3 NFL rookies that caused a quarterback controversy in the preseason

The 2022 NFL Draft class was not the most hyped in terms of its talent at the quarterback position. The Pittsburgh Steelers waited until the second half of the first round to finally make Kenny Pickett the QB1 of the class, and the next quarterback didn’t go until the third round (Desmond Ridder to the Falcons). It was simultaneously embarrassing for the young QBs as well as a pretty significant step forward for the league not reaching on players just because of the position they play. As a result, a few NFL rookies have been making some pretty substantial noise without too much fanfare throughout the preseason.

Although expectations are vastly different for these young NFL rookies coming in, there is always the opportunity for a good old-fashioned quarterback controversy. Some of these players have caused quite a stir with their play and the tremendous upside they’ve shown thus far.

NFL rookies causing a QB controversy in the preseason: Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Steelers

It wasn’t just that Kenny Pickett — the top quarterback selected in the 2022 NFL Draft — had a good preseason. It wasn’t just that he looked solid “for a rookie” or made some decent plays. Pickett was absolutely outstanding in preseason play for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He made his presence felt, rising from the “third” quarterback on the depth chart to making a case to be the team’s starting QB in Week 1 action.

Unfortunately for Pickett, Mitchell Trubisky was just as impressive in preseason play, and he’s got the nod it seems as the Week 1 starter for the time being. With that being said, ESPN’s Adam Schefter feels like Trubisky is one slip-up away from getting yanked. Fortunately for Trubisky, he’s never thrown a pick-six as an NFL quarterback, believe it or not.

Trubisky is a recent high draft pick in his own right. He was the second overall pick coming out of North Carolina and he’s had some stretches of really strong play in the past. But the Chicago Bears were dysfunctional, Trubisky’s supporting cast seemingly just got worse and worse, and he was able to learn from some of the best in the NFL last year as the backup to Josh Allen in Buffalo.

The Steelers are in a pickle here. Do they actually have two good quarterbacks, or is this one of those, if you have two quarterbacks you have none, sort of situations? My thought is, it’s the former. It’s not like everyone has been fishing for reasons to like the Steelers’ QB situation from the outside looking in. Pittsburgh went a relatively low-risk, high-reward route after Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement, and it could pay off in the form of helping Mitch Trubisky revive his career as well as filling the position long-term with Pickett.

NFL rookies causing a QB controversy: Malik Willis, Tennessee Titans

Had Malik Willis been selected with one of the top 32 picks in the 2022 NFL Draft, you can’t help but wonder if he would have been met with vastly different expectations here in the preseason. After lasting until the third round (unexpectedly), the narrative surrounding Willis is night and day compared to what it was heading into the NFL Draft.

Going into the NFL Draft process, scouts and analysts were understandably poking holes in his game. You’re talking about a potential first-round investment at the game’s most important position, so you have every reason to make as educated of a decision as possible. With that being said, it looks like the league was way too hard on Willis in terms of their evaluation, because he looked really good in the preseason.

Willis ascended this offseason to the QB2 position for the Tennessee Titans, and as a third-round pick, he already looks like a massive steal for that organization. The Titans have had Ryan Tannehill in place as the starting quarterback, but the combination of Tannehill stating he essentially wasn’t going to mentor Willis along with Willis being vastly under-drafted has almost the entire NFL community rooting for the rookie.

You can’t help but wonder — are the Titans thinking the same thing behind closed doors?

Tannehill is a proven commodity in the NFL. He’s a solid starting quarterback when he’s healthy, and thank goodness he’s been able to stay healthy for the Titans, for the most part. That was a huge reason the Dolphins let him go as a former first-round pick. Now, though, coming off of a season in which he had the lowest touchdown percentage of any non-rookie season in his NFL career, Tannehill is at a fork in the road.

Not only was his touchdown percentage down to four percent, but Tannehill’s INT percentage was the highest it’s been (2.6 percent) as a member of the Titans.

Is there a QB controversy in Tennessee? I’m sure Mike Vrabel and Jon Robinson wouldn’t admit it, but we all saw Malik Willis in the preseason and we all know exactly what Tannehill brings to the table.

NFL rookies causing a QB controversy: Desmond Ridder, Atlanta Falcons

We’ve pretty clearly established that the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans have strong rookies waiting in the wings. Both Kenny Pickett and Malik Willis showed the kind of play in the preseason — both in different ways — that could ultimately lead them to a starting role at some point down the line.

Perhaps Kenny Pickett’s time will come a little sooner than Willis’ will, but that all depends.

Another one of the NFL rookies at the quarterback position that might actually be making some noise as a serious contender to take someone’s starting job within the first couple of weeks of the season, though, is Atlanta Falcons rookie Desmond Ridder.

Ridder was outstanding throughout the NFL preseason in 2022 and made a huge impression with big throws to every level of the field as well as his tremendous athleticism and speed.

The only unfortunate thing for Ridder? Marcus Mariota also showed quite well throughout the preseason.

Looking back at his time with Cincinnati, it’s hard to believe Ridder lasted to the third round of the NFL. When you look at the qualities that NFL teams seem to love in college quarterbacks, there are few things that Ridder lacks. Nobody is a finished product coming from the college level, but Ridder certainly has the athleticism, big arm, and college experience that NFL teams usually like.

When he fell to the third round, I think pretty much everybody was shocked based on some of the late hype he received in the pre-draft process. The Falcons don’t have the most enviable quarterback situation in the entire NFL right now but both Mariota and Ridder have arm talent and athleticism to at least keep things interesting.

As regular season games get going, it will be interesting to see how short the Falcons’ leash is for Mariota with how well Ridder played in preseason games.