Three quarterbacks — Arizona’s Kyler Murray, Daniel Jones of the Giants and Washington’s Dwayne Haskins — were selected in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. On Thursday, each player had a handful of opportunities to show what he can do at the professional level in preseason competition. Such initial outings are hardly definitive, coming as they often do against second- and third-team defenders and alongside some teammates who won’t make the final 53-man roster. But you can start to get a sense of how these rookies will handle themselves against different defenses, and in new schemes they’re still learning.
Having written tape pieces on all three quarterbacks before they took their first NFL snaps, I found it interesting to see how their college attributes and liabilities transferred over to their pro debuts.
With Kyler Murray’s measurements in, it’s time to focus on his game tape
Can Giants’ ‘reach pick’ Daniel Jones actually succeed in the NFL?
How Dwayne Haskins’ one big flaw could set him back in the NFL
That was then, and this is now. How did the three rookies do? Let’s go to the tape once again.
Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
When I watched Murray at Oklahoma, I had no questions about his abilities — there was only the question of whether his NFL coaching staff was going to build an offense around him and develop him as a professional over time. We can wonder about head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s readiness for the NFL all we want, but given his history as an offensive play designer at the collegiate level, it was clear that Kingsbury and Murray were going to match up well. And after the coaching disaster on both sides of the ball in the Valley of the Sun last season, that has to be encouraging.
Against the Chargers in his preseason debut, Murray didn’t do a lot — he mostly took what the defense gave him, varying his throwing delivery and alternating between MOFO (Middle Of the Field Open) and MOFC (Middle of the Field Closed) throws based on coverage. Murray will be asked to make those kinds of decisions at a macro level when the regular season starts, so it was good to see that he didn’t seem overwhelmed by any of it.
Murray saw limited action on Thursday, completing six of seven passes for 44 yards and taking a sack on one total drive. The NCAA’s most prolific deep passer last season, Murray wasn’t asked to test anyone downfield. This was more about getting him comfortable as opposed to setting the league alight.
This screen pass to running back David Johnson was encouraging, though. Arizona’s coaching staff misused Johnson to a hilarious degree in 2018, preferring him as a between-the-tackles power back as opposed to the supreme versatile weapon he had been previously. There also appear to be signs of life along an offensive line that was the NFL’s worst last season.
“It’s natural as a rookie to have expectations, how is it going to be, overthink it,” Murray said after the game. “For me, I was just going out there being myself, like always. Trust in my abilities, trust in what Coach calls, and just trying to go out there and execute what he calls. It was fun.”
It will get more fun — and a great deal more challenging — when the regular season gets underway and Murray is asked to show the full scope of his skills.
Daniel Jones, New York Giants
While I had no issues with Murray’s readiness for the NFL, I was not nearly as convinced that Duke alum Jones had what it took to be an NFL starter. Giants general manager Dave Gettleman obviously thought differently, taking Jones with the sixth overall pick. That’s a bold move for a guy I would have given a low-second-round grade at best, but right and wrong are irrelevant here — now, it’s only about Jones’ development and how he does at this level.
One thing the Giants did well for Jones was to play him with several first-team offensive linemen — given the serious dive in Jones’ efficiency under pressure in college, he’s going to need protection more than most. He operated from a clean pocket in his five passing attempts, and he completed all five for 67 yards and a touchdown pass to receiver Bennie Fowler in which Jones placed the ball where his receiver could catch it and the assembling defenders couldn’t. Jones ended his day with a perfect 158.3 passer rating.
Head coach Pat Shurmur is well aware that he’ll have to see Jones operate under pressure before he can get a good hold on when the rookie will be a regular-season starter in place of Eli Manning, as Shurmur said Friday morning.
“Listen, we’re not going to play the what-ifs, and I would say this: Nothing has changed. This is the first game, and I expect Daniel to play well. I expect him to go out and improve, and for the people that don’t know him, impress them. That’s what we expect from him. We expect that from Eli. We expect that from everybody. So, our expectations for him have not changed, and in my mind our situation hasn’t changed.”
Mike Tyson’s famous “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth” quote applies here. Jones was taken out of the game for a weather delay, he didn’t face real pressure, and there are going to be times where he is punched in the mouth, and he’ll have to respond in kind. The extent to which he can develop those skills at the NFL level will have as much to do with Jones’ ascent as Manning’s inexorable decline will.
Dwayne Haskins, Washington Redskins
Watching Haskins during his one full season as a starter for Ohio State was an interesting experience. Buttressed by scheme as he sometimes was, Haskins also showed the ability make accurate, repeatable, tight-window throws — as long as he was in the pocket and he wasn’t pressured. When protection dissolved, it wasn’t pretty. Per Pro Football Focus, Haskins’ quarterback rating plummeted from 90.4 to 56.7 when he was pressured, and he threw just four of his 50 touchdowns under duress — three of his eight picks also came under pressure.
Against the Browns, Haskins’ mobility wasn’t the main issue — he actually looked pretty good when rolling out on boot-action stuff, and you can tell that he’s been working on maintaining his delivery and mechanics on the move. That’s all well and good. What raised concerns in this game were the two interceptions Haskins threw — one to rookie fifth-round linebacker Mack Wilson, returned 40 yards for a touchdown, and one to second-round cornerback Greedy Williams that was thrown into a host of Cleveland defenders.
It’s common for rookie quarterbacks to miss reads in which defenders have jumped a route, but the Wilson pick was a simple throw option off a slant/wheel concept, and the wheel is the risker throw, as Wilson has running back Byron Marshall in his sights. Wide receiver Robert Davis has underneath position on the skinny slant to the same side, and you’d like Haskins to see that and adjust.
Haskins completed eight of 14 passes for 117 yards, no touchdowns and those two picks. As head coach Jay Gruden said after the game: “There are a couple things with the protections that we need cleaned up. First start in the NFL, first opportunity to play — it’s not going to go perfectly.”
Haskins wasn’t helped at all by his patchwork offensive line, but when you see where he is in his development, you start to understand why Case Keenum might be this team’s starting quarterback when the regular season begins.
