USC

South Carolina's Spencer Rattler waiting after 6 QBs picked in 2024 NFL draft first round

Lulu Kesin
Greenville News

COLUMBIA — In the first round of the 2024 NFL draft, six quarterbacks were selected but South Carolina football's Spencer Rattler was not one of them.

If Rattler was the seventh, it would have broken the draft record from 1983 for most QBs selecgted in the first round. Instead, the record remains a tie.

Rattler's draft projections varied throughout mock drafts but Pro Football Focus said Rattler could go in the first round at No. 23 to the Minnesota Vikings. That did not play out, as the Vikings took Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy at No. 10 and traded for pick No. 17, to take Dallas Turner.

Other mock drafts have Rattler getting picked in the second or third round on Friday, predictions ranging from the Los Angeles Rams, Denver Broncos,Vikings, and the New York Giants. In round one, neither the Rams, or Giants drafted a QB. The Broncos selected quarterback Bo Nix.

The 2024 first overall pick Caleb Williams, is a familiar face for Rattler as the two battled for the starting quarterback spot at Oklahoma. Rattler was the No. 1-ranked quarterback in the 2019 recruiting class and had a triumphant freshman year for the Sooners, completing 214 of 317 passes for 3,031 yards with 28 touchdowns. Then, five games into Rattler's redshirt freshman year in 2021, Williams came in for Rattler in the second half against Texas and never went back to being Rattler's backup.

Rattler transferred to South Carolina after that season and Williams left the Sooners for Southern Cal in 2022.

Rattler threw 275 yards and 19 touchdowns in 2023 for the Gamecocks. Williams was selected No. 1 by the Chicago Bears.

REQUIRED READING:2024 NFL mock draft: Where all South Carolina Gamecocks prospects are projected to land

Quarterbacks picked in 2024 NFL draft

  • Caleb Williams No. 1 to the Chicago Bears
  • Jayden Daniels No. 2 to the Washington Commanders
  • Drake Maye No. 3 to the New England Patriots
  • Michael Penix Jr. No. 8 to the Atlanta Falcons
  • J.J. McCarthy No. 10 to the Minnesota Vikings
  • Bo Nix No. 12 to the Denver Broncos

Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin