There's agreement at the top of the draft as far as three elite QB prospects, but how about the rest?
WWL Radio's Mike Detillier expects to see six QBs come off the board on the first day of the 2024 NFL draft, and for one simple reason: Everyone needs an elite starting QB, and a lot of teams have to keep firing darts at the board until they hit on one.
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"I’m not saying all six have first-round pick grades," Detillier continues. "But I think because of the position and because of all the needs in this league … look who was playing quarterback toward the end. So I think they’re gonna have teams saying, you know what, I’m gonna take a shot."
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So who are those first-round QBs? This is how Detillier has them slotted in his rankings:
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1. Caleb Williams, USC
- Mike's projection: No. 1 overall
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2. Jayden Daniels, LSU
- Mike's projection: No. 2 overall
"Just look at what he’s done out on the field," Detllier said. "He’s got a real whip for an arm. He’s gotten much better with his accuracy skills on the deeper passes. I thought he was always a pretty good short/intermediate guy, it was the deeper throws that he was missing on and he told me in the summer it was the one thing he worked on the most. His ability to read and recognize coverages has certainly improved, and he’s got elite running skills. I mean, you can’t ask for anybody to run the ball better than what Jayden Daniels can. You see guys, he outruns the angles that they think they have an angle on him and he outruns it. So I think he’ll be the second overall pick in the draft.”
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3. Drake Maye, UNC
- Mike's projection: No. 3 overall
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4. J.J. McCarthy, Michigan
- Mike's projection: top 19
"Spin that tape on about McCarthy," Detillier said. "He’s smart. He’s accurate. He’s got a quick setup, nice release point. He is very accurate with his throws. Now, they didn’t ask him to throw a lot of deeper stuff. Most of it was short/intermediate, but he connected on those passes. And he’s a much better athlete than people give him credit for. I think JJ McCarthy will end up being a top 10 pick in this draft. I think he will not get to 20.”
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5. Michael Penix, Washington
- Mike's projection: late first round
"I think a lot of is going to come down to medicals. … We saw him, he’s a pinpoint passer, accurate," Detillier said. "I like his setup and his ability to throw over the top. It’s clean and he’s not an east-west runner, now, he stays in that pocket pretty good, but man, he is really sharp getting that ball downfield in between arms and hands and he can make it happen. Again, if the medicals turn out right and he’s had operations on both knees, so that is going to be a key.”
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6. Bo Nix, Oregon
- Mike's projection: late first round
“We saw how efficient he was running that high-paced, quick offense, quick throws, get it out fast," Detillier said. "He made good decisions. Now, what I get a lot of people double-checking Bo Nix, why it didn’t work at Auburn? Well, he didn’t run that Oregon offense at Auburn. That’s partially it, and he’s got mobility skills, too, now, which is pretty decent. He can get out of the way of traffic, but most of his game was short/intermediate. Every once in a while he’d air one out. Again, people bring up he’s 24 years old. OK, so what? He’s not on the social security plan. If you can have a quarterback for 10 years, isn’t that what you would look for? So I think somebody will fall in love with Michael Penix and Bo Nix, and I think they’ll both end up in Round 1.”
Beyond that, Detillier sees three more quarterbacks who are sure to be drafted in a trio of names that were prominent in the SEC or locally in New Orleans.
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7. Spencer Rattler, USC
- Mike's projection: early to mid Day 2 (2nd-3rd round)
“You can have a wide variety of opinions on Spencer," Detillier said. "Some people really like him, some people really don’t. He’s not the biggest guy in the world. You talk about a guy that can spin a ball. He came to Manning Passing Academy, and I’m telling you … can he spin it. From that 12 to 20-yard range, man, you talk about tight window throws, Spencer Rattler can make them. The problem with Spencer is his erraticism. Some games he looks unbelievable, then other games everything is high. It tells me one thing, he’s not setting his feet throwing the football. He’s kind of doing it off-balance."
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8. Michael Pratt, Tulane
- Mike's projection: Mid to late Day 2 (2nd-3rd round)
“I think this year you’d have to admit, he was banged up this year, for most of the season," Detillier said. "We didn’t get to see him at his very best. Tough guy, can make all the NFL throws. He’s gotten much better in this, what I call kinda alley-oop-type throw, where he’ll put it up in between a defender and a receiver and have that receiver go up and get it. I really like Michael Pratt. I think he’ll get picked late in Round 3, early in the third round. So Michael Pratt’s a guy that’ll get a lot of look see in this draft class, because he’ll be a second day pick"
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9. Joe Milton, Tennessee
- Mike's projection: Late Day 2 to early Day 3 (3rd-5th round)
"Somebody is gonna fall in love with Joe Milton. … He came in and I saw him throw the football before, he came into Manning and he put on a show that was unbelievable, just arm talent," Detillier said. "Again, there is a wide variety of him being erratic, and I don’t even know if that’s the right term, but when he’s on, he can beat you. And he’s got some wheels on him, he can run. But you talk about an arm, he can put a ball anywhere out on the field, that doesn’t mean he’s accurate. But somebody will think they’ve got the feel and can fix it.”
The 2024 NFL draft is scheduled to begin on Thursday, April 25 in Detroit, Michigan. The New Orleans Saints hold the No. 14 pick in the first round and No. 45 overall on Day 2.
This article is the second in a draft preview series with WWL analyst Mike Detillier, check back for breakdowns of other positions leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft.