Best Situations
JJ McCarthy: Minnesota Vikings
This feels a lot like when Christian Ponder was drafted 12th overall by the Vikings in the 2011 draft. Ponder talked about how it couldn't be that hard because he just had to hand the ball to Adrian Peterson and throw it up to Percy Harvin. JJ McCarthy just has to throw to Justin Jefferson, the best receiver in the game and hand it off to Aaron Jones. Justin Jefferson just signed a 4 year $140M extension too, so McCarthy won't have to worry about adjusting to life without him anytime soon. The offensive line isn’t perfect, but Christian Darrisaw is one of the best left tackles in the game, so JJ won't have to worry about the blindside. I haven’t even mentioned TJ Hockenson and WR Jordan Addison, the two pro bowl level secondary receiving options, or HC Kevin O’Connell who had Josh Dobbs looking like a star last year and is an elite play caller. Everything is set up perfectly for JJ to succeed from day one and for years to come.
Caleb Williams: Chicago Bears
Caleb Williams is walking into one of the best situations for a highly picked quarterback in recent memory. It all starts with the assortment of skill position players he is going to work with. DJ Moore is a great number two WR, and Keenan Allen is one of the most consistently reliable veteran WRs in the league. Chicago was also able to give him another explosive weapon with the ninth overall pick, Washington WR Rome Odunze. Odunze has the talent to be a top ten WR in the league. He'll be able to grow with Caleb in the league and having him as their third WR is unfair. They also have a solid offensive line, above average tight ends Cole Kmet and Gerald Everett, and two good running backs in D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson. Being able to grow with young players like Odunze, Kmet, and Johnson while having reliable and great veteran options across the board makes it likely Caleb will reach his sky-high potential.
Rome Odunze: Chicago Bears
Growing up in the league with a potential superstar QB in Caleb Williams is going to be amazing to see. Getting two rookies this talented at QB and WR like this is usually impossible, and something we haven’t seen since Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, after Burrow tore his ACL and missed much of his first year. This situation is also great thanks to being able to learn from the most consistent WR in the league, Keenan Allen. There aren’t many veteran WRs that would be better for Odunze to learn under.
Xavier Worthy: Kansas City Chiefs
Worthy, the fastest player to ever run at the combine, is now playing with possibly the best quarterback of all time and under one of the greatest and most creative coaches ever. Andy Reid won't have trouble scheming up easy touches. To top it off, he will also be playing with WR Marquise “Hollywood” Brown who has a very similar skill set, and Worthy should eventually be asked to grow into the Tyreek Hill role. Even though he isn't Tyreek, there is at least a blueprint for Worthy to follow. It's hard to imagine a better situation a WR could step into.
Worst Situations
Malik Nabers: New York Giants
From the best situation a WR could step into, to the worst. Daniel Jones is not a good QB, and although he has a strong arm, he rarely throws deep, partially due to playing behind the worst offensive line in the league. The problem is that that line wasn't improved much during the offseason, so Nabers will likely be forced to work underneath much more than he should. The Giants also lost RB Saquon Barkley, who was their whole offense for much of the year, so defenses will be able to gameplan solely on Nabers. It is hard to see Malik Nabers being able to be used like he was at LSU. Also, his head coach Brian Daboll, might be closer to the hot seat than his reputation would suggest, so Nabers might be playing for a new regime and QB next year. The Giants desperately needed Nabers, but he would have been better off with just about any other team.
Jayden Daniels: Washington Commanders
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, Washington's football team drafts a promising athletic QB with the second overall pick behind a terrible offensive line and a coach that could be fired quickly. This is looking like it could end up as RG3 2.0 (Sorry RG3). Washington has one of the worst offensive lines in the league, and I cannot believe they didn’t upgrade at left tackle after it being such a glaring need. Jayden Daniels took way too many big hits at LSU, so I’m very worried about his long-term health behind this line. Also, their HC, Dan Quinn seemed to be their second option after Ben Johnson pulled his name out of the running, so don’t be surprised if he’s fired after a bad year and Daniels has to learn a whole new offensive scheme in his second year. The Commanders should teach a course on how to ruin promising quarterbacks.
Photos by Alex Brandon (AP Photos), Colin E. Braley (AP Photos), Julia Nikhinson (AP Photos), Gregory Shamus (Getty Images), and Jeff Roberson (AP Photos)
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