The opinions of these Steelers Radio Network personalities do not reflect the views of the Steelers organization.
QUARTERBACKS
Dale’s Take …
This is a good but not great group of quarterbacks, in my opinion, because of a lack of overall depth. There are some good early-round prospects, but not a lot of depth into the later stages of the draft. That doesn’t mean prospects can’t emerge or get better as pros, but I just don’t see Andrew Luck in any of these players this year. The difficulty in evaluating them is because so many colleges run spread offenses that essentially have the quarterback make one read and then take off running, or read the defense pre-snap and determine at that point where the ball is going. That won’t work in the NFL, where defenses will force a quarterback to go through progressions or disguise their coverages to show one thing presnap before morphing into something else.
Sleeper - Michael Pratt, Tulane (6-3, 217) - A four-year starter and three-year captain at Tulane, Pratt threw for more than 9,600 yards, with 90 touchdowns and 26 interceptions in his four seasons. Just 10 of those interceptions came in the past two seasons when his touch-down-to-interception ratio was 49-10. Pratt looked the part at the Senior Bowl practices and isn’t immobile, either. He finished his career with more than 1,100 rushing yards plus 28 touchdowns, which is impressive in college football, where sacks count against a QB’s rushing totals. He improved his completion percentage from 55.1 as a freshman to 65.4 as a senior.
No. 5 - Bo Nix, Oregon (6-2, 214) - A three-year starter at Auburn before transferring to Oregon for his final two seasons, Bo Nix went from an iffy NFL player in his first three seasons to one who will probably be selected in the first 50 overall picks. That said, a lot of his production came because of Oregon’s spread offense. He completed nearly 75 percent of his passes in two years with the Ducks for more than 8,100 yards, with 74 touch-downs and 10 interceptions. But nearly 30 percent of his passes were thrown behind the line of scrimmage in 2023, and that’s not going to work in the NFL. His ball placement on many throws could be better, especially for someone who completed such a high percentage. He was a 59.4 percent passer at Auburn. So the question with Nix is whether he’s a product of Oregon’s system.
No. 4 – J.J. McCarthy, Michigan (6-3, 219) - A two-year starter at Michigan, J.J. McCarthy led the Wolverines to the national championship in 2023. But his passing stats aren’t as gaudy as some of the others on this list because the Wolverines were a run-first team that wound up blowing many opponents out. McCarthy did complete 72.3 percent of his passes last season for nearly 3,000 yards, with 22 touchdowns and just four interceptions. He looked good in the throwing drills at the NFL Combine. He’s not a true running quarterback, but he can run, as well.
No. 3 - Drake Maye, North Carolina (6-4, 223) - There’s a pretty decent gap between Drake Maye and the top two quarterbacks in this draft. Maye’s 2023 season was a slight step back from his first season as a starter in 2022. Maye has classic size, but he struggles with accuracy at times, especially on deep and intermediate passes. Some of that was because North Carolina’s line was below average, but pressure seemed to get to him all too often. Maye is a good, not great, prospect.
No. 2 - Caleb Williams, USC (6-1, 214) - We’re splitting hairs here, but Caleb Williams comes in at No. 2 on this list because while he’s mobile, he doesn’t have the elite mobility that Jayden Daniels possesses. And Williams and Daniels are very close in terms of throwing the ball. Williams is a three-year starter who left Oklahoma with Lincoln Riley to head to USC, where he passed for over 8,000 yards, with 72 touchdowns and 10 interceptions the past two seasons. Williams will probably be drafted No. 1 overall, but I’d lean toward Daniels at this point, largely based on what he can give a team as a dual threat.
No. 1 - Jayden Daniels, LSU (6-4, 210) - While most people have Williams as the top guy, Daniels has all of his ability to throw the ball and is an elite runner. The only knock on Daniels is his lack of bulk. He’s got a Lamar Jackson-like frame and skipped weigh-ins at the NFL Combine, so the 210 pounds at which he is listed is an estimate by the NFL. But he’s a five-year starter – three at Arizona State, two at LSU – who was solid in his first three seasons before blowing up in his final two. In his two seasons at LSU, he threw for 6,725 yards with 57 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 26 games, while running for more than 2,000 yards and 21 more touch-downs. Unlike the other top QBs in this draft, Daniels also showed he can go through progressions due to the offense run by LSU.
Matt’s Take …
Sleeper - Devin Leary, Kentucky (6-1, 215)
No. 5 - Bo
