- Texas technology’s Jacob Rodriguez has a chance to prove he’s a top prospect: Rodriguez has played a key role in the Red Raiders’ defense, but will still have to prove himself during the pre-draft process, especially in coverage.
- Garrett Nussmeier will try to rebuild his shares: Once considered a potential second-day draft pick, Nussmeier has fallen to big boards in his final season at LSU after injuries and poor offensive line play.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
The quarterback class of the 2024 NFL Draft was historic. Six passers were drafted in the first round, and after the first twelve picks, all were taken off the board. Over the past two years we have seen exactly why that was the case.
Four of the six have won at least one playoff game, three have reached a conference championship game and one has reached the Super Bowl.
It seems appropriate to rank this quarterback class rather than rank every player since we only have two years of data. The order within those levels can be debated, but the layer itself is much more important.
LEVEL 1: Franchise Quarterback
I truly believe the first three quarterbacks drafted are franchise-changing players. They have all proven themselves right at one time or another. Their ranking within this tier is all about preference. If there were a redesign today, it would be difficult to convince any franchise to change their picks.
Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
The first overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft did not get off to a flying start in his rookie season after a tumultuous year that led to the firing of both his head coach and offensive coordinator. With Ben Johnson at the helm, Williams started to put everything together.
Williams finished his second NFL season with an overall PFF grade of 76.9, highlighted by his big-time throw percentage of 5.4% – the fourth-highest clip in the NFL this season.
His highlight reel of throws this season is one of the best you’ll ever see, and they continued to get into clutch situations as the Bears pulled off miraculous come-from-behind wins seemingly all year long.
The biggest question for Williams last season was how he would perform within the structure of the offense. Although he had some growing pains, Williams steadily improved his play from the pocket. In his rookie season, he earned a PFF grade of 70.9 from a clean pocket. This rose to 80.0 in 2025.
The next hurdle is improving his accuracy. Williams’ adjusted completion rate of 69.4% ranked 39th among 42 eligible quarterbacks, and his 23.9% percentage of uncatchable throws ranked 41st among 45 eligible quarterbacks. That played a big role in why the Bears had to make so many comebacks. They couldn’t build early leads because of the inaccuracies and missed opportunities.
Jayden Daniels, Washington commanders
The second overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft came out on fire during his rookie season, leading the Commanders to the NFC Championship game for the first time in more than 30 years.
Daniels finished his rookie season with an overall PFF grade of 90.6, tying Russell Wilson for the highest single-season grade by a rookie quarterback in the PFF era (since 2006).
The former Heisman Trophy winner immediately looked like he had been in the NFL for years, making every throw imaginable and answering every pre-draft concern. Daniels routinely made high-level anticipatory throws over the middle of the field. When he was in rhythm and attacking the middle of the field, he ranked third in completions and posted a PFF grade of 84.9, the 10th-best mark in the NFL.
It was always going to be difficult for Daniels to top that effort. He was so efficient in every aspect that there was bound to be some regression. After two games in 2025, he was injured and missed the next two games. That was the start of a season in which he never got into a rhythm while dealing with injury after injury. Daniels played in just seven games.
When he was on the field, his performances were up and down. There were flashes of the quarterback we saw last year – two PFF grades above 80.0 – but he didn’t show enough consistency and fell back into some bad habits. That led to Daniels’ accuracy rate dropping to 57.7%, ranking him 32nd out of 45 eligible quarterbacks.
Health is the biggest question for Daniels entering his third year. When he’s 100% and can get into a rhythm, he’s one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the NFL.
Drake Maye, New England Patriots
The third overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft took a little longer to see the field than his counterparts. Maye’s first NFL start came in Week 6 of the 2024 season, and he finished his rookie campaign with an overall PFF grade of 70.1.
He then broke through in 2025. He finished the regular season with the third-highest PFF overall grade among quarterbacks and firmly entrenched himself in MVP conversations.
His campaign was highlighted by accuracy and elite efficiency on deep passes. Maye ranked in the top 10 in both adjusted completion percentage and accuracy percentage, and his PFF grade of 98.6 from deep was good for third in the NFL.
While Maye hasn’t recorded much bad play this season, his playoff run hasn’t exactly been great. The Patriots will still play in Super Bowl 60, but three of Maye’s five lowest-scoring games came in the playoffs due to an increase in turnover-worthy plays and inaccuracy.
Patriots fans aren’t worried right now as they prepare for another Super Bowl, but there could be some cause for concern if the team faces a tougher schedule next season.
TIER TWO: High quality starter
A first-round quarterback who can be classified as a high-quality starter is a successful draft pick. Teams have had a lot of success with quarterbacks who may not be the best player on the team, but can run an offense at a high level.
Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
The last of the six quarterbacks selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft ended up being the only ones to make the playoffs in both seasons. Nix immediately took the reins as the Broncos’ starting signal caller as a rookie, finishing with a solid 78.3 PFF overall grade.
Nix seemed to take a step forward as a passer in his second season, posting a PFF grade of 76.1 – the 12th highest among quarterbacks in 2025.
Denver’s offensive line helped Nix thrive this past season. He was kept clean on 68.2% of his dropbacks – tied for fifth most – and finished with the seventh-best PFF grade from a clean pocket (89.3).
Consistency remains an area of improvement for Nix, who combines incredible outings with lackluster showings. Nix has recorded 11 games with a PFF overall grade below 60.0 and 10 games with a PFF overall grade above 80.0. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to those lower games, which could be a cause for concern in the future.
LEVEL THREE: Unknown
The third tier belongs to the quarterbacks we haven’t seen enough of yet to truly assess their future. There have been times when they played at a high level, but injuries kept these players out for a long time.
Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons
The eighth overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft took until the final three weeks of his rookie season to get his first start, but he showed some real flashes.
In just three games as a rookie, Penix posted an overall PFF grade of 87.9, highlighted by a ridiculous big-time throw percentage of 9.0%. He showed off his rocket arm every chance he got during those first three starts and gave Falcons fans reason for real excitement entering his second NFL season as the unquestioned starter.
But the 2025 Penix campaign did not go as expected. While he certainly had some positive moments, including a PFF grade of 84.4 in Week 8, his season was plagued by inconsistent accuracy. Penix recorded a 53.1% accuracy rate in 2025, ranking 43rd out of 45 eligible quarterbacks.
The reason he is at the unknown level is his season-ending ACL injury suffered in Week 11. Normally players can come back from an ACL injury and not lose a step, but this is Penix’s third ACL injury and fifth season-ending injury in eight seasons between college and the NFL.
JJ McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings
The 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft was the last first-round quarterback in the class to make his debut after missing the entire 2024 season due to a torn meniscus.
Despite the Vikings going all-in on McCarthy, the 2025 season did not go as planned. McCarthy finished an injury-riddled season with just 10 appearances and an overall PFF grade of 61.8. He struggled with accuracy and protecting the football. McCarthy posted an accuracy rate of 51.4%, which ranked 44th among 45 eligible quarterbacks, and his turnover-worthy play rate of 4.8% was fifth highest.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for McCarthy. He showed real flashes early in the season, leading the Vikings to some impressive comebacks, and he made impressive throws despite the inconsistency. McCarthy finished his 2025 season with a big-time throw percentage of 7.3%, which ranked him second behind only MVP favorite Matthew Stafford.
Vikings fans will look at his play in Weeks 14 and 15 as a reason for optimism. That stretch featured McCarthy’s highest-rated games of his career. He appeared to be in complete control and, most importantly, took care of the football (zero turnover-worthy plays).
The inconsistent play and constant injuries leave McCarthy’s future as a big question mark. He has shown at times why he is a top 10 pick, but there are still too many negatives for the Vikings to have complete confidence in the 23-year-old for the 2026 season.
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