You know what one of the best parts about this coming NFL season is? The talks about which 2nd year starting quarterback will be the best. In this group I’m including Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson, and Colin Kaepernick. Kaep is a third year player, but it’s his second year starting, so let’s count it. When you look at the list, you see a group of players who are all very smart, and honestly, should have great seasons all around. Kaepernick definitely has the best team in my opinion, with Wilson being a close second. Griffin and Luck are really massive parts of their team’s success though, so it could end up making them the winner of this conversation when all is said and done.
For Luck, it’s just about continuing that connection with Reggie Wayne, but most importantly, I think he needs to use Ahmad Bradshaw out of the backfield whenever he’s in trouble. If Bradshaw can stay away from the injury bug then I think he was a complete steal for the Colts. These three quarterbacks were the talk of the league last year, and Luck’s ability to help lead the Colts back to the playoffs was ridiculous. This team went from being a complete bottom feeder to a playoff team thanks to great coaching, and yes, great leadership from their young, quarterback of the future.
I’ve read many things that say that Kaep is the pick of these four, but I’m not on board just yet. He had a great season last year, and he’s a great player, but I do have worries. Kaepernick doesn’t have too much on the wide receiver front due to a ton of injuries, so he’s going to need to pull a Robert Griffin III when it comes to playing with very few options in the passing game. Fortunately for Kaepernick though, the 49ers are a Super Bowl team without a doubt in my mind. They have a ridiculous defense, which is something that only he and Russell Wilson can say that their teams have.
How about Russell Wilson by the way? I’m an NC State fan and I’m insanely glad to see Wilson doing this. He turned down a professional baseball contract to pursue the NFL, and for everyone who said he’s too short, he’s showing you alllllll up. Wilson does a little bit of everything, and he controls the game. The guy doesn’t make mistakes, he got better as the year went on, and he’s an insanely good leader. I love Russell Wilson, and you can call it a man crush if you want to. This guy could be the sneaky pick out of the four quarterbacks to be the best second year starter in the NFL, mainly because of those on-field smarts….he’s even got the off-field smarts for those who are curious.
R.G.I.I.I. What can I say about you aside from the fact that you single handedly carried me through my fantasy season last year? I can’t complain about the mediocre playoff showing though, because you were probably the only reason I was in the playoffs at all. This guy can flat out play, and I’m really not concerned about his knee at all. He looks good to go and we are still a full two and a half to three weeks until the start of the season, which is really impressive. Griffin is another smart player just like all three guys above, but he needs to avoid taking those big hits as much as possible so that he doesn’t get into any more injury issues. Griffin does it all, he just flat out gets after it.
Consensus
What’s so crazy about these four players is that they can all do it with both their arm and their legs. They have so much talent and should all be so good. I really don’t see any of the four falling on their face in their second year as starters, but that’s not what I wrote this article for. I wrote this to decide which second year quarterback will be the best of them. With that being said, my decision is set on Russell Wilson. I think that Wilson is going to avoid turnovers yet again and do an incredible job leading this offense. He was completely poised in year one, and that’ll happen again in year two. Look for a huge year from Wilson, and a huge year from the Seahawks as well.
Now, he’s not my fantasy pick out of the four though, as that one is going to go to Colin Kaepernick due to his ability to run the ball, and also the fact that while they have Frank Gore, he is getting older and older, meaning that Kaep should be more and more involved. On a side note, I love Griffin to be a close second to Kaepernick though. Griffin’s knee honestly just isn’t a concern in my mind. I don’t think that the team would let their quarterback go out there unless he really as 100%, especially after the scrutiny that they took last year from letting him play when he was already hurt.
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