Bo Nix of Oregon (10) Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports

Insider confident six QBs will be drafted 'in the first half of the first round'

By Aaron Becker | Last updated 4/23/24

The 2024 NFL Draft is rich with quarterback talent, which is why many experts believe at least three or four will be taken in the first half of the first round.

However, NFL Network insider Peter Schrager expects all six top quarterbacks to be selected early and often on Thursday night.

"I've been on the phones nonstop for the last 48 hours. ... I've got some interesting updates," Schrager said on "The Pat McAfee Show." "The quarterbacks are going to be very, very, very much in play, and I'm not just talking the top four. I think the top six, including Penix and Nix, all in the first half of Thursday night's first round."

"I've been on the phones non stop for the last 48 hours and I've got some interesting updates..

There will be trades up and there will be trades down..

I think the top six QBs including Penix and Nix could all go in the first half of the first round"@PSchrags #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/Othf19KCHX
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 23, 2024

The top three quarterbacks — USC's Caleb Williams, LSU's Jayden Daniels and UNC's Drake Maye — are all expected to go in the top three selections.

However, it has been long debated where Michigan's J.J. McCarthy, Washington's Michael Penix Jr., and Oregon's Bo Nix will go.

Schrager doesn't think they'll also have to wait too long to hear their names called.

"J.J. McCarthy is gonna be the fourth quarterback taken," Schrager added. "Does Denver move up to take J.J. McCarthy? Do they sit at 12 and take Nix or Penix?"

The Broncos aren't the only quarterback-needy team that could be looking to trade up. Schrager also named the Vikings and Giants as two teams trying to move up.

Both have the ammunition to do so. Minnesota owns two first-round picks (Nos. 11 and 23) while New York would allow a team to have the shortest fall to pick No. 6.

The Raiders also remain a wild-card team at pick No. 13 but have a clear need at quarterback, with Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell currently highlighting the room.

Schrager believes several teams will be trading up to land one of the top quarterbacks in this year's draft. That certainly leaves the rest of the league wondering which prospects could potentially fall to them in the second of the first round.

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