Pickett, Willis, Ridder: What chance do NFL rookies have of starting in 2022?

As the 2022 NFL season draws ever closer, we look at the new batch of quarterbacks that have entered the league and what their immediate futures look like. 

This year’s quarterback class was one that not a lot of people really wanted to be a part of. A lot of the narrative going into the draft was that there wasn’t a ‘star’ quarterback in this class, in the same way that teams in the past have clamoured around Trevor Lawrence or Andrew Luck or Cam Newton over the past decade or so.

And that was reflected in how the draft played out, with just one going in the first round when the Pittsburgh Steelers took Kenny Pickett and the next one not going until the Atlanta Falcons called Desmond Ridder’s name at #74.

But draft night is in the past and now we must look to the future. Just how much football are these players likely to see this season, and could we see them take their first step to becoming a starter in the league? 

Whilst they might get some minutes here or there in relief or if a player gets injured, to start a game in the NFL, to have the trust of the coaches to lead an offense for a game is something different. But just what are the chances that these players see the field this season?

We’ve broken down all of the quarterbacks in this year’s draft class and taking into account a number of factors (all of which will become clear), predict what the chances are that they’ll start a game at some point this season.

The majority of the noise coming out of Steelers workouts this summer is that Mitch Trubisky will be the starter come Week 1 of the NFL season, not least because Pickett himself apparently hasn’t been impressing some within the organisation. 

However, in our opinion, the Steelers will be competitive this