When the NFL Draft of 2014 began in May, many wondered who will be that first surprise to throw off everyone's big boards. That pick was the Jacksonville Jaguars selecting Blake Bortles with the third overall pick. A big, athletic, yet seemingly undeveloped quarterback out of Central Florida, who head coach Gus Bradley stated that his rookie year would be a redshirt year.
The Cleveland Browns, after the Jags, traded away the fourth pick to the Buffalo Bills, who nabbed Sammy Watkins, was the team everyone looked to take Johnny Manziel with the eight pick, but instead took CB Justin Gilbert and then sat at the 26th pick from a trade with the Indianapolis Colts for Trent Richardson, as the college star fell and fell out of the top 10. The Dallas Cowboys also passed up on the opportunity to take Manziel with the sixteenth pick, selecting Notre Dame OL Zach Martin.
The Browns, however, saw the opportunity to strike by trading their 26th pick to the Philedelphia Eagles' 22nd pick and finally took Manziel off the board. The last pick of the first round sat the Super Bowl Seattle Seahawks, and still sat Teddy Bridgewater, the number one prospect after the college season ended, but plagued by a bad NFL Combine and pro workout day. The Minnesota Vikings, after taking UCLA LB Anthony Barr, traded up from their second round pick for the Louisville prospect.
Months later, each quarterback had looks in training camp and the preseason. By the end of training camp, it was Manziel who looked like he was going to be the first rookie quarterback to get the nod as an NFL starter. That drastically changed, however, after one game set the tone as Bortles threw for over 400+ yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. The Cleveland Browns looked like a mess when the preseason was set and done, with each quarterback in veteran Brian Hoyer and Manziel looking pedestrian in each showing. Meanwhile in Minneapolis, Teddy Bridgewater had an average showing, but was out-performed by vet Matt Cassel when it was all said and done. After the end of the pre-season there was one rookie starter, and it wasn't Manziel, Bortles or Bridgewater, as it turned out to be the Oakland Raiders' second round pick, Derek Carr.
Now that the regular season has started, each team has had a small glance to show what each team that selected a quarterback would be. The Vikings' Cassel led a beatdown of the St. Louis Rams week one, with over 200 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. However, week two, was a mess against the New England Patriots where he threw for four interceptions and less than 200 yards with a stand alone passing touchdown.
The Browns' Hoyer looked bad in the first half of the first game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but almost led a second-half comeback down by more than 10 points. The second game against the New Orleans Saints, he did manage the comeback victory in impressive fashion against a Drew Brees-led offense.
In Jacksonville, things looked good in the first half against the Philadelphia Eagles with Chad Henne throwing for over 100 yards in the first quarter and two touchdowns to UDFA WR Allen Hurns in the first half. Then the second half happened, where the entire Jaguars team collapsed and lost. Worse for the Jags, they come out and lose big 41-10 to a Washington team who was on a nine-game losing streak since last year with Henne looking shell-shocked and was sacked 10 times.
After such a brief look from the regular season, who will be that guy to step in for these teams taking those quarterbacks?
Just looking at the numbers, you would assume Matt Cassel. At only 372 passing yards in two games, three touchdowns and four interceptions, you would have to imagine that his time is limited as the starter. Teddy Time could be imminent. In Cleveland, Hoyer has a little over 400 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, but he has led impressive drives to put his team back in the game, so Johnny Football may be holding that clipboard a little longer.
What about Jacksonville? Seven years without a playoff appearance and a hungry fan base in Duval, Chad Henne was given stacked boxes and pressure appears to be getting to him. Blake Bortles is sitting there for the taking just like the selection back in May. Is he going to be the guy? Henne has over 450 yards, three touchdowns and one interception after two games, the best statistics out of any of these three, however blowing a 17-0 lead in Philly and conceding a 41-10 defeat against Washngton. With that note, the first rookie to take over for their respective teams, will be both Blake Bortles and Teddy Bridgewater in week six of the NFL regular season.
Why week six? Minnesota's next three games are an ugly slate of games @ New Orleans, vs. Atlanta, and @ Green Bay. That will not be easy for Matt Cassel, as the clamors could start for Teddy Bridgewater. The same applies for Jacksonville, with games vs. Indianapolis, @ San Diego, and vs. Pittsburgh, the chants for "Bortles Kombat" to start could come as early as this coming Sunday. Both Minnesota and Jacksonville are also both very young teams with developing talents all-around including young wide receivers Cordarrelle Patterson for Minnesota, as well as Marquise Lee and Allen Robinson for the Jaguars. Both of these teams are unlikely to make playoff pushes this year with teams stronger in talent and experience for both of these teams.
These three fan bases are all looking for winners in the always tough NFL and will always look forward to the line, "Any given Sunday." With 14 more regular season games ahead, it'll be interesting to look these teams look to compete on the field, and look at their young stars on the sidelines. Only one thing's for sure, it is going to be a long year for each of these teams. Getting a glimpse of the future would make it much easier to look.
