Which Rookie Quarterback Will Reign Supreme In 2014?

By Liam Madigan-Fried

Since the day of the NFL Draft, the question has remained in the heads of every one of us football fans: “Which rookie quarterback will reign supreme in 2014?”. 

The first four quarterbacks selected in May's draft are all entering unique situations and for the first time in years, there will be one rookie quarterback starting in Week 1. First up we have Blake Bortles, who was selected by his hometown team-the Jacksonville Jaguars-with the third overall pick in the draft. It ended up being a long wait for the next quarterback to come off the board and that QB was the one and only Johnny Manziel, who was selected 22nd overall by the Cleveland Browns. "Money" Manziel, will be taking his talents and party boy gimmick to a team that is essentially a graveyard for young quarterbacks (just ask Tim Couch, Brady Quinn and Brandon Weeden) since the franchise returned to the league in 1999. At the tail end of the first round and start of the second round, the next and final two heavily hyped quarterbacks came off the board. The Vikings landed Teddy Bridgewater with the 32nd overall pick and the Raiders selected Derek Carr-brother of retired NFL quarterback David Carr-with the 36th overall pick. Below are my projections of how each of these young guys and their respective teams will fare during their 2014 campaign

Derek Carr:
Carr is the lone starter of the bunch, which is a bit surprising considering that the Raiders traded for Matt Schaub in the offseason with the intent of him being their starting quarterback. I hadn’t given Carr much thought before a few weeks ago, until the whispers started about whether or not he might be stepping in for Schaub intensified amidst concerns about the veteran’s elbow. Personally, I like this kid’s chances of having a successful rookie season. He's got versatile, veteran weapons in Maurice Jones-Drew and James Jones at the skill positions and the Raiders offensive line appears to be in better shape than it was last year. Unfortunately, the Raiders defense was 27th in the league against the pass last season, which caused them to consistently give up a lot of yardage. Admittedly, the Raiders made a great step in improving this problem over the offseason with several free agent acquisitions in the secondary including Tarrell Brown and Carlos Rodgers and the drafting of Khalil Mack. However, even with all these moves, I don't see them getting much better on defense in 2014. I don’t see any playoffs for the Raiders this year despite what could be a promising rookie season by Carr. 
Projected record for the Raiders in 2014 :7-9 with at least two upsets in their favor. 

Johnny Manziel:
Manziel is easily the most hyped quarterback in this class and to be honest, I can't see why. I just don’t see him as the phantom superstar the media and the general public makes him out to be.The guy is indecisive and impatient as he demonstrated in the pre-season- many times overlooking a wide open receiver and deciding to finish plays with his feet. It’s that kind of recklessness that has cost many a quarterback their health and status as a starter. Coach Mike Pettine made a good call in naming Brian Hoyer the starter. The guy spent time learning under Tom Brady and Bill Belichick for god's sake, which gives him a pedigree that Manziel can't even come to touching at this point in his career. My prediction is that Pettine will have a little back and forth with his quarterbacks until about week six, when he eventually decides that Manziel's accuracy and presence in the pocket needs more development before becoming an NFL starter, and goes with Hoyer for the rest of the year.
Projected record for the Browns in 2014: 5-11. The absence of Josh Gordon is just too much for their weak offense to compensate for. No disrespect to Jordan Cameron, but he can't carry this offense the way that Gordon did in 2013.

Teddy Bridgewater: 
In a draft full of quarterbacks who's stock slipped at the last minute, no one fell harder than Bridgewater. Months ago before the draft, everybody was saying that this guy was the most pro ready quarterback in this draft class. A combination of poor pre-draft workouts at scouting combine and his pro day and negative media reports- which I feel were blown way out of proportion- Bridgewater went from being in consideration for the number one pick to possibly falling out of the first round completely. Luckily for Bridgewater and his fans, the Minnesota Vikings called his name with the last pick of the first round. I still think Bridgewater may be one of the most pro ready quarterbacks in this draft carss, but I don’t see 2014 being his breakout year. Between Matt Cassel starting to play like an actual NFL starter and Christian Ponder yelling and screaming that he actually still exists, Bridgewater is going to have to continue to demonstrate progression if he hopes to be the future of the franchise. My prediction is that both Bridgewater and Ponder will see at least one start a piece this season, with Bridgeater's ending in moderate success and Ponder's ending in the type of misery he's served up in the Twin Cities since he was drafted in 2011. Let's face it, the dude was a bust ,and this will be his last season in a Vikings uniform. 
Projected Record for the Vikings in 2014: 9-7 unless Adrian Peterson really kicks into gear...again. 

Blake Bortles:
Of these four rookie quarterbacks, Bortles is without question my favorite. The Jaguars in my opinion got away with two of the best draft picks in 2014 in Bortles and wide receiver Marqise Lee. The Jaguars current starter, Chad Henne, is a decent quarterback, but to quote South Park, “He’s about as interesting as a wet carrot”. The Jags have it tough going into the first few games of the season, with the Eagles, Redskins and Colts being their first three opponents. So realistically, I can see the Jaguars going 1-2 within their first three games-assuming they pull the upset over RG3 and the Redskins-before Henne gets the hook for the rookie. Bortles isn’t completely alone behind the ball. In addition to his fellow rookie Lee, he has veteran receiver Cecil Shorts III and a potential workhorse running back in Toby Gerhart to help him smoothly transition to the NFL. Bortles has all the tools to be a starter in this league for a long time and he should play a pivotal role in turning this oft-troubled franchise around.
Projected Record for the Jaguars in 2014: 8-8