The combine has came and gone and it did not disappoint. With all of the athleticism this class has, I’m not surprised to see the fastest 40 yard dash time (4.21) claimed by wideout Xavier Worthy out of Texas. That does bring up the conversation of who is the strongest position in this particular class. In reality, there is a case for three positions: Quarterback, wide receiver and offensive tackle. So let’s take a look at where they matchup and who takes the cake.
Quarterback
Long story short, this quarterback class is loaded. In most drafts, a prospect like Jayden Daniels is a lock to be a top 3 picks but there is a true chance with all the talent on the board he could fall to maybe 8-10th overall. On the other hand, the first few picks are looking like they will be quarterbacks as well.
Caleb Williams is nearly a lock to go number 1 overall, the discussion is surrounded around where he will go with the Bears currently owning the first overall pick. Drake Maye would be the first quarterback taken off the board in 90% of other classes, he’s just that talented. A couple of other guys like Micheal Penix Jr. and Bo Nix from Washington and Oregon have chance to go in the 1st round if not very early second.
Wide Receiver
Well, this was a popular position during the combine with guys like Xavier Worthy lighting it up in the 40 yard dash. To look at it frankly this is the best wide receiver class in years and maybe in a decade or so. Marvin Harrison Jr is a blue chip and a lock to go top 5 overall and Malik Nabers shouldn’t fall to far behind him.
This class is not only top heavy with MHJ, Nabers and Rome Odunze but has some really good depth with Brian Thomas Jr (LSU) and Keon Coleman being available late first round maybe even second round. Xavier Worthy’s draft stock is also rapidly rising with his impressive 40 yard dash time, he wouldn’t be a surprise for his name to be called on day 1.
Offensive Tackle
Joe Alt is the big name for this class, the left tackle out of Notre Dame has a very good shot to go top 7 in this year’s draft. Also at the top Olu Fashanu (Penn St.) is very likely to go early. My personal favorite prospect is Taliese Fuaga (Oregon State). Tackle is a very big need for NFL teams needing to protect their Quarterbacks, so I could see a world in where some trades are made maybe by the Cardinals to protect their guy.
The 2024 class is one of the more exciting classes in recent years considering how strong this particular class is. The only true class that is bad is the running back. Everything else has top to bottom quality starters, and we could potentially look back at the 2024 class and think of it as the turning point.
Out of all three classes listed I would give the slight edge to the Wide Receivers, much more depth than both other positions and maybe even more talent at the top.
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