Five NFL Draft Questions for the College Football Season
The 2024 NFL draft already offers plenty to get excited about, including some potential superstar prospects in Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Brock Bowers. Here’s what you need to keep in mind as college football heats up.
It still feels like the 2023 NFL draft just happened, but with the college football season set to kick off in earnest this weekend, it’s already time to start looking forward to next year’s class. Headlined by a pair of potential superstar quarterbacks in USC’s Caleb Williams and North Carolina’s Drake Maye and buoyed by future playmaking pass catchers in Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. and Georgia’s Brock Bowers, the 2024 class looks absolutely talent packed at the top. Add in what look to be quality offensive tackle, edge rusher, and cornerback groups, and this class could end up being one of the strongest in years.
Of course, the obvious caveat here is that a whole lot can change between now and next April. With that in mind, here are a few of the most exciting draft-related questions for this upcoming college season.
Who is QB1?
The simple answer here is that it’s almost surely USC’s Williams, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, who passed for 4,537 yards and had 42 touchdowns and just five picks in 2022 (adding another 10 rushing touchdowns). There’s already talk about which NFL teams will be tanking for the chance to draft Williams ([cough] Cardinals), and he’s the heavy favorite to be the top overall pick.
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But weird things happen in every college season, and NFL evaluators are unpredictable—and Maye (who passed for 4,321 yards and had 38 touchdowns and just seven picks last year, adding almost 700 rushing yards and seven scores) could close the gap on Williams with another strong campaign. My guess right now is that the battle for QB1 next April will end up being closer than the current narratives paint it as.
In some ways the inevitable Williams vs. Maye debate will act as a Rorschach test for how teams and scouts evaluate the quarterback position: Williams draws comparisons to Patrick Mahomes because of his elastic, live arm and his out-of-structure genius, while Maye is more on the Justin Herbert spectrum—a big-armed pocket passer who plays with timing and precision. Williams is a bit undersized at 6-foot-1 but makes up for it with natural field vision and innate playmaking talent; Maye, meanwhile, possesses the ideal size (6-foot-4, 230 pounds) and a big arm and is anything but a statue in the pocket—but he hasn’t posted nearly as many impossible-looking highlight-reel-type plays as Williams. There will be some eye-of-the-beholder arguments here.
If I had the first pick and had to make the call right now, Williams would be my guy. But the good news is that no one has to decide quite yet. I’m just excited to see how this battle will play out—and even more excited about the prospect of two new rising stars at the quarterback position.
Will we get another big quarterback riser?
It seems like college football produces at least one rocket ship riser at quarterback in every draft. Last year, it was Anthony Richardson, an inexperienced but über-dynamic playmaker with a 55 percent completion rate and just 13 starts to his name … who nonetheless went fourth overall. In 2022, Kenny Pickett shot up the ranks and ended up a first-rounder by tossing 42 touchdowns in his fifth season at Pitt (in each of his previous three seasons as starter, he topped out at 13 touchdowns). In 2021, Zach Wilson took a meteoric rise to second overall (he’d thrown for 11 touchdowns and nine picks in an injury-marred season the year before). And back in 2020, Joe Burrow put together one of the most statistically incredible college seasons of all time, throwing 60 touchdowns and just six picks and leading LSU to a national title (he had thrown just 16 touchdowns the year before). The point is: Don’t be too surprised if a random, previously unheralded quarterback takes college football by storm this year.
There’s a handful of underclassman passers who could impress enough to vault themselves into first-round consideration. A former no. 1 overall recruit to Ohio State, Quinn Ewers transferred to Texas last year and has the opportunity to make a huge jump for the Longhorns this season. He should get plenty of support from a talented group of pass catchers there, too. Colorado transfer Shedeur Sanders (Deion Sanders’s son) has exciting tools and is getting some Heisman buzz. And Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy made some noise in his first season as a starter last year, tossing 22 touchdowns and just five picks, rushing for another five scores, and leading the Wolverines to the College Football Playoff. Washington State’s Cameron Ward flashed potential last season and should be another to watch this year, as is Duke’s Riley Leonard, who enters his second season as a starter after tossing 20 touchdowns and just six picks in 2022. Miami’s Tyler Van Dyke missed the second half of last season to a shoulder sprain, but he’ll look to put his name back on the NFL map in 2023.
As for this year’s standout seniors, there are almost too many to name. Thanks in part to NIL rights and to college football’s new transfer rules, we’re seeing a surplus of former highly recruited quarterbacks who have either transferred or extended their college careers to continue to build their NFL résumés (many are now in their fifth season, some in their sixth). I’ll throw out just a few of those names here because there are a bunch: Oregon’s Bo Nix has the attention of scouts after impressing in his first year for the Ducks, and the former Auburn signal-caller could make another jump this season; Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. is a southpaw Heisman hopeful who has shown promise throughout his college career but struggled to stay healthy; and LSU’s Jayden Daniels has an intriguing dual-threat skill set and played well in his first season with the Tigers last year. Add in South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler, BYU’s Kedon Slovis, Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman, Utah’s Cameron Rising, Tennessee’s Joe Milton III, Florida State’s Jordan Travis, Maryland’s Taulia Tagovailoa (Tua’s brother), Kentucky’s Devin Leary, and Oregon State’s DJ Uiagalelei, among several others, and there’s no shortage of potential future pros on the watch list. I’ll also be excited to watch a true senior in Arkansas’s KJ Jefferson, who at 6-foot-3 and 245 pounds has a scintillating combination of arm strength, mobility, and size. Just based on the sheer number of intriguing prospects on this list, it seems likely we’ll get another big-time riser from this group.
Can Marvin Harrison Jr. live up to the hype? And can anyone challenge him as WR1?
It’d probably take a miracle for anyone to challenge Harrison as the top receiver in this class. The Ohio State star has basically everything you look for in a top-flight receiver prospect, combining size (6-foot-4, 205 pounds), explosiveness (he checked in at no. 2 on Bruce Feldman’s preseason Freaks List), and natural ball skills. He moves suddenly and quickly as a route runner and plays with incredible body control and balance. The son of Hall of Fame receiver Marvin Harrison, he’ll look to improve on his 77-catch, 1,263-yard, 14-touchdown line from last year.
Harrison’s teammate Emeka Egbuka could make his case for going in the first round, too. The junior pass catcher reeled in 74 catches for 1,151 yards and 10 touchdowns last year, adding a couple of scores on the ground. He’s a big-bodied receiver with a savvy feel for route running and some run-after-the-catch ability. Together with Harrison, Egbuka gives the Buckeyes the best receiver duo in the country.
In fact, that could be a theme for the upcoming draft: A handful of teams boast dynamic receiver duos. The Washington Huskies are one of those teams; they will be headlined by junior receiver Rome Odunze, who posted a Pac-12-best 1,145 yards with seven touchdowns on 75 catches last year. Another good-sized receiver at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, Odunze is a former Nevada state champion sprinter who also landed on Feldman’s Freaks List. His counterpart will be the 6-foot-1, 180-pound Jalen McMillan, who posted 79 catches for 1,098 yards and a conference-best nine scores in 2022. With Michael Penix Jr. throwing to these two, the Huskies should produce some fireworks through the air. The same could be said for the Longhorns, who feature quarterback Quinn Ewers and a pair of potential future star receivers in Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell. Worthy’s a wiry speedster with elite track speed and has posted 122 catches for 1,741 yards and 21 touchdowns in two seasons at Texas. Mitchell, meanwhile, brings great length at 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds, and the junior Georgia transfer is expected to do big things in 2023.
A pair of Florida State receivers should make headlines this season, too. A 6-foot-4, 200-pound former Michigan State standout, Keon Coleman brings some playmaking talent to Tallahassee, where he’ll pair up with another Freaks List headliner in Johnny Wilson. Wilson is listed at 6-foot-7 and 239 pounds (yes, you read that right) and offers big-play ability, averaging a ridiculous 20.9 yards per catch last year.
And as long as we’re talking about standout wide receiver duos (not to mention former NFL receivers’ sons), we shouldn’t forget Texas A&M’s Moose Muhammad III and his teammate Ainias Smith. The son of 14-year NFL veteran Muhsin Muhammad, Moose is a savvy pass catcher who excels over the middle of the field and can make hay after the catch. Smith, meanwhile, is a guy who has always seemed to pop when I’ve studied A&M players over the past few drafts, and he offers versatility as a receiver, runner, and returner.
As for players who don’t quite fit the dynamic duo theme, LSU’s Malik Nabers looks poised to emerge as a first-round prospect. The 6-foot-1, 188-pound junior posted a 72-catch, 1,017-yard, three-touchdown line for the Tigers last year and boasts big play potential from both the slot and the outside. Another name to watch for is Georgia’s Ladd McConkey, a 6-foot, 185-pound wide receiver who has collected 89 catches for 1,209 yards and 12 scores (to go with three rushing touchdowns) for the back-to-back champs over the past two years. Add in UCLA’s J. Michael Sturdivant, Tennessee’s Bru McCoy, and USC’s Dorian Singer, plus a host of others, and we’ve got what could be a really strong receiver class shaping up.
Will Brock Bowers entrench himself as a top-10 pick?
Bowers isn’t a receiver, but he will definitely end up being counted among the best pure pass catchers in this upcoming class. The former four-star recruit is a 6-foot-4, 230-pound joker tight end for the Bulldogs offense, boasting a rare combination of speed, body control, and strength.
In two seasons with the team, Bowers has already racked up 119 catches for 1,824 yards and 20 touchdowns, adding 165 rushing yards and another four scores on the ground. The reigning Mackey Award winner is a strong route runner and is tenacious after the catch, easily defeating pursuit angles or simply running over his opponents. He’s one of the most exciting players in college football, and I can’t wait to see what he does—and how he’s deployed—in 2023. And only time will tell whether he can entrench himself as a top-10 pick. But it’s clear that he’s a dynamic playmaker with the talent to be a featured part of any offense. Imagine a stronger, more physical, and even more dynamic version of Dalton Kincaid; I’m guessing NFL teams will be interested.
As for the rest of the tight end class, it may not end up being as deep as last year’s group. But there’s definitely a handful of guys I’ll be zeroing in on over the next few months. Texas tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders has gotten some hype, and the former five-star recruit posted 54 catches for 613 yards and five scores last year. And speaking of Kincaid, a pair of his former teammates might get some of the limelight for themselves this year. Sixth-year senior Brant Kuithe returns from an ACL tear he suffered last year, but before his injury he was a springy, dynamic athlete who can be deployed all over the formation. Like Bowers, he was frequently used on jet sweeps and end arounds for the Utes. And another Utah tight end, Thomas Yassmin, has definitely piqued my interest too.
Yassmin is electric with the ball in his hands, and the Australian former rugby player offers scintillating big-play ability. He’ll need a big jump in production this season to make his way up draft boards, but at 6-foot-5 and 251 pounds, he does have an intriguing tool set.
Which blue-chip defenders will headline this class?
You might have already caught on to this, but the upcoming draft looks like it’ll be loaded with offensive talent, especially right at the top. And I’ve focused more heavily on that side of the ball so far. But this class’s elite defensive players will get their day in the sun, too.
The edge rusher group looks strong, with Florida State’s Jared Verse and Alabama’s Dallas Turner as the early headliners. Verse was expected to declare for last year’s draft after he racked up nine sacks and 17 tackles for loss for the Seminoles, but the Albany transfer opted to stay and develop in Tallahassee for one more year. And Turner looks primed to take over for Will Anderson as the Crimson Tide’s top pass rusher, offering an explosive first step and flexible frame to create havoc off the edge. Turner has tallied 12.5 sacks and 18 TFLs over the past two seasons combined, and if he can produce a double-digit sack performance in 2023, he’ll no doubt shoot toward the top of teams’ boards.
Penn State’s Chop Robinson garnered a (cautious) Micah Parsons comparison in Feldman’s Freaks List column, and his first-step burst and overall explosive agility lend some credence to that thought. Robinson is a Maryland transfer who notched 5.5 sacks and 10 TFLs for the Nittany Lions last year. And past that, there are more than a few edge defenders I’ll be looking forward to watching this year, including Washington’s Bralen Trice, UCLA’s Laiatu Latu, and Ohio State defenders J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer.
The 2024 class looks pretty strong at the cornerback spot as well. The awesomely named Alabama star Kool-Aid McKinstry combines good length with excellent production—and will have a chance to be the next in a long line of first-round Crimson Tide corners. Elsewhere, Penn State’s Kalen King, TCU’s Josh Newton, Iowa’s Cooper DeJean, and Clemson’s Nate Wiggins are among the top names to watch at the position this year.
An earlier version of this piece incorrectly identified Devin Leary’s current school as North Carolina State.
