Week 11 was wild across the NFL and stayed true to that theme with evaluations of the young quarterbacks.
Bo Nix threw four touchdowns against the Falcons but wasn’t overly impressive himself, C.J. Stroud didn’t have his “A” game in a smackdown of the Cowboys, and Drake Maye played marvelously in defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams. The same goes for Will Levis of the Titans. Also, Anthony Richardson looked like a completely different quarterback in his return from the bench.
There were seven quarterbacks selected in the past two NFL Draft classes who saw considerable playing time in Week 11. Let’s dive deep into the individual efforts of each quarterback and assign a grade on a per-snap basis, taking every individual aspect of their performance into account.
(At least 10 attempts were needed to qualify for this piece, which comes out weekly on Tuesdays.)
Who’s the betting favorite to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year after 11 weeks? Check out the latest odds over at FanDuel.
Week 11 stats
- 22 of 32 for 191 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
High-caliber throws/plays
- In the fourth quarter, Daniels rolled right and found Terry McLaurin near the sideline on a comeback against tight coverage.
Low-caliber throws/plays
- His second throw of the game was well behind Noah Brown over the middle and nearly picked on a diving attempt by the underneath linebacker.
- In the second quarter, Daniels threw well short of a deep over attempt.
- He was intercepted in the fourth on throw at the intermediate level that was made way late and behind the receiver.
- Daniels skipped a checkdown in garbage time.
Summary: Second-straight average performance from Daniels, and the outing against the Eagles on Thursday Night Football to begin Week 11 was his worst since either of his first two games in the NFL way back in September. Almost everything was underneath or into the flats. His accuracy waned considerably at the intermediate level and he didn’t even attempt a long ball. His scrambling impact was minimal too, and he took plenty of hits in the pocket.
Grade: D+
Season Grade: B
Week 11 stats
- 28 of 33 for 307 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT
High-caliber throws/plays
- Late in the first half, Nix threw maybe his finest throw of the season to date on a deep seam route through layers of coverage that went for 33 yards.
Low-caliber throws/plays
- His first dropback of the game featured a unnecessarily low check down that fell incomplete.
- There was an ill-advised receiver screen throw in the third that was nearly intercepted.
Summary: This was one of those unusual quarterback performances that, individually, didn’t match the statistics. Sean Payton did an exquisite job scheming to combat the Falcons defense in this blowout win. However, I must give Nix credit for operating efficiently within Payton’s game plan. He mostly threw with accuracy, but a large chunk of the rookie’s production came on screens or throws to completely wide open receivers. Two of his touchdowns were on screens, and another came when a tight end leaked out after blocking and there was no one close to him in coverage. This was a positive outing, but Nix himself did not orchestrate this impressive throttling of Atlanta.
Grade: B-
Season Grade: C+
Week 11 stats
- 23 of 31 for 231 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
High-caliber throws/plays
- Williams put his speed on display on a 16-yard scramble out to the left in the first quarter.
- He was able to turn the corner on 13-yard scramble to move the chains in the second quarter.
- Williams hit Cole Kmet on a gorgeous throw between defenders on a corner route in the third.
- He ducked under what looked like an easy sack and scampered for three yards in the second half.
- On a third-and-9 in the fourth, from a narrow angle with a defender underneath the throw, Williams beamed a laser to Keenan Allen for 17 yards.
- After ducking under another potential sack, Williams rolled right and found Odunze for 16 yards on a scramble drill on Chicago’s final drive.
- The next throw was a perfectly placed back-shoulder to Odunze to move the chains on fourth down. The play went for 21 yards.
Low-caliber throws/plays
- His first throw of the game was behind Rome Odunze on a bootleg.
- Early in the third, Williams overthrew an open Odunze on a comeback down the numbers.
Summary: Williams clearly ended his slump in this game against the Packers. Although the Bears didn’t win the game, he played much better, more assertive and in-rhythm football than he had the past month. I loved how quickly he decided to run, and his escapability was on display often.
Grade: A-
Season Grade: C+
Week 10 stats
- 30 of 40 for 282 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
High-caliber throws/plays
- With a free rusher about to hit him in the first quarter, Maye found a crosser right before contact was made inside the pocket.
- Early in the third, he dropped his arm down almost submarine to connect on a throw with a defender in his face after a play-action fake.
- With a little over two minutes to go in the game, Maye placed a back-shoulder perfectly to Kendrick Bourne for 18 yards.
Low-caliber throws/plays
- Midway through the fourth, Maye was late on a sideline throw near the front right corner of the end zone and was nearly intercepted.
Summary: Maye got the football out in a hurry on the vast majority of his drop backs in this game, and routinely found open receivers at all three levels of the field. The accuracy he demonstrated throughout was fantastic, even if most of his throws were not overly challenging. There was really only bad decision in this contest. Clean game for the rookie. And I’m chalking up the game-ending interception to a miscommunication with his receiver.
Grade: B+
Season Grade: B-
Week 11 stats
- 23 of 34 for 257 yards with 0 TD and 1 INT
High-caliber throws/plays
- In the fourth, Stroud demonstrated his speed on the 20-yard scramble.
- Late in that quarter, he squeezed a fastball into the arms of Nico Collins with two defenders in tight.
Low-caliber throws/plays
- His first-half interception was well behind Nico Collins on an in-breaking route.
- Stroud through wide on a short throw to his tight end.
- There was a throw too far to the inside in the fourth quarter on a sideline throw.
Summary: Stroud wasn’t ultra sharp in this game and many of his completions came underneath on quick throws or screens. The few deeper shots he connected on were to wide open receivers. The interception was the worst throw of the game, and he mostly settled down afterward.
Grade: C
Season Grade: C+
Week 11 stats
- 17 of 31 for 295 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
High-caliber throws/plays
- Midway through the first, Levis ripped a deep seam shot through layered coverage that should’ve been completed but was dropped.
- From a messy pocket, he dropped a back-shoulder nicely to Calvin Ridley for 21 yards.
- On a third-and-5 late in the first half, Levis display the velocity his arm strength can generate on a 16-yard throw down the numbers to Ridley through a closing window.
- His 98-yard touchdown was thrown over two defenders in stride.
Low-caliber throws/plays
- Levis threw a checkdown into the flat at the feet of Tony Pollard on his first dropback of the game.
- With under a minute to go in the first half, Levis stepped directly into edge pressure and was sacked.
- He skipped a checkdown on the first play of the fourth quarter.
- Levis was staring at a totally uncovered receiver on a third-and-12 in the fourth quarter but instead chucked the football out of the end zone in the vicinity of a triple-covered wideout.
- He hurried an underneath throw later that airmailed the wideout and fell incomplete.
Summary: While far from a brutal performance, I thought Levis reasonably held his own against a blitz-obsessed Vikings defense without many answers along the offensive line or at receiver. As the game progressed, the second-year quarterback’s play dipped. There was an egregious miss of an open wideout, and some easy throws weren’t on target. The arm talent was clear in this game. That’s a positive he and the Titans can take from another loss.
Grade: C+
Season Grade: C-
Week 11 stats
- 20 of 30 for 272 yards, 3 TD (2 rushing), 0 INT
High-caliber throws/plays
- While he did throw to an open receiver, on Richardson’s first toss of the game, he took a hit in a crumbling pocket and hit Josh Downs deep downfield for 31 yards.
- Late in the first, Richardson ripped a sidearm fastball through layers of coverage over the middle for 16 yards.
- In the third, with a defender bearing down on him on a bootleg to his right, Richardson demonstrated his arm strength, getting the ball to his tight end downfield against his momentum. The play went for 12 yards, but the throw was much longer than that.
- On the game-winning drive, Richardson started with a perfectly placed deep ball against zone down the right sideline to Alec Pierce for 39 yards.
- The next throw was a 17-yard strike on an in-breaker with a defender underneath the throw.
Low-caliber throws/plays
- His second throw of the game was a miss on a super-short throw while on the run. No reason the ball should’ve been so high.
- Richardson showed a lack of awareness on a sack-fumble from within the pocket early in the third quarter.
- After scrambling right then retreating back to his left, Richardson airmailed a pass over the middle. Dangerous.
Summary: What a tremendous response to being benched. On the road, against a quality defense. This was probably Richardson’s finest game in the NFL to date. He threw with better accuracy than I’ve ever seen from him but didn’t become a robotic statue in the pocket. There were sidearm deliveries and fair amount of scrambling to keep the Jets defense honest. The misses were few and far between and he connected on important throws at the intermediate level and downfield.
Grade: A
Season Grade: C
