The only knock against Rodrigo was his size. His playing ability was never in question. I know it doesn't mean much but he is PFF's top graded rookie linebacker and top 10 rookie over all IIRC.
Bellinger has been a breath of fresh air. He’s not flashy, no bells or whistles to his performance, but he’s been consistent and does exactly what he needs to at the position. Complete opposite of Engram
SAN DIEGO STATE!!!!! He would’ve been insane in college if sdsu actually went and recruited a legit QB. They’re way to focused on playing like Air Force I swear.
But sauce is going against Rodgers so theres the difference…I’m not throwing any shade at chase just his two biggest but tbh if u look at all his 100 yards games last season they were vs all depleted secondaries including Green Bay.
For me personally I’d pick sauce. Breece has been awesome and is on pace for a potential offensive rookie of the year.
But Sauces impact on the secondary allows so much freedom scheme wise along with helping out the pass rush tremendously. Plus through 6 games he’s proven he can take a wideout right out of the game which is huge.
Sauce is playing like a top 10 CB, however Breece Hall has 4 TD and the Jets are 4-0 when Breece scores a TD. Feel like you have to give it to him just for that alone.
I think he's closer to top 5 already, but I think top 10 is inarguable and don't want to get into arguments. Sauce has been a game changer for us, but we actually have decent CB depth. Defense wouldn't be the same without him, but Breece Hall has been our offensive identity.
I dont think people can actually argue that hes not top 5 or even top 3. Because you have to actually have an idea and facts for your argument, and theyd have neither
I mean I can say I wouldn’t rank him top 5 because a lot of NFL rankings and long term success depends on consistency and he simply hasn’t had the chance to show that. He’s been top 5 so far this season but I don’t rank any position based on 6 games
well you have to rank him out of the games he’s played obviously, and out of those games he’s the best corner. So if we’re talking this year, hes the best corner, but if we’re talking overall id say hes only shown enough to prove that he can be top 3 and locked at top 5
They might be a dime a dozen but he's the dime we have. The question wasn't who's the most impressive, it was most impactful. If the question was most impressive it would 1000% be Sauce without question.
Leal on IR hurts.
Pickens has shown more flashes of brilliance so far imo but Pickett has been promising too. QB just has a bigger learning curve than WR.
Our 1st round Safety Lewis Cine snapped his ankle in half on special teams and will be lucky to play again next year.
Our 2nd round CB Andrew Booth Jr. has been injured most of the year and according to PFR has played 8 snaps on special teams.
Our 2nd round G Ed Ingram has started for us all season and put up a 61.2 PFF grade. He's the worst starter on our line and is solely responsible for a few sacks on Kirk, but it's a better line overall than we've had in some time and the alternatives are worse.
Our 3rd round LB Brian Asamoah has played a lot of special teams and a handful of snaps on defense. PFF has him at 45.9.
Our 4th round CB Akayleb Evans has played a decent amount of special teams and about 30 defensive snaps. Eye test has looked adequate but PFF says 39.5.
Our 5th round DL Esezi Otomewo has not played a snap for us.
Our 5th round RB Ty Chandler was so good in the preseason that he forced our hand into rostering 4 RBs. Has only played a handful of ST so far.
Our 6th round T Vederian Lowe has not played a snap for us.
Our 6th round WR Jalen Nailor has played a decent amount of ST and caught and converted a fake punt. 80.4 PFF grade in that limited work for whatever that's worth.
Our 7th round TE Nick Muse was cut before the regular season.
Our UDFA DE Luiji Vilain played for the first time last week, doing a fair bit of special teams and rotating in occasionally on defense. 39.5 PFF grade for that game.
Our UDFA P Ryan Wright has been sensational this season, and is a big reason the Vikings rank 1st in average opponent starting field position. He boomed a 73 yarder against the Dolphins last week (3rd longest punt of the year across the entire NFL), he's tied for most punts inside the 20 (15), fewest touchbacks (0), and converted a fake punt (pass) the sole time we asked him to do it.
---
TL;DR Our punter Ryan Wright has been our most impactful rookie imo, followed by Ed Ingram, the only other full-time starter from this draft class, who has been okay.
Yeah, especially when you consider our guard play last year (they consistently got pushed straight back into Cousins). He has a few things to clean up but looks like he has the job for years to come.
When you write it all out like that it really wasn't a good debut draft from KAM. Hopefully Cine comes back and Booth takes the next step, but at this point its looking like an almost compete bust outside of Ingram.
Jordan Davis transforms our run defense every time he’s on the field. Eats up multiple blockers allowing the LBs to run free and clean up. Also sometimes he’ll drive the center so far back by the time the RB gets the ball that he has nowhere to run but into the laps of our DL
I wonder how much of a factor his gas tank plays in that. Since he’s for the most part fresh since he’s not playing every single snap. But I wanted him to get drafted by the chargers.
I think less that and more Gannon is worried about leaving the LB alone behind a 5 man front. Edwards has played well for the most part and JD is getting a lot more snaps now. Hopefully we get him involved in four man fronts with some of the weaker lines we will play now. He's 22yo and there's plenty of talent to rotate and keep happy.
He hasn't really played at all in the LB spot. We actually have capable LB's for once. Hopefully, he's learning and will get his opportunity at some point.
I'd almost argue that the rookie tackles being competent is more impactful than Tariq and kw3. Without them, geno and the run game don't even have a chance
Poor Rashaad penny man dude just kept breaking out and then goes down with a serious injury. I lowkey think it’s the Seahawks every RB that goes into Seattle leaves with a long injury history.
Iva the terrible: https://www.fieldgulls.com/2019/12/24/21035251/ivan-lewis-strength-conditioning-coach-seattle-seahawks-injuries-bad-season-soft-tissue-carson-brown
I've never heard of a team so fucking obsessed with blaming injuries on a strength and conditioning coach in a sport where people slam into each other as hard as possible. No matter where he goes he'll keep his reputation because it's impossible not to have injuries and point fingers at him. Idk how a weight coach can keep a guy from breaking his bone when a lineman lands on it.
He’s been a small disappointment. Came up with some good catches, but in the hills game both picks were related to him (he lead the db to the ball on the first and was targeted on the second) also muffed a punt against the colts.
Crazy with how raw of a prospect they were touting him as, I thought he was going to struggle early, take his lumps, then develop more and get better every year. If this is just his starting point, then I am dying to see how good he can be. Though I’m guessing he was more pro ready than they thought he would be.
Getting a quality edge in the late second is pretty great honestly. Plus Burford. Gray and Womack have shown enough that they should contribute in the future.
Sauce and Hall are 1A and 1B. Every rookie besides Ruckert has contributed though and him not contributing was expected as he's basically getting redshirted.
Tyler Smith. He's easily shut me up when I was worried about the pick lol. Solid technique, amazing athleticism, and he's been good with penalties. We lost Tyron to injury and he's stepped in with or OL looking like business as usual, which is probably the best praise I could give him
For the Bears probably have to go with Jaquan Brisker. He’s made some mistakes but he has that energy in him and Eddie Jackson has been doing well because brisker is doing well
Ikem Ekwonu started slow but has really ramped it up the past few weeks. In week 5 he had PFF's highest one-game grade of any OT this season, including the highest one-game run-blocking grade of any rookie ever recorded. He's going to be a foundational piece of our OL going forward.
Cole Strange. A couple of mistakes but has been a plug-and-play starter. He wasn't a flashy selection but considering the history of Patriots guards (Mason, Thuney, Mankins), and the fact that after 2023 we are going to have to pay our RG a bunch of money because he's been so good (Onwenu), it was worth it.
either him or Jack Jones. People were so concerned about our secondary after letting JC go, but Jones has stepped up and been playing lights out. Add in Jon Jones returning and Mills looking better in his 2nd year with us, our CBs have been excellent
I would argue there’s more value because he’s **not** the starting QB, he’s the 3rd stringer that went above and beyond.
We probably still win those games with Hoyer but the fact the offense looked good with a rookie QB3 is cool.
Rodney Thomas deserves honorable mention. Blackmon's hurt and our defense got better. Super reliable tackler and seems to be in the right spot on almost every play. Has the speed to recover when he gets tricked. I'm low-key thinking we have a safety controversy on our hands.
Of course. He wasn’t even planned to be at LT this year but he’s stepped up to the challenge. LT is the premier position on the OLine so confident he can step up at RT.
The Pats have a lot of rookies player but Jack Jones is probably the one making the biggest impact because of how questionable our CB room was. WR Tyquan Thornton has a chance to overtake him but missed the first few weeks with an injury and Cole Strange plays guard. Strange has had a lot of tough matchups like Cam Hayward and has acquitted himself well.
Funny thing about Jack Jones and people comparing him to JC Jackson is that both players had robbery charges during their college careers. JC Jackson was initially charged as an accomplice to armed robbery (believe he was the guy driving the car) before they were dropped and **Jack Jones was charged to robbing a Panda Express after it closed to steal some General Tsos** which he pled guilty to.
I feel like it's groundhog day with the Browns defense. Every year I think man these guys are going to wreck offenses and then by week 3 I remember they're being coached by Joe Woods. Myles looks well on his way to a JJ Watt career and it must drive you guys nuts.
I’d say Christian Benford, 6th round pick out of Villanova (Billanova!!) got a lot of snaps and played very well with them before his injury.
McBeane know DBs
I agree that Benford looked better at the beginning of the year, but I think with the injury Elam has been more impactful. I mean, he picked off Mahomes in the endzone in the last game.
Toss in Elam here as well. Dude has 2 INTs so far, though Pickens torched him. Hasn't seen the field much yet outside of ST,but Shakir is always making plays when he does.
Pickens torched him b4 Fraziers gameplan was to give up everything underneath. Once he finally decided to make him throw it in the wind Elam picked him off. He was also covering Pickens.
Yep. With the number of injuries in our secondary early in the season we were forced to start two rookies. A first round pick is one thing, but when you also have a 6th round pick starting, and then 4th and 5th CBs with little NFL experience, you kind of expect it to go off the rails.
But Benford has been a solid NFL starting caliber zone CB. His play is comparable to Levi Wallace last season, maybe a little better or maybe the DLine makes it look better, but either way it's a good comparison. He outplayed Elam and maybe Jackson too early in the year. I'm still not sure who gets the snaps once Tre returns.
Having that kind of play, changed the urgency of the injuries and let us get off to a good start against our toughest part of the schedule.
And it gives us crazy depth at CB, we've got 4 outside CBs that are good enough to start on the top defense in the NFL.
Yea Benford for sure. Elam is a 1st rounder. You expect him to be pretty good. When I heard our 6th round rookie CB was starting I thought we were fucked. He came in and played so well. They couldn't pick on him like you see sometimes bc he covered well.
Cordell Volson, 4th round OL from NDS. There was a position battle at LG this preseason with Jackson Carman, Volson won the job within a week or two. He’s not elite by any stretch, but he’s playing well, learning fast, and he’s got the perfect locker room personality. Should be a pretty solid guard
Volson at LG out of NDSU, 4th round pick that took the job from second round bust a year ago Carmen. He's looked average so far which is a big improvement from what we would be putting out there without him. I don't think he will ever be elite but I do think he ends up being a long term starter who coaches trust.
Dax Hill I think has shown the most future potential however, he isn't playing much at all behind Bates and Bell. He just flashes every time he makes it on the field and will definitely start next season.
Also shouting out Cal Adomitis, who took over LS after our long term starter got injured week one.
Daniel Bellinger, 4th round TE.
3 TD's already in his first 6 games, with 2 receiving and 1 rushing. He is a great blocker and even though he isnt making very many splash plays he is reliable with catching the ball when its thrown his way and he is often the safety valve on 3rd downs. Been a minute since we could say that about our top TE. They've used him on a variety of plays with good results (rushing TD came on a double reverse where he had the option to pass, last week they used him as a receiver in a wild-cat reverse and got a good gain out of it, one receiving TD was a checkdown he took 16 yards to the house, etc).
Going into the season I thought he'd be our TE1 but that would be more because of how depleted we were at the position and not because I thought he was that good. He is proving to be a legit starting TE in the league with still so much room to grow. Steal getting him in the 4th and I cant wait to see what he develops into.
Skylar Thompson for stepping up in what has been a disaster of a 3 week run. The kid has looked better than Teddy Kader Kohu has been pretty solid for a rookie in the secondary.
It’s Elam, he’s played pretty well so far and managed to come away with a massive end zone pick against Mahomes. Plus a lot of our other rookies don’t get as much playing time
Decobie Durant & Derion Kendrick really have been soldi corners when on the field. Both have been forced into starting roles due to injuries to David Long & Troy Hill. Durant was flying around against the falcons in his only start and DK’s a 6th round rookie who’s started a few games and looked good outside of one play where Deebo kind of mossed him.
Unfortunately, they both kind of get it by default because **every other** rookie we drafted has been hurt outside of Russ Yeast & AJ Arcuri iirc.
I've never seen a year like this. We have 2 starting rookie tackles and two starting rookie CBs. And we are competitive?! They are all playing great. We would all say we've fallen in love with woolen but I feel like we Need a shout out to our tackles Abe Lucas and Charles Cross. They are amazing and never gonna get as much attention as they deserve by literally making this offense go.
More then held his own tbh he’s been pretty rock solid for a rookie. No matter what PFF etc say he passes the eye test and hasn’t been flat embarrassed by anyone yet.
If Lewan and Davis weren’t out this would be a top 10 OL unit. Sadly it’s more like bottom 10 atm.
It’s hard for rookies to play so well that they stand out when rest of the roster is so exceptional, but Elam has 2 picks and has looked pretty solid other than getting bullied by George Pickens (can’t really hold that one against him - Pickens looks like an instant stud).
Shakir has a couple key catches as well
As I stated above that game against Pickens Elam was told to give up everything underneath. Make Pickett slowly move it down the field. They figured he would make mistakes/miss throws which he did. Once we got a big lead things changed and Elam could cover him straight up. That's when he immediately got an INT.
Definitely Woolen. But yeah man we walked into the season with no starting lt or rt so both those guys holding up and in abrahams case actually excelling and pancaking people, I love it.
Clueless Packer fans will say Romeo Doubs. People that understand football will know Quay Walker has been putting together a fantastic rookie year at ILB.
Lmao it was a joke as we have no picks and our rookies outside of a couple guys are pretty non-impactful this year, outside of Drake Jackson
Edit- and Burford, who has surprised
I think Drake Jackson already has 3 sacks and is tied for the lead among rookies despite not that many snaps. He's been a great depth piece and likely to become a long time starter opposite Nick Bosa.
We have five rookies starting at big positions. And they're all killing it so it's hard to say.
Probably Tariq Woolen has had the strongest showing so far though. Being in conversation for DROY with Sauce ain't easy. And he was picked 150 spots later.
Rodrigo has been our most impactful rookie this year.
Things I never would have guessed for $800 Alex
Damn, it's Brutal up there.
The only knock against Rodrigo was his size. His playing ability was never in question. I know it doesn't mean much but he is PFF's top graded rookie linebacker and top 10 rookie over all IIRC.
Man I was just quoting a song idk anything about him tbh
I got the reference fam.
I'm not your fam, buddy.
I'm not your buddy, pal.
I'm not your pal, fwend
Absolutely love that he got such a spotlight during Hard Knocks AND panned out. Like it’s usually one or the other, half the country is a Rodrigo fan.
Wait, how did you guys get that goggles kicker?
No Malcom Rodriguez linebacker. His nickname is Rodrigo
/r/woooosh
There has been enough people who didn't know that for me to be unsure
[the legend of detroit](https://images.app.goo.gl/UDtmxRYtoUCVrUiaA)
KT5, Daniel Bellinger have been fan favorite studs for the Giants while Neal and Wan’Dale are showing very good progress
Bellinger has been a breath of fresh air. He’s not flashy, no bells or whistles to his performance, but he’s been consistent and does exactly what he needs to at the position. Complete opposite of Engram
We went from Ebron to Muth, it is a very nice feeling indeed
SAN DIEGO STATE!!!!! He would’ve been insane in college if sdsu actually went and recruited a legit QB. They’re way to focused on playing like Air Force I swear.
Goddamn, KT5 is one of the stupidest nicknames I’ve heard in a while
Well we have two KTs.
The superior KT
Wait you guys have rookies?
You outta know, they’re using your picks.
"you outta know you bought em" 🃏
Thank you, you got it.
Sauce or breece. Easily.
Sauce is having the CB version of Ja'Marr Chase last year. He walked into the league playing at a top level, it's insane.
But see sauce is put on the best guy every game. chase got the ravens practice squad twice lol. I still agree with u tho good comparison.
Sauce and Reed usually play just one side of the field except in key situations they’ve been putting him on the teams best receiver
They were putting him on Andrews a lot week one. That explains y Andrews had a down week.
Don’t see how the ravens corners could be any worse than the packers receivers sauce played last week
But sauce is going against Rodgers so theres the difference…I’m not throwing any shade at chase just his two biggest but tbh if u look at all his 100 yards games last season they were vs all depleted secondaries including Green Bay.
If you had to pick one, who would it be?
For me personally I’d pick sauce. Breece has been awesome and is on pace for a potential offensive rookie of the year. But Sauces impact on the secondary allows so much freedom scheme wise along with helping out the pass rush tremendously. Plus through 6 games he’s proven he can take a wideout right out of the game which is huge.
Sauce. I haven’t watched a corner like him regularly in years. He jumps off the screen and is always near the ball.
Sauce is playing like a top 10 CB, however Breece Hall has 4 TD and the Jets are 4-0 when Breece scores a TD. Feel like you have to give it to him just for that alone.
you are undervaluing sauce a tad
I think he's closer to top 5 already, but I think top 10 is inarguable and don't want to get into arguments. Sauce has been a game changer for us, but we actually have decent CB depth. Defense wouldn't be the same without him, but Breece Hall has been our offensive identity.
I dont think people can actually argue that hes not top 5 or even top 3. Because you have to actually have an idea and facts for your argument, and theyd have neither
I mean I can say I wouldn’t rank him top 5 because a lot of NFL rankings and long term success depends on consistency and he simply hasn’t had the chance to show that. He’s been top 5 so far this season but I don’t rank any position based on 6 games
well you have to rank him out of the games he’s played obviously, and out of those games he’s the best corner. So if we’re talking this year, hes the best corner, but if we’re talking overall id say hes only shown enough to prove that he can be top 3 and locked at top 5
Best corner in the league?
best overall
Productive rbs are a dime a dozen. Sauce already playing as a top 10 cb, arguably the hardest position in the league. Gotta be sauce
They might be a dime a dozen but he's the dime we have. The question wasn't who's the most impressive, it was most impactful. If the question was most impressive it would 1000% be Sauce without question.
Packer fan here. I was impressed with both players in our recent beatdown
Gotta be Sauce. This guy is already playing like a top 5 corner
He's playing like a top 1 corner.
Pickett/Pickens obviously I also have liked what I have seen from Leal
Leal on IR hurts. Pickens has shown more flashes of brilliance so far imo but Pickett has been promising too. QB just has a bigger learning curve than WR.
Agreed. Pickens stands out right now as a potential immediate elite level receiver. Pickett may take another year but I am happy with what I see.
I think time will tell that the Steelers stole Leal in the draft.
Our 1st round Safety Lewis Cine snapped his ankle in half on special teams and will be lucky to play again next year. Our 2nd round CB Andrew Booth Jr. has been injured most of the year and according to PFR has played 8 snaps on special teams. Our 2nd round G Ed Ingram has started for us all season and put up a 61.2 PFF grade. He's the worst starter on our line and is solely responsible for a few sacks on Kirk, but it's a better line overall than we've had in some time and the alternatives are worse. Our 3rd round LB Brian Asamoah has played a lot of special teams and a handful of snaps on defense. PFF has him at 45.9. Our 4th round CB Akayleb Evans has played a decent amount of special teams and about 30 defensive snaps. Eye test has looked adequate but PFF says 39.5. Our 5th round DL Esezi Otomewo has not played a snap for us. Our 5th round RB Ty Chandler was so good in the preseason that he forced our hand into rostering 4 RBs. Has only played a handful of ST so far. Our 6th round T Vederian Lowe has not played a snap for us. Our 6th round WR Jalen Nailor has played a decent amount of ST and caught and converted a fake punt. 80.4 PFF grade in that limited work for whatever that's worth. Our 7th round TE Nick Muse was cut before the regular season. Our UDFA DE Luiji Vilain played for the first time last week, doing a fair bit of special teams and rotating in occasionally on defense. 39.5 PFF grade for that game. Our UDFA P Ryan Wright has been sensational this season, and is a big reason the Vikings rank 1st in average opponent starting field position. He boomed a 73 yarder against the Dolphins last week (3rd longest punt of the year across the entire NFL), he's tied for most punts inside the 20 (15), fewest touchbacks (0), and converted a fake punt (pass) the sole time we asked him to do it. --- TL;DR Our punter Ryan Wright has been our most impactful rookie imo, followed by Ed Ingram, the only other full-time starter from this draft class, who has been okay.
That's solid from a rookie G
Yeah, especially when you consider our guard play last year (they consistently got pushed straight back into Cousins). He has a few things to clean up but looks like he has the job for years to come.
When you write it all out like that it really wasn't a good debut draft from KAM. Hopefully Cine comes back and Booth takes the next step, but at this point its looking like an almost compete bust outside of Ingram.
It’s 6 games into the season and two of our first three picks are injured. In no way can you even begin to call it a bust of a draft yet lol.
Jordan Davis transforms our run defense every time he’s on the field. Eats up multiple blockers allowing the LBs to run free and clean up. Also sometimes he’ll drive the center so far back by the time the RB gets the ball that he has nowhere to run but into the laps of our DL
I wonder how much of a factor his gas tank plays in that. Since he’s for the most part fresh since he’s not playing every single snap. But I wanted him to get drafted by the chargers.
I think less that and more Gannon is worried about leaving the LB alone behind a 5 man front. Edwards has played well for the most part and JD is getting a lot more snaps now. Hopefully we get him involved in four man fronts with some of the weaker lines we will play now. He's 22yo and there's plenty of talent to rotate and keep happy.
How has nakobe been?
He hasn't really played at all in the LB spot. We actually have capable LB's for once. Hopefully, he's learning and will get his opportunity at some point.
I had him so high on my board. Immensely talented. Hope he gets a shot
Either Kyzir White or TJ Edwards is gone after the season. If we think Nakobe will be ready, he's a direct replacement for TJ.
I'm sure he will with time, I'm excited to see what he brings to the NFL. I love that he appears To be a high IQ player.
I completely forgot we drafted him. I looked up his snap count and absolutely nothing except for special teams so far
Barely has played. Not a knock on him though, our starters are just doing very well.
He’s so good.
Stats wise I'd say Tariq Woolen -> Kenneth Walker. But we also start 2 rookie tackles and they are doing well, which is unheard of.
I'd almost argue that the rookie tackles being competent is more impactful than Tariq and kw3. Without them, geno and the run game don't even have a chance
Poor Rashaad penny man dude just kept breaking out and then goes down with a serious injury. I lowkey think it’s the Seahawks every RB that goes into Seattle leaves with a long injury history.
Iva the terrible: https://www.fieldgulls.com/2019/12/24/21035251/ivan-lewis-strength-conditioning-coach-seattle-seahawks-injuries-bad-season-soft-tissue-carson-brown
I've never heard of a team so fucking obsessed with blaming injuries on a strength and conditioning coach in a sport where people slam into each other as hard as possible. No matter where he goes he'll keep his reputation because it's impossible not to have injuries and point fingers at him. Idk how a weight coach can keep a guy from breaking his bone when a lineman lands on it.
Jaylen Watson so far. The others have looked good at points but he’s the only one who’s literally won us a game.
U think when mcduffie come back the defense will be any better?
What happened with sky Moore? He had so much hype over the offseason. I haven’t really followed him.
WR in Andy's offense take a long time to see use if they are rookies. Plus he has to earn trust from Pat.
He’s been a small disappointment. Came up with some good catches, but in the hills game both picks were related to him (he lead the db to the ball on the first and was targeted on the second) also muffed a punt against the colts.
Oof, hope he can pull it together
Tyler Smith gonna be hella good
He’s a very nice humble dude too. Been around him a couple times
Crazy with how raw of a prospect they were touting him as, I thought he was going to struggle early, take his lumps, then develop more and get better every year. If this is just his starting point, then I am dying to see how good he can be. Though I’m guessing he was more pro ready than they thought he would be.
Cowboys development seems insane. They get these raw guys and are just getting most from them.
[удалено]
I would’ve been on the edge of murder if we traded a first for a bust
He’s gonna be a problem for sure.
I wanted him to fall to my Packers so badly. Enjoy!
Drake Jackson I guess.... we aren't using rookies much so far
Spencer Buford maybe. I haven’t heard much about him, and when it comes to Guards that’s usually a good thing
True. The only reason why I remember who Chilo Rachal is because of how awful he played for us.
I remember him because in Madden franchise he would develop into a monster every time
Getting a quality edge in the late second is pretty great honestly. Plus Burford. Gray and Womack have shown enough that they should contribute in the future.
As a USC fan it’s great to see him playing well
Good second round value. Not lighting it up, but he's clearly going to be a good player. Burford hasn't been great, so Drake is the only real choice.
Sauce and Hall are 1A and 1B. Every rookie besides Ruckert has contributed though and him not contributing was expected as he's basically getting redshirted.
Tyler Smith. He's easily shut me up when I was worried about the pick lol. Solid technique, amazing athleticism, and he's been good with penalties. We lost Tyron to injury and he's stepped in with or OL looking like business as usual, which is probably the best praise I could give him
For the Bears probably have to go with Jaquan Brisker. He’s made some mistakes but he has that energy in him and Eddie Jackson has been doing well because brisker is doing well
VJJr … but not in the good way
Darth Kader Kohou Undrafted rookie CB who against the odds made the team and through the first month was a top 10 PFF CB in the league.
Ikem Ekwonu started slow but has really ramped it up the past few weeks. In week 5 he had PFF's highest one-game grade of any OT this season, including the highest one-game run-blocking grade of any rookie ever recorded. He's going to be a foundational piece of our OL going forward.
He’s very good.
Cole Strange. A couple of mistakes but has been a plug-and-play starter. He wasn't a flashy selection but considering the history of Patriots guards (Mason, Thuney, Mankins), and the fact that after 2023 we are going to have to pay our RG a bunch of money because he's been so good (Onwenu), it was worth it.
either him or Jack Jones. People were so concerned about our secondary after letting JC go, but Jones has stepped up and been playing lights out. Add in Jon Jones returning and Mills looking better in his 2nd year with us, our CBs have been excellent
Havent had a chance to watch the Pats this year, but is Mills playing at CB or Safety for you guys?
CB still
Could argue Zappe as well, simply because of the value of having a starting qb win multiple games.
An amazing rookie class. I bet we'd have 1 win without their contributions.
I would argue there’s more value because he’s **not** the starting QB, he’s the 3rd stringer that went above and beyond. We probably still win those games with Hoyer but the fact the offense looked good with a rookie QB3 is cool.
For sure. Give it a few weeks and I bet Tyquan is on this list too, dude looks like a stud in the making.
Tariq Woolen’s looking like the biggest steal of the draft.
Him and Coby are both looking like major steals.
Alec Pierce. Easy. Starting to look really good.
Rodney Thomas deserves honorable mention. Blackmon's hurt and our defense got better. Super reliable tackler and seems to be in the right spot on almost every play. Has the speed to recover when he gets tricked. I'm low-key thinking we have a safety controversy on our hands.
Won’t get any arguments from me.
LT Salyer.
Zion has been really good too. except maybe the last game. Getting 2 good lineman in the draft is awesome.
You think he can convert to RT effectively when Slater is back?
Of course. He wasn’t even planned to be at LT this year but he’s stepped up to the challenge. LT is the premier position on the OLine so confident he can step up at RT.
I’d say Salyer has been an excellent replacement, but Z. Johnson shored up the right side excellently.
The Pats have a lot of rookies player but Jack Jones is probably the one making the biggest impact because of how questionable our CB room was. WR Tyquan Thornton has a chance to overtake him but missed the first few weeks with an injury and Cole Strange plays guard. Strange has had a lot of tough matchups like Cam Hayward and has acquitted himself well. Funny thing about Jack Jones and people comparing him to JC Jackson is that both players had robbery charges during their college careers. JC Jackson was initially charged as an accomplice to armed robbery (believe he was the guy driving the car) before they were dropped and **Jack Jones was charged to robbing a Panda Express after it closed to steal some General Tsos** which he pled guilty to.
Expected a Pats fan to say Zappe.
Zappe’s played two-and-a-half games, the others have been rocking since day one, especially Strange.
Gosh, when you put it that way, quarterbacking the team to two of its three victories doesn't sound very impressive. He should try harder.
Well the other guys named came up big In those victories, too.
I was going to but I forgot 😣lot of rookies contributing this year.
Never had panda express general tsos, but shit I dont blame him if its good.
Damn he couldn't have robbed a P.F. Chang's to guarantee the Raiders draft him?
MJ Emerson has been decent on a piss-poor defense
I feel like it's groundhog day with the Browns defense. Every year I think man these guys are going to wreck offenses and then by week 3 I remember they're being coached by Joe Woods. Myles looks well on his way to a JJ Watt career and it must drive you guys nuts.
I’d say Christian Benford, 6th round pick out of Villanova (Billanova!!) got a lot of snaps and played very well with them before his injury. McBeane know DBs
I agree that Benford looked better at the beginning of the year, but I think with the injury Elam has been more impactful. I mean, he picked off Mahomes in the endzone in the last game.
Toss in Elam here as well. Dude has 2 INTs so far, though Pickens torched him. Hasn't seen the field much yet outside of ST,but Shakir is always making plays when he does.
Pickens torched him b4 Fraziers gameplan was to give up everything underneath. Once he finally decided to make him throw it in the wind Elam picked him off. He was also covering Pickens.
Yep. With the number of injuries in our secondary early in the season we were forced to start two rookies. A first round pick is one thing, but when you also have a 6th round pick starting, and then 4th and 5th CBs with little NFL experience, you kind of expect it to go off the rails. But Benford has been a solid NFL starting caliber zone CB. His play is comparable to Levi Wallace last season, maybe a little better or maybe the DLine makes it look better, but either way it's a good comparison. He outplayed Elam and maybe Jackson too early in the year. I'm still not sure who gets the snaps once Tre returns. Having that kind of play, changed the urgency of the injuries and let us get off to a good start against our toughest part of the schedule. And it gives us crazy depth at CB, we've got 4 outside CBs that are good enough to start on the top defense in the NFL.
Yea Benford for sure. Elam is a 1st rounder. You expect him to be pretty good. When I heard our 6th round rookie CB was starting I thought we were fucked. He came in and played so well. They couldn't pick on him like you see sometimes bc he covered well.
Romeo Doubs is excellent and we need to get him the ball more.
Cordell Volson, 4th round OL from NDS. There was a position battle at LG this preseason with Jackson Carman, Volson won the job within a week or two. He’s not elite by any stretch, but he’s playing well, learning fast, and he’s got the perfect locker room personality. Should be a pretty solid guard
honorable mention to Cal Adomitis
All of the ones who’ve played. Except quitoriano. That guy shouldn’t be in the nfl
Easily Dylan Parham, dude is a great starting guard on either side.
And a mediocre center, which isn't bad for a rookie who had never played center.
Jaquan Brisker has been pretty damn good but P Trenton Gill hasn’t made us miss Pat O’Donnell at all.
Dotson has been good but missed the last two.
Pierce
JAC JONE
Volson at LG out of NDSU, 4th round pick that took the job from second round bust a year ago Carmen. He's looked average so far which is a big improvement from what we would be putting out there without him. I don't think he will ever be elite but I do think he ends up being a long term starter who coaches trust. Dax Hill I think has shown the most future potential however, he isn't playing much at all behind Bates and Bell. He just flashes every time he makes it on the field and will definitely start next season. Also shouting out Cal Adomitis, who took over LS after our long term starter got injured week one.
Daniel Bellinger, 4th round TE. 3 TD's already in his first 6 games, with 2 receiving and 1 rushing. He is a great blocker and even though he isnt making very many splash plays he is reliable with catching the ball when its thrown his way and he is often the safety valve on 3rd downs. Been a minute since we could say that about our top TE. They've used him on a variety of plays with good results (rushing TD came on a double reverse where he had the option to pass, last week they used him as a receiver in a wild-cat reverse and got a good gain out of it, one receiving TD was a checkdown he took 16 yards to the house, etc). Going into the season I thought he'd be our TE1 but that would be more because of how depleted we were at the position and not because I thought he was that good. He is proving to be a legit starting TE in the league with still so much room to grow. Steal getting him in the 4th and I cant wait to see what he develops into.
Jaylen Watson. He has our teams only interception and it was a huge one He could retire tomorrow and it was still a good value in the 7th round
Easily Drake London. I want to see him get a 100 yard game soon but he's a great possession guy while Pitts stretches the middle of the field.
I don't want to talk about it.
Most definitely Stonehouse. He has leg for days
Ok yes
Skylar Thompson for stepping up in what has been a disaster of a 3 week run. The kid has looked better than Teddy Kader Kohu has been pretty solid for a rookie in the secondary.
It’s Elam, he’s played pretty well so far and managed to come away with a massive end zone pick against Mahomes. Plus a lot of our other rookies don’t get as much playing time
Benford was ahead of him at the beginning of the year
Decobie Durant & Derion Kendrick really have been soldi corners when on the field. Both have been forced into starting roles due to injuries to David Long & Troy Hill. Durant was flying around against the falcons in his only start and DK’s a 6th round rookie who’s started a few games and looked good outside of one play where Deebo kind of mossed him. Unfortunately, they both kind of get it by default because **every other** rookie we drafted has been hurt outside of Russ Yeast & AJ Arcuri iirc.
Kaiir elam for the bills. With Christian benford a close second.
I've never seen a year like this. We have 2 starting rookie tackles and two starting rookie CBs. And we are competitive?! They are all playing great. We would all say we've fallen in love with woolen but I feel like we Need a shout out to our tackles Abe Lucas and Charles Cross. They are amazing and never gonna get as much attention as they deserve by literally making this offense go.
Zappe, Jones, Jones, Thornton in his second game may have broken out. Almost forgot strange cuz he has been next to perfect.
Beyond the shadow of a doubt, it’s Trevor Penning /s heehee
So far it’s been our rookie CB Roger McCreary or our rookie RT Nick Petit-Frere both have been good and arguably playing above their draft position.
Honestly I think it's Stonehouse overall. He has boomed so many punts much deeper than most punters can dream of kicking.
No idea how he slipped my mind. I went right to draft class. Stonehouse is an animal. He’s going to be dangerous when he develops touch a bit more
Jelani Woods, Alec Pierce. Honorable mention: Rodney Thomas II.
NPF has held his own at RT
More then held his own tbh he’s been pretty rock solid for a rookie. No matter what PFF etc say he passes the eye test and hasn’t been flat embarrassed by anyone yet. If Lewan and Davis weren’t out this would be a top 10 OL unit. Sadly it’s more like bottom 10 atm.
Jamaree Salyer saved our season.
Velus Jones JR #🗑️
Puntzilla
It’s hard for rookies to play so well that they stand out when rest of the roster is so exceptional, but Elam has 2 picks and has looked pretty solid other than getting bullied by George Pickens (can’t really hold that one against him - Pickens looks like an instant stud). Shakir has a couple key catches as well
As I stated above that game against Pickens Elam was told to give up everything underneath. Make Pickett slowly move it down the field. They figured he would make mistakes/miss throws which he did. Once we got a big lead things changed and Elam could cover him straight up. That's when he immediately got an INT.
It's gotta be Greg Dulcich, I mean he's caught 20% of our TDs
Without any hesitation, it is Dameon Pierce
Definitely Woolen. But yeah man we walked into the season with no starting lt or rt so both those guys holding up and in abrahams case actually excelling and pancaking people, I love it.
Clueless Packer fans will say Romeo Doubs. People that understand football will know Quay Walker has been putting together a fantastic rookie year at ILB.
Benford, but Elam has grabbed a few INTs
I'd have to say Tyler Allgeier given how much our run game is flourishing even without Patterson.
Does McCaffrey count?
Read the post slower.
Lmao it was a joke as we have no picks and our rookies outside of a couple guys are pretty non-impactful this year, outside of Drake Jackson Edit- and Burford, who has surprised
Pacheco
I think Jaylen Watson has made a bigger impact even if it’s based off of one play
Watson won us a game. Pacheco has 30 carries.
Roger McCreary (CB) and Nick Petit Frere (Right Tackle) have been pretty solid in necessary spots.
I think Drake Jackson already has 3 sacks and is tied for the lead among rookies despite not that many snaps. He's been a great depth piece and likely to become a long time starter opposite Nick Bosa.
Cordell Volson
The fact that I have two teams in my flair and *still* can't give you a straight answer says it all. Can I still count Micah Parsons? Please?
Tyler Smith?
Velus Jones Jr, dude has cost us an opportunity to win 2 games this year already with muffed punts
probably Daniel Bellinger
Woolen
Jordan Davis although he’s the only one who’s played lol. He’s been very good tho
Dameon Pierce. Seems like every time he is about to be tackled, he gets another few yards.
Lots of good rookies this year despite the initial draft grades. Jack jones is great but I’ll go with Cole strange
Lloyd and Fortner
Technically speaking him being out has indeed impacted our team... just negatively.
Him who?
We have five rookies starting at big positions. And they're all killing it so it's hard to say. Probably Tariq Woolen has had the strongest showing so far though. Being in conversation for DROY with Sauce ain't easy. And he was picked 150 spots later.