NFL Power Rankings: Ranking first-round QBs worst to best after preseason

The 2024 NFL Draft class is undoubtedly going to be in focus at the quarterback position after six players were selected at that position within the top 12 picks. This rookie class is about as high-profile it gets when it comes to the quarterback position, even though not everybody is guaranteed to start or even play this year.

After what we've seen in the preseason, how can we rank what we've been seeing from these guys? Which players look like the best fit for their situations? On the other side of all that, which players have maybe struggled a bit more than others?

NFL Power Rankings: Caleb Williams, Bo Nix have been most impressive so far

Worst case scenario: JJ McCarthy, Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings were getting some glowing early reviews from JJ McCarthy's training camp and preseason. Unfortunately, McCarthy played through some discomfort in his lone preseason appearance which ended up being a bad meniscus injury that will cost him his entire rookie season.

You rarely see first-round quarterbacks miss their entire rookie season due to injury, so this is a devastating blow for McCarthy and the Vikings. And I don't think he looked bad, by any means. In fact, he bounced back quite nicely from an early interception in his preseason debut.

McCarthy is a tremendous talent and very young, but the season-ending injury is a brutal blow for this franchise.

Michael Penix Jr., Falcons

I don't like anything about the way the Falcons have handled their quarterback situation. I've mentioned this before, but after seemingly sitting on his hands for his first few years as GM of the team, it seems like Terry Fontenot just decided to kill the quarterback need with fire in Atlanta in 2024. He signed Kirk Cousins for way more money than he probably should have given Cousins's age and recent injury, and then he took Michael Penix Jr. 8th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.

And we've barely seen Penix. I get that there is a lot of value in training camp practice reps, but head coach Raheem Morris and his staff say they've taken a "different approach" and aren't giving him as many preseason reps.

Frankly, this is a weird decision that I would say is extremely unwise. You don't want to put guys in harm's way as Morris states, but he's out there talking about not getting "mulligans" as a head coach.

This is football. Penix isn't expected to play this season if things go well with Kirk Cousins, so the reps in the preseason are important. It makes very little sense for the Falcons to be handling things this way, but to each their own. I dislike the strategy a lot.

Drake Maye, Patriots

The Drake Maye era could get started sooner than expected for the Patriots. A lot of the talk earlier this offseason was that the Patriots would open the season with Jacoby Brissett starting, but Drake Maye has potentially changed the timeline a little bit.

Maye's Week 1 readiness may still be in question at this point but we've seen his talent. He's got a live arm, he's athletic, and he's got the playmaker traits. It may take some time on task in practice before he's ready to execute the offense at as high of a level as he's going to need to, but Maye's talent is putting pressure on this Patriots coaching staff.

Jayden Daniels, Commanders

The second overall pick and reigning Heisman Trophy winner has been very solid through two preseason games for the Commanders so far. There's a buzz right now over Daniels and whether or not he's going to slide to protect himself as a dynamic runner at the NFL level, but he's operated efficiently as a passer and shown his ability to make plays with his legs.

There was no question that Daniels was going to start for the Commanders this season, but he's shown some nice progression in his preseason reps and looks like he's going to be a fun study all season.

Caleb Williams, Bears

Everyone is in awe of what Caleb Williams has done in terms of some of the highlight-reel throws he's made. He's a spectacular talent and is going to contend for NFL offensive rookie of the year. You see the athletic talent, the arm talent, the playmaking ability, and the potential for Williams to be the same type of problem for defenses that we see from Patrick Mahomes.

But that's not to say there haven't been some issues in his first couple of preseason games, either. Williams may have the most spectacular highlight reel so far, but he's had some issues with accuracy at times and moving the offense.

We aren't expecting perfection from any of these guys, obviously. Williams has done enough that the Bears aren't even going to have him out there for their final preseason game. We all collectively can't wait to see him in games that matter.

Bo Nix, Broncos

With all of the experience he had at the college level (61 starts), you had to figure Bo Nix was going to carry himself with a certain level of maturity and composure. In Sean Payton's offense, Nix seems like the ideal fit. In the preseason reps we've seen so far, Nix looks like he's been around for a handful of years already and the Broncos have only had one non-scoring drive among Nix's preseason work in two games.

Nix has shown his accuracy, escape-ability, pocket presence, and he's shown a command of the offense. There's no doubt that the rookie out of Oregon is going to surprise some folks this year.

It may come across as a hot take, but Nix has truly been outstanding in the preseason and hasn't really made any mistakes. He may not have the flash of Caleb Williams or Jayden Daniels but his lowest moments have been baseline stuff for a lot of other guys.