Poll: Reviewing ’21 1st Rd QBs 3 years later

In the 2021 NFL Draft, five quarterbacks were selected in the first 15 picks of the evening. It was an unprecedented run in a class heralded by some of the most well known prognosticators as the deepest collection of talent a draft had ever seen.

Trevor Lawrence, the Clemson star, went first overall to Jacksonville. The Jets took Zach Wilson out of BYU at No. 2, then the Niners traded a boatload of picks, including three first rounders, to move up to No. 3 to nab FCS-product Trey Lance from North Dakota State. Things calmed for a minute before the Bears jumped up from #20 to #11 to select Ohio State's Justin Fields, which dropped 'Bama's Mac Jones into Bill Belichick's lap at 15th overall.

Two of the five featured on Monday Night Football last night.

Today, two of them are starters. While one is 3-0 this season, they have a combined 33-61 (.351) combined career record. Of the other three, two are backups and the other is a backup's backup. Three seasons and three games after they came in as the so-called greatest QB class in league history, the group has far from lived up to the hype.

Trevor Lawrence is the most experienced of the bunch. Which, coupled with the 5-year $275 million contract he signed over the off-season, makes Jacksonville's 0-3 start to the season so troublesome. Eight-straight losses has dropped Lawrence's career record to 20-33, and though he's thrown for 4,000+ yards in each of the last two seasons, his 60-40 TD-INT career split doesn't scream $55mil/year.

Justin Fields is off to a 3-0 start to his Pittsburgh career that was supposed to be served as Russell Wilson's backup. Can't imagine Mike Tomlin makes a switch as long as they're winning ballgames, something that even with the start Fields has only done 13 times in 41 career starts. He's thrown for nearly 7,200 yards with 42 TD and 31 INT, plus he's rushed for over 2,300 yards, including an 1100-yard campaign in 2022. He's found the end zone 15 times as a runner.

Mac Jones is the next most experienced QB in the class. After helping the Patriots to a 10-7 record his rookie year, which saw Jones pass for 3,800 yards and 22 TD, well, everyone around here knows what happened. There's no need rehashing it. He's 18-24 as a starter with over 8,900 yards in the air, 46 TD and 36 INT. He made his 2024 debut last night in mop-up duty after Trevor Lawrence went through a Jacoby Brissett-level beating during Buffalo's 47-10 MNF win. Jones went 5-8 for 22 yards with a fumble lost.

Zach Wilson is Bo Nix's backup in Denver after the former No.2 overall pick flamed out with the Jets after a 12-21 mark in 34 games and 33 starts. Wilson has 23 TD and 25 INT for his career and has yet to appear in a game this season.

Then there's Trey Lance. He's yet to get off the ground and who knows if he ever will. Jerrah is keeping him around in Dallas for the time being.