Is Trey Lance number one? Ranking first-round rookie QBs through two preseason games

Back in April, five teams changed their trajectories. The San Francisco 49ers chose Trey Lance. The New England Patriots chose Mac Jones. The New York Jets chose Zach Wilson. The Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars chose Justin Fields and Trevor Lawrence.

After two preseason games, the rookies are beginning to separate themselves. Who is starting hot and who is still ice cold? Here's a look at each rookie quarterback through two games.

How are Trey Lance and the rest of the rookies doing?

#1 - Trey Lance, San Francisco 49ers

Trey Lance started a little shaky in his first performance, completing less than 50 percent of his passes. However, Lance threw an 80-yard touchdown pass in his first game in the NFL. Lance's second game built on his first when he threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third. His only interception was a dropped pass.

Trey Lance is now in at quarterback. #SFvsLAC pic.twitter.com/aErzxddzhN

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) August 23, 2021

Critics have been wondering how much Kyle Shanahan is elevating the young Lance. Either way, one cannot discredit the work Lance has put in so far. Overall, he has hit the ground running faster than the rest of the rookies so far.

Garoppolo had better turn it up a notch or Lance may be the starting quarterback before he knows it.

#2 - Zach Wilson, New York Jets

Zach Wilson has surprised many jaded fans in the preseason. Most assumed he would struggle with the Jets as just another rookie in a long line of failed experiments. However, after Week Two, Wilson looks the real deal. While his first game wasn't anything special (six of nine completed pass attempts for 63 yards), Wilson exploded against the Green Bay Packers.

Wilson finished his day by completing nine of 11 passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns. The first half of the game was a shootout and Wilson answered every counterpunch effectively.

#3 - Mac Jones, New England Patriots

It's a strange world where a Patriots quarterback ranks behind a Jets quarterback, but this is where the AFC East is in 2021. Granted, Mac Jones has looked far from incompetent. However, he has made a few rookie mistakes and whispers about his durability are still in the background after he took quite a while to stand up after a hit in Week Two.

Jones has been quite consistent when it comes to the quality of his play, even with some rookie errors thrown in. In both games, Jones completed 13 of 19 passes and his accuracy was on point.

Even on throws deep down the sideline, Jones was able to hit where he was aiming. Unfortunately, the receivers dropped the ball, otherwise Jones' numbers would look a lot different.

#4 - Justin Fields, Chicago Bears

This might be an unpopular opinion among Bears fans, but Fields looks like another incarnation of Mitchell Trubisky, even if Fields is a tad faster and a little more accurate down the field. However, after watching the Bills beat down the Bears in the preseason with Fields present for a large chunk of the game, it is hard to endorse him as anything other than a work in progress.

That said, he looked good against the Dolphins in his first game, completing 14 of 20 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown. Fields' story is far from over, but it's clear he needs some time before being thrown into the deep end.

#5 - Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars

Trevor Lawrence had a non-descript performance in Week One and a rough outing in Week Two. Week One saw him complete six of nine passes for 71 yards. Week Two saw him come out a bit shaky.

It did not help that he was constantly under pressure from a rough offensive line.

Jacksonville Jaguars v New Orleans Saints

That said, at the end of the day, Lawrence failed to impress on Monday Night Football. Thus far, every other rookie on this list, especially Lance, has shown some level of potential. If one were to watch Lawrence in a vacuum, they would never guess that he was the first overall pick. In two years, we may laugh at the rough start, but his sluggish start cannot be ignored.