Schefter: 2024 NFL Draft Could Have 'Up to 6 QBs' in Round 1; Bo Nix Has 'Huge' Fans

ESPN's Adam Schefter believes this year's draft could have a quarterback-heavy first round.

Making an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Monday, Schefter explained that there could be as many as six quarterbacks taken in the opening frame of April's event.

"There are a lot of different opinions and a lot of different quarterbacks in this draft," Schefter said. "It certainly sounds like we could get up to six quarterbacks taken in Round 1. Certainly five, that could happen."

At least three quarterbacks seem like locks to be first-round picks, such as USC's Caleb Williams, LSU's Jayden Daniels and North Carolina's Drake Maye, but Schefter believes other signal-callers, like Oregon's Bo Nix, could sneak into the first round.

"There are people that are huge Jayden Daniels fans. There are people that are huge Bo Nix fans," Schefter said. "So we'll see how that shakes out."

The majority of mock drafts have Williams going first overall to the Chicago Bears, with Maye and Daniels going directly behind him to the Washington Commanders and New England Patriots, respectively.

Nix, along with Michigan's J.J. McCarthy and Washington's Michael Penix Jr., could be candidates to be first-round picks as well, depending on how the quarterback market plays out in free agency.

A handful of quarterbacks are set to be free agents this offseason, one of whom is the Minnesota Vikings' Kirk Cousins. Schefter noted that Cousins' decision could be a factor in how many quarterbacks are taken in the first round.

"I think the two primary suitors for Kirk Cousins, I would expect to be, Minnesota and Atlanta," Schefter said. "There's only one Kirk Cousins, so he goes somewhere, what does the other team do? If he goes to Atlanta, I wouldn't be surprised if Minnesota tried to move up in the draft and try to make a play up for a quarterback."

With plenty of talent in his year's draft class, it won't be a surprise to see the first round be very quarterback-heavy.