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Oct 29, 2024

Grading NFL rookie QBs, other young signal-callers after Week 8: Jayden Daniels steady in epic win over Bears

Young quarterback action in Week 8 was headlined by a epic ending in the Jayden Daniels vs. Caleb Williams contest that was otherwise a defensive battle. Although the Commanders emerged with a

Young quarterback action in Week 8 was headlined by a epic ending in the Jayden Daniels vs. Caleb Williams contest that was otherwise a defensive battle. Although the Commanders emerged with a miraculous win, and Daniels' statistics were lightyears better than Williams, I thought the No. 1 overall selection was just as good as his No. 2 overall pick counterpart.

In Denver, Bo Nix settled in nicely against the lowly Panthers, and C.J. Stroud had problems against a frisky Colts defense at home.

There were nine quarterbacks selected in the past two NFL Draft classes who saw considerable playing time during a tightly contested Week 8. Let's dive deep into the individual efforts of each quarterback and assign a grade on a per-snap basis, taking every individual aspect of their performance into account.

(At least 10 attempts were needed to qualify for this piece, which comes out weekly on Tuesdays.)

Week 8 stats

High-caliber throws/plays

Low-caliber throws/plays

Summary: Daniels had his "typical" performance, or what is normal for him when he's not piecing together a masterpiece. A few moments in which he looks like the rookie that are countered by a few seismic strikes downfield and with his legs. The momentum continues for Daniels from this The Hail Noah -- or whatever we're calling it -- victory as time expired.

Grade: BSeason Grade: B

Week 8 stats

High-caliber throws/plays

Low-caliber throws/plays

Summary: Against what is probably the worst team in the NFL, Nix looked very comfortable at home. Plenty of typical Sean Payton dump offs and screens, but the arm talent flashed on a few occasions, especially on throws to Sutton and the touchdown to Trautman. Quality start for the rookie.

Grade: A-Season Grade: C+

Week 8 stats

High-caliber throws/plays

Low-caliber throws/plays

Summary: Williams was trending in the right direction for about a month, and this game wasn't a dazzling performance. But he demonstrated advanced nuances to playing the position and, altogether, played more consistently than the ghastly numbers would indicate.

Grade: BSeason Grade: C+

Week 8 stats

High-caliber throws/plays

Low-caliber throws/plays

Summary: Maye wasn't sensational before a head injury forced him out of this game against the Jets, but he made a handful of positive plays without any clear-cut negatives.

Grade: A-Season Grade: C+

Week 8 stats

High-caliber throws/plays

Low-caliber throws/plays

Summary: Not one of Stroud's better performances, and some of that had to do with how the Colts pass rush tormented him for most of this game. His first truly impressive, challenging throw didn't come until late in the first half, and the Texans had to scheme open receivers underneath and at the intermediate level for most of this contest. Some uncharacteristically inaccurate throws from Stroud in this one, too.

Grade: C-Season Grade: B-

Week 8 stats

High-caliber throws/plays

Low-caliber throws/plays

Summary: Back-to-back games with 10 completions for Richardson, and this completion rate in the low 30s is scary. I have to say, though, the film wasn't quite as brutal as the stat line suggests. He was slightly off on a few near big completions, and there were two clear drops from Colts skill-position players. Was this a great effort, though? Of course not. Richardson's accuracy still needs plenty of fine-tuning, as does Indianapolis' game plan offensively. Richardson and his targets need to get in rhythm.

Grade: C-Season Grade: C-

Week 8 stats

High-caliber throws/plays

Low-caliber throws/plays

Summary: While the game plan was ultra gimmicky to start, through the midway portion of the third quarter, this was as clean of a game as I've seen from Young potentially in his entire NFL career to date. This was a clear step in the right direction for last year's No. 1 overall pick.

Grade: C+Season Grade: D+

Week 8 stats

High-caliber throws/plays

Low-caliber throws/plays

Summary: This was a mostly schemed-up outing for Rattler. Lots of underneath passes, screens, and quick-game tosses, so there simply weren't too many opportunities for Rattler to make game-altering throws, but he did take reasonably good care of the ball.

Grade: C-Season Grade: C-

Week 8 stats

High-caliber throws/plays

Low-caliber throws/plays

Summary: Haener actually made some impressive throws in this blowout contest. The situation didn't look too big for him, and I thought the jump surprisingly jumped out of his hand in most occasions.

Grade: C+Season Grade: C+

Who's the favorite to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year after seven weeks? It seems to be a two-man race between Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels. Check out the latest odds over at FanDuel.