NFL Draft 2024: Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye and QB Predictions in Latest Expert Mocks

NFL draft week is here.

The first round kicks off Thursday night, meaning we're mere days away from officially knowing the landing spots of the top prospects in this class.

Then again, draft experts already have hunches about those draft-night destinations, and no, we aren't solely talking about USC quarterback Caleb Williams being snatched up by the Chicago Bears at No. 1.

To get a better grasp on where the other top signal-callers are headed, we'll look at the latest predictions from expert mocks in search of some common trends.

Drake Maye, North Carolina

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ATLANTA, GA OCTOBER 28: North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye (10) drops back to pass during the college football game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on October 28th, 2023 at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Two out of three experts—specifically, The Ringer's Danny Heifetz and CBS Sports' R.J. White— agree North Carolina's Drake Maye will be taken second overall by the Washington Commanders.

For Heifetz, the buzz around Jayden Daniels going in the No. 2 spot "has never passed the sniff test," with the analyst noting that Maye "played in the Air Raid in college" and could be an easy fit in Kliff Kingsbury's offense. White, meanwhile, concedes the prediction goes "away from the general consensus" but believes the Commanders will "ultimately choose to hitch their wagon to Maye.

The latest big board from B/R's NFL Scouting Department offers full-throated support of the selection, as it ranks Maye third among all prospects and first among quarterbacks. Maye received a 9.3 grade on its 3.0 to 10 grading scale.

The lone dissenter for this exercise was NFL.com's Eric Edholm, who had Maye landing with the New England Patriots at No. 3.

"The Patriots can take their time grooming him," Edholm observed, "but it might not be long before Maye could unseat Jacoby Brissett once we get a feel for what this Patriots offense has to work with."

Jayden Daniels, LSU

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BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - NOVEMBER 11: Jayden Daniels #5 of the LSU Tigers throws the ball against the Florida Gators during a game at Tiger Stadium on November 11, 2023 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

Daniels, 2023's Heisman Trophy winner, has been a popular pick in the No. 2 spot throughout most of mock-draft season. Among these three experts, though, only Edholm sent Daniels to Washington.

"It feels like Daniels is the Commanders' man," Edholm wrote. "His age and experience make sense for a team with Marcus Mariota as the presumed other starting option."

Heifetz, meanwhile, mocked Daniels to New England at No. 3, though with the caveat that he has "always thought they'd prefer Maye" and doesn't "have a strong lean" between Daniels or J.J. McCarthy. For White, Daniels dipped to No. 4, where the New York Giants traded up with the Arizona Cardinals to take him.

While B/R's scouting department has Daniels third among quarterbacks on its big board, there's a pretty wide gap between him and the top two. After putting Maye and Williams back-to-back at spots Nos. 3 and 4, respectively, they didn't rank Daniels until No. 31, and gave him a grade of 7.6, which lands in its range of "potential impact player / second round."

J.J. McCarthy, Michigan

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HOUSTON, TX - JANUARY 08: Michigan Wolverines quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) passes the ball during the CFP National Championship against the Washington Huskies on January 08, 2024 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

McCarthy, who most recently quarterbacked Michigan to a national championship, looms as one of the early swing prospects in this draft.

While you'll perhaps most often find him mocked as the fourth quarterback off the board, that isn't always the case—and these mocks reflect that.

White, for instance, had McCarthy going third to New England, even with Daniels still on the board.

"I could see them going either way ... [but] I'm going to go with the late riser in McCarthy over the guy who wasn't expected to be here in the first place," White wrote. "De facto GM Eliot Wolf is said to be a big believer in the Michigan product, and he should be an easy sell to owner Robert Kraft."

Edholm and Heifetz, meanwhile, both have the Minnesota Vikings trading up to take McCarthy, though not in the same spot. Edholm had Minnesota moving up to No. 4 for McCarthy, while Heifetz had the Vikings trading up to No. 5 for McCarthy.

"Despite warranted concerns about his role in the Michigan offense, McCarthy is a likable quarterback prospect: young, willing to attack tight windows, physically talented, good at reading a defense," Heifetz wrote. "The Vikings have made it very clear that they'd like to get their guy in this draft, and I think they will."

While B/R's scouting department has McCarthy fourth among quarterbacks on its big board, he's only two spots behind Daniels (No. 31 and No. 33) and has nearly an identical prospect grade (7.6 to 7.5).