The arrival of a first-year quarterback is a ray of hope for the future of NFL franchises. But being your team’s starting passer in your first-career regular-season game is not for the faint of heart, and three rookies found that out Sunday.
Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix each earned starting nods for their teams’ season openers and had up-and-down performances. Only Williams’ Chicago Bears left Week 1 with a win, and none of them threw for a touchdown in their debuts.
Here’s a deeper look at how each rookie quarterback performed in Week 1.
Caleb Williams
The No. 1 pick had a tough going in orchestrating the Bears offense against the Tennessee Titans. He couldn’t orchestrate a single touchdown drive and failed to complete any pass longer than 13 yards en route to a 93-yard day.
At USC, Williams found the endzone with his feet 27 times. That scrambling success didn’t immediately carry over to the NFL, as he totaled 15 yards on five rushes. In the end, the Bears pulled off a 14-point comeback en route to a 24-17 win thanks to timely special teams plays and a suffocating defense that forced two Will Levis interceptions.
With the win, Williams became the first No. 1 pick to win in Week 1 of his rookie year since David Carr in 2001.
In terms of advanced metrics, Williams’ outing stands near the bottom among rookie Week 1 starters. He produced a -0.39 EPA (expected points added) per dropback, via TruMedia, which ranked 36th among 39 Week 1 rookie quarterbacks since 2001. Williams’ 55.7 passer rating ranks 30th within the same sample size.
Bo Nix
The last time the Broncos started a rookie quarterback in Week 1 was in 1983 with a guy named John Elway.
Nix didn’t entirely live up to Elway’s Hall of Fame billing in his first start, passing for just 138 yards on 42 attempts, with the majority of his 26 completions coming within just a few yards of the line of scrimmage. It took Nix 34 pass attempts to crack the 100-yard mark against the Seattle Seahawks.
With Denver trailing in the second half, the game script flipped from run-heavy to more Nix reliant in the third quarter. But in the team’s four third-quarter drives, the Broncos managed just one first down as they watched their 13-9 lead turn into a 26-13 deficit.
With less than six minutes to go and the Broncos driving, Nix threw into double coverage and was intercepted in Seahawks territory for the second time, a turnover which proved particularly painful after Nix later scored on rushing touchdown cut it to a one-score game. But it was too little too late as Denver failed to get the ball again en route to a 26-20 loss.
Bo Nix scores his first NFL TD!
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Nix’s advanced metrics were even worse than Williams’ rates. The Broncos rookie finished with a -0.40 EPA per dropback rate, which ranks 38th among Week 1 rookie quarterbacks. Nix’s 47.5 passer rating ranks 35th.
Jayden Daniels
Daniels, the No. 2 pick in April’s draft, found the most statistical success of the quarterback class Sunday, weaponizing his legs to the tune of 88 rushing yards and two scores, while adding 184 yards through the air. He too, however, found out how much tougher life in the NFL is, as his Commanders fell 37-20 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Daniels scored both of his touchdowns from the goal line on quarterback keepers, with both coming off option plays.
Jayden Daniels with his 2nd rushing TD of the day.
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📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/oQ2oXod7CV— NFL (@NFL) September 8, 2024
With a completion percentage above 70 and a turnover-free game, Daniels finished Week 1 with a passer rating of 93.1, the highest of rookie quarterbacks.
Daniels’ advanced metrics show promise despite a dismal team result. He yielded a 0.14 EPA per dropback rate. That’s the sixth-best mark within this study. His passer rating finished 11th among the 39 qualified rookie Week 1 performances.
Required reading
(Photo: Julio Aguilar / Getty Images)
