It’s rare for quarterbacks to go with the first two picks of the NFL Draft. And both of those quarterbacks going on to be superstars? That has never happened before in the modern era, believe it or not.
This year’s class looks like it will change that history.
It’s too early to declare victory on Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels. After one season, Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, the first two picks of the 2012 draft, looked like superstars and that fizzled after RG3’s ACL injury. But it appears Williams and Daniels are going to be among the NFL’s best quarterbacks for a while. And it’s setting up for a memorable NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year race.
Williams had a better-than-average start as a rookie quarterback, but it looked poor in comparison to Daniels’ blazing hot start for the Washington Commanders. On Sunday in London, Williams looked like he might match Daniels the rest of the way.
Williams threw four touchdowns and was fantastic in the Chicago Bears’ 35-16 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars are a horrendous team with perhaps the NFL’s worst defense, and that certainly didn’t hurt Williams. But he looked like a No. 1 overall pick should look. He showed great vision, he harnessed his improv skills and made play after play and had some impressive throws. His touchdowns to Keenan Allen in particular were masterpieces. On both he put the ball exactly where it needed to be for Allen to score. It’s not normal for a quarterback to look that good in his sixth game.
Williams has been slowly progressing, looking better and better each week. The Bears are 4-2 as their quarterback figures out the NFL at a pretty rapid pace. Daniels’ looked like he mastered the NFL from his first day, which is even more rare.
Daniels didn’t have a banner day on Sunday in a 30-23 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, but that doesn’t put much of a damper on the start to his rookie season. The Ravens are one of the NFL’s best teams, but Daniels still went 24 of 35 for 269 yards and two touchdowns in a 30-23 loss. The loss dropped the Commanders to 4-2, and few expected them to have that record after six games. Daniels has been incredible and he kept Washington in the game on Sunday. It wasn’t his fault Washington lost, the Commanders just aren’t as good as the Ravens.
The history of quarterbacks who have gone 1-2 in the NFL Draft is not good. The best pair might be Jim Plunkett and Archie Manning back in 1971, but Plunkett didn’t have success with a Patriots franchise that drafted him and Manning is best known for doing his best during a horrible Saints era. Jared Goff and Carson Wentz each had moments but Wentz faded fast after one great season. Most of the 1-2 pairings include a clear bust: Rick Mirer, Ryan Leaf, Tim Couch, Zach Wilson, Bryce Young (though the latter two still have a shot to redeem themselves). And it’s not just Williams and Daniels, Drake Maye looked pretty good in his first NFL start on Sunday and Bo Nix has had his moments this season too. This group of rookie quarterbacks looks strong.
It’s a bit hard to believe but there has never been a draft class in which quarterbacks have gone with the first two picks and both succeeded. Chicago and Washington are happy that it seems history is being made with this class. The Commanders and Bears will play in two weeks, and that game will feature two of the NFL’s best quarterbacks. Already.
Here are the rest of the winners and losers from Week 6 of the NFL season:
WINNERS
NFC North: It’s hard to get four playoff teams from the same division. The math is hard to work out, especially when teams take losses in tough divisional games.
But it sure seems like the NFC North has four of the best teams in the NFL. The Minnesota Vikings are 5-0. The Detroit Lions are clearly a championship contender. The Bears are 4-2. And the Green Bay packers are looking pretty good now that their quarterback is finding a groove.
Jordan Love looked very good in dismantling the Arizona Cardinals 34-13 on Sunday. He threw three first-half touchdowns and looked all the way back from a Week 1 knee injury. Love finished with 258 yards and four touchdowns. The Packers are going to be just fine. The only problem is they play in the best division in football.
Houston Texans: The New England Patriots aren’t a very good team, and rookie quarterback Drake Maye didn’t change that in his debut. But one of the telltale signs of a good team is leaving no doubt against inferior opponents, and the Texans passed that test on Sunday.
C.J. Stroud looked like an MVP candidate again and the Texans didn’t miss Nico Collins, the NFL’s leading receiver who went to IR with a hamstring injury, in an easy win over the Patriots. Maye wasn’t that bad but the Texans’ win was never in doubt. Joe Mixon returned to the lineup and it was a reminder of how diverse and unstoppable the Texans offense might be if he stays healthy. Mixon had 132 total yards and two touchdowns.
Beating up the Patriots doesn’t make Houston a championship contender. But at 5-1, the Texans look as strong as any team in the NFL.
The Ravens offense: Derrick Henry has changed everything for the Baltimore Ravens.
It’s not often an offense with an MVP quarterback changes its identity and that’s a positive, but it has happened in Baltimore. Henry had 132 yards rushing and two touchdowns, Lamar Jackson had 323 yards passing, Zay Flowers had 132 yards receiving and tight end Mark Andrews reemerged with 66 yards and a touchdown in a 30-23 win over the Washington Commanders.
Jackson never had a great running back to work with but does now. Baltimore can move the ball any way it wants, with multiple stars on offense. It’s going to be very tough to slow the Ravens down this season.
LOSERS
Sloppy Browns: The Cleveland Browns aren’t a good team in just about any way this season, and it doesn’t help that they make bad mistakes at inopportune times.
Last week, the Browns wanted to go for it on fourth down near the end zone but had 12 men in the huddle, causing Deshaun Watson to walk to the sideline in frustration. This week, the Browns’ best chance to tie a close game against the Philadelphia Eagles was going for it on fourth-and-goal with about four minutes left. But left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. had a false start, which moved the Browns back to the 13-yard line. The Browns figured that was too far to go for it so they settled for a field goal, which didn’t do Cleveland much good at that point. It was probably the wrong call to kick the field goal but it’s not like coach Kevin Stefanski had a great option. They trailed 20-16 then, never got the ball back after Jalen Hurts completed a huge pass to A.J. Brown downfield and the Eagles went on to win 20-16.
That’s the Browns’ season. They aren’t good, Watson can’t make a play when he has to and the Browns don’t help themselves with bad mistakes. It seems like a lost season for Cleveland.
Officials in Tennessee: Officials didn’t have a grudge against the Tennessee Titans. They don’t care which team wins, The NFL isn’t rigged. But two bad non-calls in the fourth quarter wrecked any chance the Titans had to come back to beat the Indianapolis Colts.
Twice on third down passes the Titans threw to DeAndre Hopkins, and twice there was enough contact that it should have been flagged. Neither one was called. The first one was an egregious miss by officials and sent Titans coach Brian Callahan off into a tirade against the officials.
The Titans probably shouldn’t have punted on fourth-and-7 with less than three minutes left after the second non-call but did, hoping to get the ball back. They did, but with just enough time to run one desperation play that never got off the ground. The Colts won 20-17. The Titans won’t be happy when they see the replays.