Nick Mullens has started 17 games in six years in the NFL. Believe it or not, his numbers in those 17 starts are very comparable to the numbers Andrew Luck posted in the first 17 starts of his career.
There are probably quite a few other quarterbacks whose stats early in their career resembled Luck’s and most of those guys never became the caliber of quarterback Luck became before injuries ended his career too soon.
Mullens has passed for 4,552 yards with 24 touchdowns and 21 interceptions while completing 381 of 594 attempts (64.1%) in 17 starts. Luck’s first 17 starts produced 4,552 yards for 25 touchdowns and 18 interceptions on a 54.9% completion rate.
Minnesota #Vikings QB Nick Mullens 🤝 Andrew Luck.
Totally the same guy. 😉😎 #SKOL pic.twitter.com/9wtrRYr44s
— SKOR North – Minnesota Sports (@SKORNorth) December 12, 2023
Mullens went undrafted after starring at Southern Mississippi, the same college that Brett Favre put himself on NFL radars. Maybe Mullens takes the reins for Minnesota on Saturday against the Bengals and leads Minnesota on a run to the playoffs. The odds favor an eventual crash-and-burn scenario for Mullens, but it’s taken many a quarterback more than 17 starts to feel comfortable in the NFL.
“The game wasn’t slowing down for me. My third year I had more interceptions than touchdowns, got benched,” Kirk Cousins said to Peyton and Eli Manning on the “ManningCast” Monday night. “And then that game where I said ‘You like that!” in the tunnel, I’ve never really looked back. It felt like it kind of clicked after that.”
“It’s never that one moment, it’s probably just a gradual process over time,” he added.
Mullens gets to write the rest of his story. For now, his numbers being comparable to Luck’s early production can’t be denied.
