Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young struggled in his preseason debut. So did Houston Texans’ C.J. Stroud and Indianapolis Colts’ Anthony Richardson.
Young, the first pick in this year’s NFL Draft, completed 4-of-6 passes for 21 yards with a long of eight yards. Stroud was 2-of-4 for 13 yards and an interception, while Richardson completed 7-of-12 passes for 67 yards with an interception.
The struggles should be expected.
Of the 12 quarterbacks selected in the top 10 the past five years, only Justin Herbert (98.5) had a passer rating higher than 90 as a rookie. Herbert (289.1) and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow (268.8) were the only quarterbacks who averaged more than 250 yards passing per game as rookies.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Rookie quarterbacks selected in the top 10 generally play for bad teams, so they’re usually not surrounded by exceptional talent. They must learn a new playbook, diagnose more complicated defenses and play against superior talent.
Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa is the only rookie quarterback who had a winning record as a rookie — and he went 6-3.
Although each rookie had subpar debuts, they’re each expected to start when the season begins in a few weeks.
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How Anthony Richardson and the young QBs are learning to play in NFL
Carolina offensive coordinator Thomas Brown said he liked Young’s performance, and his practice performances have given him confidence that Young will play well once the season begins.
“I would say every day, I mean, there’s two to three highlight plays — whether it be pocket movement, throwing off-balance, or disguising what our defense is doing from a pass protection standpoint,” Brown told reporters. “He gets into the right looks to everything to how he handles just overall, as I said before, just the pressure like down-and-down — which is rare for a guy his age.
“He’s still a young dude, for sure, but he acts like he’s probably 45 years old at times, maybe older than me.”
The Colts were so encouraged by Richardson’s performance against Buffalo they named him the starter.
The Colts knew he was raw. The 6-foot-4 250-pounder completed 53.8 percent of his passes his last year at Florida with 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions. The quicker he starts playing, the faster he can maximize his potential.
“I’ve been grinding and working just to get the title, but it’s not really all about the title. I’m just trying to make sure I’m ready for the team,” Richardson told reporters. “Despite being labeled as QB1, I’ve still got other guys in the room helping me get to that standard. I’m forever thankful for them. I appreciate them and I’m glad I did get the nod and that I do have the trust of everybody in the building too to think I am QB1.”
Indianapolis coach Shane Steichen named Richardson the starter Monday. The words sounded even better than Richardson believed they would.
“It was just hearing the words because you work for it. I didn’t know when the timeline was going to be,” Richardson said. “I was just looking forward to Week 1 and being ready for the opportunity and getting thrown in the fire hopefully.
“He told me and I’m just like, ‘Wow. It really happened.’ I’m thankful, I’m blessed and I’ve just got to keep working and just keep building on this opportunity.”
Stroud, under considerable duress during his appearance, threw an interception on his first series. He’s competing with Davis Mills for the starting job.
“He was begging for another series, which I understand,” offensive coordinator Bobby Slowick said of Stroud. “That’s what you want. You want someone really hungry that wants to play. He knew exactly what happened.”
Jean-Jacques Taylor is an NFL Insider for Sportsnaut and the author of the upcoming book “Coach Prime“, with Deion Sanders. Follow him on Twitter.