Rookie QBs (mostly) dazzle in pre-season debuts
Sure, they all have more to prove. But we liked what we saw from the rookie QB class over the weekend
Pre-season leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to deciphering anything about actual player and/or team performance. For example, do we all believe the Jaguars are two touchdowns better than the Chiefs, and the Bears 27 points better than the Bills? Probably not.
But the thing that pre-season is great for? Seeing new players that we’ve never seen before (i.e. Rookies), against actual NFL players. Thursday night through Sunday we saw all 6 of our 1st round rookie QBs in action with some better than expected play, quite frankly. All 6 rookie QBs showed reason for optimism, albeit largely against 2nd and 3rd team defenses. The reality is, we need to see more from all of them both in volume and in quality of defenses faced. With that being said, here’s how we’d rank the performances of these 6 rookie QBs in Week 1 of the preseason:
Caleb Williams vs. The Bills (4 of 7, 95 Yards passing. 1 Rush, 13 yards)
Caleb Williams was the only one of the 6 rookie quarterbacks to face at least some of the Buffalo Bills first team defense, and in his limited time, he showed why he has long been the prize possession of this quarterback class. In two drives against Buffalo, he showed all of the traits that made him such a scintillating prospect – pocket awareness, maneuverability, the ability to elude pressure, and unique (I’m not going to yet say Mahomes-esque) creativity in creating something out of nothing. Also, he just has a cannon, and puts the ball on receivers the way you want your franchise Quarterback to. He led the bears into the red-zone on both drives that he played, resulting in two field goals. The Bears should be thrilled in what looks like an extremely bright and entertaining future for Williams as their starting QB.
J.J. McCarthy vs. The Raiders (11 of 17, 188 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT)
Let’s first put in this caveat: Sam Darnold started the game for the Vikings, and McCarthy wasn’t playing against the likes of Maxx Crosby, Christian Wilkins and the Raiders starting defense. That said, he also didn’t have all-world (and #1 Threat Rating) WR Justin Jefferson on the field, and still showed many of the attributes that get people excited about his ability to evolve into a franchise quarterback. He navigated the pocket well, was able to push the ball downfield (several times into tight windows), and clearly has the athleticism to elude pressure and make plays with his legs when necessary. Did he have some bad throws? Yes. But 188 yards on 11 completions (17 yards per) and two touchdowns clearly showed what his upside can be. The Vikings are no doubt excited – and if you we’re to ask us, the Sam Darnold starting experience won’t last long in Minnesota.
Jayden Daniels vs. The Jets (2 of 3, 45 yards. 1 Rush, 3 yards, TD)
Jayden Daniels is #3 on this list for no other reason than he threw only 3 passes, all of them NOT against the Jets dynamic secondary of Sauce Gardner and DJ Reed. Save his first screen pass of the game that he sailed over his running back, everything Daniels did reminded you of his promise – his 42-yarder to Dyami Brown showed his touch, was calm and elusive in the pocket, and showed what his running ability does to defenses, as he pulled a hand-off to Austin Ekeler close to the goal-line and took it In for his own score. Not much to complain about when you lead your team to a touchdown with 3 third-down conversions on your lone drive of the game – we just want to see more of it, and against a starting defense.
Bo Nix vs. The Colts (15 of 21, 125 yards, 1 TD. 3 Rush, 17 yards)
People are excited about Bo Nix’s debut for Denver against the Colts, and there are many reasons they should be. Albeit against 2nd and 3rd team defenders for the Colts, Nix led the Broncos to scores on 4 of his 5 possessions at the helm, and looked both competent and dynamic as an NFL quarterback (something that you couldn’t really say about Russell Wilson over the last two years). With that being said, if you look at the numbers and watch the film, there is reason that the enthusiasm should “proceed with caution.” Nix totaled 125 yards on 21 passes (compared to 188 on 17 passes for McCarthy). This reads like many of Nix’s college stat lines at Oregon – highly efficient when throwing the ball underneath, less so when pushing the ball down the field. And if you watch the tape this shows. Of Nix’s 6 incompletions, 3 of them were balls that probably should have been, and certainly could have been intercepted. Nix absolutely showed promise – with both his arms and his legs – in his debut. But in terms of his NFL-starting QB ability to push the ball downfield with precision, its still wait and see (which is to be expected after 5 possessions in his first preseason game).
Michael Penix Jr. vs. The Dolphins (9 of 16, 104 yards)
Don’t let this #5 ranking confuse you – Penix had what many would consider a pretty good, highly serviceable first day at the ball park for a rookie quarterback playing in his first NFL “game.” He was 9 of 16 for 104 yards, looked composed much of the game, and had several good passes downfield. There are two things that leave us wanting more: One, he was inconsistent – which is probably to be expected from a rookie QB in his first game. While he had several good throws, he also had many that we’re inaccurate, or felt hurried…which leads us to our second point. In a QB class littered with Dynamic athletes that seem to navigate pressure with ease, Penix’s athleticism in the pocket leaves a lot to be desired. Several of his throws looked hurried or scattered against pressure generated from a backup Dolphins defense. At times it reminded you of the National Championship game against Michigan, which leaves you wondering if he has the athleticism in the pocket that is required in today’s modern NFL. The short answer is, it’s too early to tell. And given the Falcons aren’t relying on Penix in 2024, they’re likely plenty happy with his debut.
Drake Maye vs. The Panthers (2 of 3, 19 yards)
If this we’re a college class, Drake Maye would receive an “incomplete” for his first assignment. It’s not that he did anything wrong, it’s just that Maye had two completions and both of them were screens to running backs. We didn’t really get a chance to see Maye open it up downfield like we we’re all hoping to. In fact, the New England fans we’re so bummed not to see more of Maye that they booed when Bailey Zappe came into the game on the next series (which Zappe is probably used to at this point). We’ll see more from Maye in the weeks to come. For now, we don’t really have enough data to give an honest assessment.
Here's the good news: Its only 24 days til football season. As always, we look forward to the conversation, debate and your feedback. Hit us at @fieldvisionmi on X, @fieldvisionsports on Instagram, or on our website www.fieldvisionsports.com.
