The 2021 class of first-round quarterbacks finally showed signs of life in Week 4 after being historically bad collectively in the first three weeks of the season. Trevor Lawrence slowed down his record-breaking pace for interceptions. Zach Wilson looked like the playmaker he was at BYU. Trey Lance finally got extended playing time because of starter Jimmy Garoppolo’s injury. Justin Fields recovered from a disastrous Week 3 start. Mac Jones wasn’t perfect but he looked poise on the big stage. Moving forward, each quarterback has his own question to answer.
Can Trevor Lawrence temper his aggression?
Even though Lawrence didn’t have a problem with turnovers in college, he’s been uncharacteristically careless with the ball in the NFL, throwing multiple interceptions in each of the first three games of the season. He seems to be experimenting and seeing what kind of throws he can get away with in the big leagues at the expense of the Jaguars’ already-low winning probability. Perhaps, he knows that taking a battering ram to the Jaguars’ small hopes of winning now with turnovers is an investment if it helps with his development, however, at a certain point, he’s just building bad habits.
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On Thursday Night Football against the Jaguars, he took a more measured approach and kept the ball out of harm’s way. Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell helped his young quarterback by including a heavy dose of zone read in the game plan and Lawrence dazzled with his legs, cutting and darting in ways that a 6-foot-6 quarterback should have no business doing. Lawrence had 36 rushing yards and a touchdown, but his most important stat was zero turnovers.
When things weren’t there he pulled the ball down, checked the ball down and threw the ball away. He didn’t fall into the trap of being too conservative and still flashed his out-of-this-world arm talent and made big-time throws from in and out of the pocket against a stingy Bengals’ secondary when the opportunity presented itself.
4:47 remaining in the third quarter, second-and-5
The Jaguars had a “dagger” concept called against the Bengals’ Cover 1 (man-to-man with a deep safety). Receiver Jamal Agnew lined up in the slot and ran the “deep through” route.
Agnew was Lawrence’s first read in his progression. Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton (No. 21) had tight coverage but Agnew had a step and Lawrence felt like he could make the throw even though he had to get the ball over a linebacker. Agnew’s route took him upfield so as long as Lawrence led him that way, the linebacker wouldn’t be able to make a play.
There wasn’t much space to the sideline but Lawrence put just the right amount of touch on the ball to get it past the linebacker and away from Hilton for a 27-yard completion.
Arm talent. @trevorlawrencee #JAXvsCIN on @NFLNetwork
📱: https://t.co/jQ6nvOCVqi pic.twitter.com/YMhYGwBbjP— NFL (@NFL) October 1, 2021
This throw was an example of aggression with reason. There wasn’t a ton of separation but Angew had a step and Lawrence had time and space to make the throw.
Moving forward, Lawrence shouldn’t completely try to get too conservative. He needs to continue throwing the ball downfield but he has to cut down on the prayers with no rhyme or reason.
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How can Zach Wilson play with more rhythm without stifling his playmaking ability?
Wilson had his best game statistically as a pro and after seeing the highlights on broadcasts, I thought I would like my All-22 study of his film a lot more than I did. Let me start off by saying that the splash plays he made were spectacular and that there aren’t many quarterbacks in the league who can make those out-of-structure plays that he made. Also, the problems that he’s having are mostly correctable but you want to see him improve on his ability to play within the structure of the offense. His offensive line has been porous but Wilson has invited some of the pressure he’s getting by holding the ball too long.
He’s not anticipating routes opening up inside and as a result, he’s late on a lot of timing throws. Offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur is helping him by scheming access throws to the sideline where his sightline is a little cleaner. He has the arm strength to drive those outside throws but his ball placement has been off on those throws at times. On a few of his highlight throws, he could have made routine throws for good yardage but either didn’t see those throws or just elected to try to create bigger plays with his legs.
9:16 remaining in the fourth quarter, first-and-10
The Jets have a boot/shot play called. Wilson didn’t have a flat read on this play. Instead, the tight end came across the formation to block the end to give Wilson more time to throw downfield. Wilson’s first read was outside receiver Keelan Cole running a deep-out route. The Titans corner played off and the flat defender was tucked in the box, so Wilson should have seen before the snap that he had an “access” throw available to him on the outside.
Wilson saw Cole but elected not to take the throw and looked back to Corey Davis running a deep crosser from the other side of the field.
Wilson could have hit Davis in the intermediate part of the field but directed him to go deep instead.
ZACH WILSON.
Putting on a show with his arm. #TENvsNYJ on CBS
📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/vwzbU5VWh7— NFL (@NFL) October 3, 2021
Davis got the message, turned upfield and Wilson threw a perfect pass into a tight window for a 53-yard touchdown to take the lead on the Titans.
You don’t want to discourage him from making these types of plays but at the same time, you want to see him make the routine play more often. You can’t build an offense on out-of-structure explosives. Even Patrick Mahomes — the best ad-libber in the league — has stretches when he throws the ball short and on time.
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It’s encouraging to see Wilson’s playmaking ability flash, but for him to be a complete quarterback and to move the ball consistently, he has to get better at anticipating and making the routine throws.
Is Trey Lance ready if Jimmy Garoppolo misses time?
After Garoppolo couldn’t play in the second half against the Seahawks because of a calf injury, Lance got his first opportunity at extended playing time but it looked like the game was moving too fast for him. He missed badly on some easy passes and looked flustered. As he settled down, his accuracy got better. Seattle’s blown coverage that led to his long touchdown pass to Deebo Samuel in the third quarter looked like it helped him gain confidence and settle down.
He threw a few strikes into tight windows with decent timing but his placement on those throws could improve. Trailing 28-13 with 1:55 remaining, the 49ers had an opportunity to cut the Seahawks’ lead to one possession.
1:55 remaining in the fourth quarter, second-and-10
The 49ers had George Kittle and Deebo Samuel lined up on the same side. The Seahawks were in Cover 2 and the 49ers had an effective Cover 2 beater called. Kittle ran right at the mike linebacker to freeze him before splitting the two deep safeties. Samuel ran a “basic” (12-yard in) outside of him.
After the snap, Lance looked to Samuel first, which froze the safety and made him stop his feet. Lance then moved his eyes to Kittle.
In a compressed pocket, Lance started his throwing motion before Kittle uncovered from the mike linebacker.
Lance’s eyes, timing and pocket toughness — he took a hit after the throw — were perfect but his ball location was slightly off. The pass needed to be more inside but he threw it a little outside, which gave safety Jamal Adams (33) a chance to dislodge the ball. Kittle should have caught the ball, but it’s details like this that make or break a play.
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Overall, Lance displayed some of the traits that made him a top-five pick. He made some dazzling escapes out of tight pockets, ripped through what looked like some sure sacks, kept his eyes downfield and found open receivers. However, the offense looked out of rhythm. The 49ers couldn’t get much movement in the run game and their spacing between routes looked poor. The 49ers’ offense looks to have more issues than just who is playing quarterback.
Also, the 49ers’ receivers don’t look like they know how to play with a mobile quarterback and smoothly transition into a scramble drill when he breaks the pocket — that’ll take time. Lance hasn’t gotten much practice time with the starters because he entered the season as a backup. Lance looks raw but he made some encouraging plays when he settled down. With a week of game planning with Lance as a starter, Kyle Shanahan should be able to figure out a way to win a couple of games if Garoppolo has to miss multiple weeks.
Should Justin Fields start over a healthy Andy Dalton?
Fields’ first start in Week 3 against the Browns was discussed ad nauseam and with good reason, head coach Matt Nagy did not put Fields in a position to succeed. He dialed up too many plays with five-man protection and expected Fields to quickly get rid of the ball in a quick-strike offense, which isn’t Fields’ strength. Additionally, it made no sense to do that against a Browns’ defensive line that was a complete mismatch for the Bears’ offensive line. Fields was to blame on some sacks but it’s hard to expect a rookie quarterback to overcome that kind of siege with a game plan that didn’t fit his skill set.
Fields was much better against the Lions in Week 4. Yes, the Lions have the worst pass defense in the league, but Fields made some high-difficulty downfield throws to receivers who didn’t have much separation. Offensive coordinator Bill Lazor called more max protection (seven-man pass pro) and sacrificed spacing for time. With fewer receivers going downfield, the Lions’ secondary wasn’t as spaced out, but Fields proved he had the arm talent to fit the ball in tight spaces if he had time.
2:25 remaining in the third quarter, first-and-10
The Lions’ defense initially showed eight defenders in the box. Fields saw this and made an audible at the line of scrimmage. He appeared to change the play into a play-action, max protection shot play.
The running back free released into this route after the play fake, but Fields had two tight ends to his left who stayed in to double-team outside linebacker Charles Harris (No. 53).
After the snap, the Lions dropped into a Cover 2 zone. Because there were only receivers running routes, there wasn’t much stress put on the Lions’ zones, and not much space for Fields to throw the ball to.
Still, Fields made a perfect throw on the sideline over the corner playing the curl/flats and underneath of the deep safety.
On plays with max protection, Fields was 5 of 5 for 172 yards (34.4 yards per attempt).
Nagy announced that Dalton will be his starter when he’s healthy. But if Fields has one more good game against the Raiders, he should continue to be the starter for the rest of the season, in my opinion. However, the offense has to continue adjusting to fit Fields’ strengths. The Bears haven’t called nearly enough option plays for Fields. I don’t understand the Bears putting running back David Montgomery at quarterback to run option plays when Fields is more than athletic enough to execute them.
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Is Mac Jones good enough to take the Patriots to the playoffs?
Jones does so many things that you want a quarterback to do well: He makes quick decisions, his accuracy and ball placement are superb, he can make pass rushers miss with subtle movements in the pocket, and he can maintain his accuracy under pressure. Unfortunately, his physical limitations are also glaring: He lacks the arm to drive the ball downfield, he’s not anticipating deeper routes opening up, and he isn’t athletic enough to create when things break down.
In a game of huge magnitude, against the Buccaneers, he showed off the entire spectrum of his traits — good and bad. He made a few nice throws down the middle of the defense and spent the night picking on cornerback Richard Sherman, who started the game after being signed four days earlier.
Jones was 2 of 7 throwing on third down against an injury-riddled Buccaneers’ secondary and missed some opportunities downfield that could have swung the game.
2:24 remaining in the third quarter, first-and-10
The Buccaneers showed a three-man rush with only three players on the line of scrimmage. They also gave Jones the impression that they would cover receiver Jakobi Meyers with outside linebacker Anthony Nelson (No. 98).
After the snap, Nelson rushed and the defense dropped into a two-deep zone, but the Bucs still rushed three. Meyers ran a short whip route while tight end Hunter Henry ran a seam down the middle of the defense on the other side.
Jones ended up throwing to Meyers for a 5-yard gain. However, with a three-man rush, Jones could have taken his time and tried to go downfield. It looked like the design of the play was to pull the linebackers toward Meyers to open up space for Henry running behind him. If Jones would have looked to Henry, it looked like he could have hit him right in the middle of the split safeties.
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Evan Lazar of CLNS wrote a detailed breakdown of Jones’ game in Week 4 and noted that offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has adjusted to Jones’ style of play with shorter passes. Only 11.3 percent of his passes have 20 or more air yards. Living in that ball control world is fine for now but Jones is the only rookie quarterback who is the unquestioned starter for an actual contender. Jones executes the offense at a high enough level to stay in games but it’ll be difficult to keep pace with some of the better offenses in the league playing this conservatively even if the Patriots’ defense is playing at a high level.
(Top photo of Trey Lance: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)