The 2021 NFL Draft class will be a focal point of the league for years to come. The class included five quarterbacks who have a chance to make a significant impact on their respective franchises this season and beyond.
So we’ve decided to rank these five gentlemen every week and track their progress throughout the season and determine who’s the best QB out of this promising class.
Let’s see where these young gunslingers stacked up in Week 2.
Trey Lance didn’t even play against the Eagles, which is why he finds himself last on this list. I believe Lance is talented. but he’s clearly not ready to consistently contribute at this point. If he was, Kyle Shanahan would be more than eager to try to experiment with his new weapon.
We’ll see how Lance progresses and if he can steal more snaps as the season goes on.
Chicago fans finally got a glimpse at what it would look like with Justin Fields as their starter. When Andy Dalton went down with an injury against the Bengals, Fields came in and went 6/13 for 60 yards and a pick. He wasn’t great, but he did enough to win the game for the Bears. He got a key first down late in the game on a 3rd and long that sealed the win.
This could be an opportunity for Fields to prove that he was supposed to be the day one starter all along. Depending on how long Dalton will be out, Fields will be able to show Chicago just how dynamic he can be as a playmaker.
Trevor Lawrence has five picks in the first two weeks of the season. It would be an understatement to say it’s been rough so far for Lawrence. He’s only completing 50 percent of his passes and ranks last in the league in QBR. He’s still a talented player, but you can’t ask a young and inexperienced player to play from behind all the time and expect good things to happen.
This will be a learning experience for him and his main objective should be to get out of this season healthy.
Zach Wilson also has five picks in his first two games. The difference between Wilson and Lawrence is that Wilson threw nearly all of his one game ,with the Patriots forcing Wilson into four picks on Sunday. It was a rough outing for a quarterback who has a lot of the tools to be a legitimate playmaker in this league. The bright side is that not many first-year quarterbacks play well against Bill Belichick’s defense their first time.
If we are being honest, it’s only up for Wilson from here.
Mac Jones has been solid in his first two NFL starts. He’s been efficient and has gotten the ball where it needs to go to allow this squad to be successful. If you look up “game manager” in the football dictionary, you might soon see his face printed there. Jones is in the best possible position out of all rookie quarterbacks and you have to give him credit for taking advantage of his opportunities.
He hasn’t thrown any picks and he’s completing almost 74 percent of his passes. It’s perfect for what Belichick wants his rookie quarterback to do. They’ll rely on the defense and the running game to squeak out wins this season and Jones just needs to make plays when he’s asked to do so.
So far, he’s been doing that pretty well.