Rookie Report Card - Quarterbacks

We are about to enter into Week 6. And every year, we have guys under center who are new to this called the NFL. And it's job and judgement to decide if they will make it or not after their first handful of games. Screw the Peyton Mannings of the world and the Trevor Lawrence’s - their first year struggles don’t count. Sarcasm, for anyone who can’t read between the lines. We don’t know how these guys are going to perform. However, what we can do is talk about what we’ve seen so far and how they have seemed to progressed. The future is young and bright for the three guys we are about to discuss - no matter the record, TD:INT ratio, or the amount of turnovers they’ve committed. These kids are learning on the fly - something the old heads would’ve never done. But in 2023, it’s a “what have you done for me lately” kind of world. Let’s check in on the three QBs…

Bryce Young - Carolina Panthers

63% COM, 750 PaYds, 5 TDs, 4 INTs

Grade: Incomplete

I truly struggled with Bryce. He’s already missed some time with an ankle injury, but also the team around him is seriously struggling. That isn't to say Bryce isnt struggling himself. One of the first things i noticed is that he has struggled with the pace of the NFL; When at Alabama, he ran a very uptempo spread offense. The antithesis has occurred for him so far in the NFL, which is perfectly warranted by a Rookie QB. I went and reviewed some game tape from the game against the Lions and another blaring issue is something that a fellow Alabama alumni in Tua Tagovailoa had - looking for wideouts that are NFL open and not Alabama open. You can see him go through his progressions, but it almost seems like he’s a little too afraid to throw the ball when it should be thrown. Instead he waits and ends up having to throw it away. This is something that has consistently gone on since Week 1. He definitely needs to improve on his quick decisions, which he should due to his high football IQ. One thing that also may factor into this is his time to throw, or lack thereof. He’s getting killed out there behind his offensive line, so maybe a little bit of happy feet has lead to indecisiveness when it comes to ball placement. When Young does connect with his WRs, I will say it’s always an accurate, nice ball for the most part. I do belive in time alot of this will be sorted out but because of the situation around him in Carolina, I need to give him an incomplete 

CJ Stroud - Houston Texans

61% COM, 1,461 PaYds, 7 TDs, 0 INTs

Grade: A-

What can be said about Stroud that hasn't already been said? Hes off to one of the greatest starts by a rookie QB ever, and he’s way farther ahead than most people including myself thought he’d be at this point. One thing I've noticed in his first games as a rookie QB is that he sees the field incredibly well; way better then he did in college. He’s constantly making the right play and actually has the opposite issue that Young has. He is already seeing guys that are NFL open and isn't afraid to throw them the football. This is big, because one of our biggest questions back in April was could he adjust to playing with lesser talent then what he did at Ohio State? Nico Collins is turning out to become a true WR1, but he had some dawgs over there in Buckeye Nation. He’s really elevated the play of the guys around him and that says a lot. The boys at Perfect Spiral actually have an early comp for him of Matt Ryan with more mobility. But just the way he sits in the pocket and delivers the ball shows early comparisons. One thing I definitely think he needs to clean up on is ball security; He’s done a great job of not throwing interceptions but he’s lost 3 fumbles on sacks so that needs to be cleaned up.

Anthony Richardson - Indianapolis Colts

59% COM, 577 PaYDs, 3 TDs, 1 INT

25 Rushes, 136 RuYds, 4 TDs

Grade: C

It really sucks to see Richardson’s season cut short as he’s been placed on IR with a Grade 3 AC Joint sprain. It’s uncertain if he will return this season, but he is eligible to come off during Week 10. He’s already missed time with a concussion and possibly, if surgery is needed - the rest of his rookie season. When he did play, we definitely got some highlights. He’s everything we thought he would be - in both the good and bad department. Lets start with the good; Shane Stehien has done a really good job of trying to incoporate what Richardson does well. He took a little bit of what made Hurts successful in Philadelphia early on and has applied it here. Richardson has been a force with his legs. When he gets going, it’s pretty hard to stop him. He has done well on deep ball passing and immedietly felt like he built a rapport with the players around him. With all the amazing praise though comes the criticism, and that’s been the accuracy issues that plagued him at Florida. He’s sailed easy balls over his receivers heads on short routes time after time and that really needs to be cleaned up. The big…big…big issue is that he needs to learn to protect himself and SLIDE!!! Two serious injuries in five weeks isn’t a great look and one of them could have been avoided if he just knew when to give up on the play.