Quarterbacks are the central focus of every NFL draft, and landing the right one is like hitting the proverbial lottery. Last year we saw a trio of quarterbacks go in the first round, and another one that was projected to go near the top of the draft but eventually found a home in Tennessee. This year’s draft class has a similar number of potential stars at the position. One fun question is: Where would they fit had they been in last year’s class?
I don’t think there is much debate who is at the top of these two combined classes, and it hasn’t been much of a secret over the last two seasons. Caleb Williams would have been the No. 1 overall pick last year, and his grade this year still reflects that. After Williams likely comes last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Bryce Young, who likely would be the second quarterback taken had he been coming out this year.
With the top two signal-callers out of the way, the conversation becomes quite interesting as the next three players tend to land in a similar grading area. Rookie phenom C.J. Stroud, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson, North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye and LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels could all slot in as the third-best in this hypothetical group. Ultimately the way that Stroud showed out in his last couple of college games, and just how clean of a prospect he was, would likely lift him just above the other three players given their question marks. Richardson is an athletic marvel with perhaps the highest ceiling we have seen out of a quarterback, and he showed off those flashes often at Florida. Maye and Daniels will both likely also land in the top five, and there isn’t a massive difference between the group — they just have flaws that perhaps didn’t weigh Stroud down quite as much.
The rest of the group consists of Will Levis (now with the Tennessee Titans), Washington’s Michael Penix, Oregon’s Bo Nix and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy. There is a lot of the draft process still to play out for this crop of soon-to-be rookies. Any one of the three could land in the first round given a solid pre-draft performance, but it’s hard to picture any of them possessing quite the same skill set as Levis.
One thing is certain: We have been blessed with two years of absolutely fantastic quarterback classes, and we all hope this level of talent keeps creeping its way into the NFL level.
Final 2023/2024 NFL draft rankings:
1. Caleb Williams, QB, USC
2. Bryce Young, QB, Alabama
3. C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State
4. Anthony Richardson, QB, Florida
5. Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
6. Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
7. Will Levis, QB, Kentucky
8. Bo Nix, QB, Oregon
9. Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington
10. J.J. McCarthy, QB, Michigan
