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The 2024 NFL Draft's quarterback class was historic. Six passers were drafted in the first round, and all were off the board after the first 12 picks. Over the past two years, we’ve seen exactly why that was the case.
Four of the six have won at least one playoff game, three have made it to a conference championship game and one has reached the Super Bowl.
Tiering this quarterback class, rather than ranking each player, feels appropriate since we have just two years of data. The order within those tiers can be debated, but the tier itself is far more important.
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Mock Draft Simulator 2026 NFL Draft Big Board Big Board Builder NCAA Premium Stats SubscribeTIER 1: Franchise Quarterback
I truly believe that the first three quarterbacks drafted are franchise-altering players. They have all at some point proven their front office right. Their ranking within this tier is all about preference. If there were a re-draft today, you would have a hard time convincing each franchise to change its pick.
Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
The first overall pick from the 2024 NFL Draft didn’t get off to a flying start in his rookie season after a tumultuous year that led to the firings of both his head coach and offensive coordinator. Now with Ben Johnson at the helm, Williams started to put it all together.
Williams finished his second NFL season with a 76.9 PFF overall grade, highlighted by his 5.4% big-time throw rate — the fourth-highest clip in the NFL this season.
Three fantastic throws from Caleb with nothing to show for it (aka why PFF exists) pic.twitter.com/swh1kGYBWw
— Nick Akridge (@PFF_NickAkridge) November 10, 2025
His highlight reel of throws from this season is one of the best you’ll ever see, and they continued to come in clutch situations as the Bears pulled out miraculous come-from-behind victories seemingly all year.
The biggest question for Williams this past season was how he would perform within the structure of the offense. While he had some growing pains, Williams steadily improved his play from the pocket. In his rookie season, he earned a 70.9 PFF passing grade from a clean pocket. In 2025, that jumped to 80.0.
The next hurdle is improving his accuracy. Williams’ 69.4% adjusted completion rate ranked 39th out of 42 eligible quarterbacks, and his 23.9% rate of uncatchable throws placed 41st out of 45 eligible quarterbacks. That played a large part in why the Bears had to muster so many comebacks. They couldn’t build early leads because of the inaccuracies and missed opportunities.
Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders
The second overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft came out guns blazing in his rookie season, leading the Commanders to an appearance in the NFC Championship game for the first time in more than 30 years.
Daniels finished his rookie season with a 90.6 PFF overall grade, tying Russell Wilson for the highest single-season mark by a rookie quarterback in the PFF era (since 2006).
My favorite Jayden Daniels middle of the field throws (there were a lot (he's really good)) pic.twitter.com/JyzFoA0ZQO
— Nick Akridge (@PFF_NickAkridge) July 3, 2025
The former Heisman Trophy winner immediately looked like he'd been in the NFL for years, making every throw imaginable and answering every pre-draft concern. Daniels routinely made high-level, anticipatory throws over the middle of the field. When in rhythm and attacking the middle of the field, he ranked third in completions and earned an 84.9 PFF passing grade, the 10th-best mark in the NFL.
It was always going to be hard for Daniels to top that effort. He was so efficient in every aspect that there was bound to be some regression. After two games in 2025, he was injured and missed the next two games. That was the start of a season where he never got into a rhythm while dealing with injury after injury. Daniels appeared in only seven games.
When he was on the field, his performances were up and down. There were flashes of the quarterback we saw last year — two 80.0-plus PFF overall grades — but he didn't display enough consistency and fell back into some bad habits. That led to Daniels' accuracy rate falling to 57.7%, putting him 32nd out of 45 eligible quarterbacks.
Health is the biggest question for Daniels going into year three. When he's at 100% and able to get into a rhythm, he’s one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the NFL.
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Game grades, positional splits and high-level metrics for Daniels' 2025 season.
Open Daniels' ProfileDrake Maye, New England Patriots
The third overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft took a bit longer to see the field than his counterparts. Maye’s first NFL start came in Week 6 of the 2024 season, and he finished his rookie campaign with a 70.1 PFF overall grade.
Then, he broke out in 2025. He finished the regular season with the third-highest PFF overall grade among quarterbacks and firmly cemented himself in MVP conversations.
Drake Maye layered middle of the field throw pic.twitter.com/sASWUutOBB
— Nick Akridge (@PFF_NickAkridge) September 30, 2025
His campaign was highlighted by accuracy and elite efficiency on deep passes. Maye ranked in the top 10 in both adjusted completion rate and accuracy rate, and his 98.6 deep PFF passing grade was good for third best in the NFL.
Although Maye didn't put much poor play on tape this season, his playoff run has been less than stellar. The Patriots will still be playing in Super Bowl 60, but three of Maye’s five lowest-graded games came in the playoffs due to an uptick in turnover-worthy plays and inaccuracy.
Patriots fans aren’t concerned right now as they prepare for another Super Bowl, but it may be some cause for concern when the team faces a more difficult schedule next season.
TIER TWO: High-Quality Starter
A first-round quarterback who can be classified as a high-quality starter is a successful draft pick. Teams have found plenty of success with quarterbacks who might not be the best player on the team but can operate an offense at a high level.
Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
The last of the six quarterbacks selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft ended up being the only one to make the playoffs in both seasons. Nix immediately took the reins as the Broncos' starting signal-caller as a rookie and finished with a solid 78.3 PFF overall grade.
Nix appeared to take a step forward in his second season as a passer, earning a 76.1 PFF passing grade — the 12th-highest figure among quarterbacks in 2025.
Great anticipation from Bo to rip the post. Shame it's dropped pic.twitter.com/lQDuXb5zpF
— Nick Akridge (@PFF_NickAkridge) October 27, 2025
Denver's top-tier offensive line helped Nix thrive this past season. He was kept clean on 68.2% of his dropbacks — tied for the fifth-highest rate — and finished with the seventh-best PFF passing grade from a clean pocket (89.3).
Consistency remains an area of needed improvement for Nix, who mixes incredible outings with lackluster showings. Nix has recorded 11 games with a sub-60.0 PFF overall grade and 10 games with an 80.0-plus PFF overall grade. There doesn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason for those lower-end games, which could be a cause for concern in the future.
Read More
NFL quarterback rankings after the 2025 regular season
Read More →TIER THREE: Unknown
The third tier belongs to the quarterbacks whom we haven’t seen enough of to truly judge their future. There have been flashes of high-level play, but injuries have kept these players out for extended periods of time.
Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons
The eighth overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft took up until the final three weeks of his rookie season to get his first start, but he showed some real flashes.
In just three games, Penix posted an 87.9 PFF overall grade as a rookie, highlighted by a ridiculous 9.0% big-time throw rate. He showed off his rocket arm every chance he got in those first three starts and gave Falcons fans reason for real excitement going into his second NFL season as the unquestioned starter.
Oh hello pic.twitter.com/3TNGKpS8Uz
— Nick Akridge (@PFF_NickAkridge) December 23, 2024
But Penix’s 2025 campaign didn’t go as anticipated. While he definitely had some positive moments, including an 84.4 PFF overall grade in Week 8, inconsistent accuracy plagued his season. Penix logged a 53.1% accuracy rate in 2025, which ranked 43rd out of 45 eligible quarterbacks.
The reason he’s in the unknown tier is his season-ending ACL injury suffered in Week 11. Typically, players can come back from an ACL injury and not lose a step, but this is Penix's third ACL injury and fifth season-ending injury in eight seasons between college and the NFL.
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The 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft was the final first-round quarterback from the class to make his debut after missing the entire 2024 season due to a torn meniscus.
Despite the Vikings going all in on McCarthy, the 2025 season didn’t go as planned. McCarthy finished an injury-riddled campaign with just 10 appearances and a 61.8 PFF overall grade. He struggled with accuracy and protecting the football. McCarthy notched a 51.4% accuracy percentage, which ranked 44th out of 45 eligible quarterbacks, and his 4.8% turnover-worthy play percentage was fifth highest.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for McCarthy. He showed real flashes early in the season, leading the Vikings to some impressive comebacks, and he made impressive throws despite the inconsistency. McCarthy finished his 2025 season with a 7.3% big-time throw rate, ranking second to only MVP favorite Matthew Stafford.
Really love this from McCarthy. No hesitation to rip the seam pic.twitter.com/FZhsUnGHwU
— Nick Akridge (@PFF_NickAkridge) December 15, 2025
Vikings fans will look at his play in Weeks 14 and 15 as a reason for optimism. That stretch featured McCarthy's highest-graded games of his career. He looked in complete control and, most importantly, took care of the football (zero turnover-worthy plays).
The inconsistent play and constant injuries leave McCarthy’s future as a giant question mark. He’s shown at times why he was drafted in the top 10, but there are still too many negatives for the Vikings to be fully confident in the 23-year-old for the 2026 season.