With the college football season underway and the NFL season starting in the next couple of days, all eyes are turning to the potential 2027 QB draft class. Guys like Arch Manning, the nephew of legendary QBs Eli and Peyton Manning, and Dante Moore are expected to dominate the college season and potentially make the 2027 class the best of the decade. With four years left in the 2020s, the 2024 QB draft class may already be the era’s pinnacle.
The 2000s were headlined by the 2004 QB draft class, which included future Hall of Fame QBs Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, and Ben Roethlisberger. The 2010s featured the stacked 2018 QB draft class, which had superstar QBs Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield, and Sam Darnold. Passing the midway point of the 2020s, many contenders for the decade’s QB class seem to be emerging, with more to come. Based on what’s happened so far, the 2024 class holds a significant edge in defining the face of the decade.
The 2024 QB Draft Class
Six quarterbacks were selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, tying an NFL record for most taken in the first round. It also set a record for the fastest run of QBs taken, with all six being selected in the first 12 picks. Two years later, four of those six quarterbacks are starting QBs for their teams, and each has already had a playoff win under their belt.
Caleb Williams was the number one overall pick to the Chicago Bears. Not only was he 58 passing yards away from giving the Bears their first 4000 yard passer in the regular season, but he also led them to the playoffs, defeating their division rival in the wild card. He has the highest ceiling of all the drafted QBs, and the offseason hype coming off his second year in the league reflects that sentiment. Williams is a dark-horse MVP candidate this upcoming season and is also the Madden 27 cover athlete.
The second overall pick in the 2024 draft was Jayden Daniels, by the Washington Commanders. His success was instant, making the Pro Bowl, winning Offensive Rookie of the Year, and taking the Commanders to the NFC Championship all in his first year. The Pro Bowler followed up his historic rookie year by unfortunately only playing seven games. Despite an injury-riddled second year, Daniels still has a lot of potential, with the only questions surrounding his health.
Drake Maye was taken third overall by the New England Patriots. He is arguably the best quarterback of the class thus far. He’s made the Pro Bowl in both years of his career and was named All-Pro last season. He was also the runner-up in MVP voting and led the Patriots to the Super Bowl. Maye is one of the youngest players in this draft class and will only get better with time.
Michael Penix and JJ McCarthy were the next two quarterbacks taken in the 2024 draft. The Atlanta Falcons drafted Penix eighth overall, while the Minnesota Vikings selected McCarthy 10th overall. Unfortunately, both of these quarterbacks seem to be trending in the wrong direction, as they aren’t projected to be starters for their teams in the 2026 season.
Although every draft class has QBs that don’t work out, it isn’t over for both of these young men. McCarthy was the youngest QB in the entire class and was seen as a raw prospect coming out of college. So, he still has a chance to develop potentially for another team, as many QBs break out later in their careers. Penix, although he’s much older than McCarthy, may still have another opportunity to become the starter for the Falcons with the recent struggles of Tua Tagovailoa.
The final QB taken in the first round of the 2024 draft was Bo Nix (12th overall by the Denver Broncos), and he may be the most underrated QB of the class. Nix has led his draft class in wins and just finished a season in which he led the Broncos to the No 1 seed in the AFC, winning 14 games. He also led Denver to an AFC Championship Game appearance, where he unfortunately broke his ankle and couldn’t play. Analysts and fans say they would have won and advanced to the Super Bowl had Nix been good to go for the championship.
Other QB Draft Classes In The 2020s
Outside the 2024 class, only one draft class in this decade has produced at least four starting QBs, and that is the 2020 class. The infamous “COVID draft” gave fans a whopping five starting QBs, but compared to the 2024 class, its ceiling may be lower. The 2020 draft class had Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, and Justin Herbert, who led the pack, while guys like Jordan Love and Jalen Hurts were drafted in the late first and early second rounds.
Although the 2020 draft class has a four-year head start on the 2024 draft class, the latter isn’t far behind. The 2020 draft class has a combined 12 playoff wins among them, with Burrow and Hurts leading the pack with five and six playoff wins. In just two years, the 2024 draft class managed to obtain more than half of the playoff wins of the 2020 draft class. Every starting QB in the 24 class has a playoff win, compared to guys like Herbert or Tagovailoa in the 2020 class, who have yet to win one.
One thing the 2020 draft class can hold over 2024 is Super Bowl success. Hurts is the lone Super Bowl winner of the class, having beaten the Kansas City Chiefs in SB 59 and winning Super Bowl MVP. He also appeared in Super Bowl 57 but lost, as did Burrow in SB 56. A total of three SB appearances and one Super Bowl win for the 2020 class is impressive. Similar to playoff success, however, the 24 draft class has almost halved that in just two years, with Maye having the lone Super Bowl appearance.
Despite how much things can change year to year in the NFL, the race for best draft class of the decade isn’t over. Based on the projection and early success of the 24 draft class, the case can be made for the 2024 class as the decade’s best. Other draft classes, such as 2026 and 2025, are too early to tell but already need to have a big year in order to catch up to the early success of the 2024 class. While classes like 2021, 2022, and 2023 have one or two solid starters, they don’t have the quantity of the 2024 class.
