Why the top 2024 NFL draft prospect among QB transfers may be a surprise figure

Two years ago, back before Caleb Williams’ arrival at USC, there was a different Trojans quarterback being talked about as a potential No. 1 overall NFL draft pick.

Kedon Slovis.

In fact, during the summer of 2021, ESPN’s Todd McShay was projecting Slovis to go as early as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft. He wasn’t alone either.

Feels like a long time ago, right?

Nevertheless, even after two straight challenging seasons at a combination of USC and Pittsburgh and despite Slovis now being at his third school in three years, NFL scouts haven’t forgotten about the current BYU Cougar.

Far from it actually.

“I don’t think the numbers tell the story with Kedon and what his skill set is,” Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy said. “He’s way better than the stats show.”

Although there were many QB transfer additions this offseason that received significantly more attention, including Sam Hartman to Notre Dame and Devin Leary to Kentucky, it’s actually Slovis that at least some NFL scouting and personnel staffers view as the top 2024 NFL draft prospect among quarterbacks who transferred this offseason.

Some even view him as a top four round prospect.

For scouts and for Nagy, the talent is still obvious even with Slovis’ underwhelming production the last two years (21 total touchdown passes and 17 interceptions) since being selected as Pac-12 offensive freshman of the year at USC in 2019 and then first-team All-Pac-12 in 2020.

Nagy and the Senior Bowl staff still thought highly enough of Slovis coming out of last season that they invited him to this year’s Senior Bowl before he decided to return to college for another season.

There was also at least some NFL personnel that would have had Slovis in a similar grouping as QBs such as Fresno State’s Jake Haener and Houston’s Clayton Tune had he left for the NFL. 

Haener was a fourth-round draft pick of the New Orleans Saints. Tune went in the fifth round to the Arizona Cardinals.

“They had a tough year on offense last year (at Pitt) and it was for a confluence of different reasons,” Nagy said. “But the guy, going even back to his freshman year at USC, he can put the ball wherever he wants to put it. So in a league that puts a premium on accuracy, it’s easy to see why NFL scouts like this guy. He’s definitely more of a pocket passer, but if you protect him, he’ll pick you apart. He can put it in small windows and make those throws that not a lot of college players can make.”

At BYU, Slovis is set to replace two-year starting QB Jaren Hall.

The Cougars’ staff has big expectations for him. 

At least some members of the staff already view Slovis as a better pro prospect than Hall, who was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round of this year’s NFL draft.

“When I (evaluated) him last summer, he had that monster freshman year at USC and then the numbers have declined and I’m like, ‘Well, geez what happened to this kid?’ And nothing’s happened to him,” Nagy said. “He’s really accurate, like deadly accurate. Really natural thrower. … He’s got a chance to have a really big year. He can really throw it.”