Fantasy Football Quarterback Rankings – Draft Day 2024

“With the first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears select…”

Draft day is finally here.  How long have we been waiting to hear these words?  Well, it’s only been two months since the Super Bowl but it does seem like forever, doesn’t it?  All the speculation on which team will draft which QB is about to be revealed.  Are you ready? 

I have a cooler at my feet, enough snacks to last me the evening, and now settled into a comfy chair.  I am ready for the draft.  I’ll be cataloging the evening’s QB drama here all night and much like the days of yore, deliver this in time to consume tomorrow with your morning coffee.        

So, let’s join the 250,000 live fans in Detroit loudly “BOOing” Roger Goodell and get these festivities underway. 

#1 – Chicago Bears

Following the trade of Justin Fields, the only drama around the #1 pick was how long it’d take for the Bears to submit their pick (the answer: 5:25).  With that, Caleb Williams officially becomes the QB of the future and joins DJ Moore and a revamped offense, including newcomers Keenan Allen, D’Andre Swift, Dante Pettis and Gerald Everett.  To top it off, the Bears also added one of the top WRs in the draft in Rome Odunze.  This offense is going to be fun! 

Just as important, the Bears offensive line will need to keep the rookie upright and give him the time to grow into the speed of the NFL.  Sporting a lineup of Braxton Jones (LT), Teven Jenkins (LG), Ryan Bates (C), Nate Davis (RG), and Darnell Wright (RT), this Bears OL is considered one of the better units in the league. 

Caleb Williams could hardly ask for a better situation to walk into.  Let me say it again, the Bears should be a fun team to watch and more importantly, have many useful pieces for our fantasy football teams.  Does Williams put up a rookie season like last year’s #1 pick (Bryce Young) or the #2 pick (C.J. Stroud)?  My guess is closer to the latter and I’ve moved him up to #16 in my rankings.    

Now the drama can begin…

#2 – Washington Commanders

“With the second pick of the 2024 NFL draft, the Washington Commanders select…Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU.” 

The reigning Heisman Trophy winner goes to the Nation’s Capital and becomes the playmaker desperate Commander’s fans will covet.  Daniels has made no bones about his desire to follow in the footsteps of Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson to use his full arsenal of talents.  Daniels had a productive college career, highlighted by his 3,800+ passing yards and over 1,100 rushing yards, 40 passing TDs and 10 rushing TD, with only 4 INTs.  Many feels Daniels can be the top QB in this draft class.  I won’t argue.     

This franchise had one of those QBs not all that long ago, RGIII, and look how that turned out.  I hope for Daniels’s sake, he becomes more like the other QB in that former draft class, Kirk Cousins, than RGIII. 

If not in Week 1, Daniels should command (see what I did there) the huddle very early in the season and is deserving of fantasy draft consideration in deeper and two-QB leagues.  With that, I have him at #26, right below Aaron Rodgers.   

#3 – New England Patriots

Wasting no time, the New England Patriots select Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina.  Young Drake is all smiles as he makes his way out to meet the Commissioner but how long will that last?  The Patriots need A LOT of help to become relevant again and they must start somewhere.  A physical and athletic QB is not a bad place to begin.

Drake’s talents were on display throughout his short career as a starter at North Carolina.  Over 26 games in ’22 and ’23, Drake put up 62 passing TDs and 16 rushing TDs. He’ll need to bring that and more to return New England to relevance.   

Some analysts suggest Jordan Love as a good comp.  Personally, I can see Drake maturing into more of a Josh Allen type QB.  If that happens, the Patriots faithful have a winner.  However, don’t expect that in 2024.  I expect Maye will be eased into action at the pro level.  Because of that, I’m placing Maye as my #31 QB going into next season.

Four in a row? 

QBs go #1, #2, and #3.  Will Minnesota or Denver trade up to the Cardinals spot?  Nope!  The Cardinals select Marvin Harrison Jr. and get their stud WR.  Where’s the drama?  Actually, I like this pick a lot for the Cardinals but I’ll let my man, Matt Stiles (@stiles08) tell you more.    

The official J.J. McCarthy watch begins…

#8 – Atlanta Falcons

The first real surprise in the draft.  Michael Penix Jr. goes to a Falcons team that just signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract.  Clearly the Falcons have a plan to develop the young QB to eventually take the reins, a la Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love. 

I won’t sugar coat this, I don’t love the pick for the Falcons.  There’s no question this kid can play but he might not become a regular NFL starter until he’s 27 years old (he turns 24 next month).  Arguably, his best season in college came in 2021 (at Indiana) where he threw for almost 4,500 yards and 31 TDs.  In 2022 and 2023 combined, he threw for just under 4,000 yds and 18 TDs. 

Despite a 40-yard dash just under 4.60, he rarely attempted to run in college so do we expect that to change in the pros?  Doubtful.  Again, I don’t like the pick, but the jury will be out on this one for a few years.  For 2024, he’ll stay buried in my QB rankings at #40.          

#10 – Minnesota Vikings

And there it is.  ”With the tenth pick of the 2024 NFL draft, the Minnesota Vikings select…J.J. McCarthy, QB, Michigan.”    

The Vikings make a deal with the Jets to jump one spot to ensure they get their guy.  Moving up one spot worked out much better than some expected.  McCarthy is considered a game manager and led the Wolverines to a National Championship.  But the big question now is…is he ready to step in and lead a pro team?  The Vikings recently signed free agent, Sam Darnold, so there’s not a dire need to rush J.J.  Whichever QB breaks the huddle in Week 1 is fantasy worthy, only because of that stellar group of pass catchers.  My money is on the vet over the rookie and therefore, I have them ranked #23 and #30, respectively.          

#12 – Denver Broncos

Denver makes it a short night for me by taking Bo Nix with the 12^th pick.  With that, all six of the top QBs now have a home.

As many predicted, Bo heads to the Mile High City and joins the Broncos after dominating at Oregon for the last two seasons.  With 94 total TDs (74 passing and 20 rushing) in just 27 games, Broncos fans will set high expectations for their young QB. 

The Broncos recently traded for Zach Wilson and it makes sense to give him first shot at leading the team in 2024 until the rookie is ready to take over.  My guess, Bo is leading the way by the time we flip our calendars (do people still have calendars?) over to November.  In the meantime though, I have Wilson at #27 and Nix at #35, fully expecting these numbers to flip at some point.    

Wrap-up:

That’s a wrap on the first round of the draft.  In all, we saw six QBs drafted before the mid-point in the first round tonight.  How many will have an immediate impact on our fantasy teams next year?  That remains to be seen.  If recent history provides a good indication, a few of these signal callers will merit drafting in Superflex leagues and at least one or two will climb the ladder to be starters in one-QB leagues.       

Here are my updated QB rankings:

As always, all our articles and rankings are free at https://football.razzball.com.  Also, keep a lookout and join the Razzball boys, Bobby (@BobbyLamarco), Sky (@SkyGuasco), Matt (@Stiles08), Jeff (@Jefferson_21) and me for our live shows.  Come for the insight, stay for the fun!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter/X @Derek_Favret.  I’m now on BlueSky as well (@dfavret.bsky.social).

Until next time, my friends!