DraftHistory.com

Rookie Seasons of Quarterbacks Drafted in 2014

By Chris Malumphy

Fourteen quarterbacks were drafted in 2014. Eight got on the field to throw passes in their rookie seasons, four extensively.

Blake Bortles, the third player selected in the 2014 NFL Draft, received a rocky reception to the pro game, completing 58.9% of his passes for a measly 6.1 yard average, 11 touchdowns, 17 interceptions and a lowly 69.5 rating. Bortles was sacked 55 times (10.4% of the times he dropped back to pass) the most in the league. The Jaguars will need to add more talent for Bortles to have any chance of developing into a reasonable starter.

Although he was the fourth quarterback drafted in 2014, Derek Carr got on the field first and showed the Raiders that they may have someone to build a team around. But there was both bad, along with the good, that came along with Carr. Carr's completion percentage of 58.1 was the lowest of the four rookie quarterbacks who had substantial opportunity to play. His 5.5 yard average was also the lowest of the four, by a substantial margin. Carr's rating of 76.6 was very pedestrian. Yet Carr did throw 21 touchdown passes with just 12 interceptions and he was sacked just 24 times for a very low 3.9 sacked percentage. Carr has promise but the Raiders need will need to provide him with much more support for the team to thrive.

Teddy Bridgewater had to wait longer than Carr and Bortles to get on the field, but he performed better, completing 64.4% of his passes for a 7.3 yard average, 14 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and a rating of 85.2. He was sacked 39 times, an 8.8% which is quite high. Bridgewater will need to cut down on his interceptions and avoid being sacked, but the Vikings must be pleased thus far.

Zach Mettenberger received an opportunity to play after Jake Locker got hurt once again, and Charlie Whitehurst couldn't rise to the occasion. Mettenberger showed both good and bad before getting hurt. He completed 59.8% of his passes, second only to Bridgewater among the four rookies who played extensively. His 7.9 yard average bested the other four substantially. His rating was 83.4. But Mettenberger threw nearly as many interceptions (7) as touchdowns (8) and was sacked 18 times (9.1%). He also displayed the type of mouth that riled opponents which is uncommon for quarterbacks, especially rookies. It's clear that the Titans will continue to look for opportunities to improve their quarterback situation, but Mettenberger could still win the job.

Johnny Manziel had to wait for the Browns to completely lose faith in Brian Hoyer before he got on the field and then he stunk up the joint against Cincinnati and quickly got injured by the Panthers. In the meantime he did not look good on the field and displayed immaturity and caused unnecessary controversy while off it. Manziel has the real possibility of becoming the next Ryan Leaf or JeMarcus Russell. Stay tuned, the outcome will likely be known within the year. In his limited time on the field, Manziel completed 51.4% of his passes for a 5.0 yard average with no touchdowns, two interceptions and a miserable rating of 42.0. Still, Manziel maintains the type of competitive nature that is hard to give up on this soon.

The Patriots gave Jimmy Garoppolo a couple of chances to get on the field when games were no longer in doubt. Garoppolo completed 70.4% of his 27 passes for a 6.7 yard average, one touchdown, no interceptions and a rating of 101.2. However, Garropolo was sacked 5 times, a whopping 15.6% of the times he dropped back to pass, which could be a concern.

The Texans' Tom Savage and the Cardinals' Logan Thomas each had a small taste of action in 2014. Both looked very raw. Savage completed 52.6% of his 19 passes for a 6.7 yard average, no touchdowns, one interception and a 51.9 rating. Thomas was horrible despite receiving an incomprehensible rating of 101.6 caused by his lone completion which went for an 81 yard touchdown. All 8 of Thomas' other passes went incomplete, resulting in a 11.1% completions. Thomas was also sacked twice, for 18.2% of his dropbacks. Those stats are why the Cardinals didn't go to Thomas in the playoff game against the Panthers, despite the fact that Ryan Lindley was overly mismatched.

The Chiefs' Aaron Murray and Bengals' AJ McCarron were injured in 2014 but may get an opportunity to compete in the upcoming preseason. Despite the Bears' meltdown, David Fales did not get to toss a pass in 2014 as Chicago instead looked to Jimmy Clausen the game that Jay Cutler was sent to the bench. It seems unlikely that we'll be hearing much about the on field exploits of Keith Wenning, Tajh Boyd or Garrett Gilbert anytime in the near future, but you never know.

Rookie Seasons of Quarterbacks Drafted in 2014
Name Year Round Pick Player Team College Att C Pct Yds Avg Att Avg Comp TD TD Pct Int Int Pct Sacked Pct Sacked Rate
Blake Bortles2014133JaguarsCentral Florida47528058.929086.110.4112.3173.65510.469.5
Johnny Manziel201412222BrownsTexas A&M351851.41755.09.700.025.737.942.0
Teddy Bridgewater201413232VikingsLouisville40225964.429197.311.3143.5123.0398.885.2
Derek Carr20142436RaidersFresno State59934858.132705.59.4213.5122.0243.976.6
Jimmy Garoppolo201423062PatriotsEastern Illinois271970.41826.79.613.700.0515.6101.2
Logan Thomas2014420120CardinalsVirginia Tech9111.1819.081.0111.100.0218.2101.6
Tom Savage2014435135TexansPittsburgh191052.61276.712.700.015.315.051.9
Aaron Murray2014523163ChiefsGeorgia                          
AJ McCarron2014524164BengalsAlabama                          
Zach Mettenberger201462178TitansLouisiana State17910759.814127.913.284.573.9189.183.4
David Fales201467183BearsSan Jose State                          
Keith Wenning2014618194RavensBall State                          
Tajh Boyd2014637213JetsClemson                          
Garrett Gilbert2014638214RamsSouthern Methodist