Young quarterback action in Week 8 was headlined by a epic ending in the Jayden Daniels vs. Caleb Williams contest that was otherwise a defensive battle. Although the Commanders emerged with a miraculous win, and Daniels' statistics were lightyears better than Williams, I thought the No. 1 overall selection was just as good as his No. 2 overall pick counterpart.
In Denver, Bo Nix settled in nicely against the lowly Panthers, and C.J. Stroud had problems against a frisky Colts defense at home.
There were nine quarterbacks selected in the past two NFL Draft classes who saw considerable playing time during a tightly contested Week 8. Let's dive deep into the individual efforts of each quarterback and assign a grade on a per-snap basis, taking every individual aspect of their performance into account.
(At least 10 attempts were needed to qualify for this piece, which comes out weekly on Tuesdays.)
Week 8 stats
- 21 of 38 for 326 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT
High-caliber throws/plays
- While Luke McCaffrey was wide open and the ball was ruled incomplete, Daniels made a ridiculous touch throw to the back right pylon with a defender draped on him while being pushed from the pocket midway through the first quarter.
- He made a nasty but seemingly effortless cut on a third-and-8 to move the chains in the first quarter.
- As has normally been the case in every game to begin his NFL career, Daniels dropped a gorgeous teardrop deep down the sideline for a 61-yard gain.
- There was a tremendous display of his speed and flexibility when he turned the corner on a 13-yard scramble in the third quarter.
Low-caliber throws/plays
- He missed wide on a deep comeback in the first quarter.
- Daniels threw behind a back-shoulder attempt to Terry McLaurin in the second.
- While rolling left in the fourth, he had an open receiver running in the same direction, but his throw was wide and short.
Summary: Daniels had his "typical" performance, or what is normal for him when he's not piecing together a masterpiece. A few moments in which he looks like the rookie that are countered by a few seismic strikes downfield and with his legs. The momentum continues for Daniels from this The Hail Noah -- or whatever we're calling it -- victory as time expired.
Grade: B
Season Grade: B
Week 8 stats
- 28 of 37 for 284 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT
High-caliber throws/plays
- On a third-and-7 in the first quarter, Nix made a super-long throw down the middle between two defenders right into the arms of Courtland Sutton.
- The touchdown to Adam Trautman was absolutely gorgeous, with a defender trailing behind the tight end, Nix put the football out in front of the veteran, and he made a ridiculous one-handed grab.
Low-caliber throws/plays
- In the second half, he threw slightly ahead of a wide-open seam shot that fell incomplete.
Summary: Against what is probably the worst team in the NFL, Nix looked very comfortable at home. Plenty of typical Sean Payton dump offs and screens, but the arm talent flashed on a few occasions, especially on throws to Sutton and the touchdown to Trautman. Quality start for the rookie.
Grade: A-
Season Grade: C+
Week 8 stats
- 10 of 24 for 131 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
High-caliber throws/plays
- Williams demonstrated keen progression-reading skills on a second-read strike to Cole Kmet over the middle in the fourth.
- Midway through the fourth, Williams placed a perfectly thrown ball into the hands of D.J. Moore for 27 yards downfield right before the deep safety could make a play on the football.
- On Chicago's final drive, the 22-yard improvisational connection with Allen demonstrated his play-making ability.
- Williams had an incredible, juke-filled 13 yard run in the second quarter.
Low-caliber throws/plays
- On his second throw of the game, Williams missed a wide-open Rome Odunze on a deep over.
- Later in the first quarter, he overthrew a pass into the flat targeted for Keenan Allen.
Summary: Williams was trending in the right direction for about a month, and this game wasn't a dazzling performance. But he demonstrated advanced nuances to playing the position and, altogether, played more consistently than the ghastly numbers would indicate.
Grade: B
Season Grade: C+
Week 8 stats
- 3 of 6 for 23 yards, 1 TD (1 rushing), 0 INT
High-caliber throws/plays
- Maye demonstrated impressive speed on his 17-yard touchdown run in the first half.
- Late in the first, he uncorked a perfectly placed pass outside of structure while on the run but the ball was dropped against reasonably tight coverage.
- A few plays later, Maye stayed on his feet through contact on another quality run, this one up the middle, for 18 yards.
Low-caliber throws/plays
- None
Summary: Maye wasn't sensational before a head injury forced him out of this game against the Jets, but he made a handful of positive plays without any clear-cut negatives.
Grade: A-
Season Grade: C+
Week 8 stats
- 25 of 37 for 285 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT
High-caliber throws/plays
- Stroud found Tank Dell in the back corner of the end zone from a collapsing pocket and put the football in a place only Dell could catch it.
- To start the fourth, while floating near the right sideline, Stroud put his arm strength on display, ripping a fastball to John Metchie downfield for 28 yards. Throw was all upper body.
Low-caliber throws/plays
- In the first quarter, he attempted a seam shot through layers of coverage that was tipped before it could even get near the receiver. Dangerous pass.
- While pressure was mounting directly in his face, Stroud had a wide-open tight end in the middle of the field, but his throw was airmailed.
- He missed badly (high) on a simple out route run by Diggs in the second.
Summary: Not one of Stroud's better performances, and some of that had to do with how the Colts pass rush tormented him for most of this game. His first truly impressive, challenging throw didn't come until late in the first half, and the Texans had to scheme open receivers underneath and at the intermediate level for most of this contest. Some uncharacteristically inaccurate throws from Stroud in this one, too.
Grade: C-
Season Grade: B-
Week 8 stats
- 10 of 32 for 175 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
High-caliber throws/plays
- Richardson's first throw of the game featured him navigating the pocket exquisitely before firing a deep strike to Michael Pittman Jr. that was broken up with a hit to the back of the receiver that jarred the ball loose.
- With Derek Stingley Jr. trailing the play, Richardson dropped a dime into the bucket to Adonai Mitchell in the end zone, but the rookie receiver's second foot was inches out of bounds.
- He placed one in an ideal location to running back Tyler Goodson on a double move down the left sideline that was dropped in the end zone.
- While the catch by Josh Downs was better, Richardson ripped a strike over the underneath cornerback to the front right pylon in the fourth quarter.
Low-caliber throws/plays
- In the first half, Richardson threw with too much velocity and height on an angle route run out of the backfield intended for Josh Downs.
- The last-minute first-half interception deep in his own end was a bad decision -- late against zone coverage.
- Richardson threw well behind a potential back-shoulder attempt in the fourth quarter down the left sideline.
- On the final drive of the game, Richardson rolled right and had an open tight end but hurried the throw across his body and it fell incomplete.
Summary: Back-to-back games with 10 completions for Richardson, and this completion rate in the low 30s is scary. I have to say, though, the film wasn't quite as brutal as the stat line suggests. He was slightly off on a few near big completions, and there were two clear drops from Colts skill-position players. Was this a great effort, though? Of course not. Richardson's accuracy still needs plenty of fine-tuning, as does Indianapolis' game plan offensively. Richardson and his targets need to get in rhythm.
Grade: C-
Season Grade: C-
Week 8 stats
- 24 of 37 for 224 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
High-caliber throws/plays
- His touchdown to Xavier Legette in the first quarter was a strike on a slant before the middle of the field safety could make a play on the ball.
- In the second, he looked right then came back to the middle of the field before finding a receiver against tight coverage.
- From the right hash, Young sent a teardrop into the arms of Jalen Coker down the left sideline for 29 yards. Gorgeous placement.
- There was an anticipatory post down the seam to Coker for 26 yards between multiple defenders.
- In garbage time late, Young threw Legette open on a corner route while he was being hit in the pocket.
- Young's final throw of the game was a perfectly placed back-shoulder to Coker for a touchdown.
Low-caliber throws/plays
- The timing was off on a comeback in the third quarter that was intercepted by Patrick Surtain II.
- Young threw behind a slant in the fourth.
- His second interception wasn't the worst throw of his career, but it was underthrown just enough for the trailing defender to make a play on it near the front left pylon of the end zone.
- With under a minute to go, he had a receiver open down the numbers but threw the ball well wide, and it fell incomplete.
Summary: While the game plan was ultra gimmicky to start, through the midway portion of the third quarter, this was as clean of a game as I've seen from Young potentially in his entire NFL career to date. This was a clear step in the right direction for last year's No. 1 overall pick.
Grade: C+
Season Grade: D+
Week 8 stats
- 12 of 24 for 156 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
High-caliber throws/plays
- In the third, he fit a pass into Chris Olave for 14 yards as a defensive back converged on the throw.
Low-caliber throws/plays
- Rattler missed on an easy comeback throw to a wide open Alvin Kamara.
Summary: This was a mostly schemed-up outing for Rattler. Lots of underneath passes, screens, and quick-game tosses, so there simply weren't too many opportunities for Rattler to make game-altering throws, but he did take reasonably good care of the ball.
Grade: C-
Season Grade: C-
Week 8 stats
- 9 of 17 or 122 yards, 0 TD, 0 INTs
High-caliber throws/plays
- With under three minutes to go in the game, Haener connected on a seam throw with two defenders closing in on his target.
- His next throw was a strike for 15 yards on an aggressive post from the slot to his tight end with the safety converging on the throwing lane.
- On the final drive of the game, Haener stepped into a tiny area in the pocket and delivered a well-placed deep ball to Bub Means for 26 yards down the field. The throw needed anticipation to throw the receiver open.
Low-caliber throws/plays
- In the fourth, he overthrew a deep ball that had tight coverage.
Summary: Haener actually made some impressive throws in this blowout contest. The situation didn't look too big for him, and I thought the jump surprisingly jumped out of his hand in most occasions.
Grade: C+
Season Grade: C+
Who's the favorite to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year after seven weeks? It seems to be a two-man race between Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels. Check out the latest odds over at FanDuel.