Which rookie QB will lead team to playoffs first?
Mike Florio and Peter King explain why they think Mac Jones could be the first rookie QB this season to lead his team to the playoffs and look at else who could contend.
Video Transcript
MIKE FLORIO: Welcome back to PFT on Yahoo Sports, all the biggest stories in the NFL. Mike Florio and Peter King with you every week of the entire NFL season. And with five rookie quarterbacks taken in the first 15 selections of the draft, three are starting. Two maybe eventually will be. Question for now, Peter. Which of the five rookie quarterbacks will lead his team to the playoffs first?
PETER KING: Mac Jones. And I think he'll do it this year, Mike. I thought Mac Jones showed a lot of presence, veteran presence, on the field against Miami. I think he is most well-equipped to play the NFL-style game early on, especially the way the Patriots want to call that NFL-style game. They want him to be a pocket quarterback. They want him not to think too much. They want him to hit the open receivers and not try to do too much. I think he is going to lead his team to the playoffs first. And I think it's going to be a long time before Trevor Lawrence leads his team to the playoffs.
MIKE FLORIO: Yeah. It's so important where those rookie quarterbacks land. Mac Jones landed in a perfect situation. Not only does it fit his skills, but it's a better team. It was an aberration for the Patriots to be drafting as high as they were after going 7 and 9 last year. And I agree with you. Mac Jones will be the one to do it. And it will happen this year. And the other guy that I would give some consideration is Trey Lance. If and when the switch is flipped from Jimmy Garoppolo to Lance, that will be an indication that Shanahan believes Lance is ready to take the team much farther than the wild card round of the playoffs.
And if that happens this year, then we'll see both Lance and Jones in the postseason. So that's the other guy I'm watching. Zach Wilson needs more help around him. Trevor Lawrence needs a lot more help around him. And Justin Fields-- I'm convinced the Bears are still trying to keep him on ice as long as possible. We may not see him start all year. Although, I think that at some point Matt Nagy's going to have to relent and put Justin Fields in for Andy Dalton.
PETER KING: Mike, you're right. It's probably a matter of time. And I sat with Matt Nagy a month ago, maybe a little bit longer than that. Five weeks ago. And he was adamant that I am here to prepare Justin Fields to be a top NFL quarterback for 15 years, not to give them a shot for two years and then let him go somewhere else. So I think that Matt Nagy is going to try to fight against the forces that would have him have a quick hook for Andy Dalton.
The problem is, Mike, that if you put Justin Fields in the game, not that you can't go back to Andy Dalton if Fields fails, but watching that game the other night-- and again, look, it's tough when you're facing Aaron Donald and that front. But that is not a good pass blocking offensive line at all. And so what fate is going to befall Justin Fields? Even if you think that mentally and physically he's prepared, what fate is going to befall him if, you know, he's getting pressured on, you know, 8 to 10 pass attempts? So that's one of the reasons I'm sure that Matt Nagy wants to be conservative in his move at quarterback.
MIKE FLORIO: He lived that experience in 2017 in Kansas City when he was the offensive coordinator and Patrick Mahomes sat the entire year. Played week 17 against the Broncos in a meaningless game. But Nagy apparently believes to his core that Mahomes sitting helped contribute to what Mahomes became when he took the league by storm the next year. So Nagy's got the perspective.
I agree with you, though, Peter. It's going to be tough to pull it off. I mean, there may be a Bears fan that shows up literally with the giant hook. Remember how he used to pull the guy off stage? They will literally try to give Andy Dalton the hook and get him off the field. It's going to be tough. If Dalton is not great in the home opener against the Bengals on Sunday, it's going to be loud. It's going to be ugly. And it's going to be very negative toward the Bears if they don't put Fields in.
PETER KING: I think Dalton plays well this week and he and he silences the wolves for at least two or three more weeks. But you're right, Mike. It is inevitable, I think, that sometime this year Justin Fields gets a shot.
MIKE FLORIO: That's it for now. He's Peter King. I'm Mike Florio. We'll see you all season long with PFT on Yahoo Videos. Thanks for some of your time, and have a great day.
