This was a good listen. I recommend it to folks. They are connected to PFF if you don't know them. Here are their ranks and a few headlines to follow.
CONNOR ROGERS:
8. Michael Pratt
7. Rattler
6. Bo Nix
5. JJ McCarthy
4. Daniels
3. Penix
2. Drake Maye
1. Caleb Williams
TREVOR SIKKEMA:
8. Michael Pratt
7. Rattler
6. Penix
5. Bo Nix
4. JJ McCarthy
3. Daniels
2. Drake Maye
1. Caleb Williams
HEADLINES:
Pratt - good point guard, Purdy vibes, struggles under pressure
Rattler - Had no support and suffered under pressure. Good arm talent on a bad offense.
Penix - they split on him. Rogers has him ahead of Daniels owing to howitzer throwing trait that he utilizes with regularity. Huge arms and hands. Great at avoiding sacks.
Bo Nix - Great at avoiding sacks. Takes care of football. May lack arm talent to be elite in NFL.
JJ McCarthy - Absolutely slender and needs a year to bulk up and learn NFL game. A 2nd round pick. Flashes arm talent and courage and got better from '22 to '23. But there isn't a lot of volume to judge him on, not a first round pick since you need to project too much growth for him.
Jayden Daniels - a skinny QB and this may be who he is. Electric mobility used to set up passing attack. Has to protect himself as a runner better. Compact and quick release and good touch however Rogers thinks he has the weakest arm among the top group, below Rattler and Nix. Doesn't throw with velocity though he can throw to different levels with touch. But he may not have to drive the ball as much as he breaks things open with ridiculous scrambles. Keep in mind he had best WRs in the country. Got much better under pressure in 2023. He has a good floor thanks to touch passing and running. Rogers doesn't agree he is like Lamar, thinks, though he is a first round pick, he is a middle of the pack QB. Sikkema agrees, very high floor. But also agrees arm has been romanticized. Velocity is adequate for NFL but not as good as top tier.
Drake Maye - Big distance between Maye and Daniels. Big body, will play around 230. Can move the pocket. Can throw on the run. Excellent throwing on the run. Bad plays were bad, but they weren't that many of them, and he's still very young. Excellent touch, accuracy and velocity to all levels. Great attacking middle of field. He's a big bodied red zone threat as a runner as well. There's not much he can't do and if Williams goes #1, Maye HAS to be #2. according to PFF grading, elite in every situation. Sometimes, just misses, not sure why even though he has pinpoint accuracy and touch.
Caleb Williams - Re-watched footage for this list and wondered if he would see something different. No, he's a franchise QB. PFF gradings are elite across the board. Arm talent well above average. Incredible off-script playmaker. Very competitive player. Much better processor than people give him credit for. Sees field very well. Full field reader who manipulates defenders with his eyes like a pro. His time to throw is 3.21 which is high but the reason why it is high relates to context, they do not believe it is a glaring defect. Needs to take care of ball better. If you measure him against perfection you will not see how talented he is. Incredibly twitchy and flexible, frustrates defenders, and he is broad, carries decent mass. Only 10 interceptions in 896 pass attempts. Good decision maker.
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I think it's wishful thinking on BBI that Maye somehow drops past the Pats. Not gonna happen.
I'd take Daniels if he is there at #6. These guys make the point that ordinary throw velocity might be offset by Daniels' electric ability to break things open with the run. I don't think he is an ideal fit for Daboll's system, but I do think Daboll could make good use of his talents. But it's good to be aware of the actual traits of these players.
Jake sounds like a big unknown and trade down candidate.
He is by no means a week armed QB. He doesn't throw with high velocity meaning he throws with touch and anticipation and has a quick trigger.
He is on time or creates time to allow him to place the ball unlike a guy like Penix who gets away with being late on throws by being able to fire it in there as the window closes.
Daniels is more of a Kurt Warner/Steve Young type of thrower .
The Draft is about projection. And where is too much? They aren't questioning much on him other than his size - which again, he's 21 and will grow more.
I come away from watching both QBs that McCarty much better accuracy than Maye. Maybe it's the surrounding talent, but Maye's misses are sometimes way off.
I don't think there's that much difference in these two, except that JJ might be more pro-ready due to his offense under Harbaugh, and the much higher level of competition he faced. I think the Giants would be lucky to draft either.