7 backup quarterbacks in the NFL who will see more time than expected in 2024

For every Patrick Mahomes out there, there are The Other Guys. While they might be better than Detectives Allen Gamble and Terry Hoitz were at their jobs initially, we can only hope they can tackle the NFL like David Ershon's favorites did scaffolding permits. Anything you say can be used as a flotation device. And that right there is where many NFL teams are at. They are floating, and waiting...

Although quarterback play is usually superb on most NFL rosters, once you get past the top 20 or so guys in the league, things start to get a little suspect. The good news is the college game is more passing centric than ever, often giving us multiple first-round picks in a given draft. April's NFL Draft gave us six in the first 12 picks. Some of those guys will be Week 1 starters, while others will wait.

Outside of Michael Penix Jr., who went to the Atlanta Falcons for some reason, the other five first-round picks should be starting games at some point next season. But even if that is the case for most, if not all, of them, I can only definitively say that three of them are on their way to being Week 1 starters: Caleb Williams in Chicago, Jayden Daniels in Washington and Bo Nix over in Denver. That's it.

In the meantime, get used to these backups getting more run for their money this year than expected.

7. Indianapolis Colts QB Joe Flacco

This is my shot in the dark, so to speak. Admittedly, this isn't that hard to get behind, if you can get behind this... I still have major reservations about Anthony Richardson being a starting quarterback in this league. He had very little starting experience coming out of Florida and missed most of last year with an injury. It is why I am bullish on the ageless Joe Flacco playing a lot for the Indianapolis Colts.

While I would say that Shane Steichen's job security is good, general manager Chris Ballard is eventually going to have to build a division-winning roster. It has been a decade since the Colts last won the AFC South. Not to say that Flacco is the answer to their prayers, but I cannot say for certain that Richardson is either. Regardless, this is probably the third best team in its own division in 2024.

Until we see marked growth from Richardson, the Colts are going to remain listlessly mediocre.

6. Tennessee Titans QB Mason Rudolph

For as much as I may like Brian Callahan's upside as an NFL head coach, I am so down on the Tennessee Titans this year. While I am glad that they did not draft another quarterback inside the top 100, it remains to be seen if Will Levis has what it takes to be a reliable starter in this league. With Malik Willis' career hanging on by a thread, this might be Mason Rudolph's greatest opportunity yet.

Truth be told, I don't think Rudolph ever got a fair deal in Pittsburgh. Ben Roethlisberger manipulated his way into starting more years past his prime than even Matt Ryan. Rudolph was better than Kenny Pickett throughout their two-year overlap in Pittsburgh. To me, I think Rudolph will be more than ready to rock should it hit the fan for Levis this season. Again, Callahan did not draft him. He inherited Levis.

It would not shock me if the Titans were the team that ended up with the No. 1 overall pick in 2025.

5. New York Giants QB Drew Lock

This is a hard one to gauge. The New York Giants still have to convince themselves that reinvesting precious dividends into flailing Daniel Jones because he has those IBM bona-fides was a great idea. Instead, it should be a fearless competition between Jones and Lock to help save Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen's jobs. New York is dysfunctional as hell, but it might be the right kind of chaos for Lock.

When Lock was sort of starring at Missouri, he was slinging that football as fast as humanly possible in a Josh Heupel offense. It was rarely pretty, but he put up numbers. For a team that does not have anything close to a fun offense to watch, this would be a breath of fresh air. I don't know if Jones or Lock will start 10 games this season, but I am certain that both of them are going to start at least five.

If Lock plays like he did at times with Mizzou this year, then maybe his career will have a second act.

4. Las Vegas Raiders QB Aidan O'Connell

Without hesitation, the Las Vegas Raiders are going to be one of the most low-key fun watches in the league next year. They may not have a true No. 1 at quarterback, but they seem to have two fairly decent ones vying for playing time. While I would expect for Gardner Minshew II to get the bulk of the starts, I have been a big fan of Aidan O'Connell's game dating back to his final seasons at Purdue.

Minshew may be the long lost son of Ken Stabler, but O'Connell was the Raiders' best quarterback last season. The Silver and Black were in complete disarray after we found out the Josh McDaniels/Dave Ziegler pairing was essentially a circus. O'Connell is not a blue-chip quarterback by any means, but I believe he uses that to his advantage. He might be quarterbacking a playoff team.

Look for Minshew and O'Connell to bring the very best out of each other in a healthy competition.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers QB Justin Fields

I'm going to plant this seed so you don't have to. The better quarterback on the Pittsburgh Steelers is Justin Fields and not Russell Wilson. Debatably humbled, Wilson will be the Week 1 starter in Pittsburgh. I am not sure he is even the least bit good, but Here We Go, Steelers! In all honesty, Wilson is going to get benched at some point in the second half of the season in favor of Fields. That'll be it.

As Wilson is slinging his Terrible Towel on the sidelines like Bret Michaels of Poison, it will be Nothin' But a Good Time for Fields when he is thrust into action. In a way, it will be like Arthur Smith admitting his own GOB Bluth huge mistake of passing on the Kennesaw native in Atlanta in favor of Kyle Pitts. Pitts was a fine pick, but baby, the Steelers will have a stew going with Fields cooking, and not Russ.

If Wilson thinks he is going to start and finish all 17 games for the Steelers this year, he is delusional.

2. New England Patriots QB Jacoby Brissett

Even if the New England Patriots are probably not going to be the least bit good this year, I kind of like what they are trying to do in this long drawn out rebuild of sorts. It will be the Jacoby Brissett show under center before Drake Maye eventually beats him out. Brissett will be named the Week 1 starter, but will be able to handle all the quivers full of arrows being shot his way. It is about protecting Maye.

In time, Brissett will gladly hand the keys to the car over to Maye. Brissett is going to have a career in football after he is done playing. Whether that is as a coach, a talent evaluator or as a pundit, he has so much to offer us. Brissett is universally beloved. Although once the Patriots pivot over to Maye that will be it, I have a hard time seeing the Patriots feeding their prized draft selection to the wolves.

Their front office executive may in fact be a Wolf, but Eliot is not going to drive this thing into a ditch.

1. Minnesota Vikings QB Sam Darnold

Even more the case than New England, the Minnesota Vikings are going to handle their first-round pick with kid gloves. J.J. McCarthy will start games at some point this season, but it may not be until all is lost under Sam Darnold. This may be a huge opportunity for the former No. 3 overall pick out of USC by the New York Jets, but his inherently reckless nature will cost his new team multiple games.

The Vikings may very well tab Darnold the Week 1 starter like New England may do with Jacoby Brissett over Drake Maye. However, the Vikings might have a good enough roster around Darnold to at least challenge for a playoff berth. I may have them finishing fourth in the NFC North, but that doesn't mean they will be out of the playoff mix by Thanksgiving. It is all lining up for Darnold this year.

This will either lead to Darnold being a stop-gap elsewhere in 2025, or this is his last year as a starter.