Every year, some in the media world seem to pick one quarterback prospect to nitpick. This year, it’s North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye.
That’s how you know it’s draft season. Maye and LSU’s Jayden Daniels are in contention to likely be the No. 2 overall pick behind Caleb Williams (USC). There’s a chance Maye or Daniels go No. 1, but it’s a slim chance.
At last week’s NFL combine, there was a strong buzz that Maye was behind only Williams. At the end of the combine, the pendulum swung back in Daniels’s favor when Rich Eisen revealed things he’d heard last week in Indianapolis from various defensive coordinators.
Former NFL player Merril Hoge weighed in on Maye, saying he didn’t believe he was a first-round pick.
Former NFL quarterback Chris Simms of NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk has weighed in with his quarterback rankings, and they are interesting.
To Simms’ credit, he’s usually a bit unconventional when he ranks players. Seeing different perspectives and opinions is always good, and Simms provides those.
Without further ado, here are his top six quarterbacks for the 2024 NFL draft.
Here’s my Top 6 QBs in this year’s Draft. These rankings are based on film.
Full pod coming soon pic.twitter.com/RvCdgBhBg4— Chris Simms (@CSimmsQB) March 6, 2024
Here’s a tweet from Simms on his ranking on Maye:
“Drake Maye has a ton of awesome traits, but is still a bit of a project,” Simms said.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. He could be right on Maye. Many could be right on Maye. But calling him a talented project seems like a bit much. While Caleb Williams is the unquestioned No. 1, no passer in this draft has the combination of Maye’s size, arm strength, and tools. He’s had good tape at North Carolina. There has been bad, too.
Two players Maye is often compared to are Josh Allen and Justin Herbert. Those comparisons are unfair for obvious reasons, but you can see why they are made. All have similar size, arm strength and terrific athleticism. They can make every throw on the field but entered the draft with questions.
Allen and Herbert turned out OK.
There is still a long way until the NFL draft. Washington fans should be thankful for having a front office led by Adam Peters that will make the best decision for the franchise. Sure, it may not work, but the process is correct for once. And credit the Commanders for building a coaching staff that is quarterback-centric, featuring offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, assistant head coach Brian Johnson, quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard and assistant quarterback coach David Blough. All four were college starters, and Kingsbury and Blough have NFL playing experience.
If you want to hear Simms discuss the quarterbacks, it’s available on his podcast at this link.
Buckle up. There’s still a long way to go until April 27 in Detroit.
