Re-drafting top 10 of the 2024 NFL Draft: Caleb Williams holds onto top spot, Drake Maye moves up

Drake Maye jumps over Jayden Daniels to No. 2 after a Super Bowl run, while Caleb Williams holds onto the top spot and Malik Nabers crashes the top five

Oct 22, 2026 at 2:01 pm ET • 7 min read

The 2024 NFL Draft was a fun one. Six quarterbacks were selected in the top 12 for the first time ever, while the first 14 picks all came on offense. For NFL executives, if you hit on your first-round quarterback, you set up your city and organization for future success. If you whiff, you'll be out of a job soon enough.

In an exciting quarterback class, there was a clear-cut top three. Caleb Williams out of USC was a Heisman Trophy winner with ridiculous arm talent that was viewed as the favorite to go No. 1 overall. Behind him was Jayden Daniels, another Heisman Trophy winner who established himself as an electric playmaker during his final season at LSU. The other quarterback in the running to go No. 1 overall was Drake Maye out of North Carolina. However, the former ACC Player of the Year wasn't able to build on his 2022 success, as his Tar Heels finished 8-5 in 2023. 

This Thursday, two stars from the 2024 NFL Draft in Williams and Maye will face off in what is one of the most highly anticipated "Thursday Night Football" games in recent memory. Let's go back in our time machine to that draft two years ago, and re-draft the top 10. Is Williams still the No. 1 overall pick? Was Maye at No. 3 overall a steal? Let's take a look.

1. Chicago Bears: QB Caleb Williams, USC

• Actual pick: QB Caleb Williams, USC

The Chicago Bears shouldn't regret their pick at No. 1 overall. Maybe fans doubted it for a few moments. Jayden Daniels led the Washington Commanders to the NFC Championship game as a rookie, while Drake Maye made it to the Super Bowl in Year 2. Williams has not reached those heights just yet, but I think he can.  

In 2025, Williams led the Bears to an 11-6 record, a division title and a playoff victory over the rival Green Bay Packers. He threw for a franchise-record 3,942 yards and made enough highlight-reel plays that landed him on the cover of "Madden." Williams was one of the biggest stories in the NFL last season, even though his 58.1% completion percentage ranked No. 32. He's improved on his accuracy this season. His 6% off-target rate ranks best in the NFL right now, and during the Week 6 win over the Atlanta Falcons, Williams completed a career-high 83.3% of his passes.

2. Washington Commanders: QB Drake Maye, UNC

• Actual pick: QB Jayden Daniels, LSU

Maye had a second-year jump for the ages, as he completed 72% of his passes for 4,394 yards, 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He was the NFL MVP runner-up behind Matthew Stafford, and became the second-youngest quarterback to ever start in a Super Bowl. Maye was the first quarterback since Tom Brady in 2007 to lead the league in completion percentage and yards per attempt, and really improved when it came to going downfield. His 58% completion percentage on throws of 15+ air yards ranked No. 1 in the NFL. As a rookie, he ranked last in that category (29%). 

Currently, Maye's New England Patriots are on a three-game winning streak, during which the quarterback has thrown 10 touchdowns and 1 interception. Maye is still leading the league in completion percentage (56%) and passing touchdowns (16) on throws of 15+ air yards over the last two seasons. This is a good leader, a dual-threat athlete who can make you pay with his legs and can make all the throws you want your quarterback to make. The Commanders choose Maye over Daniels this time around. 

3. New England Patriots: QB Jayden Daniels, LSU

• Actual pick: QB Drake Maye, North Carolina

Daniels was one of the best rookies in NFL history, taking a lowly franchise from 4-13 to 12-5 and an NFC Championship appearance. He joined Lamar Jackson in becoming the second quarterback to ever record 4,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a season, including playoffs, and scored the most total touchdowns (37) and total yards (5,416) by a rookie, ever. Daniels elevated everyone on the Commanders in 2024, as Washington's offense had three games that season where they recorded zero punts and zero turnovers. 

The past year and a half hasn't been as exciting, unfortunately. Daniels missed 10 games due to multiple injuries in 2025, including a dislocated elbow, and is 0-3-1 in his four starts this season. His elbow also popped out again in the second game of the season. Daniels is still an electric playmaker when healthy, but it's hard to fathom that he hasn't won an NFL game in over a year.

4. Arizona Cardinals: WR Malik Nabers, LSU

• Actual pick: WR Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State

The Arizona Cardinals go wide receiver again at No. 4, but take a different player this time around. Marvin Harrison Jr. was a flop and has already been traded away to the Houston Texans. 

Malik Nabers caught 109 passes for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie, and recorded the second-most receptions (127) in his first 19 games behind Odell Beckham Jr.'s 133. Despite the quarterback issues in New York, Nabers has recorded at least 112 yards receiving in each of the last three games this season, including 165 yards against the New Orleans Saints last Sunday. 

5. Los Angeles Chargers: TE Brock Bowers, Georgia

• Actual pick: OT Joe Alt, Notre Dame

Maybe if we give Justin Herbert one of the best tight ends in the NFL, the Los Angeles Chargers aren't 0-6 this season. Bowers set a tight end rookie record with 112 receptions to go along with 1,194 yards and five touchdowns. He missed five games due to injury in 2025, but still caught a career-high seven touchdowns. 

Bowers is on a heater to begin the 2026 season, having caught 28 passes for 382 yards and three scores in his first four games played. He's just the fifth tight end all-time to put up those kinds of numbers in the first four games of a season. The last time it happened was with Rob Gronkowski in 2015. 

6. New York Giants: CB Quinyon Mitchell, Toledo

• Actual pick: WR Malik Nabers, LSU

The New York Giants could use a lockdown cornerback, and find just that in Quinyon Mitchell at No. 6 overall. "Quinyonamo Bay" was a First Team All-Pro in 2025, as he led all defensive backs with a 39.6% completion percentage allowed (min. 100 coverage snaps) with zero touchdowns allowed in coverage. He actually just recorded his first regular-season interception a couple of weeks ago in London, but has four interceptions in the playoffs! 

7. Tennessee Titans: OT Joe Alt, Notre Dame

• Actual pick: OT JC Latham, Alabama

JC Latham is finally morphing into a star tackle for the Tennessee Titans, but it took a couple of years. If the Chargers didn't take Joe Alt at No. 5 overall in 2024, I think the Titans would have selected him at No. 7. 

Alt was a stud as a rookie in 2024, but injuries have started to take their toll. He missed 11 games in 2025 due to an ankle injury, and has been sidelined with a neck injury recently. With Alt in the lineup last year, the Chargers were 5-1 while averaging 25.3 points per game. They went 6-6 without him while averaging just 18.3 points per game. 

8. Atlanta Falcons: RT JC Latham, Alabama

• Actual pick: QB Michael Penix Jr., Washington

We mentioned above that Latham is finally living up to that top 10 draft billing. His 95.0% pass-block win rate ranks fifth among all offensive tackles this season over at PFF, and his 95.9% pass-block win rate on an island ranks third. Latham is a massive human being at 6-foot-6, 342 pounds, and would be an upgrade over Jawaan Taylor. We could take a pass rusher or defensive lineman here for the Falcons, but Gervon Dexter Sr. has been a great addition on the interior, and the Falcons just used two first-round picks on pass rushers with James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker. Pearce is eligible to return from suspension in two weeks. 

9. Chicago Bears: EDGE Jared Verse

• Actual pick: WR Rome Odunze, Washington

In his two seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, Jared Verse recorded 12.0 sacks, 45 QB hits, 22 tackles for loss and made two Pro Bowls. The former Defensive Rookie of the Year is a well-rounded EDGE, having ranked sixth-highest in pressure rate through his first two seasons and second-best in run-stop win rate among pass rushers. Verse falls a bit in this re-draft because he hasn't been an adequate Myles Garrett replacement with the Cleveland Browns up to this point, and is still searching for that first sack. 

10. Minnesota Vikings: DT Byron Murphy II

• Actual pick: QB J.J. McCarthy, Michigan

Let's give the Minnesota Vikings another Byron Murphy. Byron Murphy II and Leonard Williams were a dynamic duo on the interior for the Seattle Seahawks during their Super Bowl run, as they combined for the most pressures (108) QB hits (35) and sacks (14.0) among 300-pound duos in 2025. The Texas product recorded seven sacks in 2025, and has three sacks through six games this season. The Seahawks have struggled out of the gate overall, but not Murphy.