The NFL has been dominated by a group of elite, highly-experienced quarterbacks for at least a decade.
Yet, if we take a look at the new generation of players about to come through, there are some talented quarterbacks who might be about to make their mark in the upcoming season.
Trevor Lawrence – Jacksonville Jaguars
Lawrence produced one of the best college careers of all time during his spell at Clemson University. He set a new record for career wins at Clemson for a quarterback, with only the National Championship in 2020 and the 2021 Rose Bowl blemishing his record. In the run up to the 2021 NFL draft, Lawrence was considered to be one of the best quarterback prospects ever seen.
Selected by the Jaguars as the first overall pick in the draft, hopes are high that he will carry his incredible college form into pro football. The general weakness of the Jaguars could hamper him, although they have brought in some reinforcements that could help this season.
Justin Fields – Chicago Bears
Fields is another quarterback rookie who is coming to the pro game on the back of a terrific career in college football. After playing for Georgia and Ohio State, he joined the Bears in the first round of the 2021 draft, with some experts putting him behind only Trevor Lawrence as the draft’s top recruit.
The Bears have a strong team that made the playoffs last year and is renowned for their strong defense. It is expected that he takes the starting role from Andy Dalton sooner or later, and after that who knows how far he could go?
Jordan Love – Green Bay Packers
There is a lot of debate over whether Jordan Love is ready to step up and start playing for the Packers this year. He joined them in the first round of the 2020 draft after a college career at Utah State. It was a surprise at the time, as the Packers already had Aaron Rodger in their roster.
He was named as third quarterback at the start of last season, with Tim Boyle also ahead of him. After a year of focusing on his development, there is a feeling that 2021 could be the season when he begins to make his mark on the NFL. At the time of writing, a minor injury picked up in preseason is keeping him out but look for Love to make an impact in the next few weeks.
Baker Mayfield – Cleveland Browns
Mayfield joined the Browns in the 2018 draft and enjoyed a decent 2020, but 2021 could be the season in which he finally becomes one of the league’s genuine stars. Following college football with the Texas Tech Raiders and the Sooners of Oklahoma, Mayfield was the first overall pick in 2018 and had a strong rookie season.
With a better offensive line now around him, there is genuine hope that Mayfield might be in the running for NFL MVP this season. This would push him up into the top level of elite quarterbacks and confirm that he is one of the league’s most exciting stars.
Joe Burrow – Cincinnati Bengals
Burrow was backup at Ohio State before his college career really took off when he became a starter for the LSU Tigers. Outstanding statistics with over 5,600 passed yards gave him one of the best seasons ever seen in college football and led to him joining the Bengals as the first overall pick in the 2020 draft.
His rookie season was looking extremely promising until it was cut short by a knee injury. In fact, he became the first rookie to pass over 400 yards while completing 3 passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown in their initial 8 games. It remains to be seen if the Bengals have managed to improve the quality of the players around him enough to be genuine contenders this season.
There you have it, 5 underrated quarterbacks who can be under the spotlight this season. Who are you mostly looking forward to see?
And while we’re at it, check out who are the 5 best quarterbacks of all time according to TwinSpires.com: edge.twinspires.com/nfl/top-5-quarterbacks-in-nfl-history/
