Bill Barnwell, ESPN Writer Sep 30, 2024, 8:45am ET
CloseBill Barnwell is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com. He analyzes football on and off the field like no one else on Earth, writes about offseason X’s and O’s, and much more.
He is the host of the Bill Barnwell Show podcast, where episodes are released once a week. Barnwell joined ESPN in 2011 as a Grantland writer. Follow him on Twitter here: @belbarnwell.
Three rookie quarterbacks took the field Sunday, and all three came away with wins. That’s all they have in common. While Jayden Daniels was tearing up the Cardinals in a cozy domed stadium in Arizona, Bo Nix was just trying to hold on to rain-soaked footballs and survive a brutal first half against the Jets in North Jersey. Caleb Williams was somewhere in the middle, as the No. 1 overall pick tried to do enough to hold off veteran Matthew Stafford and the Rams in Chicago.
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With all three rookies playing their fourth NFL regular season games, I want to take a closer look at these wins and their starts in the campaign. Daniels is one of the stories of his young season and may be an MVP candidate, but where has he surprised? What’s Williams missing? Are the Knicks making strides after their brilliance during the preseason?
I’ll go over all three quarterbacks today, starting with Daniels, who inspires comparisons to some of the best seasons produced by modern NFL offenses through four weeks:
Go to rookie QB:
Jayden Daniels
bo nicks | Caleb Williams
What he did in Week 4: 233 yards, 2 total TDs, 1 INT, 47 yards in 42-14 win over Cardinals
After a nearly flawless game against the Bengals on Monday night in Week 3, Daniels showed up in Arizona looking like a 10-year veteran. Outside of a rare rookie moment on an interception that was overthrown in the second quarter, he separated the Cardinals from the pocket with smart decisions and accurate throws. He finished 26 of 30, becoming the first player in NFL history to complete at least 85% of his passes in consecutive games, according to ESPN research.
Let’s start by looking at his short professional career in its entirety. Over his first four NFL games, Daniels has compiled a 73.5 QBR. With QBR data going back to the 2007 season, the only passers to exceed that over their first four starts are Deshaun Watson, Dak Prescott, and Brock Purdy. His most recent match was his jump shot against Andrew Luck. These are quarterbacks who generally have immediate success that continues into the following years, although Watson’s rookie year in 2017 was curtailed shortly after his hot start due to a torn ACL he suffered in practice.
