Who’s the best QB in the 2024 NFL Draft: Drake Maye, Caleb Williams or Jayden Daniels? | The Exempt List
Yahoo Sports NFL writer Charles McDonald and Justis Mosqueda from the Acme Packing Company analyze the top NFL quarterback prospects in this year's draft. Hear the full conversation on “The Exempt List with Charles McDonald” - part of the “Zero Blitz” podcast - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING]
JUSTIS MOSQUEDA: I like Drake Maye.
CHARLES MCDONALD: I like Drake too.
JUSTIS MOSQUEDA: I like Drake Maye. I've seen a lot of Caleb Williams, I think he makes a lot of mistakes that don't make sense. I don't know what he's seeing on the field sometimes. I understand he's a phenomenal talent. I just like a guy who could do a little bit more structure. And I think Drake Maye is probably closer to a guy who can process in the pocket than Caleb. But I understand Caleb has all the tools in the world. Jayden Daniels being in this conversation seems crazy to me.
CHARLES MCDONALD: Same.
JUSTIS MOSQUEDA: I'm not there with him. I understand wanting to get an athletic quarterback and all that stuff. But when you're talking about a guy going top three, he's not Lamar with the ball in his hand. Yeah, he has the long speed, right? Like he can get an edge. He's going to be able to get an edge. But like, in terms of, like, making a guy miss, like he's not going to do any of the Lamar Jackson juke, weaving across the field stuff. He's not going to do the spin move stuff, where defenders are running into each other head-first, right? Like, I think we're talking about a little bit different of an animal. And I know everyone's going to try to make the Lamar comparison. Lamar was so different and Lamar was-- Lamar came from the Petrino--
CHARLES MCDONALD: Yeah, that's real-- the pro-style passing game, he did that stuff in college. I don't know. And it wasn't the same, oh, I have two first-round receivers who both run like 4.2s. and--
JUSTIS MOSQUEDA: Yes, that's the other thing, too. It's like, dude, it was Lamar by himself on Friday nights against Syracuse. Like that's totally different than what LSU was operating with.
CHARLES MCDONALD: I'm with you on Jayden. I don't really have a problem drafting him in the firsts round. But I don't know. The idea of trading a--
JUSTIS MOSQUEDA: We're talking top three
CHARLES MCDONALD: Right.
JUSTIS MOSQUEDA: We're talking like people mortgaging their franchise to draft him, like--
CHARLES MCDONALD: Yeah, that doesn't make any sense.
JUSTIS MOSQUEDA: I don't know.
CHARLES MCDONALD: That makes no sense to me at all. I would have no problem taking Caleb first overall, and just rolling that dice. And if it doesn't work--
JUSTIS MOSQUEDA: Yeah, if we're going to do it, we're going to do it. Like I think Caleb-- I think a lot is probably going to depend on interviews with him, because with a guy who has that kind of play style, right, like so much is going to be, like, OK, what can he retain? What kind of a person is he? Like, how are we going to take these steps?
CHARLES MCDONALD: Yeah. If I was the Bears, I would probably take Drake Maye just for Waldron's offense,. Especially with the way that Gino played.
JUSTIS MOSQUEDA: That's how-- this is how they mess it up, right? The Bears mess it up. It's UNC number 10. No, we can't do that again.