Rookie Quarterback Review: Watching Every Rookie Passer in the Preseason

I watched every rookie quarterback who threw at least 15 passes in the preseason. It was a lot of fun.

Aidan O’Connell had a phenomenal preseason. Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

This preseason saw some of the best rookie quarterback play we’ve seen in some time, including highlight performances from mid-rounders and undrafted free agents. While it would be a stretch to say this could end up as one of the better rookie quarterback classes over the past decade, it does seem like a good number of these players will stick around.

I watched every rookie quarterback who took at least 15 dropbacks during the preseason in order to get a handle on how this rookie class performed. It was a bigger project than I anticipated, but a lot of fun.

First-round quarterbacks in the preview, every other quarterback behind the paywall.

Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers

The first overall pick in the draft didn’t have the luxury of playing against the second or third-team defenses, something to keep in mind when comparing his performance to other quarterbacks in the preseason.

Bryce Young showcased a lot of creativity and elite processing capability, though his lack of ball velocity on off-platform throws was pretty evident. While Young showed poise under a pressured pocket – the willingness to step up, make small movements to avoid pressure and so on – his ability to finish executing in those scenarios was limited. His arm strength isn’t a problem when he can get his feet set; he showed that on his throws to the outside.

There was perhaps no better anticipator in the class than Young and that showed in the preseason. Not only did Young do a great job of reading defenses before they had fully declared themselves, he showed in the preseason that he could throw the ball before the receivers broke on their routes.

Generally speaking, Young didn’t have a spectacular showing in the preseason but wasn’t disastrous, either – he didn’t log an interceptable pass but also didn’t create big plays on deep balls. His offensive line didn’t help him much, but he still found moments where he held on to the ball too long and encouraged pressure.

As an immediate starter, these negatives will be more meaningful than for other rookies but his best college traits were on display and those happen to be the hardest ones to develop – accuracy, processing and quickness.

C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans

It didn’t take long for C.J. Stroud to come off the board in the NFL draft, but it looks like it may take a bit for him to be completely ready for the NFL. The Texans have already named him their starter for the season, which could be a double-edged sword.

Stroud has looked rough this preseason and it’s not just the mediocre statistical output – 62.3 passer rating, 4.5 yards per attempt, 55.0 percent completion rate – his mechanics were off and his accuracy was poor.

Given that accuracy was a strength of his scouting report, this is surprising and perhaps concerning. His timing was poor and had a little bit of difficulty getting off of his first read. When his reads were playing out like he wanted them, however, he showcased some pretty good anticipation.

He wasn’t helped by his supporting cast – receivers struggled to get open and the protection was awful – and the playcalling accentuated those issues. Even when accounting for those problems, Stroud played a little panicked and out of place.

His mechanics on non-standard dropbacks were messy – not like Young. It also looked like he didn’t have command of the offense, and whether that’s an issue on his end or the coaching staff’s end is yet to be determined.

There were moments of brilliance and his strong arm really showed out on intermediate throws, but the Texans right now are limited both by his development and the fact that his offense isn’t set out to support him.

Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts

It’s easy to focus on Anthony Richardson’s phenomenal athletic tools, but there are other reasons to buy into his long-term potential as a quarterback — and he showed off a number of those reasons in the preseason.

Richardson showed moments of both high- and low-level play. The best moments included anticipation on yet-to-break routes, tight-window heaters and deep dimes. But on the lower end, we saw his inconsistency in approach – from degrading mechanics, out-of-sync throwing and declined open routes.

We tend to lose our way when talking about developing raw quarterbacks. Richardson is raw, but not in the way you might think given how people have talked about him. He has a natural understanding of defensive leverage and throws away from defenders consistently – even automatically – on high-difficulty throws where reading the defense can be difficult.

That works well with his ability to throw off-platform into tight windows is impressive, perhaps better than any other quarterback in the class.

When he isn’t tempted by staying on the most aggressive option – often his first read – he scans the field quickly to make decisions. Most of the time, those decisions are good, but he frequently turns down safe options, which can hurt him. The rate of “good decisions” is probably not quite there yet but you can see where the development path for him is.

He’s also very sophisticated about how he uses his athleticism – he runs as his final option and makes that decision quickly and inside the timing of the play. He demonstrates genuine running skill beyond physical talent, including the ability to press lanes, protect the ball with good ball-handling technique and a great understanding of balance and contact.

While I would consider Lamar Jackson a more dangerous runner when considering the full package, Richardson may be a more natural runner.

Would I take Jackson as a runner over Richardson? Yes. But that doesn’t stop me from being impressed with how Richardson approaches running the ball. That ability gives him a good floor if he and his coaches know how to use it.

Still, he’s a quarterback. And until he gets through his reads consistently, he’ll be a work in progress. Not only that, his accuracy can shift dramatically from play to play. That’s fine – that’s what the Colts intended to draft and that’s what fans expect – but it should temper our year one expectations.