Offensive Position Rankings 1.0

Top 5 QBs

1. Caleb Williams

2. Drake Maye

3. Jayden Daniels

4. J.J. McCarthy

5. Michael Penix Jr.

While this list is not ground shattering, I do want to highlight that Drake Maye is more like 1B to me rather than 2. I think the gap between him and Williams is very small and Daniels is a bit further away from those two. Ultimately, I have first round grades on Williams, Maye and Daniels. I do think McCarthy will be drafted in the first round and he has the most potential to grow of any of these QBs due to his age, athleticism and lack of use at Michigan.

Top 5 RBs

1. Jonathon Brooks

2. Trey Benson

3. Braelon Allen

4. Jaylen Wright

5. Blake Corum

I like Brooks a lot and think he is the clear to RB. The injury hurts his draft stock, but I think ultimately he ends up going off the board at the end of the second round. While I think this running back class is down, especially compared to last year, I do have Day 2 grades on all five of these guys and think that they warrant the pick in the Late-Second/Third round. All of them have a lot to off and I expect to see getting a decent amount of playing time in their rookie year.

Top 5 TEs

1. Brock Bowers

2. Ja'Tavion Sanders

3. Theo Johnson

4. Ben Sinnott

5. Jahiem Bell

Bowers aside, this group is similar to the running backs where they look much worse this year especially compared to last year. I do think that Theo Johnson is too low on many boards and will be on the rise over the coming months. Now, looking at the top of this group, Brock Bowers is incredible. I think Bowers will easily put up LaPorta numbers his rookie campaign, if not more. The difference between 1 to 2 in this group is easily the widest gap of any position.

Top 5 WRs

1. Marvin Harrison Jr.

2. Malik Nabers

3. Rome Odunze

4. Brian Thomas Jr.

5. Ladd McConkey

While running back and tight ends look bad in comparison to the 2023 NFL Draft class, this year's wide receiver group experiences the opposite. I wouldn't have Jaxon Smith-Njigba above any of these guys if he had come out this year. That's not a knock on JSN, that's how good this class is.

Top 5 Ts

1. Joe Alt

2. Olu Fashanu

3. Taliese Fuaga

4. Tyler Guyton

5. JC Latham

Another group this year that is stuffed with studs. Every single one of these guys is worthy of a first round pick, if not a Top 25 selection. I do think there is a chance Fuaga and Latham end up playing guard for a year or two, but I would expect all five of these guys to be quality starting tackles and getting that fifth year option. I can't also not help but mention Amarius Mims and Jordan Morgan as two guys that I think have a legitimate option to go in the first round.

Top 5 Gs

1. Troy Fautanu

2. Graham Barton

3. Christian Haynes

4. Zak Zinter

5. Christian Mahogany

This list becomes a little volatile just due to the fact that I am trying to project positions in the NFL. I think most people see Fautanu and Barton moving into the guard role, but I have even seen comps and breakdowns projecting Barton and Haynes as potential centers. Others where Jordan Morgan finds a permanent home at guard. This is where I will stick for now. I think this class stack up really well with previous classes and we could even see one or two of these guys selected in the first round to play guard. I have seen some push back on Barton being mocked in the first round, but with his versatility and how he has played at Duke, he would be more than worthy of a first round pick in my book (one that I in fact made in my mock draft!).

Top 5 Cs

1. Jackson Powers-Johnson

2. Zach Frazier

3. Tanor Bortolini

4. Sedrick Van Pran

5. ???

This class is similar to the TE group, where JPJ is clearly at the top and then there is a bit of a gap between the two. I think him and Frazier will be legitimate NFL starters, Bortolini and Van Pran might break through, but will ultimately have a back up role for sure and then who knows. I could not in good faith even write down a fifth player because this class is that thin. The top is good, but it drops off aggressively after that.

Newt Westen

With a little less than a week until the combine I wanted to formulate some Top 5 Position rankings.

I have a couple updates to player rankings in my Top 75 that will affect some of these rankings as well as a handful of other positions (RB, TE, G, C, LB and S) that don't see 5 players in the Top 75. On the other hand, there are at least five tackles, cornerbacks and wide receivers in the Top 32 to predict that these classes are very deep and the top of them is stacked.

With the combine on deck and pro days after that, a handful of these positions will see some changes as those athletic traits start to emerge. I can see a guy like Tyler Guyton, T.J. Tampa, or Dallas Turner moving up people's boards after they put on an absolute show next week.

Until then, prost.