Ranking the 5 Best Rookie QB Performances From Week 1 of the NFL Preseason

The 2026 NFL preseason is in full swing as we enter the latter half of August. This weekend gave us our biggest taste of football yet, as all 32 teams took the field across 16 real-life games. You can almost smell the regular season from here.

The slate that was gave us our first look at the 2026 version of the NFL, which will once again feature Josh Allen making out-of-this-world plays, some familiar faces in new places and a rookie class ready to make its mark on the league.

More specifically, 89(!) quarterbacks attempted passes during Week 1 of the preseason—15 of whom were rookies. And while there were naturally some ups and downs, a handful of them stood out above the rest.

Here’s a ranked look at the five best performances from rookie quarterbacks in Week 1 of the preseason.

5. Jalon Daniels, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Stat line: 10-for-15, 111 yards, 88.5 passer rating, 1 rushing TD

The Buccaneers signed Jalon Daniels as an undrafted free agent at the beginning of May, and the dual-threat quarterback out of Kansas is now fighting for a job on the roster behind starter Baker Mayfield. He may have helped himself on Friday night.

Daniels entered the game in the third quarter after a forgettable first half from Connor Bazelak and immediately helped the Tampa Bay offense find the end zone. Then, in the final frame and with his team down 17–16, the 23-year-old orchaestrated a 16-play, 65-yard drive that he capped with a one-yard touchdown run to take the lead. The possession took 6:24 minutes off the clock, and Daniels’s touchdown proved to be the game-winning score.

Jalon Daniels finds the end zone 🙌

TBvsNYJ on @nflnetwork
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— NFL (@NFL) August 15, 2026

“I give a lot of thanks to coach TJ [Yates], coach Chandler [Whitmer] and coach Z-Rob [Zac Robinson],” Daniels said after the game. “As I’ve been saying from the very beginning of being here, we’ve worked on a lot of different things that have helped me get out of certain habits I had in college as far as footwork, as far as being able to see the field differently.”

4. Joe Fagnano, Baltimore Ravens

Stat line: 22-for-28, 224 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 97.0 passer rating

Another UDFA that made quite an impression this weekend was Ravens quarterback Joe Fagnano. The UConn product, who effectively beat out Diego Pavia for Baltimore’s fourth-string QB job before training camp even started, commanded the offense for six possessions across the second and third quarters and led it on three scoring drives—including one that ended in a touchdown pass to fellow rookie Ja’Kobi Lane.

TOUCHDOWN @cantGuardJak1!!!!!

Tune in on @wbaltv11. pic.twitter.com/OcUOBGsDkv
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 15, 2026

Fagnano did also log an ugly interception to defensive back Kelee Ringo in the red zone while trying to throw across his body. Otherwise? He looked comfortable, and his 224 passing yards lead the NFL’s preseason so far.

3. Fernando Mendoza, Las Vegas Raiders

Stat line: 10-for-16, 97 yards, 1 TD, 100.3 passer rating

Fernando Mendoza received his first first-team reps with the Raiders earlier this week after a fight between Maxx Crosby and Kirk Cousins forced the latter out of practice. If Thursday’s preseason performance against the Cardinals is any indication, he used the opportunity to use them to his advantage.

While under center for five offensive drives, Mendoza went 10-for-16 passing (62.5%) for 97 yards, including this touchdown pass to wide receiver Jack Bech:

FERNANDO MENDOZA TOUCHDOWN!

First one in a Raiders uni 😤

(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/KwcGPCNUa3
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) August 14, 2026

And this thread-of-the-needle down the seam to Malik Benson:

Fernando Mendoza threading the needle!

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— NFL (@NFL) August 14, 2026

“It’s all about timing and trusting your feet,” Mendoza said of this throw specifically. “... At that point in time, I knew that I was able to identify the coverage and I knew the spot Malik was gonna be, and that was good timing and anticipation with the route, it was fantastic protection, it was a great fake by the running back and it was something that we’ve worked on, building that timing and anticipation.”

Mendoza went on to say that there were other passes throughout the game that he would have liked to have back, but it was overall a solid showing for the No. 1 pick. As Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr wrote, it was exactly the performance Las Vegas should have wanted from the rookie.

2. Ty Simpson, Los Angeles Rams

Stat line: 21-for-25, 190 yards, 2 TD, 125.0 passer rating

Coach Sean McVay made life easy for TY Simpson in his NFL debut, giving him several half-field reads on bootlegs while also building in some easy checkdown options—as evidenced by rookie tight end Max Klare’s seven(!) catches for just 37 yards.

Still, Simpson was able to complete 84% of his throws while finding the end zone twice, with both touchdown passes going to running back Dean Connors.

21/25, 190 passing yards, 2 touchdowns.

A great start to the Preseason for @RamsNFL rookie QB @ty_simpson06. pic.twitter.com/QgkzQleVcl
— NFL (@NFL) August 15, 2026

“He took what the defense gave him,” McVay told reporters of Simpson’s performance. “I thought he read the plays out, read with his feet. I thought he did a really good job overall, and I thought even on some of the keepers where maybe the primary isn’t there, he attacks with the ball up. Even on the first one that he had, where he ends up finding Max Klare on kind of the late-down flat. Hit a couple low crossing routes and I thought he kept the ball in play. That’s the biggest thing is keeping the ball in play.”

Was Simpson’s play enough to take the starting job away from Matthew Stafford? Of course not. But perhaps it eased some of the angst McVay appeared to have when Los Angeles drafted him, even if the coach denies that was the case.

1. Drew Allar, Pittsburgh Steelers

Stat line: 10-for-13, 153 yards, 2 TD, 154.8 passer rating, 1 rushing TD

Drew Allar was arguably the top story of the first full weekend of the preseason.

After fellow Steelers quarterbacks Mason Rudolph and Will Howard could only muster up a measly 7 points through almost three quarters, Allar took over the offense just before the fourth and led three consecutive touchdown drives. The first ended in a rushing touchdown from the rookie, while the final two were capped by touchdown passes to wide receiver Kaden Wetjen and fullback Riley Nowakowski. Overall, the third-round pick looked comfortable and poised operating coach Mike McCarthy’s offense.

Steelers QB Drew Allar adds a passing TD to his statline:

8/10
143 yards
Passing TD
Rushing TD

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— NFL (@NFL) August 14, 2026

“If we go back to the draft process, when we drafted Drew [Allar] we felt like we were getting a first-round pick,” McCarthy revealed during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show Friday. “... And all of that’s holding true.”

The rookie still has a ways to go if he wants to unseat Aaron Rodgers, but his performance on Thursday night was an encouraging step for his long-term prospects in the NFL.

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