If you want to know just how indicative preseason performances are when it comes to evaluating the futures of rookie quarterbacks… well, here’s a flashback for you.
Heh. pic.twitter.com/ouiEf6WGjY
— Doug Farrar (@NFL_DougFarrar) August 15, 2021
How did that work out? Better for Peyton Manning’s Colts than it did for Ryan Leaf’s Chargers, to be sure. So, we don’t always know what we will eventually know about NFL quarterbacks based on their preseasons, especially the first games of those preseasons. It’s a harried time for these guys — they’re trying to get the hang of new cities, new coaches, new concepts, new teammates… just everything. Most of the time, they’re going with half of the playbook at best, and they’re playing against everything from starters to third-stringers on defense.
Still, there are things we can start to discern from preseason performances. How well are the quarterback’s coaches taking what he did well in college and merging them with the NFL playbook? Can we see improvements regarding things that might get them in trouble at the next level? And in general, how do these guys handle their first shot at the highest level of football?
With that in mind, and with all five first-round quarterbacks in the 2021 draft seeing action in Week 1 of the full preseason, how did they each do, and what can we look forward to with each player?