The 2024 NFL Draft saw a record six quarterbacks selected in the first round. Three of those passers (Drake Maye, Michael Pennis Jr. and JJ McCarthy) did not play in Week 1, but the other three made their NFL debuts.
To say their results were mixed would be an understatement.
Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix were eliminated by their teams. Washington Commanders Lost Tampa Bay Buccaneers The final score was 37 to 20. Denver Broncos Lost Seattle Seahawks The final score was 26-20. No. 1 draft pick Caleb Williams at least got the win. Chicago Bears Defeated Tennessee Titans 24-17. But Williams mostly watched as defense and special teams led Chicago.
So, is it time to panic about these passers? Let's take a closer look at their debuts and evaluate them.
Caleb Williams, QB, Chicago Bulls
statistics: 14-of-29 completions, 93 yards, 0 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 22.2 QBR
The highly-regarded Williams was with the Bears for Sunday's game at Chicago, where the Bears beat Tennessee thanks to timely play on special teams and defense, with Will Revis' two interceptions — one a disastrous six — contributing greatly to the win.
As for Williams, Chicago relied heavily on quick-game concepts, with only seven of his 30 passes on Sunday going for more than 10 yards. Williams' 3.2 yards per attempt was the lowest in the NFL in Week 1. Monday Night Football With just one game remaining, however, of the three rookies who started in Week 1, Williams averaged the highest targeted air yards per attempt, 7.8. Next Generation Statistics.
There were some bright spots as the rookie looked comfortable making subtle moves in the pocket to create space and continued to rely on his incredible athleticism when needed. One thing Williams can certainly improve on is his eyes. On several plays, the rookie was focused on his first read and didn't look anywhere else.
Best moment:
Perhaps Williams' best play on Sunday was this pass to DJ Moore. With the Bears facing a second-down-14 situation with just over three minutes left in the first half, Williams ran a deep slant route to the wide receiver and Moore took the pass with a press-aligned defender.
Williams was often focused on the first read Sunday, but this was an example of the rookie using his eyes to create space and then using his arms to exploit that space. Williams used his eyes to pull the underlinebacker a few steps away from Moore, then fired a rocket at the receiver to move the chains. Bears fans will want to see more plays like this.
Worst moment:
On the other side of the coin, we see this pitch to fellow rookie Rome Odunze.
What I like about this incomplete pass, especially is Williams' pocket movement. While some of the flashy plays he made in college made for draft night highlight reels, mastering the footwork skills that create space in the pocket will be key to success in the NFL. Williams shows off that footwork here, gliding around the pocket while throwing this pass.
But as he was going down he quickly zeroed in on Odunze, his eyes on safety Amani Hooker to deny the ball.
Rating: C+
Williams showed some flashes of brilliance, but it didn't translate to him and the Bears' passing game in Week 1. But in the best case scenario, this performance was a good foundation for his rookie season.
Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders
statistics: 17-of-24 completions, 184 yards, 0 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 41.9 QBR
At first glance, Daniels put up the best numbers among rookie passers in Week 1. In addition to his arm strength, Daniels led Washington rushers with 88 yards on 16 carries (both team-highs) and scored two touchdowns. The first was a one-yard rush on a zone-read design, and the second came when Daniels kept the ball on a sprint-option play and scored, also from one yard out.
Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury called on Daniels to run a variety of route concepts, from quick screen designs to mesh concepts, to give him easy reads and passes. Daniels looked to be making good reads, but as we soon saw, he needs to develop speed in the pocket, a challenge for all young quarterbacks.
Best moment:
Daniels' best moment, outside of his two rushing touchdowns, was this pass to Olamide Zaccheus late in the fourth quarter.
With the ball on the left hash marks, Daniels targets Zackias running a deep out route on the right side of the field. This is a long throw, and even if the Buccaneers drop back into 1/4 1/2 coverage (i.e. the cornerback above Zackias in zone coverage, responsible for 1/4 of the field on his own side), the distance this throw travels means that if Daniels is a step or two behind the ball, it could potentially go the other way.
But the rookie showed great timing and anticipation on this throw, taking the final step on the drop to send the ball flying. This is an example of a confident quarterback making a slow play.
On the other hand, here's an incomplete pass to Zach Ertz:
I understand what Daniels is trying to do here, but he's still a step or two too late in using the pump fake to influence the defender underneath after resetting and throwing the pass to Ertz on an in-break route. It's a smart move to influence the defender, but a delayed follow-up pass puts the receiver in danger.
Rating: B-
Daniels' rushing production has boosted his chances, as he had the best debut of the three rookies, but he also has room for improvement, including some vertical passing errors, especially to Terry McLaurin on two attempts and an overthrow that could have resulted in a touchdown on the opening play of the third quarter, and a need to play faster overall.
Bo Nix, QB, Denver Broncos
statistics: 26/42, 138 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT, QBR 30.1
Heading into the 2024 NFL Draft, many thought the Knicks-Sean Payton pairing made too much sense. Knicks' college film showed a quarterback who seemed crafted in a lab to play for Payton. He could efficiently run an offense and distribute the ball as a point guard, and he could also solve problems with his brains, arm and athleticism when needed.
This combination could lead to success, but the lab work is needed.
Like the other two quarterbacks, Nicks was mostly successful with his passes, and his completion percentage of 3.3 yards per attempt was second only to Williams' in Week 1. Nicks tried to push the ball down the field at times (more on that later), but his attempts were often off-target, and he also led the Broncos with a touchdown on a scramble and 35 yards rushing five times.
Best moment:
Arguably his finest moment came on Knicks' touchdown run that cut Seattle's lead to six points late in the game, when Knicks got out of the pocket, used a pump fake to get defensive back Devon Witherspoon in the air and then rotated inside to score.
But from a passing standpoint, this pass to Cameron Sutton was probably his best moment.
When the Broncos faced a third-down, eight-yard situation late in the first half, Nicks climbed into a collapsing pocket and kept his eyes on the back of the field, which allowed him to find Sutton looking to break through in the middle of the field, and Nicks made a pass to Sutton to move the chains. Denver finished the drive with a field goal to take a 13–9 lead by halftime.
Sure, the throw could have been better, but… this is what it is.
Worst moment:
Knicks threw two interceptions, either of which could have been picked. The first was a reckless vertical route pass thrown off his back foot late in the play. It was a 3rd-and-9 situation in the second quarter with the Broncos already within field goal range. It was definitely an example of what not to do as a quarterback.
The same was true for the second interception.
Denver tries a post/crosser concept on this play, with Marvin Mims Jr. running a post route and Sutton running a crosser. Using a run fake and boot action, Payton hopes that Nicks will either break away from him and run a deep post route or that Sutton will run a crosser. If neither is open, the rookie quarterback has tight end Greg Dulcic release into the flat.
Mims is well covered, so the Knicks will try to disrupt the crossing route to Sutton between the three defenders.
That doesn't work, and throwing it like that usually doesn't work either.
Rating: C
Overall, the performance of the three rookies has caused some fans to panic, and while the results, and these ratings, aren't great, the simple truth is:
It's still only the first week.
Quarterback development isn't linear, and it's unfair to expect this quarterback to simply get better week by week. There will be periods of growth spurts followed by a bad game or two. Each of these franchises drafted these passers with the hope and belief that they would not only have a winning debut, but would be cornerstones for the next decade.
The biggest hope is that these quarterbacks will show positive development throughout the season, use Week 1 as a baseline to see where they are at the end of the year, and maybe panic if we see the same mistakes in December.
Until then, try yoga or something.
