The 2024 NFL Draft is fast approaching and the first round is shaping up to be an exciting one. While the Chicago Bears and widely expected to draft Caleb Williams with the first overall pick, there’s questions about who the Washington Commanders and the New England Patriots will select.
Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye are two quarterbacks who could go at No. 2 and No. 3, but J.J. McCarthy has also risen up the ranks since having a strong pro day. The first round could be full of surprises, and one NFL insider believes there will be “fireworks” come April 25.
Appearing on the latest episode of MassLive’s “Eye On Foxborough” podcast, The Athletic’s Jeff Howe revealed why he can’t wait for Round 1 to begin.
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“I think the quarterback thing is just so unknown. What’s gonna be wild, if something really unexpected happens, and I say really unexpected because until the last few days I didn’t think McCarthy was even a possibility at two. And what if he is? What if McCarthy goes two? And then all of a sudden, you’ve got the Patriots thinking they’re just gonna take the best available of Maye and Daniels,” Howe said. “And now they have their choice of the two. And what what type of options or opportunities could that open up? You can’t rule out the possibility that they could trade. I don’t know. Some weird stuff could happen.
“But even with Bo Nix and Michael Penix? It’s not out of the realm realm of possibility that there are five quarterbacks gone and the first 12 to 13 picks,” he continued. “And Michael Penix went from being a third-round pick to maybe being a fringe first or second rounder, to a bad national championship game and kind of falling back to the fringe second and third round. I talked to a team (Monday) that said, ‘I can’t I can’t rule out the fact that Penix could be a first-round pick again, or a top half of the first round-pick just because there’s enough to like there.’
“It’s gonna be absolutely wild.”
Patriots coach Jerod Mayo has said that while quarterback is indeed a “priority” for the team, they’re keeping all of their options on the table. There are a lot of roster holes to be filled, so it will certainly be interesting to see what they — and others in the first round — ultimately decide to do.
