Quarterbacks will be drafted with the first four picks of the 2024 NFL Draft. Or will they?
J.J. McCarthy and Drake Maye are two of the top four quarterback prospects featured in this year’s class, but there’s a great amount of uncertainty over their NFL landing spots.
While we’ve all read the rumors about quarterbacks being the top-three and possibly even first-four picks during the first round of Thursday night’s NFL Draft, now insiders are backing down from those initial beliefs.
Boston Globe’s Ben Volin is the latest to throw caution to the wind to those expecting quarterbacks to dominate the first five picks. Volin was asked to sort out the smokescreens from serious reports, and one he came up with is that he doesn’t expect a quarterback to be selected with the top four picks, and possibly not even the top three.
“Quarterbacks aren’t going with the top four picks, maybe not even with the top three. It’s a quarterback league, teams are always desperate to get one, yadda, yadda, yadda. While Caleb Williams is definitely going No. 1, and the Commanders are definitely taking a quarterback at No. 2 (likely Jayden Daniels), there is hardly a guarantee that Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy go third and fourth. Maye might go No. 3 to New England, but in that case, I highly doubt that McCarthy would go No. 4. The Cardinals already have two first-round picks and need an elite receiver way more than they need a trade down for more picks.”
NFL insider Ben Volin on 2024 NFL Draft rumors
As Volin later noted, quarterbacks are always the talk of the NFL Draft every year. Remember in recent events when prospects like Will Levis, Malik Willis, and Matt Corral were all hyped as potential first-round selections? This year may not be any different.
Today, it’s hard to see any of the top four slipping out of the first round entirely, but if someone like Drake Maye or J.J. McCarthy slipped into the back half of the top ten, or possibly even further, it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve been surprised by a QB sliding. Remember Aaron Rodgers falling to the 24th pick after being hyped as a potential top-five selection? If it happened before, it will happen again. Possibly even this year.
Related: 2024 NFL mock draft: Commanders, Vikings and Broncos make stunning decisions