As the football-following world grows increasingly excited about the NFL prospects of quarterbacks Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Bo Mix, Drake Maye, JJ McCarthy, Michael Penix Jr., and more, here's a look at 2024. There is a counterargument to the idea that this year's draft is set in stone. He has a can't-miss outlook.
In 2021, most of the five quarterbacks selected in the top 15 missed out.
49ers quarterback Trey Lance, the third overall pick last year, was traded to the Cowboys for a fourth-round pick. Last week, the Patriots' Mac Jones, the No. 15 pick, was traded to the Jaguars for a sixth-round pick. Currently, Justin Fields (11th overall pick that year) is being sent to the Steelers for a 6th round pick in 2025.
Three of those quarterbacks were selected ahead of Micah Parsons. (Do. )
Meanwhile, the Jets may have to give A sixth-round pick meant to take quarterback Zach Wilson's $5.4 million guaranteed compensation package out of someone else's hands. (He was the consensus No. 2 overall pick that year.)
Four of the five were traded for far less than their draft status or are not even available for trade right now. The one exception, Trevor Lawrence, was dancing on the verge of becoming a franchise quarterback until the Jaguars folded last year. Now, it may take a fourth season to determine if he's worthy of being the No. 1 overall draft pick.
In fact, the entire class was, well, not very good throughout the three years. Other players drafted in 2021 were Kyle Trask, Kellen Mond, Davis Mills, Ian Book and Sam Ehlinger. (The undrafted class also doesn't have Tony Romos or Kurt Warner.)
This year, several teams appear to be preparing to place their hopes on rookie quarterbacks. And while this year's class could be bountiful, the 2021 crop has been disastrous for every team that acquired a quarterback except Jacksonville. As we approach the time when the draft-industrial complex culminates every year in late April with the declaration that every pick is a winner, it makes sense to remember that it's still a crappy, coin-flip at best. ing.
