Analysts debate starting vs. sitting rookie NFL quarterbacks

Much is made every spring about whether clubs should start or sit quarterbacks during rookie seasons. 

Retired signal-caller and 98.5 The Sports Hub host Scott Zolak indicated the answer can be related to when a team grabs a quarterback during the player-selection process. 

"If you pick a quarterback at No. 3 [overall], you don’t have the luxury to have him sit back and develop," Zolak told Karen Guregian of MassLive for a piece published Friday. "...If you have a franchise-changing pick, I’m sorry, you have to play him."

The Chicago Bears are expected to take USC Trojans star Caleb Williams with the first pick of this year's draft and immediately make him the starter following the club's trade of Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers late last week. 

However, multiple analysts and reporters have suggested that North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels of the LSU Tigers and J.J. McCarthy of the Michigan Wolverines should spend at least a portion of the 2024 campaign as backups. 

SiriusXM NFL radio commentator and former defensive back Solomon Wilcots disagrees with Zolak. 

"I think it’s absurd to say to yourself, if I draft a player that high, in the top five, he’s got to be a day one starter," Wilcots explained. "...We’ve seen the examples. This has failed epically. There’s more data points suggesting that’s the wrong way to do it than anything that suggests it’s the right way to do it. So I’m totally against that mindset."

C.J. Stroud of the Houston Texans won the starting job last summer and ultimately earned Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. The last quarterback to win the award before Stroud was Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers (2020 season). 

With that said, Guregian mentioned how Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes, Hall of Famer Brett Favre and New York Jets starter Aaron Rodgers all benefited from beginning their pro careers as backups. 

"I think it’s case-by-case, situation by situation, and individual by individual," Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner told Guregian. "...I think there are times when a player is not ready, meaning they don’t have the skillset and the background of what they need at the position to be successful. So by throwing them in, and forcing them to play, they simply get into survival mode."

Former NFL signal-caller Matt Hasselbeck noted that sitting a rookie quarterback can protect that first-year pro and teammates from injuries. 

"If a guy’s truly not ready, playing him because you drafted him high, you’re going to get a wide receiver you care about, or a tight end you care about, or a running back you care about, hurt," Hasselbeck remarked. "But as soon as your quarterback knows where to go with the ball on third down going against complicated blitz schemes, then play him. But he’s gotta earn it."

Mock drafters routinely predict that four quarterbacks could be selected within the first six or even the first four picks of this year's draft. 

It will be fascinating to see who among those quarterbacks are listed as backups during the spring but then named QB1s before Week 1 in September.