RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesLog on to social media on Friday, Aug. 7, and you’ll be inundated with takes about Carson Beck. On ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show, Dan Orlovsky went as far as to say that the Cardinals “have to consider (Beck) for the starting QB job sooner rather than later.”
Never mind that Beck has had an inconsistent training camp, that the Cardinals coaching staff watches their quarterbacks in meetings and practice every day, or that Beck was playing against the Carolina Panthers’ backups and third-stringers. This was the first football game in six months, and a nation was waiting with its overreactions.
So, where does Beck’s preseason debut compare to some other notable preseason debuts?
Carson Beck: 15/19, 188 yards, one TD. It was an all-around excellent performance from Beck, who commanded the offense with aplomb and ripped passes into tight windows over the middle of the field. His deep shots were mostly wide open, but the quarterback still has to find the open receiver and hit him in stride. That’s what Beck did.
Kyler Murray: 6/7, 44 yards. Murray only played one drive in his preseason debut back in 2019, but he delivered on the hype of a No. 1 overall pick. He was praised for his accuracy and elusiveness, with NFL.com writing, “The Murray Hype Train is poised to take off.”
Patrick Mahomes: 7/9, 49 yards, one TD. Mahomes’ preseason debut went under the radar, as he was set to back up Alex Smith throughout his rookie season. But he showed the traits that would soon make him the best quarterback in the NFL, including a 41-yard pass that was brought back for holding.
Josh Allen: 9/19, 116 yards, one TD. Allen entered the league as a raw prospect, and that showed in his preseason debut. There were all the signs of his prodigious talent on some launched throws downfield, but also some ugly misses, according to reports that night.
Dak Prescott: 10/12, 139 yards. The three aforementioned players were all first-round picks. Prescott, by contrast, created the path that Beck is trying to emulate. As a fourth-round pick, he showed his mobility and accuracy in his preseason debut, outplaying No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff. And when Tony Romo suffered a fractured vertebra later in preseason, Prescott took the starting job and ran with it, finishing the season as the Offensive Rookie of the Year.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How Carson Beck's debut compared to Kyler Murray, other NFL stars
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