Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix are enjoying solid rookie seasons, threatening to lead their teams to the playoffs. This is not a common occurrence. Fewer than 25 quarterbacks have been regular starters for playoff qualifiers since the 1970 merger expanded the brackets.
Here are the QBs who served as primary starters, or long-running fill-ins, to make the playoffs as rookies. C.J.
Stroud , 2023 Discussions about a three-team trade atop the 2023 draft would have featured Houston climbing from No. 2 to No. 1.
Bryce Young was the rumored target. Fortunately for the Texans, the Panthers dealt directly with the Bears and grabbed Young. The consolation prize, Stroud soared to Offensive Rookie of the Year acclaim and revived a Texans team that had trudged through two years of nothingness.
Finding their post-Deshaun Watson answer, the Texans saw Stroud dazzle despite minimal rushing aid and not much help around Nico Collins. The Texans walloped the Browns, a road favorite, in the wild-card round before falling to the No. 1-seeded Ravens.
Brock Purdy , 2022 Already one of the all-time draft steals, Purdy needed to scrap to make the 49ers' 53-man roster. He soon became Jimmy Garoppolo 's backup, thanks to Trey Lance's Week 2 ankle fracture. Following the injury-prone Garoppolo's foot fracture in Week 13, Kyle Shanahan's offense did not lose much steam.
That year's Mr. Irrelevant stepped in and guided San Francisco to seven straight wins, the final two coming in playoff wins over the Seahawks.
