There were four rookie QBs who started most of the season for their teams. Let's power rank the rookie-quarterback teams from 2024 here. Now that the 2024 season is about over, it is very clear that the rookie QB class could be special.
And we still haven't seen two first-round rookie QBs start a stretch of games yet. All of Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix, Caleb Williams, and Drake Maye absolutely look like franchise passers. Michael Penix Jr and JJ McCarthy were the other two rookie QBs in this class.
Both of them could absolutely turn into franchise passers as well. It's clear that 2024 was the year to get a QB. Let's rank the overall teams who started rookie QBs in 2024.
NFL Power Rankings: Ranking teams who started rookie QBs in 2024 season
6. New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints were a giant mess in 2024 and it was not the fault of Spencer Rattler, their rookie QB who got some action this past season. The Saints are again in cap hell and are a horrible situation overall. This team is going to take years to fix and rebuild. It's actually surprising just how poorly Mickey Loomis has run this team in recent seasons.
We'll see how they approach the QB situation in 2025. It would not shock me if Rattler got the QB1 duties next season.
5. Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons had a weird offseason last year which included handing Kirk Cousins a $180 million deal and then drafting Michael Penix Jr in the 2024 NFL Draft. The rapid decline of Cousins forced the Falcons to turn to Penix at the end of the season, and there was a path for him and the Falcons to get into the postseason during the final week of the regular season.
Now that the franchise is turning to Penix, the Falcons could either breakout in 2025 and take control of the AFC South or perhaps endure some de-facto rookie QB struggles.
4. Chicago Bears
Caleb Williams is going to be fine and Chicago Bears' fans need to calm down. They got the head coach right with Ben Johnson, and you can tell that this offseason is all about making it work with Williams. I would expect multiple new starters along the offensive line and perhaps a new running back.
Chicago is probably going to be a lot better in 2025 than they were in 2024. This team is trending in the right direction.
3. New England Patriots
Drake Maye is going to be a very good QB in the NFL, and with the New England Patriots bringing in Mike Vrabel as their next head coach, the franchise is on the right track. With a better offensive line and better weapons, the Patriots are going to compete for a Wild Card seed in 2025. This team is an obvious 'breakout' squad next year.
2. Denver Broncos
Winning 10 games and making the postseason in 2024, the Denver Broncos proved most people wrong and did it with Bo Nix suiting up for all 17 games. He finished with 29 touchdown passes, which was the most among all rookies this season.
Nix also threw all 29 touchdown passes against just eight interceptions after he began his career with zero touchdowns and four picks across his first two games. The Broncos were playing with house money this year and made the postseason for the first time since 2015.
1. Washington Commanders
This is obvious. Not only were they the best team quarterbacked by a rookie in the NFL this year, but they were also the best team in NFL history with a rookie. Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders were truly special this year. They are first in our power rankings and can take a ton of cap space into the offseason to load up as much as possible.
It's almost hard to envision this team not making it back to the conference championship in 2025.