There were a total of six quarterbacks taken in the first-round of this year's NFL Draft, which tied the record for the most ever in an opening round. Of those six rookies, there's a good chance that at least five of them will see some serious playing time this year, which means Peyton Manning may finally get to witness his most unwanted record get broken.
During an interview with DenverSports.com this week, Manning revealed that he'd like to see someone top his rookie interception record. After the Colts made Manninng the No. 1 overall pick in 1998, the future Hall of Famer promptly went out and threw 28 interceptions as a rookie, which is a record that has now stood for 26 years.
"I played as a rookie, that was not a fun year," Manning said. "It's well-documented how many interceptions that I threw. If any one of these rookies wanted to break my interception record, I'd be for it."
Of course, when Manning says he wants to see "any rookie" break the record, he doesn't mean Bo Nix. Manning is still a Broncos fan after spending four seasons with Denver, so he won't be rooting for Nix to top his mark.
"I don't want Bo to break it, but I'd like to get that one off my resume," Manning said. "You'd think with 17 games they'd be able to do it. It's 28 [interceptions]. It shouldn't be that hard."
In the 26 years since Manning set the record, NO ONE has really come close to breaking it. Browns quarterback DeShone Kizer played for one of the worst teams in NFL history during his rookie year in 2017 -- the 0-16 Browns -- and even then, he still only managed to throw 22 interceptions, which is the closest anyone has come to breaking Manning's record.
Although Kizer played for a bad team, Mark Sanchez also came close to the record while playing for a good team. The Jets were able to get to the AFC title game in 2009 even though Sanchez threw 20 interceptions as a rookie that year. Sanchez and Kizer are two of just four rookie quarterbacks who have thrown at least 20 interceptions over the past 26 years (Geno Smith and Matthew Stafford are the others).
If the record is going to fall, it will likely have to be broken by a QB who's starting in Week 1. Right now, Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels would seem to be the only two locks to be on the field for the opening week of the season. J.J. McCarthy, Drake Maye and Nix could also be Week 1 starters, but they could have some stiff competition. The only rookie QB who almost certainly WON'T be out there in Week 1 is Michael Penix Jr., who will likely end up sitting his entire first year in Atlanta.
