NFL Power Rankings: Ranking the rookie quarterbacks following Week 12

The rookie quarterback class had quite the week in Week 12 of the 2024 NFL Season. Let's power rank the class following the latest action. Through 12 weeks, we still have two rookie quarterbacks who have their teams in a playoff spot. The Denver Broncos and Washington Commanders are both 7-5 with rookie QBs leading the way.

And Bo Nix of the Denver Broncos may now firmly be in the lead for the Offensive Rookie of the Year at this rate. He is playing out of his mind, but Jayden Daniels is also still doing an admirable job. Both Caleb Williams and Drake Maye are on bad teams that need some type of roster or coaching reboot, so we may be looking toward 2025 with both passers.

As we have done, let's power-rank the rookie QB class following the latest action.

NFL Power Rankings: Ranking the rookie quarterbacks following Week 12

4. Drake Maye, New England Patriots

Drake Maye has an 85.4 passer rating and 10 touchdown passes for the New England Patriots in his rookie season. But it isn't always smart to look at the stats with rookie QBs. Even past the stat sheet, Maye looks quite good for the Pats and may end up being a very good QB for years to come. The main issue with the Patriots, and it's something that we can all see, is that they are just hurting so badly for talent.

The offense might be the worst personnel unit in the entire NFL, so this team does need multiple offseasons of infusing that side of the ball with some talent. Given the talent gap, you could honestly argue that Drake Maye should be ranked above Caleb Williams, but I am not quite ready to go there yet.

3. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears

A late-game comeback from Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears had them and the Minnesota Vikings going into overtime. It was an impressive performance from the Bears, but at the end of the day, they lost.

Williams threw for over 300 yards in the loss and has looked pretty solid in his first two games without former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, so perhaps this could be Williams getting back on track after a rough few weeks. Chicago has now lost five games in a row and are 4-7 on the year. It feels like not only are they out of the playoff race, but I am not sure this coaching staff survives into the 2025 NFL Season, either.

More change could be on the horizon for the Bears.

2. Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders

In one of the messiest games you will ever watch, the Washington Commanders came out flat against the Dallas Cowboys, and it seemed like as we got late into this game, neither team wanted to win. Well, the Cowboys ended up victorious, which handed Jayden Daniels and the Commanders their third loss in a row.

Daniels threw for 275 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions in the loss and was not that great overall. On the season, he now has 12 touchdowns against five interceptions, and his passer rating is officially below 100.

It's still been a very good rookie season for Daniels, but the team seems to be falling apart down the stretch, so it'll be interesting to see what happens with this team and if they can keep a Wild Card seed in the NFL playoffs this year.

1. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos

Bo Nix is clearly the best rookie QB in the NFL at this point, and he has easily separated himself from Jayden Daniels and the rest of the pack. It'll be interesting to see if Nix and the Broncos can keep this up down the stretch, and the Offensive Rookie of the Year award may be down to Bo Nix and Brock Bowers if we're being honest.

Denver has now won seven of their last 10 games and are 7-5 on the season, sitting in the seventh seed in the AFC playoffs. Both the fifth and sixth seeds in the AFC also have seven wins, and the Los Angeles Chargers and Baltimore Ravens do play on Monday Night Football, so it is not out of the question for Denver to leap up a seed or two.

Nix has thrown 16 touchdown passes against just two interceptions since Week 3, so this kid is ripping it with confidence.