The 2024 draft class of quarterbacks are still struggling to lift off in the early stages of their rookie campaigns, as none of the three first-round picks turned starters demonstrated noticeable improvement in their second contests of the regular season.
None of Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix has thrown a touchdown pass in their first two games.
The second-year passers haven't fared much better, although reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud has mostly looked the part entering Week 3. Bryce Young has been so dismal, he was benched Monday for journeyman Andy Dalton in Carolina. Goodness.
A grand total of seven quarterbacks selected in the past two NFL Draft classes saw considerable playing time during a mostly tightly contested Week 2.
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 will come out weekly on Tuesdays.
Week 2 stats
- 20 of 35 for 246 yards, 0 TDs and 2 INTs
- 0 big-time throws, 1 turnover-worthy play
High-caliber throws/plays
- Midway through the third quarter, Nix threw with anticipation on a deep dig run by Courtland Sutton that went for 24 yards.
- The reverse-pass long ball to Josh Reynolds was reasonably well-placed between three defenders down the field. Traveled about 55 yards in the air.
- On the last throw of the third, while rolling right, he hit his target down the right sideline, but the ball was dropped.
Low-caliber throws/plays
- In the second, he missed an open tight end on a flag route that was overthrown.
- It was probably a better read by the cornerback than a bad read by Nix, but the interception in the end zone was on the rookie quarterback. Threw it directly to Cory Trice.
- There was a blatant overthrow on a deep ball to Marvin Mims in the third.
Summary: While the high- and low-caliber plays are about even here, it doesn't mean Nix had a steady outing against the Steelers. Checkdown after checkdown after checkdown, and he took plenty of hits inside the pocket. Another mostly ineffective performance from Nix, even though he had a respectable yards-per-attempt average of 7.0.
Grade: D+
Season Grade: D+
Week 2 stats
- 3.2 yards per attempt on 26 passes, 0 TD and 1 INT
High-caliber throws/plays
- None
Low-caliber throws/plays
- After avoiding a sack in the the first quarter, Young scrambled to his left, then inexplicably took a sack as he watched a defender approach and deliver a huge hit.
- His interception in the second quarter came on an in-breaking route against zone coverage in which Diontae Johnson wasn't open, and there was a safety directly over top of the route. Bad decision, and the throw was late.
- In the second half, he baked out of the pocket with Joey Bosa rushing to the outside. Easy sack when Young had space to climb into the pocket.
- Young misfired on a quick screen to Adam Thielen in the slot.
- He threw behind an in-breaking route run from the boundary that was tipped and nearly intercepted.
Summary: It didn't feel like it could get much worse for Young after the disastrous start to the 2024 season. It did. Beyond the Panthers getting thoroughly outclassed for the second-straight week, the former No. 1 overall pick was a total non-factor and struggled off-script, too.
Grade: F
Season Grade: F
Week 2 stats
- 50% completion on 34 pass attempts
- 1 big-time throw, 5 turnover-worthy plays
High-caliber throws/plays
- Not insanely difficult, but Richardson threw with perfect touch and placement on a 30-yard long ball to rookie Adonai Mitchell down the left sideline.
- Late in the game he fired a rocket through layered coverage to Alec Pierce on an in-breaker than went for 18 yards.
- Richardson demonstrated his pure speed and athletic gifts on a fourth-and-11 scramble that moved the chains as he dove for the first down near the sideline.
Low-caliber throws/plays
- His interception in the first quarter came on an overthrown deep look to Pierce. Richardson faded away from the pass slightly, which probably wasn't necessary or a good idea.
- Richardson's fourth-quarter interception was a force over the middle on a dig route that had a defender directly underneath it. No business throwing to that receiver.
- On the final drive, his first throw was directly in the arms of Packers linebacker Quay Walker but bounced into the air and was snagged by Pierce for what amounted to a 15-yard gain. Very fortunate.
- The next throw was a deep out and up run by Mitchell that was overthrown.
Summary: This contest wasn't quite as bad as the stats indicate from Richardson. However, he did look very raw once again as a thrower. Against the Packers, Richardson didn't generate much of an impact with his legs, either. The flashes are there in both regards, but they've been counteracted by poor decisions or passes with less-than-ideal accuracy. And two of his worst throws came on the last-ditch effort with under a minute to go in the game from deep in his own territory.
Grade: D+
Season Grade: C
Week 2 stats
- 63.9% completion, 7.2 yards per attempt
- 3 big-time throws, 1 turnover-worthy play
High-caliber throws/plays
- Stroud threw with perfect timing and trajectory on a corner run by Stefon Diggs that featured a cornerback directly underneath the route.
- On the next play, he was forced to his right, and as he was being tackled around the ankles, he found Nico Collins running with him on a scramble drill for 18 yards.
- There was a nice on-the-run throw over the deep middle to Tank Dell that was dropped.
- To start the fourth, Stroud connected with Collins on another scramble drill dot downfield.
Low-caliber throws/plays
- In the second, he was late on a shallow route run by Joe Mixon that was knocked away.
- On a third-and-long in the third quarter, Stroud misfired on a down-the-middle throw to Diggs.
- The Kyler Gordon interception that was overturned came on a bad read by Stroud. He didn't notice the veteran cornerback sitting in the throwing lane.
- He missed an open Dell on an out-breaker near the sideline. Open but throw was wide.
Summary: Stroud wasn't incredibly sharp, yet it feels like the Bears are going to have one of the better defenses in the NFC this season. While there were some clear-cut misses, when it mattered, in most situations, Stroud made something out of nothing, particularly outside of the pocket, en route to victory.
Grade: C+
Season Grade: C+
Week 2 stats
- 67.9% completion on 28 attempts
- 2 big-time throws, 1 turnover-worthy play
High-caliber throws/plays
- While not the hardest throw in Week 2, Levis ripped a fastball on a deep dig between two defenders in the early stages of the second quarter.
- There was an incredible throw to Tony Pollard down the right sideline through dense traffic that went for 22 yards.
- Midway through the third, Levis dropped one in the bucket to Calvin Ridley on a go-ball that was dropped.
- Later in the quarter, he demonstrated his assertiveness and athleticism as a runner on a 21-yard scamper against pressure.
- While a better catch than throw, his long touchdown to Ridley was technically past the underneath defender and arrived a millisecond before the safety could range to the football to make a play on it.
- In the fourth, he somehow spun out of a would-be sack and accelerated 13 yards to pick up a crucial first down late in the game.
Low-caliber throws/plays
- As he was getting sacked in the red zone in the second quarter, Levis ridiculously tried to flip the ball backward to Tyjae Spears while in midair. The ball didn't connect with Levis' intended target, and the Jets recovered the fumble. About as bad of a decision as a quarterback can make.
- While I usually don't assign blame for passes not thrown, because it's a major challenge to recognize what a quarterback was exactly looking at throughout a play at game speed, Levis appeared to be focused down the middle of the field and had Ridley wide open on a deep over in the end zone on the final possession. He didn't throw the ball and scrambled for two yards. Appeared to be an egregious miss of an open wideout.
Summary: Levis wasn't entirely brutal in this game. He wasn't spectacular, either, but it was difficult to find a variety of either poor throws or decisions, beyond the atrocious underhand toss backwards as he was going to the turf that cost the Titans three points in the red zone earlier in the game. That sinks his grade considerably.
Grade: C
Season Grade: C-
Week 2 stats
- 62.2% completion on 37 attempts, 4.7 yards per attempt
- 0 big-time throws, 3 turnover-worthy plays
- 44 yards rushing
High-caliber throws/plays
- On an early third-and-12, Williams threw with anticipation and zip on a super-long throw toward the sideline for a 14-yard gain to move the chains.
- While it didn't get the first down, Williams had a ridiculous escape from pressure that gained 10 yards.
- In the third quarter, on a third-and-10, Williams pulled off a nifty scramble, eluding a defender in space to move the chains.
Low-caliber throws/plays
- His late third-quarter interception was underthrown on a deep ball down the left sideline targeted for D.J. Moore. Needed more air under it and to be led out in front of the veteran receiver.
- After another spin-out of a sack, Williams again didn't have enough air under a throw down the sideline that was picked.
- In the fourth, he was late on a dig to Moore.
- A few plays later, he overthrew Moore -- against double coverage -- by about 5-10 yards on a deep ball.
Summary: As is typically the case with a rookie quarterback early in his career, Williams faced a litany of blitzes from the Texans in this prime-time game. While neither Williams nor the Chicago offensive line handled the pressure looks very well, there were a fair amount of quality reps from inside the pocket, and he demonstrated plenty of toughness, repeatedly standing in and delivering despite an onslaught of rushers from every direction. He isn't "there" yet, but relative to the low grade, I liked the promise Williams demonstrated in this narrow defeat in a hostile environment.
Grade: D+
Season Grade: D+
Week 2 stats
- 79.3% completion on 22 pass attempts, 5.0 yard average depth of target
- 44 yards rushing on 10 attempts
High-caliber throws/plays
- In the first quarter, he scrambled left, back juked a defender and dove to get the first down. Nifty footwork.
- On a third-and-8 in the third quarter, Daniels found an open Zach Ertz and fit the football up and over an underneath linebacker. The play went for 20 yards. Best throw of the day to an open target.
- There was a nicely zipped pass to Noah Brown on a slant in the fourth quarter against tight-ish coverage.
Low-caliber throws/plays
- Late in the second quarter, Daniels had Terry McLaurin open on an easy in-breaker and threw late and behind him. Incomplete.
- On a third-and-15 in the red zone in the fourth quarter, Daniels skipped a throw toward the sideline.
Summary: Another game without much at the intermediate level for Daniels, or, I should write, a litany of check downs and screens. While this wasn't a brutal game by any stretch for Daniels on paper, the fact that he's not keeping his head up once he decides to scramble is a bit troublesome. And it's not as if he was absolutely dynamic running the football in this game, either. Not a bad performance, yet I'd like to see more from him in terms of aggression. From his offensive coordinator, too.
Grade: C-
Season Grade: C
