During the spring of 2022 and preceding that year’s NFL Draft, it was widely assumed that the quarterback position was poorly represented. After the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Kenny Pickett with their first pick at No. 20, six more QBs were drafted, including Brock Purdy, the former Mr. Irrelevant chosen by the 49ers with the No. 262 overall pick.

Purdy, of course, proceeded promptly to demonstrate the general myopia afflicting the league’s scouting experts by not only winning the starting job in San Francisco but leading the 49ers all the way to the NFC Championship Game before suffering an untimely injury. But in 2023, Purdy returned to action, compiling 3,553 passing yards, 25 TDs and only 7 interceptions through Week 14.

Purdy currently owns the league’s highest quarterback rating at 74.7 and he has averaged 273.3 passing yards per game. He also has exceeded 300 yards passing in five games so far this season. While some might claim he found himself in an ideal situation by taking the reins of a potent 49ers offense supported by a strong defense, Purdy’s performance nevertheless has been off of the charts for a QB still learning the NFL ropes.

As their sophomore seasons enter the stretch run, the following are my Top-5 ratings for the underestimated quarterback class of 2022:

1) Brock Purdy (49ers)

No telling how far this kid might go given the gangbuster start he’s made. In addition to the aforementioned stats, Purdy has committed only nine turnovers so far this season, far fewer than his fellow 2022 classmates Sam Howell of the Washington Commanders and Desmond Ridder of the Atlanta Falcons.

2) Sam Howell (Commanders)

Howell was selected No. 144 overall in 2022 — a player I once hoped the Steelers might pick. Though smaller in stature than Big Ben, Howell is a stocky dude with quick feet and a strong arm — very much in the mold of a young Bradshaw or Roethlisberger. And because of Washington’s highly-suspect OL, Howell has been sacked 58 times — far more than any other QB in the league. But operating under constant duress hasn’t stopped Howell from compiling 3,635 yards passing this season, including 18 TDs (12 more than Pickett). Howell’s QB rating is 47.9, substantially better than either Pickett (37.6) or Ridder (40.3). Additionally, Howell matched Purdy’s mark of five 300-plus-yard games so far while averaging 266.6 yards per game compared to Pickett’s 172.5 yards per game.

The Commanders have new ownership which likely will be prepared to move on from Head Coach Ron Rivera at the end of this season. As part of a general housecleaning, if they also decide to draft another QB next spring, don’t be surprised if Howell winds up as the best-available, young QB in the league. Howell hardly got his feet wet during his rookie season, so his accomplishments this year look all the more impressive.

3) Kenny Pickett (Steelers)

Before he was lost for what appears to be the rest of the season, Pickett compiled 2,070 yards passing including six TDs and four interceptions. As anyone following the Steelers is painfully aware, this wasn’t a particularly impressive season for him. But mainly due to Pickett’s ability to protect the football and his very low turnover ratio, I have to rank Kenny third on my list. His 2022 classmate, Desmond Ritter, has compiled 2,376 passing yards this season but he has also turned the ball over 15 times, including nine interceptions and six fumbles.

4) Desmond Ridder (Falcons)

Despite his advantage in passing yardage and marginally better quarterback rating, the No. 74 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft has suffered from spotty pass blocking and a number of rookie mistakes. He also has been more susceptible to pressure than Howell or Pickett.

At this point, Falcons fans are openly fearful that Ridder might prove to be a turnover machine. But in the young man’s defense, he started only four games during his rookie year. So Ridder had considerably less work under his belt than Pickett as preparation for his first full NFL season. Also, Ridder surpassed 300 yards passing in three games this season, whereas Pickett is still looking for his first 300+ game.

5) Bailey Zappe (Patriots)

As embarrassing as it is to admit, the 2022 draftee I judge least likely to cut the mustard as a starting NFL quarterback is the same guy who led three TD drives last Thursday at Acrisure Stadium which dropped the Steelers to 7-6. It’s no secret that the Patriots have serious and persisting issues at the crucial QB position. But there’s simply nothing in Zappe’s body of work to suggest he might be anything more than a career backup. This despite the fact that the Patriots drafted Zappe seven slots ahead of Sam Howell and 125 slots ahead of Brock Purdy.

Remaining Quarterbacks:

The remaining two quarterbacks drafted in 2022, Matt Corral (No. 94 overall) and Chris Oladokun (Steelers pick at No. 241 overall), have faded into anonymity. Corral was drafted by the Carolina Panthers and did a stint with them during his rookie year before being placed on waivers at the end of August 2023 and picked up by New England. Despite Corral’s impressive performance at Mississippi State, it was reported that he abandoned the Patriots without notice only about a week after they claimed him from Carolina.

The Patriots released Corral on September 18th of this year but then signed him to their practice squad on September 19th. But for what the team described as “personal reasons,” Corral decided not to accept the practice squad offer and he now seems to have dropped entirely off of the radar screen.

Currently, Corral is designated as a free agent. Despite whatever problems led to this sequence of events, pro scouts had been quite high on Corral’s ability prior to the 2022 NFL Draft. At one point, Next Gen Stats ranked him above Pickett, Howell, Ridder and Malik Willis. Assuming the youngster resolves his personal issues, he might still have a future in pro football.

As for Chris Oladokun, he’s currently a member of the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad which, for a quarterback, is akin to waiting for Godot.

Thus, while every one of my Top-5 quarterbacks in this 2022 class has potential to hang around the league in some capacity, it should be quite surprising that at least three of these five appear to have reasonable shots for successful careers as starting QBs. While Purdy definitely has seized his moment in San Francisco, the jury remains out on the future of Howell, Pickett and Ridder.

Based strictly on their limited bodies of work and varying paces of development, I’d have to give Howell the edge today for becoming the second notable member of the 2022 class. But even if only two of these five ultimately become accomplished veteran QBs, this certainly would exceed most pundits’ expectations for what had been billed as a humdrum 2022 quarterback class.