Chris Simms has a knack for causing a stir with his annual NFL Draft quarterback rankings, and his 2024 list will be no exception.
Simms announced his top six quarterbacks in a post to X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday. He bucked the consensus by dropping UNC quarterback Drake Maye — who is widely viewed as the second- or third-best quarterback in this year's draft — to No. 6 on the list.
Below is a look at Simms' full list.
1. Caleb Williams, USC
2. Jayden Daniels, LSU
3. Bo Nix, Oregon
4. Michael Penix Jr., Washington
5. J.J. McCarthy, Michigan
6. Drake Maye, UNC
Here’s my Top 6 QBs in this year’s Draft. These rankings are based on film.
— Chris Simms (@CSimmsQB) March 6, 2024
Full pod coming soon pic.twitter.com/RvCdgBhBg4
Maye's ranking is easily the biggest surprise. Williams and Daniels seem to be separating themselves as the top two quarterback prospects in this year's draft, so putting them at No. 1 and No. 2 respectively makes sense. So too does bunching together Nix, Penix and McCarthy, who fall into the second tier of quarterbacks expected to be selected in the 2024 NFL Draft.
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But having Maye, who figures to be a high first-round pick and could ultimately be a top-three selection, at No. 6 will raise some eyebrows.
Simms explained that he liked Maye, saying he "has the look of a franchise quarterback" and praising his "prototypical size" on his podcast, Chris Simms Unbuttoned. The NBC analyst also believes that Maye will need time to develop at the NFL level before he's ready to be a starting quarterback.
"You watch the best games in his career, and yeah, you'll see a few of those (great) throws, but for every one of those throws, there's five of, like, what the hell is that throw?" Simms said. "There's no way evaluators, coaches are going to be able to get behind Drake Maye and go 'Oh yeah, he's ready to go, he should be the No. 2 or No. 3 pick in the draft.' No way! There are too many things about his game that need to be polished, better, improved."
"I think there's potential here," Simms added. "That's where it's tough. There are some things where I go, yes, but I don't think it's anywhere near right around the corner. This would be like, hey, he needs to sit on the bench a little bit and needs to work on some real mechanical issues that he has. Going through reads, I don't think he's in the same class as the guys we talked about, and I mean all of them. I think they all go through it and do it quicker. In the pocket, he's the worst in the pocket. The worst."
Simms' criticism of Maye is fair, and his preference for steadier pocket passers with better accuracy — like Nix, Penix and McCarthy — isn't as egregious as some of his previous quarterback rankings. That's particularly true of the 2021 edition, which had Kellen Mond ranked ahead of Justin Fields and Zach Wilson ahead of Trevor Lawrence.
Maye posted strong numbers during his final collegiate season. He logged 3,608 passing yards, 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions while completing 63.3 percent of his passes and helping the Tar Heels emerge as a competitive ACC team.
While Maye may be raw, he has shown a quality arm and the athleticism needed to be a playmaker at quarterback. The pressure will now be on him to prove the NBC analyst wrong.
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Chris Simms QB rankings by year
Below is a list of each of Chris Simms' NFL Draft quarterback rankings by year, dating back to 2018.
Chris Simms QB rankings 2024 NFL Draft
1. Caleb Williams, USC
2. Jayden Daniels, LSU
3. Bo Nix, Oregon
4. Michael Penix Jr., Washington
5. J.J. McCarthy, Michigan
6. Drake Maye, UNC
Chris Simms QB rankings 2023 NFL Draft
1. C.J. Stroud, Ohio State
2. Bryce Young, Alabama
3. Hendon Hooker, Tennessee
4. Anthony Richardson, Florida
T-5. Dorian Thompson-Robinson, UCLA
T-5. Will Levis, Kentucky
Chris Simms QB rankings 2022 NFL Draft
1. Matt Corral, Ole Miss
2. Kenny Pickett, Pitt
3. Malik Willis, Liberty
4. Sam Howell, UNC
5. Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati
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Chris Simms QB rankings 2021 NFL Draft
1. Zach Wilson, BYU
2. Trevor Lawrence, Clemson
3. Mac Jones, Alabama
4. Kellen Mond, Texas A&M
5. Justin Fields, Ohio State
6. Trey Lance, North Dakota State
Chris Simms QB rankings 2020 NFL Draft
1. Joe Burrow, LSU
2. Justin Herbert, Oregon
3. Jordan Love, Utah State
4. Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama
5. Jacob Eason, Washington
Chris Simms QB rankings 2019 NFL Draft
1. Kyler Murray, Oklahoma
2. Drew Lock, Missouri
3. Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State
4. Ryan Finley, NC State
5. Jarrett Stidham, Auburn
6. Daniel Jones, Duke
7. Clayton Thorson, Northwestern
8. Will Grier, West Virginia
Chris Simms QB rankings 2018 NFL Draft
1. Lamar Jackson, Louisville
2. Josh Allen, Wyoming
3. Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma
4. Sam Darnold, USC
5. Josh Rosen, UCLA