Written by Alex Reimer at SBNation.com
If this inaugural weekend of NFL preseason action is any indication of how the season will go, then rookie quarterbacks will be the big story across the league –– and it isn’t who you think.
Jared Goff and Carson Wentz, the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in this year’s draft, both struggled in their debuts and left with injuries. The Los Angeles Rams planned to play Goff in the second and third quarters, but he was removed at halftime with a shoulder scare. Head coach Jeff Fisher said Goff will have to monitor the situation closely over the next couple of days.
Prior to the injury, Goff looked pedestrian under center. He went 4 of 9 for 38 yards and an interception. Wentz fared a little better than his numbers would indicate, but still only completed 50 percent of his passes and threw a pick before suffering a hairline fracture. Eagles head coach Doug Pedersen says Wentz is expected to play in this week’s game.
While first-rounder Paxton Lynch impressed for the Denver Broncos –– he completed 6 of 7 passes for 74 yards –– the rookie QBs who really stole the show were an undrafted backup, a little-known fourth-round pick out of Mississippi State and the much-maligned Cardale Jones. Neither of these three players are expected to start this season, but August is their time to shine. That’s what the preseason is all about, right?
Over these last four nights, a number of players have separated themselves from the pack. Some of them are household names, but many of them are not. And for this one week, at least, they all stand together as a part of the Preseason All-Star squad.
Quarterbacks
Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys): When backup Kellen Moore broke his ankle earlier this month, it seemed as if the Cowboys would have no choice but to bring in another quarterback. The team that lost all eight of its games without Tony Romo last season knows the value of QB depth.
Dak Prescott’s dazzling performance in the Cowboys’ 28-24 loss to the Rams doesn’t mean he’s a shoo-in for the No. 2 job, but it greatly helps his case. The fourth-round pick out of Mississippi State completed 10 of 12 passes for 139 yards and two touchdown, earning praise from Dez Bryant in the process.
“I think the best thing about Dak is that he is extremely calm,” Bryant said, via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “It’s like he’s been here before. He’s not playing like a rookie. He is going to be very good; he’s special.”
Last week, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he was impressed with Prescott in practice. The rookie couldn’t have performed much better in a game than he did Saturday.
Trevone Boykin (Seattle Seahawks): August is a time for undrafted rookies to shine, and that’s exactly what Boykin did in the Seahawks’ come-from-behind 17-16 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
With five seconds remaining and the Seahawks trailing by seven, Boykin hurled a Hail Mary pass to receiver Tanner McEvoy in the end zone. He came down with the catch, and Seattle converted its two-point attempt to defeat the Chiefs.
With Russell Wilson locked in at quarterback for the next several years, it’s unlikely that Boykin will get much of a chance with the Seahawks. But that doesn’t mean his performance was meaningless. Four years ago, Wilson’s stellar camp is what won him the quarterback job as a rookie over Matt Flynn. Boykin isn’t a threat to supplant Wilson, obviously, but Pete Carroll is watching this stuff. With a couple of more games like that, Boykin could play his way onto the roster.
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