Young QBs already rising stars in NFL
When Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and other older, elite quarterbacks move on from the NFL, the position will remain in good hands.
The Young Guns are already taking over.
Derek Carr, Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston, Dak Prescott and Carson Wentz headline a crop of talented signal callers who quickly developed into rising stars. And, they’re only getting better.
“There’s always room to improve,” said Carr , who led the Raiders to 12 wins last year and their first playoff berth since 2002.
Carr finished tied for third in the MVP voting after completing a career-best 63.8 per cent of his passes with 28 touchdowns and only six interceptions. He also led seven fourth-quarter comebacks before breaking his leg in Week 16, basically ruining Oakland’s Super Bowl chances.
Oakland gave Carr the richest contract in the league, $125 million over five years, only to see Detroit’s Matthew Stafford get even more money a couple months later.
“The best thing about Derek, and I mean this sincerely, is that he wants to be great,” Raiders offensive co-ordinator Todd Downing said. “He understands that to be great, it’s always a learning process. It’s always a growing process.”
While Carr took three years to bust out, Mariota, Winston, Prescott and Wentz have progressed even faster.
Mariota threw for 3,426 yards with 26 TDs and nine interceptions, helping the Tennessee Titans improve from 3-13 to 9-7 in his second season. The fact his success has come in a vertical offence that doesn’t fit his skill set as much as the intermediate passing game is even more impressive.
“I feel a lot more comfortable,” Mariota said about entering his second year in coach Mike Mularkey’s offence. “You kind of know what to expect. You’re in a situation where you’re familiar with everything.”
Prescott had one of the best rookie seasons for a quarterback in league history after replacing an injured Tony Romo. Prescott tied Ben Roethlisberger’s rookie record of 13 wins, led the Cowboys to a division title and set rookie marks in passer rating (104.9) and fewest interceptions (four, to go with 23 touchdowns).