Is this the most overrated quarterback class credit to Adrian Curiel

by Tyler Duke

With the 2024 NFL draft fast approaching most mock drafts have at least four quarterbacks being drafted. The question is are these quarterbacks worthy of a first-round selection? 

NFL draft season is here and many are calling this the year to get a quarterback if you don't already have one as there aren't projected to be many NFL Calibur quarterbacks in the 2025 draft. However, I don't think there are that many franchise quarterbacks in this year's draft. One thing I will say is Caleb Williams who will be the number one pick in this draft is for sure an NFL quarterback who I think will have an amazing career as long as the Bears can put pieces around him. Sorry, no hot takes on Caleb Williams he is that good.

As for the rest of the potential quarterbacks, we have Drake Maye, Jaylen Daniels, and J.J. McCarthy. 

The more I watch Drake Maye the more he reminds me of tall quarterbacks that didn’t pan out like Brock Osweiler, Paxton Lynch, and Mitchell Trubinsky. The thing about Drake Maye is that he has everything you need in an NFL quarterback. He's got a strong arm athletic tall and looks like he can take a hit from the most elite of pass rushers. 

There is just one problem.

 He’s not very accurate, I went through and watched a few of his games throughout the year and it's the same problem with every game every pass it seems like his receiver makes a great catch or he overthrows him on most of his throws. That usually isn't something that gets better from the transition from college to the pros especially since he throws a lot of his passes ten yards or fewer. I will say I am not a scout there may be something that can be fixed with his mechanic that was previously missed, or all of the talk around him could be just that…Talk. 

This leads us to Jaylen Daniels, I may be biased because I watched all of his games during his first two years of playing at ASU as I live in Arizona but I was never impressed with Jaylen Daniels and frankly I am still not. I think Jaylen Daniels is a guy who holds onto the ball too long and makes throws that he shouldn’t make. While Jaylen Daniels had a really good year and was deserving of his Heisman Trophy I think that he was good because they didn’t really ask him to do a lot Daniels will not have that same luxury and will struggle quickly if the franchise he is selected by cant add pieces around him fast.

The most concerning part of Jaylen Daniels is that he is really small and that never goes well especially when he's going to be hit a lot if he doesn’t have a decent offensive line. While I do think that Daniels was worthy of the Heisman I think that he will struggle to stay on the field due to his size and won’t be starting for long if a franchise doesn’t surround him with talent.

I don’t know if the criticism is fair of J.J. McCarthy because he just won a National Championship but in the Michigan offense it seemed like he never threw the ball. It's weird cause it seemed like Cade McNamara threw the ball a ton in Harbaugh's offense and Michigan did have the most dominant running back in college football last year in Blake Corum. However, usually, if you are taking a quarterback early in the first round it's because they were the focal point of your game plan but it seemed like Michigan would have much rather run the ball than pass for most of the 2023-2024 season. 

So while it may seem way too early to declare these quarterbacks overrated it seems like NFL teams are reaching declaring these guys future franchise quarterbacks.