Still ‘armed and dangerous’: an update on the 24 QB preview … All signs continue to point to the fact that the 2023 college season could very likely be ‘the year of the QB.’ And that could make the position just as interesting when it comes to next year’s draft. It starts with Southern Cal’s Caleb Williams, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner who looked all the part of the second coming of Patrick Mahomes with his ability to make off-script plays out of seemingly nothing. Indeed, Williams, who threw for over 4,600 yards and 42 TDs last fall, almost assuredly would have been the runaway choice to be the first player selected this past April if he had been draft eligible. Same story for North Carolina’s Drake Maye who is more of a prototype pocket passer with an exceptionally live arm, although he still not quite as polished as Williams.
However, while Williams and Maye clearly remain 1-2 on the 2024 QB pecking order, they likely won’t be the only QBs taken in next April’s first round. Washington’s Michael Penix, for example, is starting to generate a little top 10 buzz of his own that could grow to a crescendo if he can stay healthy this fall and post comparable numbers to last season when he also threw for 4.600 yards and 31 scores for the Huskies after transferring from Indiana where he had a solid, albeit unspectacular 4-year tenure that had more than its share of injury speed bumps. Meanwhile, pro scouts will be keeping a close eye on K.J. Jefferson of Arkansas who has the tools to be this year’s late riser at the position. At a FB-like 6-3, 245, Jefferson is built like Anthony Richardson, the former Florida star who was the 4th pick overall this past April by Indianapolis. Jefferson, though, isn’t quite as athletic as the former Gator and lacks the pure arm strength, but is a much more accomplished passer.
At the same time, there are also a couple of other young QBs who could get long first-round looks if they were to opt to enter the upcoming draft in Quinn Ewers of Texas and J.J. McCarthy of Michigan. Ewers, who was the #1 recruit in the country a couple of years ago, has all the tools, but was somewhat inconsistent last fall with the Longhorns. McCarthy, on the other hand, isn’t going to blow anyone away with his athleticism or arm talent, but he just consistently puts the ball where it is supposed to be. However, we aren’t convinced that either will necessarily be entering the draft next year. Ewers, for example, will be under tremendous pressure this fall just to keep his job with a number of other talented young guys at the position on the Texas roster, including one named Manning, such that one wonders whether he might actually be a better bet to end up transferring next winter rather than enter the draft, while McCarthy just has the look and feel of a guy who is more likely to stay in school for his full eligibility.
What makes the 2024 QB class so interesting, though, is the inordinate number of veteran QBs who had been expected to enter this year’s draft who opted to stay in school for another year (although several also transferred). That list includes Jayden Daniels of LSU, Spencer Rattler of South Carolina, Tyler Van Dyke of Miami, Devin Leary now at Kentucky, Oregon’s Bo Nix, Shedeur Sanders now at Colorado, DJ Uigalalei now at Oregon State, Cameron Ward of Washington State, Sam Hartman now at Notre Dame, Cameron Rising of Utah, and Phil Jurkovec now at Pittsburgh. And the list could go on; for now, here is our preseason ranking of the 2024 QB class, although clearly there is a lot of sorting out still to be done before next April.
