Update on some of the rookie quarterbacks around the league

When the NFL draft occurs, comparing prospects’ success in the league is the standard. This comes naturally when you have a favorite team, play fantasy football, or just look around the league. It is always nice to see a rookie on your favorite team doing better than the other players in the respective position or the round the player was drafted in. It sometimes becomes too much, but it can also be a great way to see how the overall draft class is doing in the league. Arguably, the main position where these comparisons can get heated and filled with passion from fans is with the quarterbacks.

In the last NFL Draft, the main conversation with the prospects was about comparing the extreme success of Jayden Daniels with the disappointing season of Caleb Williams. This conversation was a bit unfair to Williams, who is allowed to have growing pains as a rookie, but the season Daniels had just made things worse. It got to the point where people started to redraft the 2024 class and had Daniels as the 1st overall pick instead of Williams. It is just too early to make this decision, but this is what happens when comparisons happen. Still, when the team you write for (talking about me) drafted a quarterback in the second round, it is natural to see how the other rookies are doing, so let’s get started.

Cam Ward – 1st overall pick by the Tennessee Titans

Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Being the 1st pick in the draft always brings high expectations and hope to elevate a franchise. We just saw this type of pressure with Caleb Williams, but for some reason, the NFL world has not talked about Ward enough. When the Titans selected Ward, the conversation was short and morphed into discussing fellow quarterback prospect Shedeur Sanders. Since then, the NFL did not give the Titans any primetime games, which is irregular with a number one pick QB prospect, and there still has not been enough talk about the rookie. In my opinion, the league will regret this fast, because Cam Ward is a franchise quarterback and should be in the NFL for a long time.

The Quotes

Jim Wyatt, Tennesseetitans.com

Will Boling, Will-Boling.com

Justin Garver, @titansfilmroom

Jaxson Dart – 25th pick by the New York Giants

John Jones-Imagn Images

The only other quarterback prospect that was selected in the first round was former Ole Miss signal-caller Jaxson Dart. Throughout the draft season, the Giants were believed to be poised to select a quarterback early. They tried to trade up with the Titans for the first pick, but Tennessee’s price for that selection was way too expensive. The next question was whether New York would pass up on one of these top prospects to reach for another quarterback, but instead, they stood strong and decided to trade up later in the first round for Dart. After signing Russell Wilson in free agency, whichever quarterback prospect the Giants drafted would likely be sitting for a year, so going for a high-potential prospect made sense. Head coach Brian Daboll is the correct person to have as a quarterback developer, and he finally has his rookie quarterback, but let’s see how Dart has been doing so far.

The Quotes

Connor Hughes, @Connor_J_Hughes

Giant Insider, @GiantInsider

Ryan Dunleavy, nypost.com

Tyler Shough – 40th pick by the New Orleans Saints

Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Leaving the first round, the next quarterback selected was at pick 40 by the New Orleans Saints. Tyler Shough was a surprise pick by many outside of the Saints world, but for people closer to the team, this was a pick waiting to happen. The Saints slowly became enamored by Tyler Shough’s playmaking ability, arm talent, and overall character throughout the draft process. New head coach Kellen Moore wanted to get his quarterback, and he found it in the second round. Still, there were many concerns with the selection, primarily due to Shough’s age, but the Saints needed to find a starting quarterback, and they believed they did just that. In practice, Shough has been in a heated quarterback battle with Spencer Rattler for the starting spot, and as of now, it is still too close to call.

The Quotes

Ross Jackson, louisianasports.net

Nick Underhill, neworleans.football

Matthew Paras, nola.com

Jalen Milroe – 93rd pick by the Seattle Seahawks

Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

The next quarterback selected in the NFL draft was Jalen Milroe in the third round by the Seattle Seahawks. Milroe was known as the biggest project in the draft. This was due to his issues with passing consistency, decision making, and overall real quarterback mechanics, but a team would take a chance. Milroe has extraordinary athleticism and a beautiful deep ball, which makes him very intriguing to teams. Teams who needed a QB immediately stayed away, but the Seahawks, who do not need Milroe for at least this upcoming season, selected Milroe. This is a perfect opportunity for Milroe to sit for at least a year and learn behind Sam Darnold. Doing this allows Milroe to work on some of the scouts’ worries, and the good news for the Seahawks is that the rookie quarterback is already improving.

The Quotes

Gregg Bell, thenewstribune.com

Corbin K. Smith, emeraldcityspectrum.com

Austin Abbott, @AustinAbbottFF

Dillon Gabriel (94) & Shedeur Sanders (144) – Selected by the Cleveland Browns

Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

For the last quarterbacks, I decided to combine them into one spot due to them both being drafted by the same team. Starting with the earlier selection, Dillon Gabriel was a surprise pick at 94. Shedeur Sanders was still on the board, and with Cleveland’s rumored interest in Sanders, it was a shock to see them go with a different quarterback. What might have been even more shocking was the Browns returning to the quarterback pool and selecting Sanders at 144. It’s not uncommon for teams to select a particular position twice. Still, with the media pressure a pick like Sanders brings to a quarterback competition, they should have drafted him at 94 or selected a different player there. Still, this is a very open quarterback competition, and either prospect could separate and become the starter by week 1.

The Quotes

The Dawgs Podcast, thedawgspodcast.com

John Sabol, fox8.com

Jori Epstein, sports.yahoo.com

ESPN Cleveland, @ESPNCleveland

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below on any other rookie quarterbacks or if you want to see more positions, rookies from certain rounds, or even NFC South rookies.

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