Henry McKenna
NFL Reporter
The 2024 QB class is a week away.
Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix all received Ws. That said, let’s not get too crazy about where they are in this ranking. Only one of them made the big leap. (You can probably guess who it is.) Actually, one of them is knock down It has risen significantly in the rankings. (You can probably guess who that is.) But it’s been a very interesting week for young guys who are having mixed success in the NFL.
Let’s take a look at where they land among the veterans in this week’s QB stock market.
This ranking gives 30% importance to this week’s performance and 70% for the rest of 2024. One question outweighs all others. What have you done for the team recently?
last week: 1, 2, 3, 4
1. lamar jackson, baltimore ravens (⬆️ 1)
Poor, poor Bengalis have to figure out what to do with Rama this week.
There really is no answer.
Against the Bills last weekend, he took exactly what the defense gave him. Every hole in the area? Jackson found it. All winnable matchups for men? Jackson found it. Is there every opportunity to duck and run? Jackson found it.
Lamar has been excellent to start the season, even if the Ravens’ record (2-2) doesn’t necessarily reflect much. It was entirely possible that Baltimore could open the season 0-4 after suffering a blowout loss to the Chiefs and an embarrassing loss to the Raiders. But Jackson did what critics often said he didn’t do: win big games. He beat Dallas. He beat Buffalo. Heading to Cincinnati.
2. brock purdy, San Francisco 49ers (⬆️ 4)
If Patrick Mahomes doesn’t play like he does, I’ll look for traces of his play in other players. And I was thrilled to find it at Brock Purdy in week four.
Yes, we are talking about the same Brock Purdy.
On the 49ers’ opening drive Sunday, Purdy was forced on third-and-9 from the Patriots’ 21 and the pocket collapsed. Purdy may not be the biggest quarterback, but he beat linemen and refused to be put down.
This is the moment when his creativity comes into play.
He was rolling left and pointed downfield to direct George Kittle into position. The tight end had to pick up what Purdy had put down. They worked together to convert the scramble drill. Purdy flipped the ball downfield while fading left and throwing right. (That’s a hard throw!) He put it in a safe place where only the finished and the unfinished could be. (That’s a smart throw!) Kittle caught the ball and went for a first down.
Not too shabby.
Purdy has the second-highest passing EPA (21.7) in the NFL. He is second in passing yards. He’s done it all with his legs, too, recording eight first downs on 18 carries this year. He barely skipped a beat despite injuries to Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle and Deebo Samuel. It didn’t help that Trent Williams and Brandon Aiyuk held out in training camp. We can see that the now-resolved contract disputes, especially Aiyuk’s, are still having a ripple effect on this crime.
But Purdy was a stabilizing presence at the heart of the entire team, even when the 49ers played uncharacteristically sloppy football to start the year.
3. Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings (⬆️ 1)
4. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills (⬇️ 3)
5. Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders (⬆️ 2)
The rookie just keeps getting better.
Washington has been steadily adding more and more to Daniels’ plate each week. Just a few weeks ago, they were spamming recipients’ screens. The training wheels were on. This week, we didn’t just take the bike off, we had Daniels ride his dirt bike at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour.
He’s playing with nuance in the pocket. He doesn’t just look at open receivers. He is helping them create separation through their deceptive eyes. During that time he felt absolutely intimidated by his legs. There’s no reason this rookie can’t top this list in the coming weeks.
6. CJ Stroud, Houston Texans (⬆️ 5)
7. baker mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (⬆️ 13)
8. joe burrow, cincinnati bengals (⬆️ 4)
9. Doc Prescott, dallas cowboys (⬇️ 1)
10. Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks (←)
11. Derek Carr, new orleans saints (⬆️ 11)
12. Aaron Rodgers, new york jets (⬇️ 9)
13. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions (⬆️ 2)
Did Goff just play a perfect game?
Wait, what sport am I writing about?
He’s having a bad year. That person held back many Mediocre movies and statistics. But oh my god, he did cooking Seahawks on Monday night. What I mean is that statistics in general are boring.
But look at these!
18/18
292 yards
2 tank destroyers
155.8 QB rating
After scoring in the third quarter, Goff was the Lions’ receiving touchdowns leader, tied with three other players. And I planned to make fun of him (since he’s only thrown three touchdowns this year, of course) when he threw a 70-yard ball to Jameson Williams, who ended up being Detroit’s new receiving touchdown. director. And the joke is dead.
Goff is putting together a stink this season. But I have to hand it to him: He threw the ball in Week 4.
14. patrick mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs (⬇️ 1)
15. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams (⬇️10)
16. Justin Fields, Pittsburgh Steelers (⬆️ 5)
17. Jordan Love, green bay packers (new)
18. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals (⬇️ 4)
19. Jalen hurts, Philadelphia Eagles (⬇️ 1)
20. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers (⬆️ 4)
By now you’ve probably seen the video of Herbert smashing his helmet on the sideline during the team’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Since Herbert never admits what exactly made him want to Hulk Smash, I decided to make a list of things that might annoy him.
1) His best receiver is a rookie.
2) He is in the same division as Patrick Mahomes.
3) He is in the same department as Andy Reid.
4) The number of pass attempts this year is 91 (28th among QBs).
5) His EPA is 6.9 (26th among QBs).
6) Jim Harbuagh is a stubborn player, so the argument that Herbert can’t impact the game unless he throws the ball probably doesn’t mean much to his coach.
7) Mike Williams is a Jet.
8) Keenan Allen is a bear.
8) Patrick Mahomes is the Chief. (Oh wait, I said it before. But how annoying is that!)
10) Last but not least, Herbert is a Charger.
I know a quarterback can change a franchise. That’s exactly what Herbert was doing. Until a series of coaching changes left him helpless. At least Herbert is winning? Are you satisfied with not being allowed to actually play your QB the way that makes him special?
21. kirk cousins, Atlanta Falcons (⬇️12)
22. Daniel Jones, new york giants (⬇️ 6)
23. Andy Dalton, Carolina Panthers (⬇️ 4)
24. Jacoby Brissett, New England Patriots (⬆️ 1)
25. Trevor Lawrence, jacksonville jaguars (⬆️ 1)
26. Caleb Williams, chicago bears (⬆️ 2)
Even in fast games, Williams isn’t that fast.
Even when he swings the ball to show off his power, he lacks accuracy. Sometimes he throws the ball 10 feet high or to a wide receiver.
There may have been no more worrisome moment than when Williams passed the ball to DJ Moore in the third quarter last Sunday. The separation of the receivers was sufficient. He beat the cornerback and the safety was faking it to the other side of the field. For most passers, it was a touchdown waiting to happen. Williams uncorked the bullet at Moore. It was something I couldn’t catch at all.
It’s one thing for Williams to have trouble predicting pitches. (And he’s clearly struggling there.) It’s another thing if he has trouble hitting wide open receivers.
He is often very slow-witted. Then he’s a mile too fast.
but… but! When he’s good, he’s spellbindingly good.
There may have been no more impressive moment than hitting Cole Kmet midway through the fourth quarter. Williams beat two defenders and slotted the ball into a hole in the defense where only Kmet could catch the ball. That was ridiculous.
There is still hope. It’s just that he has a lot further to go than we expected.
27. Gardner Minshew, las vegas raiders (←)
28. Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts (⬆️ 1)
29. Bonix, Denver Broncos (⬇️ 6)
30. will levis, Tennessee Titans (←)
31. Deshaun Watson, cleveland browns (←)
32. Tyler Huntley, miami dolphins (new)
Henry McKenna I am an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter @henrycmckenna.
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