Grades for rookie quarterbacks after Week 2 of NFL Preseason: Williams, Daniels, Maye, Milton, Nix, Penix Jr.

There is just one more week of games before we start gearing up for Week 1 of the regular season. There will be plenty of things to sort out for coaches from now until then, and one of the main concerns for many teams will be the quarterback situation. There are a handful of rookies looking to be named QB1 when the regular season kicks off, and at the moment there are a couple winning the battles in camp and during the preseason games. Here are the grades for each rookie QB after Week 3 of the preseason.

Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears (No 1 overall pick)

6/13 for 75 yards, 64.6 passer rating, 1 rush for 7 yards and a TD

The top overall pick in this spring’s NFL Draft gave us a taste what he is going to bring to the Windy City in his last drive against the Bengals. His second game didn’t quite get off to a dream start, but after three straight three-and-outs to start the game against Cincy things started to turn around. A deep pass to Tyler Scott would have gone for a TD if not for a pass interference call. Chicago was held to a field goal on that drive, but Williams got a chance to get out of the pocket and show his skill set on the move. First with a 45 yard dime, rolling to his left and then a he ran for a seven yard TD to put the Bears up 10-0 on his final drive of the day.

Grade: B

Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders (No. 2 overall pick)

10/12 for 78 yards, 93.8 rating, 2 rushes for 13 yards

The former LSU Tiger played the first couple series in Miami, and is already looking like the starter in Washington. He led the Commanders down the field and into scoring position on both drives. We saw him let it loose in the first game, but in this game he used short accurate passes to move the chains. The first possession ended in a missed field goal, but the Commanders got on the board with a field goal on Daniels’ second and final drive of the day.

Grade: B+

Drake Maye, New England Patriots (No. 3 overall pick)

6/11 for 47 yards, 65.3 rating, 4 rushes for 15 yards and 1 TD

For the second straight game, it was Jacoby Brissett starting the game under center for Jerrod Mayo and the Patriots. Maye came in for the Pats fourth drive of the game after Brissett threw a red zone pick, and failed to get New England on the board. Once Maye came on the field he led two scoring drives to start his shift. The first drive ended in the field goal as he dinked and dunked his way down the field. Maye would start his next drive around mid field and punch the ball into the end zone with a four yard TD run. He got two more drives that ended in punts in the second half, but we got a much bigger sample size from Maye in his second game of the preseason. It was far from a perfect outing from the No. 3 overall pick, but Pats fans got to see a little more of Maye although it’s looking like Brissett is going to get the start Week 1 for now.

Grade: B

Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons (No. 8 overall pick)

DNP

The Falcons choose not to play Penix, and didn’t make a lot of Atlanta fans too happy. Not exactly sure the reason considering this might be Penix’s only action he sees this season barring an injury to starter, Kirk Cousins.

J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings (No. 10 overall pick)

DNP

Devastating news for J.J. McCarthy and the Vikings. The rookie was making noise this preseason, and was vying for the starting job, but a torn meniscus is going to keep him out the entire season.

Bo Nix, Denver Broncos (No. 12 overall)

8/9 for 80 yards and 1 TD, 140.7 rating, 3 rushes for 12 yards

The 24 year old rookie is got the start against the Green Bay Packers, and didn’t disappoint in his debut in front of the fans in the Mile High City. He played two possessions and marched down the field and scored on both drives. The Packers didn’t play any of their starters, but that didn’t take away from the face that Nix looked comfortable, mature and ready to take on the starting responsibilities in Denver. His first TD pass was taken off the board because he was over the line of scrimmage before he threw it, but his second TD pass stayed on the board after connecting with Tim Patrick.

Grade: A

Spencer Rattler, New Orleans Saints (No. 150 overall pick)

4/8 for 27 yards, 57.8 ratings, 3 rushes for 5 yards

Rattler played four series, and took over after Derek Carr got the Saints into the end zone in the second quarter. He fumbled the ball on his first possession after getting crushed in the backfield, almost lost the ball again on the next possession. The only scoring drive for Rattler came on a 9 play possession in which he didn’t complete any of his four passes, but 49ers penalties put the Saints in field goal range. Rough night for Rattler.

Grade: C-

Jordan Travis, New York Jets (No. 171 overall pick)

DNP

Joe Milton, New England Patriots (No. 193 overall pick)

2/7 for 20 yards, 39.6 rating, 3 rushes for 9 yards

Milton had the worst night of any of the QBs who played for the Patriots on Thursday night. This comes after he was one of the best rookie QBs in the first week of preseason. He struggled with his reads, his progressions and his accuracy against the third or fourth unit of the Eagles. A bit of a let down for Milton who had some people overreacting thinking the sixth rounder might be the QB of the future in Foxborough.

Grade: C-

Devin Leary, Baltimore Ravens (No. 216 overall pick)

3/5 for 24 yards, 72.1 rating, 3 rushes for 4 yards

It was a lot to ask of Leary to go out and play one series late in the fourth quarter, and try to produce. He had a chance to stretch the seven point lead and put the game out of reach, but a holding call back the Ravens up and made moving the chains difficult. He came up empty handed on his sole series, and will have to wait another week to try and impress as he looks for a roster spot.

Grade: C