No Reps, No Gains.

The NFL Preseason is finally underway. It was a highly anticipated one at that. With 5 first round

rookies making their debuts. Along with a few second-year players getting their first preseason

action after last year left us with none at all. The preseason is a time where the young players

and rookies get to put what they practiced into a real time game scenario. This is also where

you have guys competing for roster spots. Everyone wants to make the team, but that isn’t the

case for most. We all know quarterback is the most important position on the field. If your

team has a quarterback that you see can be the guy for more than a decade, then you’re in a

great spot. If you have a quarterback who is a rookie, backup to a future Hall of Famer (Jordan

Love), or a QB who is still young but is going into a make it break it year, then preseason is

extremely important for your quarterback.

Let’s start with the rookies from the first round in the 2021 NFL Draft. #1 overall pick Trevor

Lawrence with the Jacksonville Jaguars. In a “battle” with Gardner Minshew, per Head Coach

Urban Meyer, Lawrence showed his mobility and arm strength in his first game. Going 6/9 for

71 yards, 2 sacks and a fumble, which he recovered. Doing this in only 2 drives, it is hard to get

a good feel for the game. My old school thinking of thought is that these young quarterbacks

should be playing at least a half of football. Coaches are worried about injuries and don’t want to chance their young guy getting hurt. But how else can these guys show improvement with 2

drives of work? Let them go out there and sling it so you can see the throws they can make the

throws they can’t, and the throws that they need to fix the touch up on a bit. In the 2 drives I

liked what I saw from Lawrence. Although I prefer him to be in there longer, he might be a

player that doesn’t need extra work due to his talent and ceiling. The other quarterback that I

believe can do without a big preseason workload, is Justin Fields. Lawrence and Fields, in my

opinion, we’re the best 2 players coming out of this year’s draft, regardless of position. The

Chicago Bears still handled Fields’ debut brilliantly. Having the rookie Fields’ play 2 quarters of

football. Imagine if he was taken out after 2 drives like some of the other first year

quarterbacks did, his stat-line would have been 2/5 for 10 yards and 2 punts. The media would

have torn him to pieces. Since Fields was given more time in the game, he got in a groove and

rhythm which shook those early nerves off. Finishing the game 14/20 for 142 yards and a TD,

also adding 5 carries for 33 yards and a TD. Fields showed his versatility with his arm and legs.

Placing the ball only where his receiver could make a play or nothing at all. Other than a

receiver falling down on a play, defenders had no chance at an interception. With Fields and

Lawrence, I don’t have to see much from them to know if they have game.

There were 3 more quarterbacks taken in the first round, that I felt needed the most time on

the football field. Also there were 5 additional quarterbacks who need to show that they can

play in this league. The rookies being Trey Lance, Mac Jones, and Zach Wilson. The “other guys”

are Tua Tagovailoa, Sam Darnold, Drew Lock, Daniel Jones, and Jordan Love. These 8 players should undoubtably be playing 1 half of preseason football in the first game. For the 2nd and 3rd , it should be 3 quarters in each. Trey Lance who has 17 career college starts to his name didn’t

disappoint. Lance went 5/14 and was sacked 4 times, showed off his accuracy downfield. He hit

Trent Sherfield for an 80-yard bomb that was on the money. Luckily for him he will be able to

learn from the sidelines behind Jimmy Garoppolo for a whole year. Mac Jones, who was lethal at

Alabama, put up 77.4% completions, and won a National Championship. He showed his precision

again going 13/19 for 87 yards. He had a couple drops from his receivers; one could’ve been a

touchdown. He looked the most poised in the pocket out of all quarterbacks. I would be

surprised if Jones is successful day 1. His ceiling grew higher for me after the first game. Which

now leads me to Zach Wilson, who will get the start week 1. Wilson has raw like abilities similar

to a Patrick Mahomes II coming out this year. The style of play from Wilson is one where it’s not

going to look pretty early. He is a risk taker. Big play potential and would benefit greatly sitting

behind a starter for a year. After seeing what the New York Jets did with Sam Darnold, pressure

is astronomic for Zach Wilson.

Now, Tua Tagovailoa in Miami played 3 drives in his 2nd year, 1st preseason. Tua never was able

to get in a rhythm his rookie season last year. He went 6-3 but was often taken in and out for

Ryan Fitzpatrick. Tua never passed the eye test during games. New weapons arrived for Tua and

should be working out chemistry during this preseason. Taking him out vs. the Bears after his

drive ends with an interception, was a mistake. Tua has to be able to come back the next drive

to put that interception behind him. An interception should not be the last play for him, just

like in the regular season, a quarterback needs a confidence boost. That boost is getting back in

and being better.

Finally, there were 2 quarterbacks that didn’t play at all in preseason. Sam Darnold and Daniel

Jones. Sam Darnold being on a new team with brand new teammates. Not to mention a new

coaching staff and playbook. One can argue Darnold needs the most time out of any this entire

preseason. We all think Adam Gase was the issue in New York. Darnold has a lot to prove and

needs to start the season already in a rhythm. With no game time reps, he’ll have to do a lot

more for gains. Lastly, Daniel Jones, the quarterback for the New York Giants. Daniel Jones not

being suited up is exactly why the Giants franchise has been downhill after going on 2

storybook Super Bowl runs. Jones was worse in year 2 than his rookie season. Jones is 8-18 in

his career as a starter. Completes 62.2% of his passes and has 22 Interceptions with 29 fumbles.

Talk about a quarterback who needs a lot of things that need more practice and real game reps.

These bad teams need to make sure their young quarterbacks get the necessary training, time,

practice to maximize their growth.