Whenever a new season is on the horizon, a million questions come with it. Who is going to win the Super Bowl? Which teams are going to take a step back or a step forward? Who are the sleepers I can draft in my Fantasy league? It’s an avalanche that I’ve grown to love as someone who eats, breathes, and writes about football on a daily basis.
And some — if not the majority — of those questions specifically revolve around quarterbacks. After all, they are the most important position in the sport and can prove to be the difference between being a legitimate title contender or looking at mock drafts by mid-November.
With that in mind, we’re going to take a look at five signal-callers where the jury is still out on where they rank among their peers. Of course, some have more experience than others and have reached different heights in their careers, but 2024 — for one reason or another — will be pivotal in establishing themselves going forward. As we roll through this exercise, we’ll rank them from least likely to most likely to succeed.
Note: We won’t have rookies on this list as they are inherently unproven as they step into the league.
If what we saw in HBO’s offseason “Hard Knocks” series that followed Joe Schoen around is to be held at face value, Daniel Jones is on thin ice. New York did pursue the possibility of moving up to the No. 3 overall pick to secure a quarterback but was stonewalled. That, at the very least, indicates the openness to move off of Jones, who is now coming off of a season-ending ACL injury. On top of that, the Giants also brought in Drew Lock and it wouldn’t be utterly shocking if he pushed to start at some point. While we have Jones as the least likely quarterback to succeed on this list as the writing does appear to be on the wall for him, the Giants did give him a top-tier weapon in Malik Nabers and bolstered the offensive line this offseason. That should give the front office a clearer view of its former first-rounder.
Young’s rookie campaign left little to be desired. The former No. 1 overall pick couldn’t complete 60% of his passes and was 2-14 as Carolina’s starter. That said, the situation around him wasn’t particularly great. Young was sacked 62 times in his rookie season and dealt with the in-season firing of coach Frank Reich.
The Panthers have since hired former Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales — who helped revitalize Baker Mayfield in Tampa last season — as its new coach and invested heavily in the offensive line in free agency. They also added receiver Xavier Legette and running back Jonathon Brooks atop the NFL Draft and traded for wideout Diontae Johnson to give him even more weapons. His size — 5-foot-10, 204 pounds — is still a big cause for concern, but the cast around him does provide the possibility of a bounce-back sophomore season.
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No one is denying Richardson’s talent. Even in the small sample size we saw as a rookie last year, it’s clear why the Colts were so enamored with him that they selected the Florida product with the No. 4 overall pick. That said, Richardson’s play style does leave some cause for concern going forward. Again, while he flashed as a rookie, he played in just four games. In those contests, he left multiple times due to injury. Colts coach Shane Steichen comes from Philadelphia where Jalen Hurts has carried the football a number of times, and if he plans to do the same with Richardson, there’s questions of whether or not he’s durable enough to do it.
If he is, Richardson has all the tools to be a Cam Newton-like figure in the NFL and is paired with a top-tier running back in Jonathan Taylor along with a trio of high-profile receivers like Michael Pittman Jr., rookie Adonai Mitchell and Josh Downs.
Arguably no team — outside of maybe Chicago — made more of an effort to surround their quarterback with talent than the Tennessee Titans. This offseason, the franchise spent big in free agency, adding receivers Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd to pair with DeAndre Hopkins, while also signing running back Tony Pollard. Then, the team invested in the offensive line, utilizing the No. 7 overall pick to bring aboard left tackle JC Latham.
That’s the type of surrounding cast that should make life easier for any quarterback and, so long as Levis himself takes a leap in Year 2, the Titans should be a far more competitive club. Levis did flash his potential after taking the starter job, including a four-touchdown performance in his first-ever start, but there were also some rookie lumps mixed in. After spending the entire offseason and summer preparing to be the full-time starter and Tennessee boosting the roster around him, Levis could surprise people with just how big of a leap he takes.
When you just became one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL, it’s hard to make an honest case of still needing to prove yourself. Contract aside, however, Love does still need to show that his run down the stretch last season was no fluke. In his first season as the full-time starter following the trade of Aaron Rodgers, Love was a bit choppy out of the gate for the Green Bay Packers. Midway through the year, though, he found his footing and was among the very best quarterbacks in the league. In his final 10 regular-season games, he completed 68.7% of his passes and had a 108.2 passer rating. If that’s the player he is becoming, Love not only is a proven NFL quarterback, but he’s also an MVP candidate. But his rather small sample size does leave enough room for us to want to see him do it again before we place that status on his shoulders.
