With us officially being on the doorstep of the 2024 NFL Draft, the talk of where quarterbacks will go seems to be as hot as it has been all year. USC’s Caleb Williams has appeared to separate himself from the field as the clear-cut number-one prospect. Behind Williams, there is no consensus number two quarterback in the class and wildly varying opinions on the latter half of the top six quarterback prospects.

The one consistent besides the top spot is that there seem to be six quarterbacks who have locked themselves in as the top six and are the only six quarterbacks with the potential to be drafted in the first round. While four signal-callers taken in the first round appear to be assured, will a team move into the back half of round one for one of the remaining quarterbacks? Could two? The possibility is there. Teams will all have different evaluations of these prospects, and it will only take one team with a ranking different than another to shake up the entire draft.

Our rankings of the top six quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft aim to navigate through which prospects have pro-ready traits and which ones may only extend the rebuild of the teams that pick them. Each player also has an NFL comparison that considers what the ceiling of each player can be if they develop to their potential in the pros.

1. Caleb Williams, USC

The top spot on this list is no surprise. The past year for Caleb Williams could have not gone much better in terms of improving his draft stock. Williams is a five-tool NFL quarterback prospect. He has the size, arm strength, accuracy, mobility, and football IQ that he showed off in just about every game for USC in 2023. He is the most desired quarterback prospect since Trevor Lawrence and the Chicago Bears traded away a young quarterback who showed flashes and was liked by fans for pennies on the dollar because they knew they could draft Williams.

There isn’t much to praise about Lincoln Riley’s protegee that has not already been raved about by the media for months. He was a human highlight reel throughout his college career while showing pro-ready poise for multiple years as a starter. The 22-year-old scored 120 total touchdowns against 14 interceptions in three seasons of college football while averaging 9.2 yards per throw, 272.5 passing yards per game, and completing 66.9 percent of his throws. The Bears luck out with Williams as a result of trading out of the first overall pick in last year’s draft and could elevate every NFC North matchup to must-watch football shortly.

NFL Comparison: Josh Allen

2. Drake Maye, UNC

The University of North Carolina seems to have a slight stigma of the quarterbacks it produces. In part because of 2018 second overall pick Mitchell Trubsiky and 2022 144th overall pick Sam Howell, who each find themselves entering 2024 in backup roles after leaving more to be desired in their starting roles. Over his time at Chapel Hill, Drake Maye shatters that mold as a prospect. His game shows that he is not only pro-ready as well as closer to the top spot on this list than he is to third.

While at North Carolina, Maye showed off his ability to make every throw of an NFL quarterback and to read a defense. He reacts to what he sees and delivers the football with timing, placement, and touch like a professional. Standing at six-foot-five and weighing 220 pounds with the skills to play outside the pocket is the blueprint teams are searching for in the modern NFL. In just two seasons as a starter, Maye amassed over 7,900 passing yards and threw for a whopping 63 touchdowns against 16 interceptions. The turnovers are one aspect of Maye’s game that needs work as he transitions to the NFL, but the 21-year-old’s ability to elevate his teammates at Chapel Hill outshines any nitpicks on Maye’s game. A quarterback of Maye’s talent is rarely available at second overall, and letting him fall any further down the board could be a costly oversight for any team.

NFL Comparison: Justin Herbert

3. Jayden Daniels, LSU

Despite the 2023 Heisman-winning quarterback finding himself third on this list, LSU’s Jayden Daniels is also likely to be one of three rookie quarterbacks starting in Week One of the 2024 NFL Season. He is an explosive athlete who just so happens to have the arm of an NFL quarterback. Daniels started 55 college football games between LSU and Arizona State and threw for over 12,700 yards and 89 touchdowns while rushing for over 3,300 yards and 34 touchdowns. Daniels has a real upside, and it is not hard to see his skills translating to the NFL. Unfortunately for the 23-year-old, two quarterbacks have more pro-ready traits and had significantly less talented supporting casts in this draft.

Daniels’ game is also not without flaws. He often will scramble as soon as his first read is no longer open. He also tends to overthrow receivers when he is still in the pocket. Daniels also has a slim build and consistently left himself open to big hits in college. While he has a spotless medical record, he cannot leave himself as vulnerable in the NFL, or it will catch up with him. Whichever team inside the top three decides to draft Daniels will no doubt enjoy his electric athletic and rocket arm, and with the right offense surrounding him, Daniels could be the next dual-threat quarterback to take the league by storm.

NFL Comaprison: Jalen Hurts

4. Bo Nix, Oregon

Former Auburn and Oregon passer Bo Nix enters the 2024 NFL Draft as the most underrated quarterback prospect, but he could shine as early as this fall if a team feels good enough about him to take him inside the top 50 and let Nix compete for their starting job. Three things stand out about Nix in comparison to the quarterbacks below him. He has a refined deep ball, the ability to play under pressure, and he does not put the football in harm’s way. Bo Nix has taken his extra year in college football to develop into a pro-ready prospect right before our eyes, and it appears to be something that has been widely overlooked in the media leading up to the draft.

When it came to throwing the deep ball, Nix appears to be a more natural slinger than Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. According to Pro Football Focus’ Premium Stats, Nix had a faster time to throw than Penix (3.04 seconds) and McCarthy (3.52 seconds) on throws 20 yards or further with 2.91. Nix also had the same adjusted completion percentage as McCarthy on deep throws at 59.1 percent, which bested Penix’s 46.7 percent.

On film, Nix shows good football and consistency in going through his progressions while being willing to throw away the football and able to stay poised outside the structure of plays. He threw for over 4,500 yards with 45 touchdowns and three interceptions in 14 games in his final year of college football, with just four throws being deemed turnover-worthy. Nix is a prospect with traits that scream he can be a starter in the NFL, but lacking a generational upside has made some people overlook the pro-ready talent that the former Oregon Duck is.

NFL Comparison: Jared Goff

5. J.J. McCarthy, Michigan

While Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy has rocketed up draft boards since the end of the 2023 college football season, it is hard to buy in on him being a top-four quarterback in this draft, let alone a top-four pick. Winning is important, but winning on a loaded roster in college does not overshadow an individual player’s flaws. When directly comparing McCarthy to Nix, it is hard to miss that McCarthy did not have as much adversity to overcome and played for a legendary coach on a team that had a run-first mindset and often played with the lead. Not to be overly harsh on McCarthy, but these are real concerns that teams will have before investing so heavily in one player.

The biggest thing McCarthy showed off with the Wolverines was his ability to work within the structure of a play and not overthink the simple and easy throws. If McCarthy’s first read is open, he delivers a strike to his receiver. He can also move to a second read quickly, but the few times he had to go beyond the result was often a forced and inaccurate throw. It’s also easy to fall in love with the way McCarthy can use his legs to extend plays, as well as create them. While he did not light up the stat sheet or consistently push the ball downfield, his upside is that he had an undefeated season ending with a National Championship when he did what he was asked of at Michigan.

NFL Comparison: Daniel Jones

6. Michael Penix Jr., Washington

Rounding out the top six is another quarterback who enjoyed an undefeated season and a conference championship. While Washington eventually fell to Michigan, quarterback Michael Penix Jr. enjoyed a Heisman-finalist-worthy season as he threw 36 touchdowns and over 4,900 yards. While he can roll out and evade sacks, Penix is not a factor in the running game, as he only amassed 265 rushing yards in six college seasons.

When discussing Penix, it is impossible to overlook his injury history. While teams may say they consider it a non-factor, it is hard to ignore the list. Two seasons at Indiana ended prematurely due to a torn ACL in his right knee. One ended earlier due to a sternoclavicular joint injury in his right shoulder, and Penix’s final season at Indiana ended early due to an AC joint injury in his left shoulder. While he was injury-free in his final two seasons of college football at Washington, he still has inconsistencies in his game. Penix tends to take ill-advised shots downfield that worked with one of the most talented rosters in PAC-12 history but will not work for an NFL rookie. He also tends to overthrow his deep balls and struggles significantly more when pressured than the top five quarterbacks above him on this list. Penix played well within Washington’s offense, but he does not clearly or consistently show the ability to elevate an NFL offense.

NFL Comparison: Carson Wentz