2024 NFL Draft Preview: Top prospects

Where do you rate Caleb Williams as far as being a possible "generational" Quarterback talent at the NFL level and should the Bears take him at No.1 if they own that pick?

Brett McMurphy from Action Network: Should the Bears take Caleb Williams first? Yes. Will they? Stay tuned. I mean, that's going to be an interesting decision for the Bears since GM Ryan Poles didn't draft Justin Fields, there are some thinking that there may not be that strong of an allegiance to Fields, especially if Caleb Williams does well in his pro day, in combine events, leading up to the draft. NFL scouts I've talked to consider Williams very similar to Mahomes. He's Mahomes-like and they are most intrigued by his ability to make big plays out of nothing when everything is chaos around him. So will the Bears pull the trigger on Williams? Some folks think they will. Some folks think they'll be fine with Justin Fields, but certainly there will be a lot of debate either way. Ultimately, I think they do…I do think they make the decision and they draft Williams number one.

You think Williams is worthy of being that generational tag?

BM: Absolutely. I mean, you look at what he's done. I mean, you know, the Heisman winner last year, still monster numbers this year, but everybody forgot about him because USC lost so many games. It wasn't because of him. It's because their defense, you know, was swiss cheese. And I want to apologize to swiss cheese for that comparison. But yeah, Williams has it all. Big arm, the mobility that quarterbacks need in the NFL now, you know, nice size. And absolutely he's proven what he can do not only at Oklahoma but also at USC and yeah I think he's absolutely worthy of the number one pick. 

Is Drake Maye going to be to take his athleticism and arm strength to the NFL level and make an impact?

BM: Yeah I mean look if Caleb Williams wasn't in this draft we'd be talking about Drake Maye as the number one overall pick, potentially. I mean he probably will be the second player selected in the draft after Caleb Williams. And look, some NFL scouts, they are enamored with his talents. And I've heard comparisons of Drake Maye to Justin Herbert…not a bad quarterback to be compared to. Maye and Williams are clearly the elite quarterbacks in this 2024 draft class. But then after those two I think there's a big drop off. So certainly, I expect those guys to go either one or two or possibly in the top three, depending on what happens with Marvin Harrison.

Many are saying it's an elite QB class - how many QB's do you think at this stage would we likely see go in the first round?

BM: Right. Well, last year, three of the first four picks were quarterbacks. We're not going to see that this year. I think quarterbacks will go two of the top three picks or the top two picks will be quarterbacks in Caleb Williams and Drake Maye, but we could see four quarterbacks in the first ten picks. After those two, I think LSU's Jayden Daniels, the Heisman winner, and Washington's Michael Penix could get drafted among the top ten picks. You'd have four quarterbacks in the top ten. After that, it's a pretty significant drop off. Michigan's J.J. McCarthy and Oregon's Bo Nix could be targeted later in the first round, or they may even slide to the second round, depending on team’s needs. One of the NFL's scouts said this is not a good year if you need a quarterback and you're not picking until late first round. So I think after those top four, I think those other guys will slide late first round or maybe even to the second round. But certainly those top four will be top ten picks and should be in the NFL for several years.

Is Marvin Harrison Jnr the best Wide Receiver NFL prospect this century?

BM: In one word, yes. Only three wide receivers have been selected first overall in the NFL draft, USC's Keyshawn Johnson was the last one in 1996. He didn't do too bad. Three-time Pro Bowler, 11-year career. I think Harrison is in that that caliber. I would go back to maybe Randy Moss, somebody that you could compare his talents to. And then I looked it up. Randy Moss was, I think, the 21st pick in the first round, what were the first 20 teams thinking. But anyway, about Marvin Harrison…Nation's only wide receiver to average over 18 yards a catch this year with at least five catches a game. He is a big time, big play wide receiver and just think what he will be able to do with an elite quarterback. No offense to Kyle McCord. Some NFL scouts think the Bears, because of Harrison's talent, the Bears might decide that they're good with Justin Fields and select Marvin Harrison first overall. So, I think that's something to keep your eye on when the draft gets closer is, will the Bears want to go Caleb Williams and replace Fields or do they think that Harrison is a once in a lifetime pick and you can't pass up on him and you pair him with Justin Fields.

Which under the radar NFL prospect become an elite player at the next level? 

BM: Yeah, you know, unless you're a hardcore ACC fan or a resident of Louisville, Kentucky, you may not have heard of Louisville wide receiver Jamari Thrash. He started his career at Georgia State, played there for four years before transferring to Louisville this year. He is a legit big play threat and has over 50 explosive plays of 20 plus yards the past three seasons. Good size 6’1, 185. He can be a big play target at the next level. Look he's not going to go early first round. He may not go until the second or third round, but I think this is a guy that will stick somewhere. Great work ethic and he will surprise a lot of people.