Who Will Be the Next NFL QB to Make Their 1st Super Bowl Appearance
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Following his Philadelphia Eagles' utter domination of the New York Giants in the NFC Championship Game, Jalen Hurts became the latest quarterback to reach the Super Bowl early in his career. While the 24-year-old undoubtedly accomplished a great feat quickly, he's far from the youngest signal-caller to reach this point.
Dan Marino still holds the record for the youngest starter in Super Bowl history after he took the Miami Dolphins to Super Bowl 19. The future Hall of Famer was just 23 years, four months and five days old when he faced the San Francisco 49ers in that 1985 contest.
A further six quarterbacks have made appearances in the Super Bowl before the age of 25, a list that includes Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes, with the latter the man Hurts will have to outduel for his first Super Bowl ring.
It is almost certain Hurts won't be the last fresh-faced signal-caller to make the big game, either. There are plenty of supremely talented quarterbacks coming up in the ranks who are hungry to show off their skills on the biggest stage.
With that in mind, here is a look at five quarterbacks—who will still be 25 years old or younger at the start of next season—who could soon join Hurts and co. with a Super Bowl berth of their own.
Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Steelers
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Age: 24
Birthdate: June 6, 1998
NFL Seasons: 1
The Pittsburgh Steelers may have been the only team to draft a quarterback during the first two rounds of the 2022 draft, but their decision to take Kenny Pickett at No. 20 overall is already paying dividends.
While Pickett battled hard in training camp for the starting job, the rookie took a backseat to free-agent pickup Mitch Trubisky at the beginning of the campaign. The Steelers offense was lifeless with the veteran under center, however, and Pickett emerged as the starter by Week 5.
Although he looked every bit of a first-year signal-caller who was in over his head early on, the Pittsburgh product eventually found his footing and began to display uncanny poise and maturity for a rookie.
Pickett went 1-3 in his first four starts with only two touchdowns and five interceptions, but he shrugged it off to finish the year winning six of his final eight starts while completing five touchdown passes against a single interception.
That stretch kept the Steelers improbably in the playoff hunt right up until the end of the campaign. Despite winning each of the last three contests, the team was eventually eliminated because of external results.
Regardless, Pickett's rapid ascendance allowed Pittsburgh to keep its longstanding string of .500 or better seasons alive, a streak that reached 19 years following this 9-8 campaign.
The future is now exceedingly bright for the Steelers, who had almost no gap between former franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and Pickett. The team solved its biggest question in 2022 and now can add pieces around the young quarterback to thrive in 2023.
Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
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Age: 24
Birthdate: March 2, 1998
NFL Seasons: 3
Tua Tagovailoa endured a rough start to his NFL career, but he's managed to persevere through trade rumors and doubts about his ability to finally thrive.
After two years of waffling around a commitment to Tagovailoa as a franchise quarterback, the Miami Dolphins finally made the plunge this past offseason and provided their young signal-caller with the weapons he needed to succeed.
Following a public commitment to Tagovailoa, Miami's brass went out and swung a blockbuster trade to get the Alabama product arguably the best receiver in the league: Tyreek Hill. The 'Phins spared no expense, shipping multiple early-round draft picks off and signing the superstar wideout to a massive extension.
That move, coupled with the hiring of Mike McDaniel as head coach, seemed to completely revitalize a quarterback who had been middling at best across his 21 starts in 2020 and 2021. Under the tutelage of his new coach and armed with an enviable set of pass-catchers, Tagovailoa quickly realized the talent that made him the No. 5 overall pick three years ago and morphed into a legitimate star.
Although injuries would limit him to 13 starts, Tagovailoa posted career-bests in passing yardage (3,548 yards) and touchdown throws (25) while limiting his turnovers—he had just eight interceptions on the year—and guiding the 'Phins to an 8-5 record.
It was good enough to reach the playoffs, a much-anticipated arrival for a team that hadn't been to the postseason since 2016 and had come up just shy in each of the previous two years.
Unfortunately, the world didn't get a chance to see playoff Tua as a series of concussions eventually cut his season short in Week 16. The quarterback remained in the league's concussion protocol as of last week and won't be able to attend his first Pro Bowl.
After battling the rival Buffalo Bills closely in the wild-card round but eventually falling short with third-string quarterback Skylar Thompson under center, it's possible that Miami would still be in the Lombardi Trophy hunt if their QB1 was healthy.
Justin Fields, Chicago Bears
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Age: 23
Birthdate: March 5, 1999
NFL Seasons: 2
The Chicago Bears' abysmal 2022 record belies the real excitement surrounding this franchise for the first time in years. That's because Justin Fields has started to take the league by storm and seems to have a real chance to become the Windy City's long-awaited franchise quarterback.
After suffering through a seemingly endless revolving door of subpar talent under center—the team hasn't had an All-Pro quarterback since Johnny Lujack's four-touchdown, 21-interception season in 1950, and Mitch Trubisky's 2018 Pro Bowl nod was the first for a Chicago signal-caller since Jim McMahon in 1985—it appears some stability has finally arrived with Fields.
While Fields got off to a slow start to his career after he was quickly inserted into the starting lineup for an injured Andy Dalton, he showed flashes of brilliance during an up-and-down rookie campaign. He finished 2021 having gone 2-8 in his 10 starts while recording 1,870 passing yards and seven touchdowns against 10 interceptions with a 58.9 percent completion rate. He also added 420 yards and two scores on 72 rushes.
Fields may not have won over his doubters early, but he went into 2022 with his starting job secure and benefitted heavily from a full offseason preparing as the QB1. Although the talent-starved team only went 3-12 in Fields' 15 starts, the quarterback improved in almost every way this past season.
The Ohio State product finished his second year having completed 60.4 percent of his throws for 2,242 yards and 17 scores against 11 interceptions. He became near-unstoppable as a rusher—something he needed to do often because of the lack of protection and weapons around him—racking up an eye-popping 1,143 yards and eight scores on 160 totes.
While the Bears haven't been able to translate the decision to select Fields at No. 11 overall in 2021 into on-field success just yet, it is only a matter of time before the dynamic signal-caller is spearheading Chicago's return to prominence.
Armed with the No. 1 overall pick and the most salary cap space in the league, expect big things from the Bears in 2023 following what should be a massive offseason overhaul designed around Fields.
Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
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Age: 24
Birthdate: March 10, 1998
NFL Seasons: 3
Justin Herbert has established himself as a household name following three strong seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers.
While Bolts fans weren't sure what the Oregon product would bring to the table after he was thrust into the starting lineup earlier than expected during his rookie year, Herbert has done nothing but answer the call for the club.
The No. 6 overall pick in 2020 won Offensive Rookie of the Year honors for a breakout season in which he amassed 4,336 yards and threw for 31 touchdowns against a mere 10 interceptions. Herbert followed that up with a 5,000-passing yard, 38-touchdown Pro Bowl campaign in 2021, proving he belonged in the upper echelon of NFL quarterbacks.
Although Herbert regressed statistically in 2022—his completion percentage (68.2 percent) reached a career-high, but his passing yardage (4,739), touchdowns (25) and sack (38) numbers were all worse than his sophomore production—he still managed to guide Los Angeles to a playoff appearance for the first time in his career.
It appeared that the Bolts would cruise into the divisional round after establishing a massive lead on the Jacksonville Jaguars in the wild-card round, but questionable play calling and lack of running game ended up putting L.A. on the wrong side of a 27-point comeback.
This may have been a disappointingly quick finish to Herbert's first playoff appearance, but it surely will not be the last time the quarterback will guide the Chargers to the postseason.
With some coaching adjustments already in the works—OC Joe Lombardi and QB coach Shane Day were both canned following the team's playoff collapse—and the offseason offering a chance to install a ground attack that can better support the dynamic young signal-caller, Herbert and the Chargers could be in much better shape come this time next year.
Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
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Age: 23
Birthdate: October 6, 1999
NFL Seasons: 2
The Jacksonville Jaguars went from the league's laughingstock to the divisional round within a calendar year. While first-year head coach Doug Pederson deserves plenty of credit for swiftly getting the stink of the Urban Meyer era off this organization, the rapid development of Trevor Lawrence is the main reason why Jacksonville morphed into a contender during the 2022 campaign.
While Lawrence and the Jags had their struggles in the first half of the campaign, the No. 1 overall pick in 2021 seemed to finally put it all together after a couple of tough months. Jacksonville roared back from a 2-6 start to finish the year on a 7-2 run, including winning the last five regular season games to claim the club's first AFC South title since 2017.
Lawrence finished 2022 having completed 66.3 percent of his passes for 4,113 yards and 25 touchdowns against eight interceptions. He added five scores on the ground as well, improving in nearly every major statistical category over his much-maligned rookie campaign.
While those numbers deserve praise, it's what Lawrence did in the postseason that should have Jags fans most optimistic about their team's future.
At first it seemed Jacksonville was content to have just made the playoffs after they went down in their wild-card round clash with the Los Angeles Chargers by a seemingly insurmountable 27-0 margin. That would not be the case, however, as Lawrence shook off a four-interception first half—including a Super Bowl-era worst three picks in the first quarter—to finish the game with four touchdowns and a historic comeback added to his resume.
While the Jags hung tough but ultimately weren't able to overcome the eventual AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs the following week, the squad showed it has the talent and leadership under center to make it even further next year.
Lawrence has arrived as one of the NFL's top young quarterbacks and should be a fixture in the postseason for years to come.
Who Will Be the Next NFL QB to Make Their 1st Super Bowl Appearance - Bleacher Report
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