Rookie QB Report Card For Weeks 1-4
Mac Jones: Grade A-
Through four games Mac Jones has already shown flashes of greatness and truly looks like a long-term answer at quarterback. Jones takes what the defense gives him, consistently finds the open man and has no issue checking it down. Out of all the QBs who have played meaningful snaps this season, Jones is the best and he also has the best situation to succeed in. After all, Jones does play for Bill Belichick and has Josh McDaniels as his offensive coordinator.
Jones has a 71.8 PFF grade ranking 24th but the highest amongst the rookies. In FO’s DVOA, Jones ranks 24th as well. The analytics agree on his performance and it’s going to be interesting to see if he will continue to rank at the top in these categories amongst the rookies.
In week one Jones threw for 281 yards and a touchdown while completing 29 of 39 passes. Jones had a 67.6 QBR and 102.6 passer rating in his very first game against the Dolphins, and even though it was a loss, Jones showed those flashes of being a star rather than just a game manager.
Jones continued to complete a high rate of his passes in week two as he completed 22 of 30 passes for 186 yards. Jones certainly didn’t push the ball downfield but did manage to find who was open and get the completions.
Week three reminded us that Jones is just a rookie as he went 30 of 51 for 270 yards 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions. His QBR was a low 45.4 and his passer rating was an atrocious 55.2.
This last week in Brady’s return to New England Mac Jones looked great. Jones was 31 of 40 for 275 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. Jones kept drives alive and made Tampa’s defense really have to work to get off the field. Ultimately his effort came up short but the flashes were there once again in a narrow defeat.
Zach Wilson: Grade C
The start to Wilson’s career has been bumpier than Jones, but still Wilson has been able to show flashes of his ability. Wilson grades the second highest on PFF at 61.4 ranking 28th and 30th in DVOA, the third highest in the class. Wilson is holding the ball for a long time helping to contribute to his bad offensive line being even worse and his shit receivers haven’t helped either. The highest rate of dropped passes belongs to the Jets at 15.1%, while the next closest is 9.9%. To sum up, Wilson so far has been up and down with a bad situation around him.
Week one against the Panther brought a good effort from Wilson in a tight loss. Wilson completed 20 of 37 passes for 258 yards and 2 touchdowns with an interception. The performance produced an 82.9 passer rating and he was sacked 6 times in the loss.
Weeks two and three were terrible all around for the Jets as they were outscored 51-6 in these two games. Wilson was sacked 9 times and threw 6 interceptions with no touchdowns during these two games.
Wilson’s most recent performance against the Titans was his best and resulted in a win for the Jets. In the game, Wilson threw for 297 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception with a 97.3 passer rating. Wilson was also only sacked once. Wilson’s best moments flashed this last week and more of these moments should occur in the future.
Trevor Lawrence: Grade C-
The top pick from the 2021 draft has had a rocky start to his career but he, like Jones and Wilson, has had his moments as well. As of now, Lawrence is PFF’s 4th highest-graded rookie QB at 32nd with a 54.0 grade and the 2nd highest rookie on FO’s DVOA at 29th. Interceptions have plagued Lawrence’s play so far as he has 7 of them through four games. Lawrence, like Wilson, could use better teammates. Lawrence shows the flashes of his talent but needs to cut down on turnovers and get a better feel for the NFL.
For Lawrence in week one things didn’t go as planned as he and the Jags struggled to handle the Texans. Lawrence completed 28 of 51 passes for 332 yards and 3 touchdowns with 3 interceptions. His QBR was a miserable 18.8 and the Jags looked rough in general. Some of what made Lawrence such a great prospect showed but overall it was a tough day at the office.
Week two brought on a worse performance for Lawrence as he had a 30.8 QBR and 37.2 passer rating. In the game, Lawrence had 118 yards for 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions and completed 14 of 33 passes. Another loss and another bad performance for Lawrence and the Jags.
Against the Cardinals, in week three it didn’t get much better for Lawrence as he threw another two interceptions and had a 19.7 QBR. Lawrence completed 22 of 34 passes for 219 yards 1 touchdown and again 2 interceptions. Back-to-back bad performances weren’t good to see but again you can still see flashes when you watch.
This last week against the Bengals Lawrence rebounded nicely. Lawrence completed 17 of 24 passes for 204 yards and no interceptions. Lawrence added 8 carries for 36 yards and a touchdown with his feet. He had his best QBR at 82.3 and passer rating of 96.5.
Justin Fields: Grade D
Fields has only played two games so there isn’t as much to say about him. He played well last week and terribly the week before. The next few games will show a lot about Fields and how good he is.
Fields’ first game was a shitshow to say the least. Fields only completed 6 of 20 passes for 68 yards. It didn’t help that Fields was sacked 9 times and his QBR was a nightmarish 8.4.
Last week against the Lions was much better for Fields as he got his first win and genuinely looked much more comfortable. In the game, Fields completed 11 of 17 passes for 209 yards and an interception. Fields played solidly against a terrible defense in the Lions but horribly against a strong Browns defense.
All stats are from https://www.pff.com https://www.footballoutsiders.com https://www.espn.com/nfl/scoreboard
