Mel Kiper Jr. names his biggest wild-card QB in 2024 draft

The pecking order of quarterbacks after USC’ Caleb Williams and North Carolina’s Drake Maye is arguably the most debated topic of the 2024 NFL Draft. 

Four additional signal callers have a solid case to go in the first round — LSU’s Jayden Daniels, Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, Oregon’s Bo Nix and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. — and depending on which scout or draft analyst you listen to, all four could go as high as Round 1 or fall as far as Round 3. 

Of the QBs considered to be in the second tier of the 2024 draft, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. believes that McCarthy is the one who’s giving draft evaluators the most difficulty in grading.

“He has the tools to be in the mix for that No. 3 QB spot, but he just didn't convince me down the stretch,” Kiper Jr. said. “Where were the ‘wow’ throws? I didn't see him go through progressions much. … Plus, he wasn't asked to beat teams with his arm, partly because the Wolverines blew out all of their opponents until November.”

On the surface, McCarthy’s stat line looks legit. He has a 74.2 completion percentage, 2,630 yards passing, 19 touchdowns to five interceptions, and he was sacked just 18 times.