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Who are the top prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft? Ranking college QBs before divisional round

jack mckessy, usa today
·2 min read
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Jan 1, 2024; Glendale, AZ, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Bo Nix (10) celebrates a touchdown with wide receiver Tez Johnson (15) during the second half against the Liberty Flames in the 2024 Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2024; Glendale, AZ, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Bo Nix (10) celebrates a touchdown with wide receiver Tez Johnson (15) during the second half against the Liberty Flames in the 2024 Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL playoffs have moved into the second round, and some recently eliminated teams may have realized they have a quarterback problem.

Throughout the college football season, more than a handful of quarterbacks showed off their potential as promising NFL prospects. With the NFL playoffs' divisional round only featuring quarterbacks younger than 30 years old, the chance to add a young, talented quarterback could be even more enticing.

Southern California's Caleb Williams and North Carolina's Drake Maye lead the bunch, but J.J. McCarthy and Michael Penix, Jr. from Michigan and Washington, respectively, also showed off in the College Football Playoff.

Here's how the top quarterback prospects in next year's draft class stack up, ranked by ESPN's QBR metric.

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ESPN's QBR explained

Every week, ESPN gives each quarterback a QBR (quarterback rating) for their latest performance. According to ESPN, the rating is intended to "incorporate all of a quarterback’s contributions to winning, including how he impacts the game on passes, rushes, turnovers and penalties."

QBR measures each play's degree of success and how much credit the quarterback deserves for the play. The statistic also takes into account the strength of opposing defenses faced. The final result is an efficiency rating as a number on a 0-to-100 point scale.

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Ranking top quarterback prospects in 2024 NFL Draft by QBR

  1. Jayden Daniels, LSU (QBR: 95.7)

  2. Bo Nix, Oregon (91.0)

  3. J.J. McCarthy, Michigan (89.2)

  4. Michael Penix, Jr., Washington (83.4)

  5. Caleb Williams, Southern California (82.3)

  6. Jordan Travis, Florida State (79.6)

  7. Drake Maye, North Carolina (78.8)

  8. Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland (72.9)

  9. Joe Milton, Tennessee (70.1)

  10. Spencer Rattler, South Carolina (65.4)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Top QB prospects in 2024 NFL Draft heading into divisional round