. My tape grades do not factor in positional value, so just because someone has a day 2 grade does NOT mean they wouldn’t be a good selection a round earlier. Without further ado, let's get into the rankings.

 

Caleb Williams' downfield accuracy is absurd. Absolutely elite at dropping balls in the bucket downfield. pic.twitter.com/jsqBWKMzeq

— Kwon Scouting (@KwonScouting) February 18, 2024

 

 

1. Caleb Williams - 90.9 (Blue Chip Prospect)

I previously broke down Caleb Williams' tape here but to sum it up, he is a top-notch talent at the quarterback position. Not only does he have the arm talent and accuracy to make throws to any level of the field, but he also elite mobility. Some people discount Caleb due to potential off-the-field concerns, but I have no doubt he will be a great quarterback at the NFL level.

 

2. Drake Maye - 90.7 (Blue Chip Prospect)

Drake Maye is one of the most underrated top quarterback prospects we have seen since Justin Herbert a few years ago. Like Williams, Maye has the arm talent, accuracy, and mobility to become one of the league's best at the position. While he may be a little more unrefined, specifically drawing some concerns with reckless decision-making and poor footwork, Drake Maye has the raw tools to warrant a premium draft selection. I wrote at length about Drake Maye’s game here

 

 

3. Jayden Daniels - 85.9 (Early Second Round)

 

Jayden Daniels is the most polarizing prospect of the bunch. Daniels was a late breakout in college football, but he became one of college football's most dynamic players in his final season at LSU taking home the prestigious Heisman trophy. With electrifying speed Daniels looks to become one of the league's top dual-threat quarterbacks. However, I do believe his ability as a passer is not quite where it needs to be. Nonetheless, I would be comfortable taking the Heisman winner at the back end of the first round. You can read my thoughts at length about him here.

 

4. JJ McCarthy - 84.4 (Early Third Round)

JJ McCarthy is another incredibly polarizing prospect. He received a lot of buzz after “leading” Michigan to a national title this past season. McCarthy gets a lot of merit for being a “winner”, which is something I personally don’t buy into when evaluating players. Now I don’t want to come off as strongly anti-McCarthy, because I do think he is a solid prospect. His traits are very solid with a plus arm and great mobility and he is decently accurate to all levels of the field. Where he struggles, however, is with some decision-making, and he is pretty sloppy in the pocket in terms of footwork. His overall pocket management isn't great either.

 

 

5. Bo Nix - 83.9 (Early Third Round)

After 36 years in college football, Bo Nix enters the 2024 draft coming off a very impressive season at Oregon and one that catapulted him up rankings as someone who is not only draftable but warrants a premium draft pick. Out of all the quarterbacks that will hear their names called at the draft, Nix is the one I am most curious about where he ends up.

The first-round buzz is too much for me, but Nix is actually a guy I liked on tape, and probably would be even more of a fan of if he didn’t get crazy hype. Nix has a strong arm and very underrated mobility. He throws a very nice deep ball and is generally a pretty accurate passer. His decision-making isn’t the best, nor are his mechanics, but you could say the same about a lot of these top 5 guys.

 

Don't want to post SEC A22 film on here but this clip from Reel really highlights what you are getting from Jayden Daniels as a rusher. pic.twitter.com/rmnkt3T4Q6

— Kwon Scouting (@KwonScouting) March 24, 2024

 

6. Michael Penix - 81.7 (Fourth Round)

 

Michael Penix is the quarterback in this group that I am just entirely off of. His arm is great, and he uses it well to throw some good deep balls, but that's where it ends for Penix. I have some major concerns about his ability to navigate the pocket at the NFL level given his major mobility concerns and I don’t think his overall accuracy is good enough to be a top-of-the-line pocket passer like we see now with Kirk Cousins or in the past with Phillip Rivers. To add insult to injury, Penix also doesn’t have ideal decision-making or mechanics, and has major medical red flags.

 

 

7. Spencer Rattler - 79.9 (Fifth Round)

Spencer Rattler gets a ton of hate for well, just being Spencer Rattler, but I personally think he is a ton of fun and a worthy dart throw on day three. He is pretty much a mess mechanically but he has had stretches of good play and flashes of some elite throws scattered throughout his college film. If I am a team with an average to above average starter like New Orleans or Tampa Bay, I would be ecstatic to get my hands on a guy like Rattler, hoping you strike lightning in a bottle and get to tap into his massive ceiling. If it doesn’t work out, oh well.

 

8. Michael Pratt  - 78.9 (Fifth Round)

 

Michael Pratt is really the last quarterback I consider to be a true prospect in this class, and I like him a lot relative to what he is. Now I don’t think the ceiling is super high for a guy like Pratt, but man, it's hard to turn on the tape and not see Baker Mayfield. Pratt is a true gamer at quarterback and I think has the ability to be a great backup, and even has a ceiling as a low-end starter, which cannot really be said about the rest of the guys on this list.

 

 

9. Taulia Tagovailoa  - 76.8 (Sixth Round)

 

Taulia Tagovailoa brother is one of the few remaining guys that I have a draftable grade on at the quarterback position in this class. While I don’t particularly like Tagovailoa, it does surprise me that I don’t see him on many people’s top 10 rankings. I don’t think there is much of, or any, ceiling on Tagovailoa, but I do believe he can be a low-end backup, which really shows the lack of guys at quarterback this late in the draft.

 

10. Jordan Travis  - 76.5 (Sixth Round)

 

Jordan Travis is another guy that I think can carve out a good backup role in the NFL. Unlike Tagovailoa, I do think Travis has a little bit more upside to his game. Nonetheless, at this point in the draft I would probably rather take darts on guys with more upside than just a quality backup. That said, I could see a world where Travis makes a solid career as a backup, which at this point in the draft would be a win.

 

 

Honorable Mentions

 

Joe Milton, Kedon Slovis

 

Grading Scale:

1st Round: 86.5+

2nd Round: 84.5-86.4

3rd Round: 82.5-84.4

4th Round: 80.5-82.4

5th Round: 78.5-80.4

6th Round: 76.5-78.4

7th Round: 74.5-76.4

UDFA: <74.4

 

For the full grade breakdown see Instagram @KwonScouting.