ESPN NFL draft expert Jordan Reid ranks Georgia Bulldogs junior quarterback Carson Beck as the No. 5 player at his position in the 2024 NFL draft. Beck is ranked behind USC’s Caleb Williams (No. 1), North Carolina’s Drake Maye (No. 2), Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders (No. 3) and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy.
Beck has played consistently in his first season as a starter. Beck has thrown for over 250 yards in every game this year. The junior from Jacksonville, Florida, has 18 touchdowns, five interceptions and 3,022 yards this season. The talented signal-caller has the nation’s No. 7 QBR at 84.4.
Beck has done a good job avoiding big mistakes and has shown decent but not spectacular mobility this season. Reid notes (subscription required) what Beck is best at.
He has a quick release and operates from a strong base. And Beck has mature eye discipline, showing efficiency with getting through multistep progressions. He’s effective reading pre-snap looks and doesn’t lock onto options that are already eliminated based on the construction of defenses.
It will be interesting to see what Carson Beck decides to do following the college football season. Beck has risen up NFL draft boards thanks to his excellent play, but he still has only one season of starting experience. NFL teams have concerns about a player with limited reps as a starter at any position, especially quarterback.
Reid had concerns about Beck’s ability to connect on long passes. Beck has not hit on a ton of deep balls this season. Instead, he has relied on methodically moving the Georgia offense down the field.
One spot where I’ve seen some inconsistency is his ball placement on downfield throws. Beck has completed 39% of his passes thrown 20-plus air yards (41 attempts), and his 34.1% off-target rate on such passes ranks 63rd in the FBS.
It will be fun to watch the remainder of the season as Beck continues to develop as a player and begins to face more talented opponents. The No. 5 quarterback in the 2023 NFL draft went early in the third round.