Not all six quarterbacks picked in the top 12 of the last NFL Draft will hit. There will be arrests. It’s inevitable.
Still, there was nothing to worry about after a week of preseason.
The story of the preseason would be the rookie QBs and the story of week one would be how good they all looked. Caleb Williams probably looked the best of the group. Drake Maye was the latecomer as he made just three passes. JJ McCarthy and Bo Nix made strides in earning starting spots. Preseason debuts aren’t always pretty, but it was a pretty clean week for the highly drafted rookie quarterbacks.
A look at all the quarterbacks shows our takeaways from some notable teams in Week 1 of the preseason:
Caleb Williams looked like the real deal. That doesn’t mean he’ll go to the Hall of Fame, but all of Williams’ skills were on display. In Saturday’s games, Williams was not only the most efficient quarterback of the first week of the preseason in EPA (expected points added) per fall, but he also wasn’t particularly close.
Williams was everything the Bears wanted him to be, albeit on just a few possessions. It should get everyone excited about what’s to come.
“He did well,” said catcher DJ Moore, via the team website. “The first two attempts were incredible. He went out there with a lot of confidence and did well. … He was loud and accurate on the calls and everything was great.”
The Commanders were safe with Jayden Daniels, exchanging many messages with him. They are thin on the offensive line due to injuries at tackle and didn’t want to put him in harm’s way, but they also wanted to get some live reps. He played an 11-play drive and threw just three times. But he threw a beautiful deep pass to Dyami Brown and ran for a touchdown, which you’ll see a lot of this season.
The Commanders didn’t name Daniels QB1 for Week 1, which is silly, but that’s going to happen soon.
It was disappointing to see Drake Maye only get one series and three attempts. But Patriots coach Jerod Mayo said the plan was for Maye and starter Jacoby Brissett to get just one series each. Mayo said that when Maye plays more — Mayo said he anticipates it for Week 2 of the preseason — he wants it to be on the starting offensive line.
“If he’s there, you want him on the starting offensive line,” Mayo said, via NESN. “We have to protect the guy. I’m not saying we don’t have to protect the other guys, but that was absolutely important.”
Michael Penix Jr. started and will be a huge story in the Falcons’ preseason as long as Kirk Cousins is sitting.
Penix looked composed. He completed 9 of 16 passes for 104 yards. He made some rushed shots and some inaccurate shots, but overall it was a good debut.
It was fun to watch him go out there and run some pass plays and we were able to get some things done,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said. via NFL.com. “Pretty much, it was a very good night for him and I was very pleased with what he was able to do.”
The fifth and sixth quarterbacks drafted in April put on real shows. They played longer than others and against reserves. But JJ McCarthy and Bo Nix took advantage of their opportunities.
McCarthy came in after a shot from Sam Darnold, who was solid. McCarthy completed 11 of 17 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns. He started poorly with a poor interception but was excellent for most of the day.
“Clearly, everyone can see the arm talent,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said. via the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “I love seeing him come back right after the interception, still be aggressive and still true to his footwork, his timing, his rhythm, where his eyes should be.”
The Vikings appear committed to starting Darnold in Week 1, but McCarthy’s exciting skill set will hang over the Vikings’ season until he gets the job.
There isn’t much reason for the Broncos to start Jarrett Stidham in Week 1. He was fine early in the preseason, but the pace of the offense picked up when Bo Nix entered the game. Nix wasn’t perfect, but he made some good plays and led the Broncos to score on four of his five attempts.
Nix has more college football starts than any quarterback in NCAA history, and he’s 24 years old. Part of the appeal of drafting him 12th overall is that he should be NFL-ready. He looked very good in his first pre-season work.
The Dolphins could be the next branch on the Shanahan tree to turn every run into a productive one. Rookie Jaylen Wright looked good in his preseason debut.
Wright had 55 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. He looked explosive. The Dolphins already had De’Von Achane and Raheem Mostert, but Mostert is 32 years old and Achane needs to prove he can stay healthy for an entire season. Wright could end up getting a role. The Dolphins traded up to get Wright in the fourth round and it looks like it could be a good investment.
The early returns were back. We saw seven kickoff returns of at least 40 yards last week, including two from the Jaguars. Parker Washington had the longest return of Week 1 of the preseason with a 74-yarder that set up a short touchdown.
The strategy will change in the regular season. Teams don’t want to show too much in the preseason, especially with a new rule that everyone wants to exploit. But during the first set of games, the NFL’s desire to bring back kickoff returns as part of the game was a success.
Sean McVay started the trend of not playing anyone important in the preseason and many coaches followed suit. One notable standout was Chiefs coach Andy Reid. Reid is a preseason starter, and who can argue with one of the all-time greats?
The plan backfired this preseason. Receiver Marquise Brown suffered a dislocated sternoclavicular joint and that injury could cause him to miss the start of the season. Brown was signed in the offseason and expected to help the receiving group right away. The good news for the Chiefs is that Rashee Rice hasn’t heard anything about a suspension from the NFL. The injury means rookie Xavier Worthy could be forced into a big role early on. Hopefully for the Chiefs there will be no more serious injuries this preseason.
The Raiders probably weren’t expecting to draft Brock Bowers in April, considering they already had 2023 second-round pick Michael Mayer at tight end. But Bowers was the best player available, at No. 13 overall, and the Raiders are going to get creative with him.
Bowers played 11 snaps and was everywhere. He lined up at a regular tight end four times, outside twice (and caught a pass on a nice slant route from there), H-back once, in the slot once and then when the Raiders got close to the goal line He played three times as a defender. On one of those plays, he exploded and caught a third-and-1 pass right before quarterback Aidan O’Connell was hit.
The Raiders immediately showed that they will use a lot of tight end sets and Bowers will line up anywhere.
