NFL QB Preseason Battles

Who Will be Your Week 1 Starters

A lot of people have been discussing the many position battles happening at Quarterback throughout training camp this year. In this article we will be breaking down each one and discussing who will be the week 1 starter on each of these teams.

Philadelphia Eagles

 

Some fans of the Philadelphia Eagles have been calling to see more of backup quarterback Gardner Minshew with the struggles passing last year for Jalen Hurts. After an abysmal performance in the playoffs last year, Hurts, despite being an incredible runner, needs to show noticeable improvement in the passing game. While currently all signs point to Hurts starting week one, without a lot of improvement throwing the football he might not be the starter at the end of the year.

Week 1 Starter: Jalen Hurts

Washington Commanders

Washington brought in Carson Wentz from Indianapolis in the offseason and for the time being he is the obvious week 1 starter for the Commanders. However, they also drafted rookie Sam Howell out of North Carolina early in the 5th round in 2022, who according to sources out of Washington training camp has looked very impressive throughout even potentially better than Wentz. Carson Wentz on his 3rd team in 3 years is on a short leash and it is my belief that one of three things will happen.

1. Carson Wentz continues to stagnate and the entire NFL realizes that he peaked in his teams Super Bowl Run and instead of being remembered as a great player, he is remembered as a "What if" story. In this case, the last 2/3 weeks of the year.
2. Carson Wentz declines heavily in his play, forces passes, throws a lot of interceptions early priming the Commanders and their coaching staff to go into rebuild mode putting Sam Howell in a starting position about half way through the year.
3. Carson Wentz has a resurgence in his career and plays fantastic. If this happens that makes the decision more difficult for coaches and front office. They can either decide to keep Sam Howell as the backup and develop him behind a renewed Carson Wentz for at least 2-3 years or  with a newly elevated trade value, trade him away to receive a few picks in hopes that will help build a team around a much younger QB.

Week 1 Starter: Carson Wentz

Atlanta Falcons

If there is a team this year who is a more negative situation, I couldn't find them. In fact, when I was making this list I almost forgot about them as a team. But their QB room is one of the more interesting ones. We have Marcus Mariota who never quite grew into a great starter for the Tennessee Titans as he would find himself in Las Vegas the past few years, and then there's the rookie Desmond Ridder who turned Cincinnati's college program from an after thought to a real contender. So who gets the nod week 1? This is complicated because I think there is almost a 0 percent chance Ridder starts week 1, I think he might be the first rookie to get a start this year depending on Mariota's play. But regardless both QBs are mobile, both QBs are okay passers so the switch shouldn't be too hard.

Week 1 Starter: Marcus Mariota

Seattle Seahawks

Drew Lock vs. Geno Smith may be the lowest stakes battle in this list given that neither have much expected of them. But I also think this is a great thing for one of the two quarterbacks. Drew Lock is in a good position to start especially given he had a great preseason performance this past week, he has a much higher upside and now on a team that has no aspirations of making the playoffs or being a contender I think he will be able to develop and crank out a decent season this year. Barring Injury Drew Lock should be the 2022 starter for the Seattle Seahawks.

Week 1 Starter: Drew Lock

Pittsburgh Steelers

As I look at this quarterback room I don't see a ton of room for concern, I think the Steelers will be okay with either of the three choices: Mitchell Trubisky, Kenny Pickett, or Mason Rudolph. While most people agree that we are unlikely to see Mason Rudolph start week 1 there has been a ton of debate between Trubisky and Pickett. They open week 1 against their division rival Bengals and because of that I'm going to take Trubisky. A guy that has played meaningful snaps in the NFL, led a bad team to the playoffs and has had relative success on the football field. Now with Mike Tomlin instead of Matt Nagy I think Trubisky will be a good not great quarterback this season for the Steelers and they will either develop Pickett behind him or trade him away for some value at the end of this season. Either way, Trubisky will be the starter week 1.

Week 1 Starter: Mitchell Trubisky

Carolina Panthers

Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold. I would be absolutely shocked if Baker Mayfield does not start against the Browns week 1, it would be a disservice to football fans everywhere if this does not happen. Baker is healthy and looks good in preseason. Let this man play so I can hear Browns fans yell "WE WANT BAKER" as the Panthers start off 1-0. Give me Baker or give me death.

Week 1 Starter: Baker Mayfield