In Week 16 of the NFL season, we continued to see a few of the leagues young quarterbacks thrive. At the beginning of the season only one of the five rookie quarterbacks was starting, but it didn’t take too long for all five of the first rounders to get their chance. Sam Darnold of the Jets, the first of the bunch to start, which was week one, has been getting more and more consistent, and this last week he threw 3 touchdowns and 341 yards in a slugfest against Aaron Rodgers. Some may say that Mayfield has been separating himself from the rest of the rookies. With his 7-6 record for the Browns, including the comeback win that he led against the Jets, he has been very consistent and has shown a lot of progress. Yesterday he embarrassed his former head coach for the second time since he left, with 3 touchdowns and 284 yards in an easy win. The two Josh’s, Allen and Rosen, for the Bills and Cardinals respectively have shown flashes of great play this season. Neither of them were put in good positions at all but both have the potential to be franchise quarterbacks. Lastly, Lamar Jackson, who is 5-1 since taking over as the starter of the Baltimore Ravens with his one loss being a close road loss against the exciting Chiefs, has been quite the pleasant surprise. He has turned the Ravens into a team that is tough to gameplan for, and a team that nobody wants to see in the playoffs.

We have seen great play from all of these quarterbacks, but many things have departed these rookies. Baker has had the most successful rookie season. His 7-6 record with the Browns is nothing short of impressive. The future in Cleveland is very bright. Next, I would say Darnold has has had the next most impressive season. His record isn’t great but he has become very consistent in the last month of the season and has shown much more poise. With Lamar Jackson’s 5-1 record as a starter, he has to be included very high in this conversation. He has put the Ravens in a position to win the division, and has improved his play a lot. I would have to put Allen slightly above Rosen this season. both have been put in bad positions and both have showed positive flashes. However, Allen has showed he is a great athlete who can legitimately put the offense on his back when needed. These quarterbacks will be compared their whole careers, being linked together by the 2018 draft, and this is just the beginning.