Poll: 2024 QB prospects

[Superman]

We talked about the 2023 QBs endlessly, but now that the draft is almost here, I wanted to see what people think of the QBs in this year's draft. So here's a poll.

 

Who do you see as the top QB this year? I won't include Michael Penix or Bo Nix, but there is an "other" box if you really feel the need to represent for another guy. If there was a way to include an elimination poll so we could actually rank them, I'd do that. I've tried to do polls on the honor system in the past, and it didn't go well, so just limiting it to your top option. All votes are public. Feel free to give your rankings in a post.

 

In alphabetical order according to last name, the candidates, with profiles from The 33rd Team:

 

Jayden Daniels

Quote

Jayden Daniels is a Heisman trophy winning quarterback for LSU’s high-octane, shotgun, spread offense. Daniels is a five-year collegiate player, starting all 55 games he appeared in, beginning his first three years at Arizona State then transferring to LSU where he played these past two seasons. Daniels has the desired height for the position, but is rail thin and could serve to add a little mass to his frame. He is a fantastic athlete that has twitchy movements and the breakaway speed to match. His competitiveness and toughness is evident as he can play through physical contact as runner and in the pocket.

 

Drake Maye

Quote

Drake Maye is a right-handed quarterback in North Carolina’s no huddle, spread offense, where he is primarily utilized in short drops, RPOs and read options. UNC operates exclusively out of shotgun except in short-yardage situations. He played in 30 games in 3 seasons at UNC, including starting all 14 games in 2022 and each of their 12 regular season games in 2023 before declaring for the Draft. He is a young prospect who is still growing into his body, but he already shows good size, arm strength and athletic ability for the position. He is a tough player who was the clear leader of the offense, even as a redshirt freshman. He commands the no huddle well and can have the snap within 10 seconds at his fastest pace, including in the two minute drill against Duke to get the game to overtime. However, his inexperience shows up at times, including calling for the snap in an obviously illegal formation on the goal line in the same game.

 

JJ McCarthy

Quote

J.J. McCarthy was the a quarterback for the Michigan Wolverines and led them to a National Championship in 2023. He was the point guard in an offense that relied heavily on its power-run game and play-action passing. Michigan utilized a good amount of pre-snap motion to scheme up receivers downfield as well. McCarthy played in 40 games during a three-year span and was a starter for 28 consecutive games in the past two seasons. He suffered an ankle injury in the middle of the 2023 season but did not miss any game time. McCarthy is a well-rounded athlete who can extend plays out of structure and shows some twitch and speed in his movements. He has sufficient height for the position, but dons a slimmer frame than desired. McCarthy is a leader through and through. Even though he was not eligible to be a captain for his team, he was a clear leader of a national championship winning team.

 

Caleb Williams

Quote

Caleb Williams is an off-script, big-play waiting to happen quarterback who played in Lincoln Riley’s shotgun-based RPO/one-read offense. At USC, Williams started all 26 games he played. Before USC, he spent his first year under Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma, playing in 11 games and starting the final seven games of 2021. During his career, Williams has a relatively clean injury history other than a 2022 PAC-12 title game hamstring injury and a finger injury he dealt with through 2023. Although slightly undersized, he withstands hits with a toughness, which his teammates rally around. This leads to a hero-ball mentality that, with his accuracy, often leads to big plays.

 

 

[w87r]

I'm taking Caleb Williams.

 

 

I have a USC bias, but I think even if I didn't have that, I would still take him.

 

 

I guess I will give my #2, probably go with McCarthy second.

 

 

Williams

McCarthy 

Maye

Daniels

[Superman]

Williams

Maye

Daniels

 

 

McCarthy

[2006Coltsbestever]

I voted Williams because of his talent and if Chicago doesn't pick him and he becomes great, they will go down as the team that had the guy and blew it again. I honestly am not sold on Williams being great though. My dark horse best QB is Penix.

 

My bust pick is McCarthy. He is Mac Jones. 

[VikingsFanInChennai]

I think most important option is missing in the poll : No One.

 

I think it's a fairly average QB class that it's okay to not like anybody enough to draft him. There's no one QB that Wows you with their pocket passing Caliber or pure athletic traits or good combination of both. It's like a tweener class of all those abilities, having lop-sided combination of above said skills. 

 

And, this poll, rather than forcing to pick one QB, needed that extra option to express staying away from this QB class. 

[John Hammonds]

41 minutes ago, VikingsFanInChennai said:

I think most important option is missing in the poll : No One.

 

I think it's a fairly average QB class that it's okay to not like anybody enough to draft him. There's no one QB that Wows you with their pocket passing Caliber or pure athletic traits or good combination of both. It's like a tweener class of all those abilities, having lop-sided combination of above said skills. 

 

And, this poll, rather than forcing to pick one QB, needed that extra option to express staying away from this QB class. 

I agree.  I think this is another one of those over-hyped QB classes that will probably never perform to the level of the hype.

But -- teams still need a quarterback.  And will convince themselves that that must take one of these quarterbacks.  That it's the only solution to their problem.  If I was forced to choose, I would probably go with Heisman winner Jayden Daniels.  I'm concerned that Caleb Williams may have some personality issues to go with his lack of measurables, even though he shows strong ability to improvise.  Drake Maye has the measurables, but I have questions regarding the level of opposition playing at UNC.  It's not the same as playing the equivalent of the Crimson Tide every single week.  JJ McCarthy is "good".  And he's been successful.  He led his team to a BCS championship.  And?  I see him in the same mold as AJ McCarron.  Supremely successful in college, but not good enough to be The Guy in the pros.

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 hour ago, VikingsFanInChennai said:

I think most important option is missing in the poll : No One.

 

I think it's a fairly average QB class that it's okay to not like anybody enough to draft him. There's no one QB that Wows you with their pocket passing Caliber or pure athletic traits or good combination of both. It's like a tweener class of all those abilities, having lop-sided combination of above said skills. 

 

And, this poll, rather than forcing to pick one QB, needed that extra option to express staying away from this QB class. 

This QB draft class is a lot better than the 2022 class, that class was bad. Last year's QB class was ok and I think Stroud and Richardson will have the best career's. This one here has a lot more talent than 2022, it is just a matter of who guesses right or wrong. Daniels can run and pass, he is dangerous. Penix can run a pro level type offense, Williams is loaded with talent.

[Solid84]

Williams

Daniels

Drake

 

McCarthy

Penix/Nix

[VikingsFanInChennai]

1 hour ago, John Hammonds said:

I agree.  I think this is another one of those over-hyped QB classes that will probably never perform to the level of the hype.

But -- teams still need a quarterback.  And will convince themselves that that must take one of these quarterbacks.  That it's the only solution to their problem.  If I was forced to choose, I would probably go with Heisman winner Jayden Daniels.  I'm concerned that Caleb Williams may have some personality issues to go with his lack of measurables, even though he shows strong ability to improvise.  Drake Maye has the measurables, but I have questions regarding the level of opposition playing at UNC.  It's not the same as playing the equivalent of the Crimson Tide every single week.  JJ McCarthy is "good".  And he's been successful.  He led his team to a BCS championship.  And?  I see him in the same mold as AJ McCarron.  Supremely successful in college, but not good enough to be The Guy in the pros.

Yes, if I'm forced to choose, I'd go with Williams, despite him earning some reputation with all the garbage talk from his camp even since the year before the actual draft. I read a scout saying that the PR guys (including his father) Williams has led him to those bad reputation and decisions, when he should've gone under the radar with much more good vibes surrounding him. Anyway, it's on him now to prove by his play in the NFL.

 

I'd also go with Daniels, as Williams seems just out of reach for anyone other than Bears. Concerns with Daniels are about his durability and the ability to dissect NFL defenses, but if he becomes injury prone in the NFL, at least that'd help the team to move on to finding the next franchise QB.

 

My overall gripe with this QB class is that no one stands out as being strong in his ability to go through progressions and reads, as many of their offenses seemed to involve limited reads. So it falls squarely on the individual's intelligence to be able to translate at the highest level, and there's no way any fan like us would get to know without working him out and bringing him in for interviews - which teams are doing with those QBs. So, NFL teams will need to figure out who among this class can consistently pick apart NFL defenses or at least grow into that level.

 

This QB class is different because the tape of them doesn't tell that part of the story due to the offenses they played in. 

[VikingsFanInChennai]

48 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

This QB draft class is a lot better than the 2022 class, that class was bad. Last year's QB class was ok and I think Stroud and Richardson will have the best career's. This one here has a lot more talent than 2022, it is just a matter of who guesses right or wrong. Daniels can run and pass, he is dangerous. Penix can run a pro level type offense, Williams is loaded with talent.

Yes, this QB class can survive because of their athletic ability that translates well to the modern NFL. But, I'm trying to find a QB in the class who can do all the running (which most of them are good at) AND also be able to understand what defenses try to do, and make or change plays within the pocket.

 

By the virtue of Penix having played inside the pocket almost all the plays, he should've developed an innate ability to do just that, so maybe he'll translate well mentally. Though his tape seems to show concerns about his touch and accuracy in short and intermediate levels. You may be proven right if he could develop into a more accurate passer that can throw with anticipation. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

37 minutes ago, VikingsFanInChennai said:

Yes, this QB class can survive because of their athletic ability that translates well to the modern NFL. But, I'm trying to find a QB in the class who can do all the running (which most of them are good at) AND also be able to understand what defenses try to do, and make or change plays within the pocket.

 

By the virtue of Penix having played inside the pocket almost all the plays, he should've developed an innate ability to do just that, so maybe he'll translate well mentally. Though his tape seems to show concerns about his touch and accuracy in short and intermediate levels. You may be proven right if he could develop into a more accurate passer that can throw with anticipation. 

Fair post because Williams could even be a bust. I don't trust him. If I had a choice between Williams and AR, I am taking AR. 

[Superman]

6 hours ago, VikingsFanInChennai said:

I think most important option is missing in the poll : No One.

 

I think it's a fairly average QB class that it's okay to not like anybody enough to draft him. There's no one QB that Wows you with their pocket passing Caliber or pure athletic traits or good combination of both. It's like a tweener class of all those abilities, having lop-sided combination of above said skills. 

 

And, this poll, rather than forcing to pick one QB, needed that extra option to express staying away from this QB class. 

 

I disagree with your opinion on this draft class. But the question isn't who would you draft. Even if you have a low opinion of each prospect, you probably still have one at the top of the list, right?

[Dingus McGirt]

Drake May - All Day

[twfish]

I personally wouldn’t touch Williams with a 10 foot pole. He seems like a distraction and cancerous. He may be Uber talented but I don’t feel like he is a winner, and don’t feel like his heart is in it. I think he gets the bag and just sets it on cruise control. There is absolutely nothing to base this off of aside from my gut feeling. 
Maye

Daniels 

Penix

Nix

McCarthy

 

Maye is your prototype passer and I think his deficiencies are easily fixed with good coaching.

 

Daniels seems the most limited to me, proficient and will be very dependent on where he goes. 
 

Will always have a soft spot for Penix, he throws such a pretty deep ball. His 40 time should have opened some eyes.

 

Nix is probably the safest pick IMO. I think he’s got the tools to fit nearly any offense. Has the athleticism, arm talent and I think he’s got the between the ears to excel in most offenses.

 

I see the appeal with McCarthy, he was as unselfish as they come allowing the run game to shine instead of checking to pass plays. I think his ceiling is a solid game manager.

 

[RollerColt]

Williams if I had to choose. But I think the expectations are already too lofty for him and Bears fans. I’ve seen some outlandish takes on social media, including one post that claims Williams would go #1 overall over Luck, Lawrence, Burrow, and Murray if they were all drafted together. 
 

Give me Luck every single time. Highest rated prospect since Elway. And Burrow had just about the greatest senior year season of all time at LSU. Lawrence won a championship. Maybe Williams would go over Murray, but he sure as hades ain’t going over Luck, Burrow and Lawrence. 

[Superman]

4 hours ago, RollerColt said:

Williams if I had to choose. But I think the expectations are already too lofty for him and Bears fans. I’ve seen some outlandish takes on social media, including one post that claims Williams would go #1 overall over Luck, Lawrence, Burrow, and Murray if they were all drafted together. 
 

Give me Luck every single time. Highest rated prospect since Elway. And Burrow had just about the greatest senior year season of all time at LSU. Lawrence won a championship. Maybe Williams would go over Murray, but he sure as hades ain’t going over Luck, Burrow and Lawrence. 

 

I think Williams is as talented as any QB prospect I've ever watched. No, he wouldn't go ahead of Luck. No doubt in my mind he'd go ahead of Murray. I was not as high on Lawrence as everyone else, and still am not, so that skews my opinion. Burrow is the tough one, but Williams' ability to create out of structure could be a wild card.

 

The comparisons don't help, though. Especially when he's going to the Bears, with their QB history. Me saying that Williams is as talented as anyone else sounds like I think he's as good a prospect as anyone else, and that's not what I mean. So some of the discourse gets pushed into the margins, which isn't good.

 

For me, with Williams, it comes down to two things. 1) On the field, I only have one question: Can he operate efficiently within the design of the offense, and find the proper balance between running the offense as designed and improvising to make big plays? If he can find that balance, he can be special. I think his Oklahoma tape and his first season at USC show a disciplined player + a special playmaker. His second season at USC shows a guy who was a special playmaker but often trying to do too much, which led to playing with less discipline at times. And even then, he only threw 5 INTs (eight fumbles though, often on scrambles; only 3 fumbles in 2022). I feel confident that in the right situation with the right coaching, he can make it happen on the field. Not sure the Bears are the right situation...

 

And 2) Off the field, is he fully committed to the NFL and being a franchise QB/CEO type of leader, or does he have a sense of entitlement, or a deeply seated desire to buck trends and do things his own way? (And I'm not talking about his fingernails or his phone case, I'm talking about signing a CBA-sanctioned contract, and taking coaching, and being at offseason workouts, etc.) There are some concerns here, for sure. NFL teams will have done the work on this, and they have to be confident that he's ready to do what needs to be done, minimize distractions, and be The Guy. Pundits and fans will state their opinions, but what we know is very limited. So I don't have a strong opinion on this either way, except to acknowledge that there are actual concerns here that didn't exist with guys like Luck, Burrow, etc. 

[NFLfan]

I did not vote, as I really don't have a favorite. I guess whoever the Vikings draft will be my favorite, especially if we do not trade up for him.

 

The Vikings like Maye. I would be okay with him or Daniels or McCarthy.

 

Experts love McCarthy. Many Vikings fans do too. Why don't Colts fan think highly of McCarthy?

[stitches]

13 hours ago, NFLfan said:

I did not vote, as I really don't have a favorite. I guess whoever the Vikings draft will be my favorite, especially if we do not trade up for him.

 

The Vikings like Maye. I would be okay with him or Daniels or McCarthy.

 

Experts love McCarthy. Many Vikings fans do too. Why don't Colts fan think highly of McCarthy?

I knew I had a favorite last year, but I thought I would be good with whoever the Colts picked... and this was until the odds for the Colts picking Levis hit -4000 or something of the sort about half an hour before the draft and my heart completely dropped. In a way I'm happy the odds-makers completely missed on this one... it showed me how I really felt about those players and made me even more appreciative for us drafting Richardson an hour later. 

 

So... you would be good with any of them... but who do you REALLY want? 

 

On your question... if I had to guess, most Colts fans haven't watched this QB draft extensively. I know I haven't. So his statistical profile doesn't scream 1st rounder so... possibly why not many people really like him. Also keep in mind that this is compared to the other 3. 2 of them have been crowned as the next big thing for a while now and the third one won the Heismann with some exceptional performaces throughout the year. 

[NFLfan]

57 minutes ago, stitches said:

So... you would be good with any of them... but who do you REALLY want?

 

I really don't know. Early on I wanted Maye, but then I wanted Daniels. There is a lot I like about McCarthy. They all have positives and negatives. Williams seems a bit conceited, like Levis last year. I think I like Daniels best then McCarthy. McCarthy is the youngest and he seems very calm and mature. He seems intelligent.

 

My biggest fear is drafting someone that becomes the second Christian Ponder.

[Superman]

20 hours ago, NFLfan said:

Experts love McCarthy. Many Vikings fans do too. Why don't Colts fan think highly of McCarthy?

 

He has some good traits, but nothing that jumps off the screen when watching him. Good enough arm, good enough athleticism, good enough size... And surface level viewing, the immediate reaction is this is a game manager on a great team, not being asking to do any big boy QBing. You have to really dig in to see examples of him making big throws from the pocket in critical situations, etc. Those examples definitely exist, but it's easy to miss them. So can he become a franchise level QB who can elevate his teammates, or is he more of a system guy who needs to be on a really good team to succeed?

 

I think he has a lot of potential. He just doesn't seem like the prototypical first round QB prospect that the team wants to build around. 

 

And then like stitches said, the other three guys at the top are two Heisman winners, and a consensus top five prospect for the last two years. So the general response to McCarthy has been muted. I don't think there's anyone who would consider him the best prospect in this year's draft, so it's not surprising that no one chose him in this poll. But there are people whose opinions I respect who have him as #3 ahead of Maye, including JT O'Sullivan, who I think is the best Youtube evaluator. 

[NFLfan]

7 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

He has some good traits, but nothing that jumps off the screen when watching him. Good enough arm, good enough athleticism, good enough size... And surface level viewing, the immediate reaction is this is a game manager on a great team, not being asking to do any big boy QBing. You have to really dig in to see examples of him making big throws from the pocket in critical situations, etc. Those examples definitely exist, but it's easy to miss them. So can he become a franchise level QB who can elevate his teammates, or is he more of a system guy who needs to be on a really good team to succeed?

 

I think he has a lot of potential. He just doesn't seem like the prototypical first round QB prospect that the team wants to build around. 

 

And then like stitches said, the other three guys at the top are two Heisman winners, and a consensus top five prospect for the last two years. So the general response to McCarthy has been muted. I don't think there's anyone who would consider him the best prospect in this year's draft, so it's not surprising that no one chose him in this poll. But there are people whose opinions I respect who have him as #3 ahead of Maye, including JT O'Sullivan, who I think is the best Youtube evaluator. 

 

Yes, JT likes McCarthy more than Maye. I think I will be happy with any of the top four. After that, there is a huge dropoff and they are older. Penix is not only older but has a history of injuries. I would be very disappointed drafting Nix or Penix with #11, even with #23.

[Superman]

2 minutes ago, NFLfan said:

 

Yes, JT likes McCarthy more than Maye. I think I will be happy with any of the top four. After that, there is a huge dropoff and they are older. Penix is not only older but has a history of injuries. I would be very disappointed drafting Nix or Penix with #11, even with #23.

 

Penix is getting more love lately. I'm not a big fan. Nix isn't high on my radar either. Either of them in a later round as a development guy, fine, but not as a potential franchise player.

[2006Coltsbestever]

Penix Jr is better than McCarthy, sorry. 

[NFLfan]

Williams reminds me a bit of Aaron Rogers in personality and how he plays. @Superman?

[Superman]

Just now, NFLfan said:

Williams reminds me a bit of Aaron Rogers in personality and how he plays. @Superman?

 

How he plays, yeah there's a definite similarity, good and bad. I think Aaron Rodgers went through a spell where he was too focused on not turning the ball over, and it led to more sacks. I think Williams gets too focused on making a play, but same results. Gotta be more willing to let it rip or get a short gain and end the play.

 

Personality wise? Not really. Both are a little off the beaten path. Rodgers is on a different level, though, IMO.

[NFLfan]

1 minute ago, Superman said:

Personality wise? Not really. Both are a little off the beaten path. Rodgers is on a different level, though, IMO.

 

Okay.

 

Drake Maye is at the draft. He looks like the prototypical QB.

 

7 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Penix Jr is better than McCarthy, sorry. 

 

We will see.

[2006Coltsbestever]

Personality wise, Williams is like Levis = young and immature IMO. Aaron Rodgers is a top 10 QB of all-time by any measure and is on another level than 99% of all other QBs that have ever played. There are really only around 8 or 9 QBs in the history of the game you can put ahead of Rodgers that I can think of when you factor in Stats, Talent, League MVP's, + he won a SB.

[2006Coltsbestever]

3 minutes ago, NFLfan said:

 

Okay.

 

Drake Maye is at the draft. He looks like the prototypical QB.

 

 

We will see.

McCarthy is fools gold (I have explained why in other posts) but if you like him and happy with the pick if the Vikings choose him, that is all that matters. That is your team and who knows, I may be wrong, wouldn't be the 1st time