In Chicago, hope comes and goes with quarterbacks. It arrives as fast as a Jay Cutler strike down the sideline but leaves as quickly as a Justin Fields scramble around the edge.
Will Caleb Williams, the first pick in the NFL Draft, write a different story for the Bears? The early signs are encouraging.
But the Washington Commanders hope Jayden Daniels will be great, too. The New England Patriots feel the same about Drake Maye. Might they finally have their heir to Tom Brady?
In Atlanta, Michael Penix Jr. is the backup to Kirk Cousins, the team’s high-priced free agent addition. In Minnesota, the Vikings will have to wait a whole season to see what J.J. McCarthy can do following knee surgery. In Denver, Bo Nix — the sixth QB taken in the first round this year — has been named the Broncos’ starter.
In the NFL, hope is eternally tied to quarterbacks.
With training camps soon concluding around the league, we present The Athletic’s first-ever NFL Hope-O-Meter. A short survey is below. We simply want to know if you’re optimistic about your favorite NFL team. A simple yes or no will suffice — but we’d also like to know why. Hope might start with your quarterback, but there’s always more that plays into the equation. (Note: Readers who are using an Android device may need to use two fingers to scroll through the survey.)
The Hope-O-Meter results will be tabulated into “optimism scores” for each team. The best responses will also be selected and shared before Week 1 kicks off Sept. 5 with the Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Baltimore Ravens.
Of course, that’s a matchup starring two of the NFL’s best quarterbacks: Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson.
(Photo: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
