• Joe Burrow is surgical in the quick passing game: The Bengals passer racked up 2,863 yards on quick hitters (most in the NFL), with 17 big-time throws. More than 54% of that production came via air yards.

• Lamar Jackson is lethal when extending the play: His 31 big-time throws on dropbacks with more than 2.5 seconds to throw in 2024 led the NFL. He was one of just two quarterbacks to post a big-time throw rate above 10% on such plays.

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Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes

While there’s more than one way to succeed in the NFL, one of the largest factors in a quarterback’s success is how much time they have to throw. 

Holding onto the ball can be a double-edged sword. Doing so allows a passer to diagnose defenses and let plays develop downfield, or even extend plays to make something out of nothing. But some schemes operate best when the ball is coming out quickly, avoiding potent pass rushers and allowing targets more opportunities to produce with the ball in their hands.

Either way you slice it, there are positives and negatives to each approach. Let’s take a look at the quarterbacks who excelled most on both ends of that spectrum during the 2024 NFL season.

Editor’s Note: Quarterbacks needed a minimum of 100 dropbacks to qualify

Under 2.5 seconds

With a pair of top-tier receivers at his disposal, Joe Burrow expertly played on time and delivered the ball in rhythm this past season. The Bengals’ star passer amassed 2,863 yards on quick hitters (most in the NFL), with 17 big-time throws. More than 54% of that production came via air yards. 

Despite missing time early in the year, Russell Wilson looked like his vintage self during his lone season in Pittsburgh, delivering one of the cleanest deep balls in the league with consistency. His 8.5% big-time throw rate on passes under 2.5 seconds led all passers by a wide margin, as did his 78.6% rate of accurately delivered passes. 

While playing within the scheme can be conflated with a negative perception, that timing and rhythm in the passing game tends to produce excellent results with sound execution. 

Baker Mayfield’s transition in Tampa Bay is a prime example, as his time to throw has decreased over the past two seasons compared to his previous three, resulting in increased production. This past season, Mayfield recorded 335 attempts in under 2.5 seconds — more than in any season he played outside of Tampa. He posted an 85.8% adjusted completion percentage and 29 touchdowns on such plays in 2024, both of which led the NFL. 

Over 2.5 seconds

One of the contributing factors to Lamar Jackson being named PFF’s most valuable player this past season is his ability to extend plays and then take advantage of coverage with lethality. His 31 big-time throws on dropbacks with more than 2.5 seconds to throw led the NFL. He was one of just two quarterbacks to notch a big-time throw rate above 10% on those plays, cashing in with a league-leading 29 touchdowns.

Jared Goff continues to make strides in this facet. The Lions quarterback may not extend plays like some other names on this list, but he knows how to buy time for route concepts to develop downfield. He not only racked up the most yards per attempt on this list (9.7) but also managed to pace the league in rate of accurately thrown balls (65.5%). 

Another major piece of this equation is a quarterback’s ability to avoid sacks when plays break down or take longer to develop than anticipated. Derek Carr was excellent in this regard, surrendering the fewest sacks among qualifiers — albeit on a limited sample. But perhaps more impressively, Josh Allen took just 15 sacks, the only quarterback to log fewer than 20, while seeing more than 300 dropbacks in the category.