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Who was the statistical winner this preseason?
NFL preseason is over, and now we have the short wait until the opening week of the 2023 season. At this point the majority of rookie QBs had a chance to get their feet wet in live fire, and for the most part the 2023 class did pretty dang well.
There’s always varying opinions of what preseason can actually tell us. Some are resolved that it’s a huge predictor of future ability, while others think it’s totally meaningless. Like most things, the truth falls in the middle. It’s been proven time and time again that success or failure in a rookie’s preseason has no bearing on what they’ll be like as a pro — but we also can’t totally ignore warning signs on the field.
Ultimately, you’re looking more for development and tendencies from quarterbacks. Do they keep making the same mistakes? Are they winning the plays they’re in? What is the personnel around them? Only by looking at all these factors can you actually get an idea on what a player could become, and even then it’s a bit of a crapshoot. That said, the NFL is very bad at tracking preseason statistics, and these are often lost to time — so here’s the full slate of 2023 rookies with 20 attempts or more, organized by passer rating.
It shouldn’t be a mystery that rookies on good teams are playing well. That’s not to take anything away from Nathan Rourke or Dorian Thompson-Robinson — but life is naturally a lot easier when you’re playing on a team with talent and depth.
The battle of the “Big 3” hasn’t been a battle at all. We all knew that Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson would all become year-one starters, and there was definite curiosity on how they would perform. None of the top quarterbacks were statistically brilliant this preseason, but so far Young looks head and shoulders above Stroud and Richardson when it comes to NFL readiness.
Where’s Will Levis? Levis didn’t make this list because he didn’t throw 20+ passes this preseason due to injury. In the limited time we saw him there wasn’t a lot to be impressed with, as he finished 9-for-14, 85 yards with an interception and a rating of 51.2.
The Aidan O’Connell hype is real. Time will tell on this one, but O’Connell was a revelation this preseason. The tape inside the plays wasn’t always eye-popping, but he showed tremendous poise in the pocket and an ability to move the chains. It will be really interesting to see how the Raiders move forward this season if Jimmy Garoppolo struggles and/or Las Vegas loses games early. It feels like there’s a very real chance O’Connell could get the nod at some point this season based on his command of the offense.
