Scout's view: Three non-first-round rookie QBs to watch this week
Daniel Kelly spent four years in pro scouting with the New York Jets. He is the published author of the book "Whatever It Takes," the story of a fan making it into the NFL.
With preseason football in full swing, attention has rightfully focused on the rookie quarterbacks drafted in the first round — Bryce Young (Carolina), C.J. Stroud (Houston) and Anthony Richardson (Indianapolis) — but three other QBs have also captured my attention. Each was drafted in the lower rounds. All three play for franchises featuring veteran starters.
Keep an eye on Cleveland's Dorian Thompson-Robinson (fifth round), the Los Angeles Rams' Stetson Bennett (fourth round) and Las Vegas' Aidan O'Connell (fourth round).
In April, I had a second-round grade on Thompson-Robinson, noting at the time to expect him to be one of the biggest surprises in the preseason. I was spot-on.
In games against the Jets and Commanders, DTR has completed 17-of-21 passes for 184 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He earned a 90.3 passing grade, a good grade, from Pro Football Focus.
In his preseason debut against the Chargers, Bennett — a two-time national champion at Georgia — got off to a rocky start, but he settled down, going 17-for-29 for 191 yards and a touchdown pass. In April, I had a seventh-round grade on Bennett, noting he was more practice-squad material than a backup QB.
Meanwhile, I pegged O'Connell with a fourth-round grade, noting he is "exactly the type of QB who will do well during the preseason." Against the San Francisco 49ers, O'Connell earned attention for his strong play, with PFF writing:
O'Connell's Raiders debut was reminiscent of his 2021 season at Purdue, when he earned an elite passing grade. [He] finished his first game in the pros 15-of-18 passing (with two drops, 94.4% adjusted completion percentage) with 141 yards and two big-time throws. The performance earned him a 90.8 passing grade on the day. We're hoping to see him against some first-team defenses at some point before the regular season begins.
Here's what I've seen thus far on game film from each of these rookies:
Dorian Thompson-Robinson (vs. Eagles, Thursday)
DTR will start over veteran backup Kellen Mond against a stacked Eagles defense, a good test for him. He is a highly spirited dual-threat QB who has looked great throwing, running and even making a block.
DTR has been smooth and poised going through his progressions and made timely throwing decisions in this rhythm-based, short to intermediate passing attack. His cat-quick reactions against pressure have also helped him avoid sacks.
The ball can sail high on him at times, the only criticism I have of his play thus far.
Grade: B
Stetson Bennett (vs. Raiders, Saturday)
Bennett looks to bounce back as roster cutdowns loom. Against the Chargers, he completed 59% of his passes but looked shaky doing it.
He is an athletic-but-erratic game manager who didn't log an interception, but the Chargers disrupted four of his passes. Two of those should have been intercepted.
He also had a bobbled snap, two sacks and inconsistent ball placement due to a noticeable lack of arm strength.
To his credit, he threw nice-looking slant routes, but the NFL game looks too big for him.
Grade: D
Aidan O'Connell (vs. Rams, Saturday)
Against the 49ers, O'Connell completed 83% of his passes. He looked poised and polished and showed off nifty ball-handling skills.
He got throws out of his hand quickly, taking only one sack, and aggressively drove the ball into the intermediate route level.
There were no negatives in this game from O'Connell, who could earn the backup job over Brian Hoyer behind Jimmy Garoppolo. If Jimmy G. goes down, the team's backup QB situation may not be as awful as Yardbarker has forecasted.
Grade: A
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