2024 NFL Draft Rookie Prospect Rankings: Quarterbacks (Fantasy Football) (2024)

2024 NFL Draft Rookie Prospect Rankings: Quarterbacks (Fantasy Football) (1)

As we approach the end of April, that means one thing and one thing only…the NFL Draft. With the 2024 NFL Draft just single-digit days away, we will soon find out which prospects are destined to join your favorite team. We’ll have you covered up to, through, and after the 2024 NFL Draft with all of our fantasy football and NFL Draft prospect coverage.

Check out my 2024 NFL Draft Guide and scouting reports to get you ready for this year’s draft.

Russell Brown’s 2024 NFL Draft Guide (downloadable PDF)

With that, here are my QB prospect rankings with brief notes on each for the 2024 NFL Draft.

Draft Prospect Rankings: QB

1. Caleb Williams (QB – USC)

Entering the draft as my second overall player and top-ranked quarterback, Caleb Williams is an elite playmaker. He operates well off-script and his backyard style of play leads to impressive throws all over the field. Having the ability to throw from different arm angles makes him dangerous despite having defenders in his path. Winning the Heisman in 2022 was no fluke. Williams was the best player in college football. His offensive line at USC did him no favors this past season but if all goes right, he’ll land in Chicago with a pretty good foundation around him.

2. Jayden Daniels (QB – LSU)

Coming down to fractions of a point, Jayden Daniels gets the nod as my second-ranked quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft. Much of that is due to his ability to run the football and how dynamic he can make an offense. I’d consider him a weapon for an offense and he throws with some of the best deep touch and anticipation of any quarterback in the draft. His patience and toughness in the pocket are strength to his game despite having a thinner frame. Teams looking to run a spread offense that can mix run-play options (RPOs) and designed QB runs will benefit by selecting Daniels.

3. Drake Maye (QB – North Carolina)

As I mentioned, it’s close between Daniels and Drake Maye in the prospect rankings but Maye falls into my QB3 spot on the board. Graded as a first-round pick, Maye has some great film. He’s a tough runner in the open field and he makes some throws look easy with his ability to throw on the run and from different arm angles. There’s plenty of zip on his passes and he can fit them into tight windows consistently. One of his biggest flaws was that he wouldn’t always let plays develop because there were instances of him not remaining patient in the pocket. However, he’s one of the most talented passers in the draft with the prototypical size and desired mobility for the position. Some say he’s Josh Allen and others say he’s Justin Herbert. I’ll meet you in the middle and say he’s Drake Maye.

4. J.J. McCarthy (QB – Michigan)

Mr. Calm, cool and collected. J.J. McCarthy enters the NFL as one of the more polarizing prospects in the draft. He’s a National Champion, who finished his college career with a 27-1 record. Despite questions about his size, he checked into the NFL Combine at 219 pounds. He took some shots when faced with pressure and got up every single time. In addition to that, he’s a good athlete that can extend plays and he’s perfectly fine hitting a single rather than a home run on most of his passes. Essentially, he will take the short and intermediate throws over the deep shots downfield. There are concerns about his ability, or lack thereof, to throw to his left. Primarily with his ball placement in that area of the field. Overall, McCarthy is so intriguing because he can run a pro-style offense and could be best suited for an offense that emphasizes throwing off play-action. Teams look for quarterbacks that check off boxes and McCarthy does just that. While he’s 27th overall on my draft board, he will go much higher than that.

5. Michael Penix Jr. (QB – Washington)

Since Michael Penix Jr. was at Indiana, there was always potential with his skill set. Transferring to Washington, he remained healthy and put his talent on display for everyone to see. There’s some doubt about his tape due to him having a trio of receivers that played exceptionally well for him. However, he’s an experienced starter with 43 career starts and he played through multiple injuries in his career. Penix throws with plenty of zip and will need to find ways to throw with more touch in the NFL. While he didn’t have the designed QB runs like other quarterbacks in this draft, Penix is plenty mobile and should have no issues extending plays beyond the pocket. Much of the offense at Washington were passes designed to be thrown outside the numbers. That’s not the end of the world as we’ve seen other NFL quarterbacks (i.e. Matthew Stafford in Detroit) go through that in their careers. Moving onto the NFL, the key for Penix will be to stay healthy.

6. Bo Nix (QB – Oregon)

One of the most experienced players in the draft is Oregon’s Bo Nix. He’s a 61-game starter with adequate size and arm strength for the position. He shows good consistency when driving throws with the needed velocity to fit those passes. Watching him in the Oregon offense, he looks comfortable on sprint rollouts and play-action passes but he can get antsy when facing pressure. In addition to this, he becomes indecisive with his first read and hesitates on deeper throws. There will be questions about how he can operate an NFL offense since a high percentage of throws in the Oregon offense are behind the line of scrimmage. His athletic ability to extend plays and make unorthodox throws on the run should excite coaches. Best suited to begin his career as a backup, there’s potential for him to be an eventual starter in the NFL. Ultimately, he feels like a Sean Payton-type of quarterback. If he lands in Denver, I could see him being more successful than currently projected.

7. Spencer Rattler (QB – South Carolina)

The last quarterback I scouted this year was Spencer Rattler from South Carolina. When talking about growth, I’m not sure if anyone has grown more as a person than Rattler. The way he carried himself at Oklahoma and on the Netflix documentary show QB1: Beyond the Lights left a bad taste in the mouth of just about everyone. However, he’s grown substantially just from talking to him at the Senior Bowl and seeing how he handles himself during interviews. On the field, he’s got terrific arm strength and he can get the ball anywhere on the field. The way he makes some throws, he looks like a shortstop in baseball being able to throw on the run and from different arm angles. He will force throws into non-existent windows but there’s potential for him to be an eventual starter down the road. He looks best suited to sit behind a veteran before being handed the keys to potentially drive the car for an NFL offense.

2024 NFL Draft Big Board Rankings: QB

Name	Position	School	POS Rank	OVR Rank	Grade
Caleb Williams	QB	USC	1st	2nd	1st
Jayden Daniels	QB	LSU	2nd	6th	1st
Drake Maye	QB	North Carolina	3rd	7th	1st
J.J. McCarthy	QB	Michigan	4th	27th	2nd
Michael Penix	QB	Washington	5th	36th	2nd
Bo Nix	QB	Oregon	6th	55th	2nd
Spencer Rattler	QB	South Carolina	7th	98th	4th

More 2024 NFL Mock Drafts

Here are a few early predictions for the 2024 NFL Draft. We’ll continue to add our 2024 NFL Mock Drafts leading up to the start of Round 1.