New 2024 Draft Ratings: 1. Harrison Jr., 2. Maye, 3. Williams

When an NFL Draft prospect begins the season at the top of the ratings, there is only one direction he can move.

And so it is with defending Heisman Trophy-winning USC quarterback Caleb Williams, who spent the 2023 season with a slim edge over North Carolina Quarterback Drake Maye and Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.

Until now.

Not necessarily due to negatives in his own play, Williams has moved, which means down of course, on the 2024 NFL Draft Scout ratings. This shows Harrison, Maye and Williams 1-2-3.

They remain close, but Harrison could be the best wide receiver prospect in years and is reminiscent of Julio Jones when he came out of Alabama in 2011 and he was drafted No. 6 by Atlanta.

Of the top three prospects, Harrison easily is the most spectacular this season. In eight games through October 28, the 6-31/4, 205-pound junior caught 48 passes for 889 yards and eight touchdowns, despite being the focus of each defense he faces. And, not coincidentally, the Buckeyes are 8-0 and rated No. 1 by the College Football Playoff committee.

Meantime, both Williams and Maye have struggled mightily.

Williams’ defenseless Trojans lost two in a row, then outlasted unranked Cal by 50-49. Ironically, he is working harder – sometimes too much so – than he did while winning the Heisman last season.

Despite Herculean efforts by Maye, North Carolina lost its last two games, to Virginia, 31-27 (Maye was 24 of 48p for 347 yards, 2 TDs), then Georgia Tech, 46-42 (Maye hit 17 of 25 for 310 yards, 2 TDs).

Despite the losses, we liked Maye’s play better than that of Williams, who tries to do too much to overcome his own defense and compensate for the lack of a ground game. Admirable, but this shows how he might play if saddled by a bad NFL team with a high draft pick.

Looking at this group as a long-time selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Harrison does jump out as somebody who may someday be a Gold Jacket candidate. His father was inducted in 2016 after setting a single season record of 143 catches.

But, really, we are picking nits here. Those are three great players.

And just because we put Harrison at No. 1, the chances of him being drafted there are slim. Since 1936, only three wide receivers were drafted with the No. 1 overall pick.

Can you name them? We’ll get back to that later.

This mid-season overhaul also included some players we were unsure would declare for the 2024 lottery, including two of the top five rated quarterbacks, Michigan’s J. J. McCarthy at No. 15 and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders at No. 26.

Sanders’ father, Colorado head coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, and, Caleb Williams’ father, Carl, voiced concerns about their quarterback sons taking part in the next NFL draft.

The 2024 draft class is heavily impacted by what some call extra Covid years, which resulted in more seasons of eligibility and, coupled with liberalized transfer rules, was especially advantageous for quarterbacks. They not only were able to move to teams that improved their exposure, but for additional seasons.

There are as many as 22 quarterbacks who have draft-worthy ratings. Fourteen are redshirt seniors, topped by Oregon’s Bo Nix, the Auburn transfer, rated No. 36 by NFL Draft Scout, and higher by others. Thirteen of the 22 transferred at least once

There could be as many as six first round quarterbacks. After Maye and Williams there is No. 14 Quinn Ewers (Texas), No. 15 J. J. McCarthy (Michigan), No. 26 Shedeur Sanders (Colorado) and, as mentioned, Nix is rated higher than our No. 36 by some.

The top 10, after Harrison, Maye and Williams are

--Tight end Brock Bowers (No. 4, Georgia) whose greatness overcomes ankle surgery that probably sidelines him for the season;

 --Offensive tackle Joe Alt (No. 5, Notre Dame), although he has troubles for defenders almost his size (6-8, 322, so that shouldn’t be a problem often)

--Offensive tackle Olumuyiwa Fashanu (No. 6, Penn State)

--Defensive end Jaren Verse (No. 7, Florida State), a potential first-rounder in 2023 who had only 4.5 sacks in eight games, yet pro potential is conspicuous.

--Wide receiver Keon Coleman (No. 8, Florida State) who has a combination of rare size (6-31/2, 215) and gymnastic athleticism.

--Outside linebacker Dallas Turner (No. 9, Alabama), a productive pass rusher (7.0 sacks in 8 games).

--Kool-Aid McKinstry (No. 10 Alabama) who teams with Turner (see No. 9) to make life miserable for opposing passing games.

Now let’s go back to the top and visit Harrison Jr. Were you able to name the only three wide receivers drafted No. 1 overall by the NFL since 1936?

The most recent was in 1996 when the Jets took WR Keyshawn “Throw me the damn ball” Johnson out of USC. Before him, in 1984, the New England Patriots began the draft taking Irving Fryar out of Nebraska.

The only other receiver drafted No. 1 overall was Dave Parks out of Texas Tech, by the San Francisco 49ers in 1964.

So, despite our lofty rating for Harrison Jr., don’t be shocked if a quarterback is taken No. 1, as was the case in 17 of the last 23 drafts.