Washington Commanders running the ultimate quarterback experiment days before 2024 NFL Draft
It's no secret. The Washington Commanders are obviously drafting their future franchise quarterback next week. The Commanders have been meeting with as many quarterbacks in any and every capacity for months now. But now they're culminating all their efforts with one final ultimate quarterback experiment as they bring in four prospects at once.According to Albert […]
It's no secret. The Washington Commanders are obviously drafting their future franchise quarterback next week. The Commanders have been meeting with as many quarterbacks in any and every capacity for months now. But now they're culminating all their efforts with one final ultimate quarterback experiment as they bring in four prospects at once.
According to Albert Breer, the Commanders will be bringing in Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, J.J. McCarthy, and Michael Penix Jr. (four of the top six QB prospects in this class) all together for one final visit. The team will be able to get an up close look at all four as they decide who should be the face of their franchise in a matter of days.
Apparently the quarterbacks aren't the only prospects coming in as a part of this mega-visit group either. Around 20 prospects are set to visit the team all at once. This gives the Commanders a great opportunity to hide who they're actually interested in most while also comparing top players side by side in person. A truly rare event, but perhaps a great idea that more NFL teams will implement in the future with their 30 pre-draft on-site visits.
The betting markets have gone back and forth between Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, and even J.J. McCarthy (for a brief moment) for the quarterback who is most likely to take the helm for the Commanders. And it's nice and polite that the team is having Michael Penix Jr. in person, but there is frankly a zero percent chance he will be a Washington Commander.
Jayden Daniels brings the most mobility of the bunch given his electric Heisman campaign last fall. Drake Maye brings perhaps the most passing upside with some incredible gunslinger quarterback moments at North Carolina. And J.J. McCarthy certainly feels like the safest floor quarterback prospect given his steady efficiency numbers at Michigan in his final season.
When I talked with Dan Quinn at the NFL Combine he wouldn't truly tip his hand as to the team's favorite, but certainly made it clear they valued experience and consistent ability to avoid pressure and negative plays. The upside and mobility of Maye and Daniels are obviously tantalizing, but the more successful quarterback at avoiding the negative plays and sacks during his college career was actually J.J. McCarthy.
Which quarterback will the Commanders select? We'll find out soon. It will be interesting to see if this final large group visit experiment actually ends up being the deciding factor.
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