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The by far best feeling for an NFL fan of a team that's recently underperformed is the announcement of their season opening quarterback. You build up faith quickly, give the “why not us” speech to anyone within 20 feet of you, and assemble a fantasy season in your head that George RR Martin couldn’t even dream of. This piece is dedicated to those few fan bases that are still waiting in the dark to see who will be under center come early September.
#4 Carolina Panthers
Sam Darnold vs. Literally anyone
The easy answer to who will battle it out with Sam Darnold is their 3rd round draft pick Matt Corral, who suffered an ankle injury late in the year last season for Ole Miss. The answer nobody wants to mention is they aren’t done making offseason moves and could bring in a QB. Matt Rhule is on the top of the hot seat list after multiple lackluster years as head coach in Carolina, sticking with Darnold and risking another year of poverty could mean the end of the line for him. Corral is currently away from OTA’s dealing with a family matter which isn’t great for his starting opportunity, but we’ve heard directly from GM Scott Fitterer that “Until someone really owns that position, gives us an opportunity to win, it will always be up for grabs.”
Darnold in both of the last two seasons has posted awful numbers when on the field, throwing for a combined 18 TD’s and 24 INT’s with a QBR hovering right around 30.5. The team has to believe in him after picking up an $18 million dollar 5th year option, but the leash will be extremely short in 2022-23’ if Rhule isn’t getting the results the front office desires.
#3 Atlanta Falcons
Marcus Mariota vs Desmond Ridder
This Atlanta Falcons squad is definitely in transition mode as they’ve consistently added pieces to their 4th lowest ranked offense in 2021. With the new two headed receiving monster of Kyle Pitts and Drake London they have some weapons to work with. Marcus Mariota signed a potential 2 year $18 Million deal with the Falcons in March. The Dead cap hit over the next two years makes me think they might give Ridder an opportunity sooner than most think as he’s owed just a total of $6.75 Million in guaranteed money. Mariota had a couple promising seasons with the Titans but threw just 30 pass attempts in both 2020 & 2021 with the Raiders.
Desmond Ridder was an early 3rd round pick for the Falcons and seemed like one of the most NFL ready QB prospects in this year's class. Multiple players in rookie camp including members of the coaching staff have raved about his leadership qualities and fellow rookie Tyler Allgeier said he is a “Genius in the playbook”. Don’t be surprised if the keys get handed to the rookie sooner rather than later.
#2 Seattle Seahawks
Drew Lock vs Geno Smith
Let’s be honest, whoever comes out on top of this QB battle will be the Seahawks leader for a decade plus and surely lead them back to the bowl. No but honestly this is the ultimate bridge year under center for the Hawks, especially with two first round picks next year. My gut says Geno Smith gets the nod as he already has experience with the offense and is far more efficient then young Drew Lock who has a career 59.3 completion %. Geno was more than serviceable last year as he posted solid numbers in his few starts: 70.5 comp. %, 6 Total TD’s / 0 INT’s, Passer Rating: 107.4.
Drew Lock has been lackluster at best during his time in the league, starting 21 games with a 8-13 overall record and a 30-25 TD/TO ratio (Includes rushing numbers). He does boast great arm talent which would highly benefit their star receiver DK Metcalf. In the end it's more likely Pete Carroll get’s back to his intense run game roots with a vet game manager in Geno Smith. The style difference between the two will provide Seattle fans with a lot of clarity on how their offense will operate, but as I said regardless what happens here we’ll likely see a rookie leading the way for Seattle. Geno Smith MVP Tour Forever.
#1 Pittsburgh Steelers
Mitch Trubisky vs Kenny Pickett vs....
This preseason position battle will arguably have the biggest fantasy implications as many dynasty managers took 20th overall pick Kenny Pickett in the 1st round of their rookie draft (I am one of these people). The Steelers have a plethora of weapons at their disposal and have legit redzone weapons in Pat Freiermuth and Chase Claypool. The offensive line is still a problem as PFF has them in the bottom 3 of the league. This offseason they went out and gave Mitch Trubisky a 2 year $14 Million deal with just over $5 Million guaranteed. The structure of this makes me believe drafting a 1st round QB was always the plan as his contract is heavily backloaded. Former #2 overall pick Mitch Trubisky has flashed some brilliance while given the starting job, leading the Bears to the playoffs in 2018 with solid numbers: 66.6 Comp %, 3,644 Total Yards, 27 TD’s / 13 TO’s, 95.4 Passer Rating.
Kenny Pickett had an unbelievable final season in college for Pittsburgh that skyrocketed him up most draft boards.
He was viewed as one of the more “pro ready” QB prospects in this year's class and was a surprise to few when he was selected by the Steelers in round 1 of the draft. Anytime your team goes out and drafts a QB early the fanbase has high expectations, this is amplified for Steelers fans as they still have an incredible defense and will be taking on their first year without Ben Roethlisberger. The bad news is multiple sources have reported Kenny Pickett didn’t look as pro ready as many thought throughout the initial mini camp workouts. The even harder thing for Steeler fans to swallow is… Mason Rudolph has a legit chance to start week 1 for this team. It’s truly a 3 horse race for the Black and Yellow, my gut says Pickett starts by week 5, but week 1 will belong to Mitchell Trubisky. Regardless, the rushing ability of both of these QB’s will unlock so many more possibilities for Matt Canada.
- Ryan Mobley / Upside Play
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