Even with six quarterbacks selected early on in the 2024 NFL Draft, there should be a few players clearly slated to make a quick impact on your fantasy football rosters for the 2024 season.
What seems clear at this point is that third overall pick Drake Maye, even though he's making progress at Patriots training camp, is expected to start the year behind Jacoby Brissett and could spend the entire season there barring injury or Brissett just flat-out playing terribly.
Michael Penix Jr., the 8th overall pick in this year's draft, is almost certain to spend the entire year behind Kirk Cousins on the depth chart if Cousins stays healthy.
It's possible that JJ McCarthy, the 10th overall pick to the Minnesota Vikings, could spend the entire 2024 season behind Sam Darnold as well. That leaves three rookie quarterbacks as obvious instant contributors when it comes to fantasy football, so if you need a BYE week quarterback, if you play in a two-quarterback league, or if you want to take a shot on upside at some point, here's a quick synopsis of what each guy brings to the table.
3 rookie quarterbacks who will have the biggest fantasy football impact in 2024
1. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears (1st overall pick)
The #1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft seems to have one of the highest ceilings of all quarterbacks this year and could be a league-winner in the right situation. We haven't seen many rookie quarterbacks in the Super Bowl era throw for 20 or more touchdowns, but Williams should be expected to rack up both passing and rushing touchdowns.
The Bears have given Williams a plethora of targets to work with and guys who create after the catch. That will loom large over his entire fantasy projection for 2024.
2. Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders (2nd overall pick)
The biggest thing Daniels has going for him right now is the fact that he's arguably one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks from the moment he steps onto an NFL football field. The primary issue for Daniels right now in Washington could be the offensive line in front of him, which is still a work in progress for GM Adam Peters.
Daniels could wind up with somewhere close to 25 total touchdowns this season and I wouldn't be shocked if he reached 10 rushing touchdowns.
3. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos (12th overall pick)
Bo Nix was the sixth quarterback taken in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft and is going to a pretty strong situation in Denver with head coach Sean Payton and an underrated Broncos offensive line.
Nix has dual-threat capabilities and has a quick trigger as a passer. He could end up putting up strong numbers in his first year in Denver after Sean Payton's offense helped Russell Wilson reach 26 touchdown passes last season despite being a bottom-10 passing attack all year in terms of throws resulting in a first down.
I could see Nix having 23 or more total touchdowns this coming season.