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The 2024 NFL Draft is just two months away and in the eyes of many scouts and analysts, there is a generational quarterback prospect available in this year's cycle. Quarterback Caleb Williams has been a projected first-round pick since his excellent start at Oklahoma, so his two years of video game numbers at USC have kept him the overwhelming favorite to be selected No. 1 overall in April.
It's time to compare the Washington D.C. native to other hype-filled signal-caller prospects over the last 14 years. Where does he stand among other prospects who had general managers clamoring for their services?
These power rankings will weigh college production and pre-draft hype to form the list of the top quarterback prospects since 2010. Let's dive into it!
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Honorable Mentions
- Bryce Young - Alabama (2023)
- Baker Mayfield - Oklahoma (2018)
- Robert Griffin III - Baylor (2012)
- Cam Newton - Auburn (2011)
- Sam Bradford - Oklahoma (2010)
7) Marcus Mariota - Oregon (2015)
College Stats: 36-5 record, 10,796 passing yards, 105 passing touchdowns, 14 interceptions, 2,237 rushing yards, 29 rushing touchdowns (41 starts)
Top Accolades: Heisman Trophy Winner, CFP National Champion Runner-Up
Draft Pick: No. 2 (Tennessee Titans)
Before an up-and-down run with the Tennessee Titans in the NFL, Mariota was one of college football's biggest superstars. The Hawaii native produced video game numbers in Eugene and had Oregon as a top-10 team in each of his three years as a starter. He was the runaway Heisman Trophy winner in 2014, and he was the only quarterback to defeat FSU's Jameis Winston during his college career. Mariota's dynamic skill set in Oregon's fast-paced offense put the Ducks on the map and made them a nationally-loved team.
Marcus Mariota in 2014 🦆
• 68.3%
• 4,454 Passing Yards 🎯
• 42 Passing TDs 🎯
• 4 INTs
• 770 Rushing Yards
• 15 Rushing TDs
• 5.7 YPC
• 1 Receiving TD
• Heisman Trophy 🏆 pic.twitter.com/IgVnpVO2hD— College Football Report (@CFBRep) October 31, 2023
He came just one victory short of delivering the program a national title. Behind Ezekiel Elliott's 246 rushing yards and four touchdowns, Ohio State beat the Ducks by 22.
In the mid-2010s, NFL scouts and teams were still somewhat apprehensive about using a high draft pick on a dual-threat quarterback, but he ultimately came off the board with the No. 2 overall pick in 2015, just one spot behind Winston.
6) Tua Tagovailoa - Alabama (2020)
College Stats: 22-2 record, 7,442 passing yards, 87 passing touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 340 rushing yards, nine rushing touchdowns (32 games, 24 starts)
Top Accolades: SEC Offensive Player of the Year, CFP National Champion
Draft Pick: No. 5 (Miami Dolphins)
Somehow, Tua Tagovailoa, the five-star quarterback recruit from Hawaii, ended up with Nick Saban at Alabama. He began his true freshman season as Jalen Hurts' backup, but saw playing time in eight games since the Crimson Tide blew a lot of teams out.
His rise to fame: the legendary second-half performance in the College Football Playoff National Championship after coming in for a struggling Hurts. In just two quarters and two overtime plays against Kirby Smart's Georgia defense, Tagovailoa completed 14 of his 24 passing attempts for 166 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.
His 41-yard game-winning strike to fellow freshman DeVonta Smith on second and 26 will be remembered as one of the greatest throws in college football history. The throw also pushed him up future draft boards immediately.
Two years ago, Tua Tagovailoa became an Alabama legend after this walk-off TD pass to win the national championship 👏 pic.twitter.com/MjOM2qr0Xq
— ESPN (@espn) January 8, 2020
He earned the starting QB job after his 2017 freshman season and was excellent from there on out. The "tank for Tua" campaign began early in his junior season, but he ultimately fell to the fifth overall pick due to size and durability concerns. Joe Burrow's nuclear final collegiate season didn't help his cause.
5) Joe Burrow - LSU (2020)
College Stats (LSU Only): 25-3 record, 8,565 passing yards, 76 passing touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 767 rushing yards, 12 rushing touchdowns (28 starts)
Top Accolades: Heisman Trophy Winner, CFP National Champion
Draft Pick: No. 1 (Cincinnati Bengals)
Before Joe Burrow's 2019 campaign, he was viewed as nothing more than a former Ohio State transfer and an average SEC signal-caller coming off a 16-passing touchdown season. His Heisman year changed the narrative and pushed him to the No. 1 draft slot in 2020.
Burrow led the nation in completion percentage (76.3%), passing yards (5,671), and passing touchdowns (60) as LSU went 15-0 and captured its first CFP National Championship. Justin Jefferson, Ja'Marr Chase, Terrace Marshall Jr., Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Tyrion Davis-Price, and Thaddeus Moss were featured in Burrow's offense. This Tigers squad can make a case for the greatest college football team of all time.
.@Joe_Burrow10 put on a clinic against Oklahoma in the CFP semifinals 🔥
🐯 29/39 Att/Comp
🐯 493 Pass Yards
🐯 8 Total TD
🐯 63-28 W pic.twitter.com/DdfoWmhmEM— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 22, 2020
Rarely has a prospect seen such a jump based on just one year of production, but that's just how special his season was.
4) Jameis Winston - Florida State (2015)
College Stats: 26-1 record, 7,964 passing yards, 65 passing touchdowns, 28 interceptions, 258 rushing yards, seven rushing touchdowns (27 starts)
Top Accolades: Heisman Trophy Winner, BCS National Champion
Draft Pick: No. 1 (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
After redshirting in 2013, it didn't take long for "Famous Jameis" to make an impact on college football. Behind over 4,000 passing yards, 44 total touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, Winston became the youngest Heisman Trophy winner in history (19 years, 342 days). The Noles also went 14-0 and defeated Auburn in the final BCS National Championship.
📽 #ChampionshipMoments 2013
FSU 34 | AUBURN 31Jameis Winston hits Kelvin Benjamin to cap last-minute, game-winning drive pic.twitter.com/zO0h7HTZtx
— Pick Six Previews (@PickSixPreviews) January 8, 2018
FSU won the ACC Championship Game in 2014 after a 12-0 regular season, but were defeated by Marcus Mariota and Oregon in the semifinals. Despite Winston's turnover issues as a sophomore (18 interceptions) and off-the-field trouble, the NFL viewed him as a top-flight prospect with adequate size (6-foot-3, 231 pounds) and elite arm talent.
3) Caleb Williams - USC (2024)
College Stats: 23-10 record, 9,782 passing yards, 93 passing touchdowns, 14 interceptions, 966 rushing yards, 27 rushing touchdowns (37 games, 33 starts)
Top Accolades: Heisman Trophy Winner
Draft Pick: TBD
Caleb Williams does not have the team success that the other guys on this list do, but he has the absurd passing numbers and Patrick Mahomes-like play style that is catching the attention of scouts ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft. NFL teams have gone away from simply looking for the best "pro-style" quarterback. Instead, the race is on to find signal-callers who can make off-script throws and maneuver inside and outside the pocket. Williams fits that mold.
After taking Spencer Rattler's job at Oklahoma in 2021, Williams threw for 19 touchdowns and four interceptions in just seven games. He was put in the national spotlight after the spectacular true freshman season, and he followed head coach Lincoln Riley to USC thereafter. His sophomore season in Los Angeles saw him go 11-3 with 4,537 passing yards, 52 total touchdowns, and five interceptions -- enough to win the Heisman Trophy.
An elite display of arm talent and arm versatility from Caleb Williams.
As good of an out of structure creator as you'll see. pic.twitter.com/bJPr8gZLMn
— Luca Sartirana (@SartiranaLuca) January 3, 2023
The Trojans went 7-5 in Year 2 of the Williams-Riley marriage, but Williams' draft stock did not take a hit. He scored 40-plus touchdowns and had just five interceptions once again while continuing to show off his creative gene and elite arm strength.
It would be a shocker if he is not selected No. 1 overall in just under 60 days.
2) Trevor Lawrence - Clemson (2021)
College Stats: 34-2 record, 10,098 passing yards, 90 passing touchdowns, 17 interceptions, 943 rushing yards, 18 rushing touchdowns (40 games, 36 starts)
Accolades: ACC Player of the Year, CFP National Champion
Draft Pick: No. 1 (Jacksonville Jaguars)
Trevor Lawrence will go down as one of the greatest college quarterbacks to never win the Heisman Trophy, but it didn't stop him from being an elite prospect. He wasn't given the starting role at Clemson right away, but he earned it a third of the way into his freshman campaign.
He went 11-0 with 3,280 passing yards, 30 passing touchdowns, and four interceptions in 2018 and became the first true freshman to win a National Championship. And he did it with a 44-16 victory over a Nick Saban defense that featured Quinnen Williams, Patrick Surtain II, and Xavier McKinney, among other current NFL players.
He lost the 2019 CFP National Championship Game to Joe Burrow's LSU Tigers and a 2020 semifinal game to Justin Fields' Ohio State Buckeyes, but his three CFP Playoff appearances in three seasons as a starter were impressive. Lawrence was compared to 1998 NFL Draft prospect Peyton Manning coming out of Tennessee, who happened to be his favorite player growing up, and the reason he wears No. 16.
Trevor Lawrence to Tee Higgins. A beautiful thing to watch. pic.twitter.com/9YzwhQT5xH
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) August 30, 2019
1) Andrew Luck - Stanford (2012)
College Stats: 31-7 record, 9,430 passing yards, 82 passing touchdowns, 22 interceptions, 957 rushing yards, seven rushing touchdowns (38 starts)
Accolades: Maxwell Award Winner
Draft Pick: No. 1 (Indianapolis Colts)
Well before "tank for Tua" was a thing, the "suck for Luck" movement swept the league ahead of the 2012 NFL Draft. In Luck's final two seasons under Jim Harbaugh and David Shaw, Stanford won at least 11 games.
Before the 2010 and 2011 campaigns, the Cardinal had never won 11 games in a season, and the last 10-win season was in 1992 under Bill Walsh. Luck's 69-18 touchdown-to-interception ratio in his final two years in a pro-style offense cemented his spot as the future of an NFL franchise.
Luck was viewed as a mature leader and plug-and-play franchise quarterback. He was often compared to fellow Stanford legend John Elway for his toughness and competitive fire.
Andrew Luck was the MVP of the 2011 Orange Bowl for @StanfordFball.
He led them to their first 12-win season en route to being the first overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft by the @Colts. Luck led the league in passing TDs in 2014 before retiring in 2019. pic.twitter.com/xrfP0JgV6g
— Capital One Orange Bowl (@OrangeBowl) October 14, 2022
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