Shedeur Sanders' preseason debut couldn't have gone much better. Matched up against the Carolina Panthers, Sanders completed 14 of his 23 passing attempts for 138 yards and two touchdowns — not bad for a fifth-round pick!
Where Sanders will end up on the Cleveland Browns' depth chart once the regular season begins, or if he'll even make the team, remains to be seen, but it was certainly an eye-opening performance from the Colorado product. While Sanders got praise he absolutely deserved, though, he's far from the only underdog quarterback to put on a show in Week 1 of the preseason.
These four quarterbacks deserve as much if not more praise than Shedeur for how they've played for their respective teams so far.
4) Cam Miller, Las Vegas Raiders
Cam Miller didn't play much — he only entered the Las Vegas Raiders' first preseason game in the fourth quarter — but in the 10-ish minutes he was active for, he excelled. Miller, a sixth-round pick out of North Dakota State, completed all but one of his passing attempts for 76 yards and a touchdown.
Yes, Miller played against players on the bottom of the depth chart, but the same could be said about the players who were on the field with him. He still took advantage of the limited opportunities he had, putting together two really solid drives and looking much better than Aidan O'Connell.
Miller's path to making the Raiders is wonky, as Geno Smith is the clear-cut starter and O'Connell will almost certainly be his backup, but perhaps the Raiders choose to carry three quarterbacks or another NFL team expresses interest. Miller should get plenty of reps, especially after his strong Week 1 showing. It'll be interesting to see what he does with said opportunities.
3) Tanner McKee, Philadelphia Eagles
No, preseason games don't mean much in the grand scheme of things, but Tanner McKee matched up against Joe Burrow and went toe-to-toe with him. I mean, Burrow got his, but McKee completed 20 of his 25 passing attempts for two touchdowns and no interceptions. He was nearly flawless, and didn't even have the likes of Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith or Dallas Goedert to lean on.
McKee entered the preseason as the clear-cut favorite to be Jalen Hurts' backup with the Philadelphia Eagles, and this kind of performance only solidified his case. If anything, it probably opened enough eyes that a quarterback-needy team might inquire and see what it'd take to pry McKee out of Philadelphia.
He'll in a bit of an unfortunate spot as Hurts will be the starter in Philadelphia as long as he's healthy, but McKee, as the backup, should get plenty of preseason reps to prove himself to the league. So far, it's safe to say he's taking full advantage of the opportunity he's gotten.
2) Jarrett Stidham, Denver Broncos
Jarrett Stidham has been around for a while, and has even started four of the 19 regular-season games he's appeared in (two of which came for the Denver Broncos in 2023). He won't start at all this season or anytime soon in Denver with Bo Nix in town, but he's the favorite to be Nix's backup in the regular season, and his Week 1 preseason showing only reinforces that while also potentially luring interest from other teams.
Matched up against the San Francisco 49ers, Stidham went 14-for-15 for 136 yards and two touchdowns. I don't care that it's only preseason; having one incompletion out of 15 attempts is incredibly impressive.
Stidham's path to a starting role isn't quite as clear as guys like Miller or McKee given the fact that he's already 29 years old and has struggled when given the chance to play at the NFL level, but never say never. A strong preseason would solidify himself as a backup, which can inevitably lead to something in the not-too-distant future.
1) Skylar Thompson, Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback depth chart might not be pretty, but it certainly feels as if it's set in stone barring injury. Aaron Rodgers might be 41 years old and well beyond his prime, but he's the starter. Mason Rudolph might not be a starting-caliber passer, but he's a capable backup who just signed a two-year deal — he'll be Rodgers' backup. Behind those two veterans will almost certainly be rookie quarterback Will Howard. Yes, he's expected to miss the preseason due to injury, but the Steelers need someone they can dream about taking the reigns long-term. Howard, with proper development, could be that guy. He's listed as the QB3 on the team's depth chart for a reason.
With that in mind, NFL fans, rightfully, aren't paying much attention to what Skylar Thompson, a 28-year-old who hasn't shown much at the NFL level, is doing. Well, Thompson's Steelers debut suggests fans should be paying attention, as he went 20-for-28 for 233 yards and three touchdowns against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
He almost certainly won't make the Steelers, but there might be a backup opening somewhere for Thompson to snag if he continues to play well. Howard's injury should only allow Thompson to have more opportunities to impress the 31 other NFL teams.