As we get ready to start seeing these quarterbacks in preseason games, I am reminded that what happens in the preseason games sometimes isn’t all that meaningful. C.J. Stroud, as an example, looked lost in his preseason debut last year, with a sack and an ill-advised interception on his first series. So let’s not be too quick to push the panic button if Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels have some struggles early.
With both of those prospects, their mobility is part of the appeal. Both of those guys ran for 21 touchdowns in their final two college seasons. But that’s a part of quarterbacking that looks pretty flimsy for preseason purposes, with teams wanting to keep their players healthy (and also perhaps keep that dimension of the offense under wraps).
Josh Allen, Robert Griffin and Kyler Murray combined to attempt 111 passes in their preseason games as rookie, but none of them ran much in their initial preseason games. (Then they went out and ran for 1,990 yards and 19 touchdowns as rookies). Cam Newton, as another example, attempted 33 passes in his first two preseason games, but with just 4 carries for 18 yards. He ran for 14 touchdowns as a rookie.
So if Williams and Daniels (who’ve been getting rave reviews thus far) don’t run much at all in the preseason, I won’t be changing my rushing projections much. For this portion of their games, it seems better to rely on what we observed in their college careers. They’ll be running.
The chart below shows the 12 quarterbacks in the last 20 years that have started at least 4 games and averaged at least 30 rushing yards per game. Three of these guys didn’t run much as rookies, while Jalen Hurts didn’t play any preseason games (Covid year).
| QUARTERBACKS AVERAGING 30 RUSHING YARDS AS ROOKIES (preseason stats) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player, Tm | Att | Yds | Avg | Lg | TD |
| 2018 | Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 23 | 169 | 7.3 | 19t | 3 |
| 2020 | Jalen Hurts, Phil. | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2021 | Tyler Huntley, Balt. | 20 | 80 | 4.0 | 17 | 2 |
| 2018 | • Josh Allen, Buff. | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | 0 |
| 2012 | • Robert Griffin, Was. | 5 | 22 | 4.4 | 14 | 0 |
| 2011 | Cam Newton, Car. | 9 | 86 | 9.6 | 26 | 1 |
| 2017 | Deshaun Watson, Hou. | 9 | 44 | 4.9 | 15t | 2 |
| 2006 | Vince Young, Ten. | 12 | 75 | 6.3 | 13t | 1 |
| 2021 | Justin Fields, Chi. | 11 | 92 | 8.4 | 21 | 1 |
| 2019 | • Kyler Murray, Ariz. | 5 | 13 | 2.6 | 5 | 0 |
| 2023 | Anthony Richardson, Ind. | 7 | 45 | 6.4 | 16 | 0 |
| 2012 | Russell Wilson, Sea. | 10 | 150 | 15.0 | 32t | 1 |
| 2024 | Caleb Williams, Chi. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 2024 | Jayden Daniels, Was. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
—Ian Allan