2024 NFL Mock Draft: Surprise Team Grabs QB4 in 1st Round
There's already a three-horse race at the top of the quarterback class in the 2024 NFL Draft, and all three could end up coming off the board to start this year's event.
USC's Caleb Williams is still the favorite to be the No. 1 pick, while North Carolina's Drake Maye and LSU's Jayden Daniels are strong candidates to be the next two players off the board.
But how long could the wait be for the next quarterback to be selected, and which team will make the pick?
In the latest 2024 NFL mock draft from Eric Edholm at NFL.com, it's the Los Angeles Rams who end the long wait for the next signal-caller, spending their No. 19 pick on Michigan's J.J. McCarthy.
Here's what Edhold had to say about the selection:
The Rams' first first-round selection since they took Jared Goff at No. 1 overall is another quarterback -- go figure. Matthew Stafford might be approaching the 17th green of his career, and McCarthy needs time to marinate his fascinating toolset. He's a Midwest kid, but McCarthy has displayed some California cool in crunch time -- and he's savvy enough to digest Sean McVay's system.
It's hard to argue with the Rams' need to plan for the future at this point in Matthew Stafford's career, but with the pleasantly surprising season the team just had, would they really want to spend that long-awaited first-round pick on a player who (hopefully) wouldn't see the field for at least another year?
Considering their many needs elsewhere on the roster (offensive tackle, pass rusher, defensive back, linebacker), it would be surprising to see the Rams spend a top-20 pick on Stafford's eventual successor. McCarthy has shown flashes of brilliance, but after spending his college career in such a run-heavy offense, his ability to carry and offense as a passer is still unknown.
McCarthy is the fourth and final quarterback off the board in this projection, leaving the likes of Washington's Michael Penix Jr. and Oregon's Bo Nix waiting until Day 2 to hear their names called.
To check out Edholm's full first-round mock draft at NFL.com, click here.
