Three quarterbacks launched their careers Sunday with the debut of the Bears’ Caleb Williams, the Commanders’ Jayden Daniels and the Broncos’ Bo Nix.
The other three first-round picks — Drake Maye (No. 3, Patriots), Michael Penix (No. 8, Falcons), J.J. McCarthy (No. 10, Vikings) — will have to wait. Maye should start at some point, likely by the time the Bears host the Patriots in Week 10, but McCarthy is injured and Penix is backing up Kirk Cousins.
Here’s how Williams, Daniels and Nix did Sunday:
No. 1 overall pick: Bears QB Caleb Williams
Williams disappointed, but his debut could’ve been worse. Of the 140 quarterbacks picked in the first round in the Super Bowl era, his 55.7 passer rating ranked 92nd, his 93 yards ranked 120th and 48.3 completion percentage ranked 93rd among starting debuts.
Crazy enough, he was better in all three categories than Justin Fields in his nightmarish first start against the Browns in 2021. Williams also was the only rookie who won Sunday, joining Jim McMahon (1982) and Rex Grossman (2003) as the only Bears first-rounders to win their first start.
No. 2 overall pick: Commanders QB Jayden Daniels
Daniels delivered one of the best statistical lines of any first-round quarterback in his starting debut by completing 17 of 24 passes for 184 yards and a 93.1 rating — outdoing stars like Tua Tagovailoa, C.J. Stroud and Patrick Mahomes.
No. 12 overall pick: Broncos QB Bo Nix
Nix was much worse than Williams. While he completed a respectable 26 of 42 passes, he averaged just 3.3 yards per throw and threw two interceptions, including one at the goal line.
The Bears’ rookie quarterback gets a mulligan for his unimpressive performance in his NFL debut last week versus the Titans. But he needs to raise his game against C.J. Stroud and the Texans.
Coach Matt Eberflus was uncertain of Odunze’s status going forward as the Bears prepare to visit the Texans.