Graham Mertz had a disastrous start to his NFL career. In the very first preseason game, he went 7/14 with 27 yards and three interceptions. You may need to read that again: three interceptions in just 14 attempts. That's about as bad as you can get in an NFL preseason game. For many Wisconsin fans, they walked away with a lack of surprise.
"He finished with a QB rating of 16.7. To give context of how bad a rating of 16.7 is, a QB would have a rating of 39.6 if every pass they threw was incomplete."Benjamin Henderson, Hail Florida Hail
The hard part with Mertz is that he wasn't terrible for Wisconsin; rather, he was so overhyped that it was easy to underdeliver. He wasn't great by any stretch, but he was simply blah. He could never live up to the hype and became a bust even at Wisconsin. He transferred to Florida when it seemed like he wasn't going to be the starter for his final season.
Graham Mertz was overhyped, and he underdelivered at Wisconsin, and his NFL start gives flashbacks
The quarterback competition had caught up to him, and he moved on. At Wisconsin, he had mediocre numbers hovering around a 58% completion percentage for his three years in Madison. He was fine in check-downs and could operate in the pocket, but was terrible with the deep ball and getting past his first read.
When Mertz transferred to Florida, it seemed that he had found a nice role in the Billy Napier offense. He had one of the highest completion percentages in the nation last season at 72%. His check-down prowess was what fed the Florida Gator offense. He once again struggled with anything more than a short pass and a second read.
Eventually giving way to true freshman DJ Lagway after a season-ending injury at Flordia. The hype between the two could not have been more evident. Mertz was seen as a lackluster player while Lagway in many Florida fans' minds could be the next Florida Heisman trophy winner.
The Houston Texans drafted him in the sixth round with some hope for a flyer pick that could maybe become a solid backup. This first game for Mertz should give the Texans absolutely zero confidence in that, which Wisconsin fans know exactly how that feels.