Preseason Week 1 rookie QB analysis: Williams 'stole the show' | Chris Simms Unbuttoned | NFL on NBC

let's get to it we know what we came here to do we're coming here to talk about the quarterbacks baby and yeah the rookie quarterbacks I me that that to me was the the the star of the show this weekend when we talked so much anybody that listens to Chris Sims unbutton and listens to me and Ahmed fared or Conor Rogers when he comes in as a substitute for Ahmed right the quarterbacks the draft this year the class was phenomenal anybody that's listened to me in my thoughts knows that I thought the world of this class really other than Drake may not only the physical talents but I think it's a class where we really look at it and you go wow not only to these guys got talent but they really know how to play quarterback it's not just like oh he's got a strong arm but he doesn't see the field well or oh he runs awesome but the throwing needs polish we've had that in years past right this is a year in a class where I don't look at it that way so that's where we're going to start and right off the bat we got one from at stoga chess right what want your initial thoughts on QBs and which have performed better worse than expected well hey plain and simple right this the the guy who stole the show to me this weekend is the number one pick of the draft again and when you're the number one pick in the draft everybody you need to look a certain way right there should be Buzz coming out of a out of training camp about your physical ability and now there is definitely going to be Buzz more than just training camp there's been Buzz coming out of Chicago which I think is a positive thing cuz you hear from players and coaches about the wow factor and I think you look at any great quarterbacks in football right now they had that wow factor right away in their first training camp whether it was Mahomes in Kansas City Josh Allen and Buffalo the buzz of veteran players going whoa this young kids got some things that I haven't seen since I've been around here in the NFL and you hear that from Caleb Williams how could you not be impressed Caleb Williams is an absolute freaking natural at playing the quarterback position it's why I loved them coming out in the draft that I thought he was in a different team than everybody else the one thing you'll notice when you jump off is feel right just being a feel in the pocket patience in the pocket working in the pocket never panicking right that's what I love you see Caleb Williams so much like hey he looks at the first read it's not there he kind of flinches like he might throw it then he kind of resets and a lot of young quarterbacks that first guy's not open that second guy's not open it's oh wait let me put my eyes down let me run let me do something like that Caleb Williams is no let me hang in there let me just check that nobody's bearing down on me about to hit me strip sack me do anything like that ooh I got room okay let me get to my next reads cuz I can make a throw down the field and change field position or make a big play and that's what you see I mean his first third down throw you know oh great pocket collapsing hangs in there throws a curl to the left side on a third and 12 a third and 13 to DJ Moore bam on the money first down the screen pass to DeAndre Swift how could you not like that again I know it's a screen pass but the defense of the line got through so quickly he kind of just flicked it out of the side of his ear hole and got it done to where DeAndre Swift now can run and make a big play you know so it's plays like that that's a great quarterback play again the ability to to deliver the ball that way with a perfect touch to where the guy can catch it right and then not having a room around you and having people grabbing at you and still getting the play to work special Caleb Williams is special I think anybody that saw those highlights saw that game when you see him get the boot leg running to the right kind of make a move on the defense and throw a 30-yard laser down the field to Cole k at come on what more needs to be said than that Caleb Williams is special you hear that out of Chicago Chicago is one of those teams that I've been saying all year watch out for them A lot's going to depend on him and how mature he plays and can take care of the football and do the right things that are hard for rookies to do it sometime but I think the rest of the team is set up to where Chicago could be a real pain in the butt and and some ways I look at them as a almost a playoff caliber team but that's because I think of Caleb Williams as such a special special player he jumped out to me number one okay now I got another question from at Nordy 2145 you know you know which rookie QB seem like the real deal only Caleb JJ and Daniels okay no I will say this I like all those guys you just talked about right there and of course JJ McCarthy had a great game but I think if you made me rank the rookie quarterback performances from this weekend Caleb would be one right not only because a good quarterback play moving the offense doing that but the eye poop factor I mean Caleb Williams made a few throws where I just go listen that that's that's only Mahomes and Josh Allen making that throw on the run like that to that capacity where you just flick it like that and throw the ball five feet off the ground for 30 yards right so they're special special attributes that Caleb William has right Jaden Daniels I know he's got it too right and JJ McCarthy's got a big arm as well but I thought the second most impressive quarterback of the weekend was B Knicks AKA Drew Brees Jr right that's what I look at I'm just sitting there I chuckle cuz I'm like oh man I mean Shawn Peyton's got Drew Brees except Bo Nicks can run a little bit better than Drew Brees probably could in his prime and Drew Brees was a damn good athlete so I'm not you know saying that lightly right but like Bo Nicks again I think what impresses me about Bo Nicks quick decision making really lightning quick release and and the ability within that lightning quick release to put the ball right where he needs to Precision passing and that fits Shawn Payton's offense right he does he's the master at coming up with ways to get people open five and eight and 10 yards down the field and he kind of just bleeds you to death five and eight Michael Thomas here boom boom right that's what he did for the Saints all those years then you start to worry about that then he draws up or calls up one of his plays where he attacks down the field and he go a man we were worried about camra and Michael Thomas and though all the five and six yard throws right I'm using the old Saints team team there just for my example and now they you know we we clamp down to stop that short intermediate pass and they take a shot down the field I really like B Knicks a lot I thought he played phenomenal not only a great athlete like I said quick decisions and listen you watch the game you watch the game back on NFL P NFL Plus or whatever you'll see I mean hey whoever was announcing the the Colts the Colts game there against the Broncos they were thoroughly impressed as well but I feel like we know Caleb Williams a starter B hey there's Jared St him there he did a nice job I get that right but watching that game it was like hey yeah Jared SDS our starter get out there okay did you did look good now let's get to the guy that we really want to start and get him reps so he could be ready week one Jared S is a starter right now but that sure felt like it was a grooming session for bow Knicks to take over he continues to play like he did uh yesterday Sunday that would be right he will be the starter week one I don't think there's any doubt about that okay the next thing I will go to here I think is is uh Jaden Daniels Jaden Daniels one drive right again with me I'm just looking do they look the part how do they look in their uniform are they as big as thick as I thought they might look what does the arm look like with the NFL ball and the NFL pads is it is it what I thought in college is it popping out of their hand right Jaden Daniels doesn't have a ton to talk about but again looks theart throwing the ball he's got great size and presence in the pocket and because he's so tall and long he can kind of throw over people with people around him it's one of the things I liked about him even with the release that's not necessarily all that high but hey the throw down the right sideline to dami Brown I mean are you kidding me I it was incredible coverage by the New York Jets but that just tells you again Jaden Daniels and you saw this a lot at LSU his ability to push the ball down the field on go routes right post routes stuff like that that's where he thrived and I think you'll continue to see that especially in Washington because they got some receivers that can stretch the field and do that right so Jaden was impressive JJ McCarthy I think you put him right there in that group JJ McCarthy had the interception I know that whoopy Doo not all interceptions are created equal and I don't give a that JJ McCarney threw that interception all right it wasn't like it was like oh how could you do that that was so stupid what were you looking at the guy was open he was on the Run he threw the ball few feet behind him should have let him to the sideline probably would have had the completion he'll get that that's the things I've seen him do time in and time again but the JJ McCarthy situation with the Minnesota Vikings I think just like the Denver Broncos it felt like hey yeah Sam darnold's the starter great let's get him out there but let's really get the guy that we want to start to get a lot of work and JJ McCarthy not only fits that oconnell offense with all the Deep crossers and the in Cuts right and just like Caleb Williams or Bo Nicks I'm thoroughly impressed with their with JJ McCarthy's feel in the pocket right you know I know I know Jaden Daniels can run I think one area he needs to fix his pocket presence working the pocket finding the soft spot and we'll see as we can continue to go if he's gotten better at that but that to me is where JJ McCarthy Caleb Williams and Bo Nicks are very special that way and they're feeling the pressure around where's the soft spot where can I step or move to to now where I can gather myself and make a big throw down the field you saw that time and time again with JJ McCarthy his arm is real right it's a big time arm it's a little bit of a longer release he's going to have to fix that to a degree saw the athleticism that's real as well there's no doubt about that right and the last thing I think and I think I hit this a little bit breaking these quarterbacks down during the draft he's got to find you know the in between throw and be a little bit more consistent there right he's a little bit of like throws the fast ball a little too much and I think he's got to get in his Arsenal the little touch ball over the linebacker's head or the safety down the middle right being able to throw that little banana ball we talk about when you grow up throwing a football that can kind of get up and down not like it's a laser but up and down with a little arcan Pace over a Defender throw it accurately those are such big important throws that come up consistently in the NFL last guy we're going to hit on in this little group here right Michael pennx we got to go there Michael penx right got a lot of playing time look good certainly right I mean looks great in the uniform again I feel like him and Jaden Daniels a little bit it was just a spread offense and it was very simple so there wasn't necessarily a ton of quarterback plays to be had like like I'm talking about with Caleb Williams working the pocket and waiting for the second or third guy to come open on a third down and then throwing the ball that's what I mean by quarterback play where I'm going to get sacked oh wait I can get it out to DeAndre Swift here right oh nobody's open B Knicks runs to the left buy some time oh find somebody open down that's what I'm talking about with quarterback plays you didn't get to see a ton of that with Michael penck it was a little bit like hey this is your first read boom he's open hey this guy's going on a go route one-on-one down the sideline make it happen all look good look controlled out of the guys we're talking about here nobody looked like the game was too big for them the lights were too bright anything like that right penx though yeah I do like penno's look the one thing I'll say with pennx that I didn't love about it right and there's nothing really to pick apart negatively I just know the ultimate Michael pennx at his ultimate potential he's got the ability to throw the ball with more Pace more laser laser type of throws he can get in a habit of his front shoulder as a lefty his right shoulder not getting to the Target he what we would say he swings out of it pulls out of it too quickly at times to where he doesn't utilize all of his body's power right to therefore take advantage of really throwing the ball to its ultimate capacity and speed a mile per hour but you know ultimately still looked really good did a lot of good things for Atlanta Falcons and I think we'll continue to see you know him get more and more real reps different type of plays right like this is the one thing you got to realize and this is a good question by by at noo hoo with coaches not wanting to reveal too much of the Playbook and starters getting limited reps is it hard to project project success based on preseason performance what things do you look for to get a sense of where the rookie QB class is at I think I explained a little bit of it right it's going through reads it's saying in the pockets throwing the appropriate balls the plays are simple none of these offensive coordin ERS are looking to go oh let me throw out my best play or oh it's a game plan specific thing here to screw over this defense in this situation out of out of everything I saw this weekend I think the second touchdown pass JJ McCarthy had right it was a short yarded situation they kind of fake the run up the middle that was maybe the only one I saw that was kind of like o you know they broke out one of their short yardage plays so you can't overplay some of their runs there and they took a shot and the guy was wide open for a touchdown for for JJ McCarthy but the big thing is the look right how the ball pops out of their hands right you know are they calm Under Pressure right and then are they are they going through the process the right way whether it's at the line of scrimmage or seeing the field uh when they when they do have to pull the trigger to throw the ball down the field rookie CL rookie QBs though they stole the show this weekend and like I said Caleb Williams won Bo Knicks to right I probably put JJ McCarthy and his performances three especially the the extensive time the amount of throws that he made aggressively down the field Jaden Daniels was really good it just was limited right it was only three throws you saw his ability to run and do that right so that's kind and then Michael Pennock I would kind of rank him in that order but I do love Jaden Daniels and Bo Nicks are going to bring an element to those two offenses of the quarterback run game design right sea Shawn Peyton's going to be able to not only call Drew Brees type plays for B Nick she's going to be able to call a few TM Hill type plays to run around the edge and people on us that way that's what I'm excited about for sure um all right well we got some more questions in the Broncos and Vikings QBs here okay at pug andplay 16 what's up dude is a regular hey Chris hope you enjoyed your enjoyed your summer pump the gang is back the gang is not back you know they ditched me okay on the first day back at school here but we will be back all right I you heard you heard he wants to know about Bo Nick's debut with the Bronco the kid can play four to five scoring Drive right 21 drop back zero sacks all of that and August 12th is his birthday so happy birthday Plug and Play 16 what's up man way to go I don't know how old you are but happy birthday all right but you heard my stuff on bonick I love it I expect them to be the starter sooner rather than later I kind of would be shocked if he's not to start week one I really would be I think he's that mature he's ready to play the position he's ready to go at Rodrigo Barbosa glad to have you back thanks homie what did you think of JJ McCarthy's performance you know it I heard it I got there sorry I'm not a great host as we can tell and I've kind of talked about things that were already on the rundown right and you see this the I got a similar question to at jdb 45 and he wants to know about the Broncos Vikings quarterback situation and like I said right how long would darnold be able to keep the starting role can Zach Wilson beat out stum for the backup spot okay I don't think it'll be that long for darn to be this in the starting role I don't again you make a trade to get into the top 10 to draft a quarterback who just won the National Championship never loses in high school never loses in college right has all the NFL pedigree you need you've seen him play in big games I would just go unless he's the bed and pissing down his leg during practice he he's a starter let's go let's get him out there I expect that to happen and I kind of have the same feeling uh for B Knicks now as far as Zack Wilson and and Jared stinum I don't know I think Zack Wilson will probably have to do something special and Jared S would have to you know have to do some bad dumb stuff to lose that backup spot and go from oh I'm the starter to the third the third position on the depth chart right but again you get the feel Minnesota Denver hey yeah stum darnold yeah you guys look good but we got new toys here and we want to get them in there and get their experience and it certainly feels like it's trending that way now to me to the weirdest thing of the weekend of all the quarterback situations right to me and Pete demoitis and Matt Casey you know my bosses here at NBC producers directors whatever they will tell you that was something I text the group almost instantly I believe that was Thursday night right I just thought the Drake May situation anybody knows me I have my questions about him I see some physical talent and potential I know that but everybody knows that I'm a little bit down on Drake May the inconsistent genes he needs work he needs polish there's mechanical issues there's not seeing the field that well you know there's messed up footwork in the pocket and unnecessary movement in the pocket right so I got a question here from at Drew Warz do you think having job Milton behind Drake May will have a chance of affecting Drake's confidence can't imagine it being easy to see another rookie with the arm Talent Joe has on a daily basis in your rear view or do you think his draft position makes him feel comfortable well both I think both can be here his drop position makes him feel comfortable he knows he's the man and they're invested in him and wanted to work but the other things that you brought up Drew they're real I mean yeah does it put more pressure on them than the fact that oh wait the quarterback that we drafted in the sixth round oh he's he's he's bigger than me oh he's faster than me oh his arm is bigger is is stronger than mine yeah that adds more pressure to the whole situation with Drake may but I just thought the whole thing was peculiar in general all right we know jacobe Brett's going to start he starts but Drake May who we know needs work we just talked about all these rookie quarterbacks who got work right with Caleb Williams and and Jaden Daniels getting the least of the work and why because those teams already know they're the starters in their man and they don't need to see a whole lot but to throw Drake May in there right for one drive come in second right after jacobe Bret the way they did it okay the way they did it in my experience in football ball whether it was me playing my dad playing and of course following it like a madman ever since I got done you know playing in the league that to me and the way they position the quarterback situation on Thursday night in New England me felt like let's get him out there okay let's show everybody oh yeah hey he's our backup but let's not let him stay out there too long cuz people might start to see the flaws that we're seeing in training camp right that's what it felt like I might be wrong I don't know right I know a lot of things in football but that was very peculiar wait our third pick in the draft right the next guy in our franchise the guy that we know needs work we're not going to give him work in preseason game number one that to me would be a red light right of like o we're not sure about what he'll do out here he might throw the ball inaccurate and do some bad things and we don't want to hear it so let's just get him in and get him out because that doesn't make sense and what I saw from Drake May hey it's hard to tell it was a little rainy there right he threw a screen pass he threw a swing pass to the back out of the back field right and he threw a curl route to the right that was offt Target and had some of the mechanical issues that I don't like about dreg May segmented throws not in Rhythm not natural looking but in general I thought that situation was very weird again third pick of the draft keys to the franchise we're not going to give him much work we're going to give more work to the guy in the sixth round Joe Milton in preseason game number one kind of makes no sense to me and then of course they're in the danger of back to what our man Drew Warz said of yeah Joe Milton as we've heard throughout training camp and as we heard throughout OTAs he opens up eyes he does it might not be consistent or polished either but the physical ability is is great enough to where people are buzzing about it and that puts more pressure Drake may I found that situation to be very peculiar we'll see what they do in week two hopefully he plays more and we can evaluate him even more as we go along but uh again in NFL world I think that's odd I really do yo yo yo what's up thanks for watching homies you know it's the off season but there's no off season with Chris Sims unbutton where're it's the NFL it goes all year around all right so hit subscribe please to hear my thoughts on your favorite team your favorite quarterback and hey how this season might unfold as we get ready for the 2024 season we got a better picture clear look now now that the draft is over free agency we know who's playing quarterback for certain teams so again thanks for watching and remember to subscribe peace out homies check you out soon