Who is the best quarterback from the 2024 NFL Draft class?
Well, at the end of the 2024 season, Jayden Daniels was the clear top answer. The Washington Commanders quarterback arguably had the best rookie season ever in 2024, leading his team to a surprise NFC Championship Game appearance and winning Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Now, roughly a third of the way into the 2025 season, a few of the five other quarterbacks taken in the first round of the 2024 draft have started to play some promising football. Drake Maye has the New England Patriots thinking playoffs as he’s emerged as an early-season MVP candidate. Caleb Williams has had moments where he’s shown why the Chicago Bears took him with the No. 1 pick.
Elsewhere, Michael Penix Jr. has helped the Atlanta Falcons get out to a 3-2 start, and Bo Nix might lead the Denver Broncos to another playoff season. J.J. McCarthy, meanwhile, has missed the Minnesota Vikings‘ last three games after suffering an ankle injury in Week 2, giving him another setback as he missed his entire rookie season.
So, with some second-year quarterbacks emerging, we asked people around the league what they think of some of those players now and who might be the best quarterback from the 2024 NFL Draft Class.
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Eric D. Williams: A senior NFL personnel executive offered a straightforward assessment when asked to rank the quarterbacks drafted in the first round of the 2024 at this point:
1. Jayden Daniels
2. Drake Maye
T3. Caleb Williams/Bo Nix
5. Michael Penix Jr.
And what about J.J. McCarthy?
“Incomplete,” the personnel executive told me.
The senior personnel executive’s rankings encapsulate how NFL sources around the league ranked the group of first-round, second-year quarterbacks. There’s no clear frontrunner, based on what the evaluators I spoke with believe are critical characteristics for a franchise quarterback — availability, production, leadership, accuracy and upside.
“The arrow’s up on Caleb if he’s handled correctly there,” a longtime NFL national scout told me. “Bo Nix has made some mistakes, but he’s well-coached and they’re easily correctable. Jayden hit his sophomore year when teams figured him out for now. It’s too early to tell on the rest.”
Jayden Daniels won Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2024. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
Of the six quarterbacks selected in the first round last year, the scout still believes that Williams, selected No. 1 overall in last year’s draft, has the most upside.
A longtime offensive coach in the league had concerns with Daniels’ and McCarthy’s ability to stay on the field. The LSU product missed two games this season with a sprained knee and played with a broken rib injury in the second half of his rookie season.
McCarthy missed his rookie season after suffering a torn meniscus in his right knee during exhibition play that required season-ending surgery before missing time this season.
Because of his slight frame and willingness to threaten the defense with his legs, Daniels could be more of an injury risk. It’s one of the reasons Washington head coach Dan Quinn instructed Daniels to get down quicker in the open field when he scrambled.
“Drake Maye has probably the greatest upside,” the offensive coach told me. “He’s playing good football now. I love Penix and his accuracy. And Bo is a winner. The guys on the team like him, and the fan base has embraced him. For me, those are playoff-caliber guys. Specifically, I like the accuracy and ability to throw the ball with anticipation in Penix. And Drake Maye has a diversified skill set, with his ability to throw and run the ball on a limited amount of designed quarterback runs.
“The other guys have a lot of talent. Caleb’s been inconsistent. And we have injuries (with Daniels and McCarthy). I don’t know if people understand how bad your game plan is if you’re playing your No. 2 (quarterback). It’s a huge handicap. So, when you’re talking about McCarthy and Jayden, it’s too early in their careers to have injury issues like this, because the best predictor of future events is past events.”
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Ralph Vacchiano: Jayden Daniels has clearly been the best quarterback so far from the Class of 2024. But some around the NFL think that might soon change.
In fact, one NFL executive told me that “Drake Maye is right on his heels” already, and it might not be long before he’s No. 1 overall.
“After what Daniels did last year I’d have to rank him No. 1,” the executive told me. “But Maye is the quarterback I love the most from that class. He’s never going to run as much as Daniels or be as dynamic, but he’s more than just a classic pocket passer. He’s accurate, smart, and he’s really taken a big leap this year.
“With the right coaching — which he has now — it won’t be long before he’s at the top of the list.”
Julian Edelman on Drake Maye, Chiefs’ championship form, Baker Mayfield
Asked for a current ranking of the Class of ’24, the executive put Daniels at 1, based on his Offensive Rookie of the Year season and the way he led the Washington Commanders to the NFC Championship Game. But he put Maye at “1A”, and insisted there was a gap after that. Denver’s Bo Nix was his third choice, followed by Chicago’s Caleb Williams. Atlanta’s Michael Penix Jr. was at No. 5, with “not enough information” to include Minnesota’s J.J. McCarthy on the list yet.
The executive did say it’s worth keeping an eye on Williams, who had a somewhat disappointing rookie year with the Bears, but seems much-improved so far this year. “(New Bears coach) Ben Johnson really knows what he’s doing,” the executive said. “There are a lot of questions about Williams’ ability, his dedication and his ceiling. But if anybody can get him on the right track, it’s probably Johnson.”
The executive had similar praise for Nix’s coach in Denver.
“Sean Payton might have the best football mind in the league,” he told me. “I’ve never thought Nix was as talented as the other guys in the class, but Payton knows how to get the most out of his quarterbacks.
“Whatever Nix’s ceiling is, Payton will make sure he hits it.”
Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on X at @eric_d_williams.
Ralph Vacchiano is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He spent six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him on Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.
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