Ranking NFL's Rookie Starting QBs at Season's Quarter Mark

As many as six rookie quarterbacks will start in Week 5 of the 2021 NFL season, likely including all five first-round picks at the position.

If Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Justin Fields, Mac Jones, Trey Lance and Davis Mills all start, it'll be the first time ever that more than five rookie quarterbacks started in one week this early in an NFL season, excluding replacement players in 1987.

Nearly half of Sunday's games will involve rookie quarterbacks, and Patriots-Texans will feature rookie passers on both sides. That could bring about significant changes in the way we view any of those six young players.

However, we already have samples of varying sizes for all six. 

Heading into Week 5, let's rank the six rookie quarterbacks based on their performances so far and take a look at what lies ahead for each. 

Davis Mills was drafted two rounds later than the rest of the rookie starting quarterbacks, and he got forced into an interim starting role as a result of Tyrod Taylor's hamstring injury. 

The third-round Stanford product has thrown five interceptions on only 67 attempts, making him the NFL's lowest-rated passer by a wide margin. He's completed only two of 12 deep attempts, he's ineffective with his legs, and he has struggled to convert third downs in any fashion (although that last problem has plagued all of these guys). 

Mills is effectively guaranteed one more start because Taylor has to remain on injured reserve this week. But there's a good chance his meeting with Mac Jones and the New England Patriots on Sunday is his last start for quite a while. 

Among quarterbacks with at least three starts this season, Trevor Lawrence has the worst on-target rate and the highest bad-throw rate. Zach Wilson (eight) has more interceptions than Lawrence (seven), although Lawrence has been pressured far less often (20.6 percent versus 29.6 percent). 

Lawrence has also enjoyed relative continuity with an offensive line that has lost only one man game to injury thus far. Meanwhile, Wilson lost rising star left tackle Mekhi Becton in Week 1.

The 2021 No. 1 overall pick hasn't been effective deep or on third down, and the decent job he's done rushing the ball (82 yards and a touchdown, plus two lost fumbles) doesn't come close to compensating for any of that. It might not get any easier with the tough Tennessee Titans coming to town Sunday, either.

Lawrence has been forced to deal with the mess that is Urban Meyer, and it isn't as though the Jacksonville Jaguars are teeming with talent. However, none of that excuses his miserable start. 

Justin Fields has thrown only 52 passes, so his rate-based statistics don't qualify yet. But we can already get a read on some good and some bad. 

The good? He's completed six of his nine deep passing attempts, ranking sixth among quarterbacks in deep passer rating. The bad? His bad-throw rate (31.4 percent) ranks last among passers. 

In Fields' defense, he's been under constant pressure (31.4 percent of his dropbacks). He was also set up for failure when Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy tried to jam a square peg into an Andy Dalton-shaped offensive hole in his first run of extended action.

Fields showed significant signs of progress in his second career start last week against the Detroit Lions, helping the Bears earn a victory.

Throw in his early impact as a rusher (55 yards and a touchdown thus far), and the trajectory is promising for the No. 11 overall pick entering an intriguing Week 5 road matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders. 

Trey Lance is currently the highest-rated rookie passer in the NFL (121.1). However, that comes on a 19-pass sample, and he ranks near the bottom of the league with only 2.9 completed air yards per attempt. 

In other words, the San Francisco 49ers haven't tasked the No. 3 overall pick with much yet. However, he's thrown three touchdowns and added another on the ground while having zero turnovers thus far. 

Lance is much more raw than his fellow first-round rookie quarterbacks, and he's been pressured on a ridiculous 36 percent of his dropbacks. He's the only one who has yet to start a game, too.

That appears poised to change Sunday. We'll get a much better read on Lance if he does start in place of the injured Jimmy Garoppolo on the road against the undefeated Arizona Cardinals.

Zach Wilson got his NFL career off to a rough start. Over his first three weeks, he completed only 55.2 percent of his passes for 628 yards, two touchdowns and seven interceptions while the New York Jets stumbled to an 0-3 record.

Wilson bounced back in the Jets' upset overtime victory against the Tennessee Titans in Week 4, completing a career-high 61.7 percent of his attempts for 297 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. 

He hasn't had left tackle Mekhi Becton since Week 1, and nine of his passes have been dropped compared to only six for Lawrence. But he has also quietly posted the NFL's fifth-best deep passing completion rate (54.5 percent).

Wilson has also performed better than Lawrence on third down (a 65.6 rating versus 54.8). He's also the league's second-highest-rated passer in the fourth quarter of one-score games (140.1), during which time he's gone 5-of-8 for 89 yards, two touchdowns and no picks. 

Wilson has been pressured more than Lawrence and Jones, he's generated more air yards per attempt and yards per attempt than both, and unlike Lawrence, he's at least won one game. He might win another one Sunday against the depleted Atlanta Falcons in London. 

Mac Jones hasn't made anyone in New England forget about Tom Brady yet, but he's been the NFL's best rookie quarterback through the first four weeks of the 2021 season.

Jones has completed 70 percent of his passes. His on-target rate of 82.1 percent ranks fifth among qualified passers leaguewide, and he's committed only a handful of turnover-worthy plays (almost all of which came in one poor performance). 

Outside of his three-interception dud against the New Orleans Saints, the Alabama product has completed 75 percent of his passes and owns a 98.5 passer rating. 

Jones is averaging only 3.4 completed air yards per attempt and hasn't faced much pressure (24 percent) behind a solid offensive line. And while he's posted a strong 98.6 rating in the fourth quarter of one-score games, it's concerning that he's only 7-of-21 on deep attempts. 

That all factors in. But if there was any doubt that he belongs in the top spot at this point, Jones going toe-to-toe with Brady (and outplaying him on paper) in Week 4 is the icing on the cake. 

Now he gets to feast on Mills and the lowly Texans on Sunday. 

All statistics via Pro Football Reference unless otherwise noted.     

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012. Follow him on Twitter: @Brad_Gagnon.