Rookie QB class impresses in preseason debuts: 61-of-80, 684 yards, 6 TDs, 0 INTs
The first wave of 2026 rookie quarterbacks combined to go 61-of-80 for 684 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions in their preseason debuts.
The 2026 rookie quarterback class opened the preseason about as well as it could have. Fernando Mendoza, Ty Simpson, Carson Beck, Drew Allar and Cade Klubnik combined to go 61-of-80 for 684 yards with six touchdowns and zero interceptions in their debuts, per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.
Simpson carried the biggest share of the production, completing 21 of 25 passes for 190 yards and two scores for the Rams, while the group as a whole completed better than 76 percent of its throws.
Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN): The combined stat line for rookie QBs Fernando Mendoza, Ty Simpson, Carson Beck, Drew Allar and Cade Klubnik in their preseason debuts: 61-of-80, 684 yards, 6 TDs, 0 INTs. Couldn't have gone much better.
The absence of turnovers stands out for a position group that usually shows its inexperience in the first preseason action. Each of the five rookies got live reps against NFL competition, and the combined line — more than eight yards per attempt with six touchdowns and no picks — gives their coaching staffs something to build on heading into Week 2 of the preseason.
It's one weekend of exhibition football, and the real tests come when starters face starters in September. But for a draft class that was already generating hype, the first returns could hardly have been better.