Draft guru has three QBs going in the top 10 in latest 2024 mock
It’s been expected since last April that USC quarterback Caleb Williams and North Carolina signal-caller Drake Maye would be two of the first picks in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Nearly eight months later nothing has changed.
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler released his first 2024 mock draft , and he has Williams and Maye going first and third overall, respectively. He also has LSU QB Jayden Daniels, the current betting favorite to win the Heisman, sneaking into the top 10 as well.
As for where each lands, Brugler has the Chicago Bears taking Williams first overall after deciding not to want to give Justin Fields a possible extension in excess of $100M after the 2024 season.
He mentions Fields could have a strong finish to the season and potentially drive up the trade return the Bears could get for him from other QB-needy teams picking outside the top 10 like the Atlanta Falcons or Minnesota Vikings.
“Which quarterback should be the pick at No. 1?” Brugler asked. “It is much too early in the process to answer with any conviction (the Bears don’t know, so we sure as heck don’t know). … Despite Maye being higher in my personal rankings, I still believe Williams is the favorite to be the top pick.”
With Mac Jones riding the struggle bus this season (he’s been benched three times for Bailey Zappe), it makes sense for the New England Patriots to start over with a QB who would have likely been the top pick in any other year.
This is why Brugler has the potentially Bill Belichick-less Patriots grabbing Maye with their first top-five selection since drafting Willie McGinest fourth overall in 1994.
“This is a great draft for a quarterback-needy team to own an early pick,” Brugler wrote. “Maye is a young player and not without his faults, but he has promising talent and more big-time throws on his tape than any other passer in this class.”
As for Daniels, Brugler sees the Tampa Bay Buccaneers snatching him up at No. 7.
Baker Mayfield had a great first four games of the season, but he’s since regressed back to the mean. He ranks 14th in touchdown passes (17), 16th in passing yards per game (235.3) and passer rating (91.6), and 20th in completion percentage (64.7). The Bucs need to start over with a young, cheap option at QB and Daniels has the best case of the remaining signal callers to go in the top 10.
“Tampa Bay will be in the mix to select this draft’s QB3, and Daniels could be it,” Brugler stated. “He has a dynamic skill set to create explosive plays with his arm and legs. … In studying his tape and seeing his continual improvements, you start to run out of reasons why he doesn’t belong [in the top 10].”
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