Field Yates NFL Mock Draft 2024: Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Maye Among Top 10

The buzz around Jayden Daniels being the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL draft is growing, with ESPN's Field Yates being the latest to have the reigning Heisman Trophy winner going ahead of Drake Maye.

In his first mock draft, which was released Wednesday, Yates has the Chicago Bears taking Caleb Williams at No. 1 overall, followed by Daniels going second to the Washington Commanders and Drake Maye third to the New England Patriots.

Here's the full top 10 in Yates' mock draft:

1. Chicago Bears: Caleb Williams, QB, USC
2. Washington Commanders: Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
3. New England Patriots: Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
4. Arizona Cardinals: Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State
5. Los Angeles Chargers: Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame
6. New York Giants: Malik Nabers, WR, LSU
7. Tennessee Titans: Rome Odunze, WR, Washington
8. Atlanta Falcons: Dallas Turner, EDGE, Alabama
9. Chicago Bears: Laiatu Latu, EDGE, UCLA
10. New York Jets: Olumuyiwa Fashanu, OT, Penn State

Williams seems like the safest bet to be the No. 1 overall pick. Though Yates' mock didn't include trades, the Bears still appear more than likely to be the team that makes the selection.

Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Bears would need a "historic haul" to move out of the top spot.

Things start to get interesting at No. 2 with the Commanders. It seems almost certain they are going to select a quarterback, but there could be a debate over which one.

ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. also had Daniels landing in Washington in his most recent mock draft. Yates called the LSU standout the "best dual-threat quarterback in this class" and a player who "changes the math for a defense every time he steps on the field."

There are still a wide range of opinions about Daniels at this point in the evaluation process. B/R's NFL scouting department has Maye ranked as the No. 1 quarterback and No. 3 overall prospect in this class.

Daniels is at No. 24 overall, with B/R's Derrik Klassen citing his arm talent and accuracy as a "mixed bag," depending on which part of the field he's throwing to:

"He regularly drops it in the bucket without needing his receivers to break stride. However, Daniels' arm strength and accuracy are less dangerous to other parts of the field. He doesn't always have the velocity to hit tight windows, and his accuracy in the one- to 20-yard range comes and goes. Daniels' accuracy especially falls off when he's forced to throw out of rhythm or late in the down."

The rushing ability does make Daniels as tantalizing as any quarterback in this class. He ran for 2,019 yards and 21 touchdowns in 26 games over two seasons at LSU. Combine that with throwing for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns and completing 72.2 percent of his passes last season against SEC competition, and it's not hard to see why he will likely come off the board very early.

New England is in a pretty good spot no matter what happens. It will have its pick of at least one of Williams, Daniels and Maye. Regardless of who the pick ends up being, it almost certainly has to be a quarterback.

There are plenty of other problem areas on the Patriots roster that also need to be addressed, but the opportunity to land a potential franchise quarterback for new head coach Jerod Mayo should be too tantalizing to pass up.

The 2024 draft doesn't begin until April 25, so there will be plenty of things that change over the next two months. The next big event on the calendar is the NFL Scouting Combine starting on Feb. 26.