One of the crucial hyped prospects getting into the 2024 NFL Draft won’t hear his title referred to as as early as anticipated.
This 12 months’s draft class is rife with “can’t-miss” prospects, most notably on the quarterback place. North Carolina’s Drake Maye, USC’s Caleb Williams and LSU’s Jayden Daniels have routinely been mocked to go within the first 5 picks, with Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., Oregon’s Bo Nix and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy moreover being slotted as first-round alternatives.
In response to NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein, nonetheless, certainly one of these signal-callers may unexpectedly drop down the board.
“I talked to an NFL man at this time who thinks that Maye might be the man who falls on this draft,” Zierlein stated on the Transfer the Sticks podcast. “He in contrast him to [Will] Levis.”
Levis discovered himself in an identical state of affairs to Maye throughout final 12 months’s draft. The Kentucky-product was strongly linked to the Colts — who owned the No. 4 general decide — in lead-up to draft evening, with some analysts even suggesting he may go first or second general to the Panthers or Texans, respectively. But Indianapolis, Carolina and Houston all handed on Levis in favor of different quarterbacks, inflicting him to fall to the Titans at decide No. 33.
Like Levis, Maye has been projected to go early within the first spherical, maybe even No. 1 general. The Bears, Commanders and Patriots possess the primary three picks within the 2024 NFL Draft and are all anticipated to pick a quarterback. Different groups such because the Vikings and Broncos have reportedly expressed curiosity in buying and selling as much as land a QB as properly.
On paper, Maye has the instruments required to change into a profitable franchise quarterback within the NFL. The 6-foot-4, 230 pound quarterback threw for 3,608 yards and 24 touchdowns final season, typically showcasing his sturdy arm and freakish athleticism on “wow” performs.
However like all prospects, Maye is not good. Because of the 21-year-old’s lower in accuracy, inconsistent play and excessive susceptibility to damage, former NFL scout Daniel Kelly valued him as a late first-round decide.
Whereas Maye may fall within the upcoming draft, Zierlein argued Nix might be a quarterback who rises within the rankings.
“I believe Bo Nix is gonna shock lots of people who simply wrote him off after Auburn, and so they do not actually take note of Pac 12 soccer,” Zierlein stated. “Bo Nix had a extremely good season in all of the completely different metrics you may search for.”
Nix led the nation in passing touchdowns (45) and completions (364) whereas additionally rating second in passing yards (4,508). The 23-year-old adopted up his spectacular season with a powerful efficiency within the Senior Bowl, finishing 4-of-5 passes for 21 yards and a landing.
