The story line of the 2021 NFL Draft was the quarterbacks. This class was full of QB talent that had teams who were not even in the market for a QB taking one throughout the draft. We are now 4 weeks into the season and it is time to start looking at the QB class. Who are our honor students and who needs to be held back.
The Incompletes
These players are buried on the depth chart and have nothing to show for us to grade.
Kyle Trask (Tampa Bay) - Not replacing Tom Brady anytime soon
Kellen Mond (Minnesota)- Lost his back-up spot
Ian Book (New Orleans)- LOL
Sam Ehlinger (Indianapolis)- Probably better than Carson Wentz, but he is hurt.
Jamie Newman (Philadelphia and Free Agent)- Sorry Johnny
____________________________________________________
Now, the players worth discussing!
Davis Mills: Houston Texans
C-
(Photo from Battle Red Blog)
Mills would have probably been on the above list, but injuries to Tyrod Taylor and Deshaun Watson just not playing helped Mills see the field. In 3 games he has thrown for 357 yards, 2 TDs, and 5 interceptions. Mills is not ready to be a starting QB in this league. He is still easily has another few seasons until he is there. He was thrown into a terrible situation. Drafted as a 3rd string QB, previous injuries, dumpster fire of an organization drafts him, and not a ready product. I was generous in this grade for him.
Mac Jones: New England Patriots
A+
No one really knew what to expect from Jones. Even though he came off an incredible college career and led the best Alabama team of all time, people were hesitant about drafting him. Since then he won the starting job in New England, got Cam Newton cut, and almost beat Tom Brady in his return to New England. Jones' leads all rookies with a QBR of 52.0, and the player who is 2nd on that list is not even close. New England struggled to find their QB last season, but they have found their new star in Mac Jones.
Justin Fields: Chicago Bears
B-
(Photo from Bleacher report)
I was very worried that I was going to have to add Justin Fields to the incomplete list. However, Fields was given the keys to the starting job when Andy Dalton went down. In his first start, Fields had a rough day. The Cleveland Browns defense had a field day with the Chicago offensive line and did not give Fields any time. Add in that Matt Nagy is writing his resignation letter all season, Fields is in for a rough rookie campaign. Fields' numbers will not be pretty this season, but he is still the best QB in this class. When there is a good play call and his offensive line does not collapse immediately he is able to make great plays with his arm and his legs.
Trey Lance: San Francisco 49ers
B
Jimmy G is not the long term solution in San Francisco. Trey Lance fits the Kyle Shanahan offense perfectly. He can make plays with his arm and his legs to an elite level. He has not been given the starting job yet, but his time is coming. From everything we have seen on film this season, Lance is going to be a problem in the NFL for year's to come.
Zach Wilson: New York Jets
D+
(Photo from TMZ)
The Jets are no QB factory. Sam Darnold is playing incredible in Carolina and then Zach Wilson comes out and has not played well. I am no expert on football, but having twice as many interceptions as touchdown passes is not good. He was an overhyped prospect coming out of BYU and he is showing you why. If Zach Wilson wants to pass this class than the Jets needs to find a QB whisperer to get Zach Wilson some help or out of New York.
Trevor Lawrence: Jacksonville Jaguars
C+
(Photo from Fox News)
The only reason this is not an F is because I put majority of the blame on Urban Meyer. Since 2018 we have been told that Trevor Lawrence is going to be a generational talent. Then the 2021 draft season started and we continued the narrative that Lawrence was a generational talent and the best QB prospect of all time. I will patiently wait till the generational part of Trevor Lawrence's game shows up...I will probably wait a long time. He is leading all rookies in TD's and passing yards, but has yet to pick up a win. Trevor Lawrence is going to be a very good QB, but he is not this generational talent we thought he would be. He is still making bad throws and making costly errors. When he was at Clemson, it was okay if he threw an interception or multiple bad incompletions, because Clemson would win the game by 40+ points. Spoiler alert, Jacksonville Jaguars and the Clemson Tigers are not the same team. I said Lawrence's flaws and inconsistencies hid behind the Clemson offense and they are showing in Jacksonville.
____________________________________________________
Thank you for checking in on how your favorite NFL rookie QB is doing this season. Their careers just like this season is still very young. Some of those incomplete students could still find their way to the top of this class and some of the top players could fall to the drop-out of school list. No matter what this QB class is a lot of fun to watch and I am excited to see the future of this league.
Follow me on Twitter @AdammackNFL for all your college and draft talk!