Field Yates NFL Mock Draft 2024: J.J. McCarthy to Broncos, Bo Nix to Steelers

In his first mock draft of the offseason, ESPN's Field Yates projected Wednesday that five quarterbacks will be selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft.

As has been typical with many mock drafts thus far, Yates has the three most highly touted quarterbacks going with the top three picks in the form of USC's Caleb Williams to the Chicago Bears, LSU's Jayden Daniels to the Washington Commanders and North Carolina's Drake Maye to the New England Patriots.

Yates bigger swings occurred later in the first round, as he projects the Denver Broncos to select Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy with the 12th overall pick and the Pittsburgh Steelers to take Oregon quarterback Bo Nix at No. 20.

While Williams, Daniels and Maye all feel like slam dunks to be high picks, the evaluation gets much trickier for other quarterbacks in the draft in terms of where they should or could land.

There is little doubt that the Broncos are in the market for a young quarterback after they benched veteran starter Russell Wilson for the final two games of the 2023 season in order to avoid the possibility of an injury guaranteeing a significant portion of his contract.

Assuming the Broncos either trade or release Wilson, they would be candidates to possibly trade up for a quarterback, or to stay put and take a quarterback who isn't among the top three.

McCarthy is an intriguing prospect since he did a lot of winning at Michigan, but wasn't usually tasked with putting the offense on his back and didn't put up huge numbers.

With McCarthy leading the way, the Wolverines went undefeated and won the national championship last season, however, his stats are somewhat pedestrian compared to other quarterbacks in the class.

McCarthy completed an impressive 72.3 percent of his passes, but he threw for only 2,992 yards to go along with 22 touchdowns and four interceptions, while also rushing for 202 yards and three scores.

Under head coach Jim Harbaugh, McCarthy had the benefit of leaning on an elite running game and defense, which could mean he either doesn't have what it takes to be a high-volume passer, or he perhaps has a ton of untapped potential.

Denver taking McCarthy would make for a fun scenario within the AFC West since Harbaugh left Michigan to become the head coach of one of the Broncos' biggest rivals in the Los Angeles Chargers.

In many ways, Nix is the polar opposite of McCarthy, as he is two years older at 23, and had an eye-popping statistical season to end his college career at Oregon.

Nix finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting last season after completing 77.4 percent of his passing attempts for 4,508 yards, 45 touchdowns and three picks to go along with another 234 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.

The Ducks went 12-2 with Nix at the controls, and their only losses came to a Washington team that reached the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.

Nix comes with significant risk since he isn't as young as many of the other quarterbacks in the draft, and since it is unclear how well his performance in Oregon's high-octane offense will translate to the NFL.

Given that Kenny Pickett has thrown just 13 touchdowns compared to 13 interceptions in two seasons since the Steelers took him 20th overall in 2022, they have to at least consider a quarterback at No. 20 this year.

Pittsburgh has already parted ways with Mitchell Trubisky and Mason Rudolph is an impending free agent, so there is a clear spot open for someone to come in and compete with Pickett.

The Steelers can supply Nix with a great deal of offensive talent around him in the form of wide receivers Diontae Johnson and George Pickens, and running backs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, which is similar to the setup he had at Oregon.

Even if Nix isn't as physically gifted as some of the other quarterbacks in the draft, he knows how to get the ball to his playmakers, and that may be all the Steelers need in order to be contenders moving forward.