The three teams that made rookies their Week One starting quarterbacks have to be pleased with the results.
Broncos quarterback Bo Nix improved to 4-3 as a starter on Thursday night, joining Caleb Williams on the 4-2 Bears and Jayden Daniels on the 4-2 Commanders in reaching four wins as rookies.
It’s a reminder that the right rookie quarterback, with the right team around him, can win quickly. Gone are the days when it was just assumed that a rookie quarterback needed time to adjust to the NFL. and a team with a rookie would either let him develop on the sideline or let him take his lumps in what was sure to be a losing season. NFL teams today expect their rookie quarterbacks to start and to win.
It’s also an unfortunate reflection on Panthers quarterback Bryce Young, who was the first overall pick in the draft a year before Nix, Williams and Daniels. Young doesn’t have four career wins yet. Or even three. The Panthers benched him after two starts this season, and his current record as a starter is 2-16.
There was a time when young quarterbacks like Terry Bradshaw and Troy Aikman could rack up losses early in their careers and then win multiple Super Bowls. In today’s NFL, there’s less patience for that. Young quarterbacks are expected to win, and win now.
