MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
There is a big difference between your first year in a new job and your second. In the NFL, a record six quarterbacks were taken early in the first round of last year's draft, but they had wildly different results in their development. Now, with the season underway, they're all looking to make that second-year leap into stardom. NPR's Becky Sullivan has their story.
BECKY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: It's a lot to walk into the NFL as a rookie quarterback. Even just the experience of stepping onto the field is overwhelming at first, recalls Jayden Daniels.
JAYDEN DANIELS: Your first one is second to none. You're going to remember that forever. Like, you can still remember just those little moments of conversation that you probably had with your parents while you're young and, you know, just a kid having a dream, and now it came true.
SULLIVAN: NFL teams draft quarterbacks hoping to change the fortunes of their franchise. Daniels pulled that off last year when he won Offensive Rookie of the Year and led his Washington Commanders to 12 wins.
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UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: Here comes the Hail Mary with the game on the line. And the ball is caught, caught.
SULLIVAN: The other rookies showed real signs of promise, too, alongside a few mistakes. You get some grace when you're new. But now it's Year 2, and the pressure is on.
BO NIX: You know, a lot of times, as a rookie, you just don't want to look like an idiot. And now you can go out there and look a lot better than an idiot, so.
SULLIVAN: This is Bo Nix, the second-year quarterback of the Denver Broncos. He says last year was like a fire hose.
NIX: You know, I don't have to worry about what certain looks are or what, as crazy as it sounds, where we're going for the locker room or where we're going for the stretch. I mean, I know it. I can, you know, get there and do it, knock it out. And now I can focus on the next-level things and the details.
SULLIVAN: For Caleb Williams, Year 2 might be a welcome chance to reset. He was the top overall draft pick. He'd had NFL hype even when he was in high school. Then he won the Heisman in college. Coming into the league, the expectations were sky high. But things didn't go as planned.
CALEB WILLIAMS: This past year was a bump. You know, that's not where I want to be. That's not where I'm going to be.
SULLIVAN: When he says bump, let me explain. His team, the Chicago Bears, stunk. His offensive coordinator was fired in November, then his head coach was canned a couple of weeks later. The Bears only won five games. This off-season, the team cleaned house and hired a new head coach. Williams had to start from scratch.
WILLIAMS: It's a whole new playbook, different terminology, you know, different reads, different footwork and, you know, different things like that.
SULLIVAN: There's a lot of consternation these days about young quarterbacks. The retired New England Patriots great Tom Brady is among those who say the position has been dumbed down. This week in an interview with Cris Collinsworth, Brady argued that rule changes have tilted the scales toward athleticism over analysis.
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TOM BRADY: I don't believe the quarterback position is mentally as developed as it was when I entered the league 25 years ago. There was a premium on understanding defenses, on understanding matchups.
SULLIVAN: There's also the transfer culture in college football, where many quarterbacks now jump from team to team rather than spend years developing at the same school. Then once they're in the NFL, they face pressure to win now or else. That's not good for young quarterbacks, said Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell last year on "The Rich Eisen Show."
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KEVIN O'CONNELL: Organizations fail young quarterbacks before young quarterbacks fail organizations. I think it's important to understand that every single one of these guys is on a journey, a very difficult journey, that they need the support.
SULLIVAN: Last year, the Vikings drafted J.J. McCarthy hoping for a franchise quarterback. But McCarthy hurt his knee before the season, and he didn't play at all. He learned what he could, studied film, stood on the sidelines for every game. Now his turn is finally here.
JJ MCCARTHY: Everyone wants to be perfect, especially at the quarterback position. But, you know, the more you try to be perfect, it's going to kill you more than your imperfections will.
SULLIVAN: He says he's keeping his expectations in check because he hopes to have a long career. The pressure, though, starts now. McCarthy makes his debut Monday when the Vikings take on Caleb Williams and the Bears.
Becky Sullivan, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF AMERICAN FOOTBALL SONG, "FOR SURE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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