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The first three picks of the 2024 NFL draft are trending toward being quarterbacks, and we could see four off the board in the top 10 for the first time since 2018. Top-ranked passer Caleb Williams (USC) is in the conversation with Trevor Lawrence (2021) and Andrew Luck (2012) when it comes to my highest-graded quarterback prospects of the past 20 years. Outside of the QB class, it could be a historic Round 1 for a loaded wide receiver class, and the offensive tackle class is one of the best I've scouted since 2014. So which positions are the deepest and which are the thinnest this year? I ranked every position of the 2024 class based on the top-to-bottom depth and overall quality, using the Scouts Inc. rankings as a guide. Sure, teams can find signal-callers early on Day 1, but is there quality to be found in Rounds 2 and 3 at the position? That's how I based my stacking of all 12 positions, from best to worst. One takeaway from this exercise: NFL teams might have to work harder to find players on Day 3, as only 58 underclassmen declared for this draft, the fewest since 2011. With each position below, I've included where in the draft teams should try to target each position to get the most value out of their picks. Let's start with the No. 1 position in this class: Jump to a position:
QB | WR | RB | TE
C | G | OT | LB
DT | EDGE | S | CB 
1. Wide receiverPlayers with first-round grades: 5
Players in the Scouts Inc. top 100: 19 How the position stacks up: There are 19 receivers in the top 100, the most of any position. Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr., LSU's Malik Nabers and Washington's Rome Odunze are blue-chip players who are projected to be picked in the top six, according to Mel Kiper Jr.'s latest mock draft. South Carolina's Xavier Legette, Georgia's Ladd McConkey and Texas' Xavier Worthy have early second-round grades but could end up going in Round 1. That means the record of seven receivers getting picked in the first round in 2004 is in jeopardy. The ideal time to draft one for the best value: UCF's Javon Baker, USC's Brenden Rice and Washington's Jalen McMillan project as late-Round 2 or early-Round 3 picks. They could be potential steals there. All three have the potential to develop into No. 2 receivers early in their NFL careers. Oregon State's Anthony Gould, Arizona's Jacob Cowling and USC's Tahj Washington are undersized slot receivers with Day 3 grades who could contribute early in multiple receiver sets.
2. Offensive tacklePlayers with first-round grades: 6
Players in the Scouts Inc. top 100: 14 How the position stacks up: As I mentioned above, this is the best offensive tackle class since 2014, when five were drafted in the first round and 12 went in the top 100. Notre Dame's Joe Alt's experience and testing makes him the easiest evaluation; he's the top tackle. Washington's Troy Fautanu quieted questions about whether or not he would have to kick inside when his arms measured 34½ inches at the NFL combine. They are Nos. 5 and 9 overall in the Scouts Inc. rankings. The other talented tackles likely to go in Round 1 are Alabama's JC Latham, Penn State's Olu Fashanu, Georgia's Amarius Mims and Oklahoma's Tyler Guyton. Latham, Mims and Guyton played mostly as right tackles in college, while Fashanu had an underwhelming 2023 on the left side. Oregon State's Taliese Fuaga might be viewed as a guard prospect, but he is the No. 5 tackle on my board. If he does kick inside, he has a chance to be an All Pro; he projects as a first-round pick regardless of where he plays. The ideal time to draft one for the best value: Arizona's Jordan Morgan, BYU's Kingsley Suamataia and Houston's Patrick Paul all have second-round grades, but teams that need a tackle should be targeting one in Round 1. The talent and positional value are too great to risk waiting.
3. QuarterbackPlayers with first-round grades: 4
Players in the Scouts Inc. top 100: 6 How the position stacks up: Four quarterbacks have first-round grades, and there's a chance that five go in Round 1. The last time five quarterbacks were drafted in the first round was 2021, and that class has underperformed severely. Only time will tell, but the 2024 class compares better to the 2020 class that had Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert and Jordan Love go in Round 1 and Jalen Hurts go in Round 2. Williams, LSU's Jayden Daniels, North Carolina's Drake Maye and Michigan's J.J. McCarthy are in my top 12 overall, and all four are projected to be off the board by pick No. 11 in Kiper's latest mock. The ideal time to draft one for the best value: Teams looking to develop a backup with an eye toward the future should take Washington's Michael Penix Jr. in Round 2 or consider taking South Carolina's Spencer Rattler in Round 3. For the Brock Purdy fans looking for a late-round sleeper, South Alabama's Carter Bradley has a chance to surprise some people. The Toledo transfer threw 47 touchdown passes in his final two college seasons.
4. CornerbackPlayers with first-round grades: 4
Players in the Scouts Inc. top 100: 12 How the position stacks up: Toledo's Quinyon Mitchell has done just about everything a prospect can do to be the first cornerback off the board, so the fact that Alabama's Terrion Arnold is still in the mix speaks to his talent. They rank 10th and 13th overall in the Scouts Inc. top 100 prospects. Clemson's Nate Wiggins and Iowa's Cooper DeJean are the other two corners with first-round grades, but Missouri's Ennis Rakestraw Jr. ranks 30th on the board, so he's in the late-Round 1 conversation. The ideal time to draft one for the best value: Iowa State's T.J. Tampa and Rutgers' Max Melton have second-round grades and you should be excited if your favorite team lands either one of them on Day 2. Melton had an outstanding combine workout highlighted by a 4.39-second time in the 40-yard dash. The testing matches up with what he shows on tape, which is the ability to run, close and recover. He has longer arms and picked off eight passes over the past three seasons.
5. EdgePlayers with first-round grades: 4
Players in the Scouts Inc. top 100: 12 How the position stacks up: We blended the defensive ends and outside linebackers to form an edge or pass-rusher group for the purpose of this exercise. There are four first-round grades and 12 in the top 100, just like at corner. Missouri's Darius Robinson weighed in at 285 pounds and didn't run well for an edge at the combine, so some teams might view him as a better fit on the inside where he lined up earlier in his career. That could hurt him, and I dropped his grade to early Round 2. But his 2023 tape -- when he primarily played outside and had 8.5 sacks -- is too good not to consider taking him late in the first. He's No. 27 overall on my board. The ideal time to draft one for the best value: If your team has more pressing needs but still needs to add a talented pass-rusher, there's some good value on Day 2. Western Michigan's Marshawn Kneeland, Penn State's Adisa Isaac and Colorado State's Mohamed Kamara are three names to remember. Houston Christian's Jalyx Hunt, Mississippi's Cedric Johnson and UConn's Eric Watts are intriguing developmental prospects who should be available in in the middle rounds.
6. Defensive tacklePlayers with first-round grades: 2
Players in the Scouts Inc. top 100: 10 How the position stacks up: Not much separates Illinois' Jer'Zhan "Johnny" Newton and Texas' Byron Murphy II, who are the only two defensive tackles with first-round grades. There are a number of college defensive tackle tandems with draftable grades. Texas and LSU have two defensive tackles in my top 100 while Illinois, Florida State and Clemson have two defensive tackles who should be drafted. Justin Eboigbe is a Day 3 sleeper worth mentioning. He was overshadowed at Alabama and had underwhelming workouts, but he had seven sacks last season and there's a lot to like about his tape. The ideal time to draft one for the best value: Florida State's Braden Fiske, Texas T'Vondre Sweat, Michigan's Kris Jenkins, Ohio State's Michael Hall Jr. and Oregon's Brandon Dorlus are excellent values in Round 2. Teams don't always value DTs as much as edge rushers, which means getting one of these players in Round 3 would be a steal.
7. Tight endPlayers with first-round grades: 1
Players in the Scouts Inc. top 100: 4 How the position stacks up: Georgia's Brock Bowers is the No. 11 overall player on the board, and he saves the tight end class from a lower ranking here. There's a lot of speculation regarding where he will be drafted because of the positional value, but he has the talent and tape to join Kyle Pitts, T.J. Hockenson and Eric Ebron as the only TEs taken in the top 10 since 2014. The only other tight ends in the top 100 are Penn State's Theo Johnson, Ohio State's Cade Stover and Texas' Jatavion Sanders. The ideal time to draft one for the best value: Teams might be best served waiting until Day 3 for a tight end. Arizona's Tanner McLachlan, Michigan's AJ Barner and Illinois' Tip Reiman are potential Day 3 picks who could develop into a team's No. 2 tight end early in their careers. Teams could also consider taking 6-foot-6 Florida State receiver Johnny Wilson in the middle rounds and moving him to tight end with the hope of turning him into a version of Darren Waller, who also played receiver in college.
8. SafetyPlayers with first-round grades: 0
Players in the Scouts Inc. top 100: 8 How the position stacks up: It will be a reach if a team selects a safety in the first round. Georgia's Javon Bullard (No. 49 overall) is the top safety on my board. There are eight safeties in the top 100, though, so there is some depth. Bullard and his college teammate Tykee Smith don't have great size -- both are under 5-foot-11 -- but they close quickly and play the ball well. They could push for early playing time as nickel safeties and develop into starters while contributing on special teams. Minnesota's Tyler Nubin (6-foot-2) didn't run at the combine, but he's the second-best safety based on tape and production. The ideal time to draft one for the best value: Smith, USC's Calen Bullock, Maryland's Beau Brade and Miami's Kamren Kinchens all have third-round grades, making late on Day 2 a good spot to target a safety. Oregon's Evan Williams is one of my favorite Day 3 prospects. He's versatile, flies around the field and plays faster than he ran at the combine (4.6-second 40-yard dash).
9. LinebackerPlayers with first-round grades: 0
Players in the Scouts Inc. top 100: 5 How the position stacks up: NC State's Payton Wilson and Texas A&M's Edgerrin Cooper put on a show at the combine and are the best chance at breaking into the first round. The next tier includes North Carolina's Cedric Gray, Michigan's Junior Colson and Kentucky's Trevin Wallace. They all have a shot at going in Round 2. Clemson's Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Penn State's Curtis Jacobs are Nos. 101 and No. 103 overall on my list, so they are in the running for the final top 100. The ideal time to draft one for the best value: Trotter, Jacobs, Washington's Edefuan Ulofoshio, Ohio State's Tommy Eichenberg and Texas' Jaylan Ford are some of the prospects who could be on the board early on Day 3. Teams might not see that big of a gap between them and the next tier.
10. CenterPlayers with first-round grades: 0
Players in the Scouts Inc. top 100: 3 How the position stacks up: Duke's Graham Barton has an early second-round grade, and he could go late in Round 1 to a team looking for an interior lineman. Oregon's Jackson Powers-Johnson and West Virginia's Zach Frazier, the other two in the top 100, are good second-round values. Georgia's Sedrick Van Pran, Penn State's Hunter Nourzad and Wisconsin's Tanor Bortolini are midround picks who are still in the mix to make the top 100. LSU's Charles Turner III is another option a little farther down the board. The ideal time to draft one for the best value: If a team needs a starter, it should target one of the top three in the second round. Barton is the No. 32 player on my board, but he's not that far ahead of Powers-Johnson and Frazier, which means a team would really have to fall in love with him to take him in Round 1.
11. Running backPlayers with first-round grades: 0
Players in the Scouts Inc. top 100: 4 How the position stacks up: After two running backs were drafted in Round 1 a year ago, it's highly unlikely any go in the top 32 picks this April. Texas' Jonathon Brooks and Michigan's Blake Corum are the top two on the board. Their tape is excellent, but they don't check all the boxes a first-round back would ideally check. Brooks tore his ACL last season and can't run for teams leading up to the draft. Corum is a smaller back with average speed who carried a heavy workload at Michigan and had some injuries earlier in his career. There is talent to be found in the middle rounds, however. Louisville's Isaac Guerendo, Tennessee's Jaylen Wright and Florida State's Trey Benson all ran sub-4.4-second 40-yard dashes at the combine. Guerendo ran a 4.33 at 221 pounds. Five other backs ran in the 4.4s in Indianapolis, including 220-pound MarShawn Lloyd out of USC. The ideal time to draft one for the best value: I really like Brooks and believe he's worth drafting late in Round 2, but teams should wait until Day 3 to draft others if they don't take Brooks. There are three backs with third-round grades and four backs with fourth-round grades after Brooks and Corum. The gap between those two tiers isn't great enough to justify taking one on Day 2.
12. GuardPlayers with first-round grades: 0
Players in the Scouts Inc. top 100: 3 How the position stacks up: There are only three guards in the top 100 and they all have third-round grades. UConn's Christian Haynes (No. 74 overall) is the highest-graded of the three. If teams view Fuaga or Fautanu as guards, that would strengthen this class substantially. There are other college offensive tackles in the top 100 that will likely be kicked inside (like Kansas' Dominick Puni) so grading this class is tricky. The ideal time to draft one for the best value: Targeting an offensive lineman with the versatility to play guard and potentially another position early on Day 3 is sensible. NC State's Dylan McMahon would be a good value there if he's still on the board. UCF's Tylan Grable tested well at the combine and is an interesting sleeper. All of his college starts were at left tackle, but he kicked inside to guard in certain situations and has been trained for a potential move to center.
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