Which second-year QB showed the most promise entering 2026?
From The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL by The Athletic
June 4, 2026 · 1h 1m
About this episode
The episode discusses the performances of four rookie quarterbacks as they prepare for the 2026 NFL season.
Our Lingering Questions series is back, and we kick it off this year with a doozy. Four rookie quarterbacks had at least 250 dropbacks last season, and at least three of them will start in 2026. So, what really were the rookie seasons for Cam Ward, Jaxson Dart, Tyler Shough and Shedeur Sanders? Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dig into all four on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. Rundown (timestamps are approximate) 0:00 Welcome to the show 2:42 Cam Ward 21:19 Jaxson Dart 37:18 Tyler Shough 52:50 Shedeur Sanders Host: Robert Mays Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen Executive Producer: Michael Beller Senior Producer: Katy Duffy Social Producer: Scott Krinch Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social Follow Robert on X: @RobertMays Theme song: Haunted Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
People in this episode
Host: Robert Mays
Guest: Derrik Klassen
Topics covered
- NFL
- quarterbacks
- rookie seasons
- 2026 season
- player analysis
Keywords
- NFL
- quarterbacks
- Cam Ward
- Jaxson Dart
- Tyler Shough
- Shedeur Sanders
- rookie analysis
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The Athletic
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