3 young NFL QBs who impressed in Preseason Week 1 (and 2 who disappointed)

The first week of the NFL preseason is in the books, and the young quarterbacks around the league have given us all plenty to talk about.

We finally got to see this year's top rookie quarterbacks in action for the very first time, and we also got our first opportunity to see how much last year's class improved (or not).

We're going to take a look at which young quarterbacks (rookies and sophomores) stood out -- for better or worse -- in the first week of the preseason. To say there were some shocking developments with these players might be the understatement of the week.

3 young quarterbacks who impressed in Preseason Week 1, 2 who disappointed

Fernando Mendoza, Raiders: Impressed

After getting some of the jitters out, you could see Fernando Mendoza settled in rather quickly in his preseason debut for the Raiders. This throw, in particular, is ridiculous:

Once again, when you're talking about preseason football, folks want to diminish what they are seeing because of the level of competition. But this is a throw made with an extremely high degree of difficulty, and Mendoza makes it with unbridled confidence.

The mechanics on the play-action fake are outstanding. He sets a great base in the pocket. He throws the ball to the inside shoulder of the receiver, keeping it away from the linebacker closest in coverage. It's simply a perfect throw, and the type of play Raiders fans wanted to see from the #1 pick and Heisman winner.

Ty Simpson, Rams: Impressed

The heir to the throne of league MVP Matthew Stafford had himself a really nice debut in the first week of the preseason.

Ty Simpson was a highly contested draft pick this year because folks felt like the Rams could use at least one more playmaker for Stafford to get the ball to at wide receiver. But Les Snead and the Rams decided now was the time to put one eye on the future at the position, and SImpson looked like he could be exactly that for this franchise.

The Rams got Simpson in a nice rhythm with a lot of short passes, quick decisions, and opportunities for his players to create yards after the catch. It was a lot of "metriculating" down the field, but when your quarterback is operating on time and with efficiency, that's not an issue.

We saw later in the game Simpson get some chances to push the ball down the field, which he did, but he was mostly working with clean pockets, rolling out on play-action, and getting the ball out quickly.

It wasn't a groundbreaking performance, but it was a good one.

Cam Ward, Titans: Disappointed

The #1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft finished his preseason debut against the 49ers 5-of-12 passing for just 57 yards, and left a lot of people wanting more.

We've been very much on the Cam Ward/Titans train this offseason, buying the upgrades in talent on that roster as well as the progression of Ward in his 2nd NFL season.

There's still a lot of work to be done.

Ward was inaccurate with the football against the 49ers, and that included opportunities he got in the short passing game as well as when he had a clean pocket to work with. It was about as ugly as you could have drawn up for a preseason debut, but maybe the good news is that there's nowhere to go but up.

Drew Allar, Steelers: Impressed

A lot of people in the football community made Drew Allar the butt of a lot of jokes over the course of the last couple of years. And he certainly had his issues at Penn State, but there are a variety of reasons why this guy was touted as a possible 1st-round pick for a couple of years.

He showed us that potential in his preseason debut with the Steelers. Maybe Mike McCarthy just has the magic touch with these young quarterbacks.

It's possible that Allar had the best all-around debut of any of the young quarterbacks around the NFL in the preseason opener. The Steelers are extremely high on him. It may only be one preseason game, but Allar was on time, accurate in the red zone, and showed off a little bit of that arm talent with a few throws off-platform.

Shedeur Sanders, Browns: Disappointed

There are two tough parts about evaluating quarterbacks further down the depth chart in the preseason.

On one hand, you sort of just expect them to look better because they are playing against guys who are competing for roster spots and may not even be in the league in the near future. On the other hand, you can't knock them too badly if they don't play as well because the offensive line and weapons they are playing with are also guys competing for jobs who may not even make practice squads.

It's tough to evaluate, but Shedeur Sanders finishing 6-of-11 passing with a bad interception (and a fumble) is unacceptable.

Say what you want about the offensive line in front of Sanders, but he has a good pocket here and he probably waits a bit too long to make the throw to a wide-open receiver. The ball slips as he's releasing it and floats into the waiting arms of Beanie Bishop.

If Sanders makes this throw, maybe he gets a little rhythm going and changes the narrative. As it stands, the Browns are looking like they are facing a lose-lose situation at QB right now.

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