Ben Kuchipudi ‘25
Staff Writer

Trevor Lawrence

The first game for the most hyped-up prospect in a decade didn’t end up in the outcome that most people expected. Lawrence threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns, but he also threw three picks against arguably the worst secondary in the league last year. He had some good moments, such as a 41 yard dime to DJ Chark for a touchdown, but he also threw two hideous interceptions to Justin Reid and Vernon Hargreaves. Against a team that was projected to win one game this season, this wasn’t a great showing for Trevor Lawrence. Week Two against Denver, he started off with a touchdown to Marvin Jones Jr., but that would be the only touchdown he threw as he tossed two more picks on another rough outing for the number one pick. He now has five picks on the season.  

Zach Wilson

Three years after drafting Sam Darnold third overall to be their franchise savior, the Jets flipped him to the Carolina Panthers and took BYU’s Zach Wilson second overall, so it’s only right that Wilson played Darnold to start off his career. The first half was… ugly to say the least. Wilson threw an ugly pick to Shaq Thompson, and he was getting mauled by Panthers left and right as the offensive line couldn’t hold up. In the second half, however, he turned things up, throwing for 174 yards and two touchdowns, both to newcomer Corey Davis. He didn’t play a great game, but he certainly wasn’t bad either. However, Wilson was absolutely atrocious in his first home game, throwing two picks on his first two throws and four overall against Bill Belichick and the Patriots. He was even booed by the MetLife crowd as this was reminiscent of Sam Darnold’s infamous “Seeing Ghosts” game on Monday Night Football in 2019. Like Lawrence, Wilson also has five interceptions on the season. 

Trey Lance

We didn’t get to see much of Trey Lance in Week One, but his one pass attempt was a touchdown to Trent Sherfield. Jimmy Garoppolo wasn’t bad this game, but he certainly wasn’t good either. It’s only a matter of time before Lance gets a start at quarterback and never looks back. 

Justin Fields

Similar to Lance, we only saw limited time for Justin Fields, but he did rush for a touchdown and completed two passes in Week One against the Rams. In Week Two, Fields was able to get extended playing time due to an Andy Dalton injury, but he wasn’t good in that time, throwing for 60 yards and a pick against the Bengals. Luckily for Fields, Dalton is on a short leash and Fields could be in line to start any week. 

Mac Jones

Mac Jones was the last quarterback picked in the first round, but he arguably played the best out of his rookie counterparts against an aggressive Dolphins defense. He threw for 281 yards and a touchdown, but it wasn’t enough to lead the Pats to a victory. He wasn’t going to light up the stat sheets like Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson should have, but he did what he was supposed to do as the Patriots quarterback. He only threw for 186 scoreless yards against the Jets, but that’s all he needed to do, as fellow rookie Zach Wilson turned the ball over four times. Jones has been the best rookie so far, which isn’t great news for the rest of the league if he continues to develop this way.