With the 2021 NFL regular season in the books, we’ve had our first look at one of the most anticipated quarterback classes in several years. The first three picks of the 2021 NFL Draft were quarterbacks with two more getting selected within the top-15 picks. That’s five rookie quarterbacks with high hopes and high expectations. Let’s take a look back at how each of those players graded out during their rookie season and how promising their future looks moving forward.
Trevor Lawrence, C-
With a C- grade, we thought that Lawrence was just a little below average. He showed something in Week 18, throwing for 223 yards and two touchdowns. But that’s the same number of touchdowns he had in his previous nine games combined. That’s not to say that it was entirely his fault. But Lawrence rarely faced adversity at Clemson and he looked unprepared for it on a bad Jacksonville team.
We’re not giving up on the former top overall pick, who should get better as the team around him gets better. But with five more interceptions than touchdowns and just six yards per pass attempt, he was below average as a rookie.
Zach Wilson, D+
At the midway point of the season, Wilson may have been given a failing grade. He started to show improvement late in the season, which got him up to a D+. If nothing else, he didn’t throw an interception in his final five games.
Wilson also knows how to use his legs effectively. But he looked like someone with a big learning curve who played a cupcake schedule during his final year in college. The tools are there but on a bad team, Wilson didn’t look like someone who knows how to use them.
Trey Lance, Incomplete
With just 71 pass attempts, it’d be unfair to give Lance a grade for his rookie season. Some might look down on him for not being able to take the starting job away from Jimmy Garoppolo.
However, Garoppolo did take the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game. There’s no question that Lance has the athleticism and the arm talent and for a few brief moments, he looked like he was putting everything together, which means his future is bright.
Justin Fields, C+
It’s tough to judge Fields too harshly because his situation was far from ideal. His head coach was on the hot seat all season and an injury ended his season early so he only ended up playing 12 games. But all things considered, Fields was a tick above average overall. He looked good throwing the deep ball at times and his athleticism definitely gave teams trouble once the Bears took the reins off.
To be fair, there were a few truly atrocious performances from Fields. But he showed enough for there to be hope if the Bears can sort everything out around their young quarterback.
Mac Jones, B+
There’s no question that Jones was the best of the rookie quarterbacks this season. But we didn’t think he warranted an A because the team around him played a big role in his success rather than the other way around.
His 22 touchdown passes and New England’s wins are impressive, but Jones also threw seven interceptions in his last five games with the Patriots losing four of those games, including their lopsided playoff loss. It was a poor finish to a promising season and ended up costing Jones an A for his rookie year.