The Chicago Bears chose not to draft a quarterback in 2023 despite holding the #1 overall pick. It made sense at the time. Justin Fields flashed a lot of potential in his second season and deserved a chance to see it through. Besides, the roster wasn't in a great position to support a rookie QB anyway. So, GM Ryan Poles traded the pick for a massive package. One of those assets was Carolina's 2024 1st round pick, which became #1 overall once again. While he's happy with how the trade worked out, some criticize him because he did not select one of the breakout QBs this past year in CJ Stroud.
The Ohio State product locked up Rookie of the Year with an excellent regular season for the Houston Texans, capped by a near-flawless performance in the wild card round against Cleveland. Many people never thought he could be this good so quickly. Well, one person did. Derrik Klassen of Bleacher Report is one of the more respected QB evaluators in the business today. His scouting report on Stroud indicated a belief the QB would be effective immediately and was the true QB1 of that class, not Bryce Young.
"In the right environment, Stroud will raise the floor of an offense right away. He's got the pre-snap vision, arm talent and accuracy to be functional sooner rather than later, and the progress he showed as the year went on suggests he has a capacity to improve rapidly.
GRADE: 8.6 (Impact Player)
OVERALL RANK: 6
POSITION RANK: QB1
PRO COMPARISON: Athletic Jared Goff"
Klassen's eye for the position can't be understated.
He correctly predicted Mitch Trubisky would be a bust in 2017 and that Tua Tagovailoa would have too many limitations to carry a team beyond occasional playoff contention. So, it was interesting to hear his thoughts about the 2024 quarterback class. Klassen believes both Caleb Williams and Drake Maye to be excellent prospects with a chance to be great in the NFL. However, only one of them can be QB1. For him, the choice is clear.
"Overall, Maye is a supremely talented passer. He has the athleticism, arm talent and baseline processing skills to become a weapon at the next level. All he needs to do is cut out some of the "doing too much" plays. Maye has the skill set to fit in any system and develop into a star.
GRADE: 9.3 (Top-10 player)
OVERALL RANK: 3
POSITION RANK: QB1
PRO COMPARISON: Justin Herbert"
The CJ Stroud projection should raise questions about Maye.
Is he not getting enough serious consideration for the #1 pick? Williams seems to get all of the hype despite clear indications the North Carolina standout is the more talented player. He's bigger, has a stronger arm, and has the pocket-processing ability you expect from a future NFL stud. It is hard not to feel like USC's media machine is helping Williams get all the attention while Maye is stuck with North Carolina. While a prominent program, it's in a conference that isn't known for a far reach in the media.
Plenty of Bears fans can't stomach the idea of taking another North Carolina quarterback after Trubisky. However, Klassen insists he and Maye aren't even on the same planet in terms of capability. He's even more gifted than CJ Stroud. If it were his job on the line as a GM, he would take Maye over Williams. One thing to remember about Poles is he tends to lean heavily into prospects with plus traits. He likes guys with tools. If he adheres to that philosophy in his QB evaluations, don't be surprised if Maye ends up being the pick at #1.
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