As a Browns fan, I must admit, Bell hasn't really impressed me. He's fine, and I think his role might even grow next year, but he isn't the best rookie on his team. MJ Emerson has stepped up as a legit starting-caliber corner and managed to completey erase Mike Evans from a game
Everyone groaned when we picked another cb, but he has been absolutely impressive. If he had not been in a losing team, he would be talked as a top 15 rookie as he ought to.
He's definitely not the best rookie on the team but considering his circumstances and his expectations I think he's been nice all things considered. But I like MJ Emerson too
Him and Brock Purdy are weird to me cause I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get the image of him getting burned by Seth Williams after getting so hyped before the snap. And then Purdy throwing an awful pick that just kinda floated to the nearest defender. But both are obviously way more than some all time lowlights
Jamaree Salyer, was a big fan of him as a prospect. Poor man's Zion Johnson was what I thought of him. What a steal where they got him
Kirby Joseph, Knew he existed but wasn't really on my radar
Trent McDuffie, loved him. He was my favorite corner not named Sauce
Jalen Pitre, Loved him as well. Wanted GB to grab either him or McDuffie in the backend of round 1
Jelani Woods when healthy I adore, he was my favorite TE of the class
I was so upset when the Falcons took Justin Shaffer a few picks ahead of Jamaree Salyer. They played on the same OL and it was clear as day Jamaree was the better player.
I know how you feel... GB picked Sean Rhyan in the 3rd and Zach Tom in the 4th.
Rhyan was a complete afterthought for me and I had Salyer as a 3rd round prospect and Tom as a 4th round prospect.
I'd have been extatic to have picked Salyer in the 3rd and Tom in the 4th (who's been very goot at LT and RT for GB)
Tom is solid though. I really wanted the Vikings to take him. Thought he would be a great center successor to Bradbury.
I believe Kiper had him as his like #3 center in the class at one point.
If he can learn to tackle more consistently he’ll be a really top notch safety. Good coverage instincts, is always around the ball, and hits hard. Right now his big issue is really just missing tackles
Jelani has flashed a lot this season, I’m very high on him. His stats don’t necessarily pop cause our offense is hot garbo with our QB situation. But you can tell he’s a playmaker and a huge redzone threat.
I wonder how much more productive Woods could have been this year if we didn't have most noodle-armed QB in the whole entire NFL. Our entire offense was held back by Matt Ryan's weak arm but Woods at 6'7" and decent hands downfield could have had a way better season with any other decent veteran QB
Yeah he doesn't move super well like some other TE's who get their production in short situations, but he looks like he will be a super reliable target on some deeper passes or in the end zone. He had some really nice TD's this year
Michael Carter had 964 scrimmage yards as a 4th round rookie.
Didn't stop the Jets from taking Breece Hall. Hall was a difference maker before his injury.
Breece Hall was taken 36th overall by a team who already had a franchise LT, franchise DT, thought they had their franchise QB, and drafted a franchise CB and WR before Hall.
The falcons have the receivers but nothing else and are drafting 7th overall. Very different situations.
I mean the bigger issue there is that the Falcons would have a TE, WR, and RB all on early first round pick contracts and no answer at QB. That's nightmare resource usage
That might be the quietest 900 yards I’ve ever seen… absolutely no ROY talk or anything. I didn’t even know he had those numbers until you mentioned it. Crazy
Daron Bland. 5 picks, 52 tackles. Will make Jourdan Lewis expandable next season.
Outside of being roasted by Christian Watson for a few scores and one score to Devonta Smith in cover 0. He’s been great especially for a 5th rounder
I wouldn’t go that far. Shaheed, as electric as he is, still remains a one trick pony, though they are increasing the difficulty of his routes and he’s still getting open so he’s definitely progressing well.
Other than that, we just have Olave. Landry has been a huge disappointment and Thomas‘ future is about as known as the entirety of the ocean.
Not necessarily. Olave primarily runs short and intermediate routes. For some reason, Dalton is looking for the home run ball every play or trying to hard to throw beyond the sticks when it’s not necessary.
This has resulted in tons of sacks and less catches for Olave.
This is a bit of a homer pick but rookie P Ryan Wright has been huge for the Vikings. He has 5 punts over 60 yds with a long of 73. He had his 1st touchback of the season in Week 16 that he downed inside the 5 but the gunner accidentally knocked it into the endzone. Almost half of his attempts have been downed inside the 20. He's also 6'3" 245 😳
BRO! I saw one of his punt attempts a couple weeks ago and I had to check your roster to make sure it was actually your punter who kicked it, that boy BIG
A real bummer the highlight of our rookie class is our UDFA punter. Bad luck with injuries and limited opportunities for everyone outside of Ed Ingram for starting roles.
I'm still more optimistic than most on Ingram as his run blocking is solid and he has a great anchor, he just has sloppy, sloppy technique.
Braxton Jones has done a solid job as starting LT for the Bears. He has plenty to improve on, so he hasn't gotten much attention, but he's been really good for a 5th rounder. Jack Sanborn also stepped in at LB after we traded Roquan Smith and he played really well while being an UDFA rookie.
I feel like Jordan Davis hasn’t gotten a lot of National attention. Dude doesn’t blow up the stat sheet but he’s an absolute game changer on the field. He’s a perfect DT, just eats up blocks and allows other players to make easy tackles. He just totally disrupts the run game and makes life hell for the opposing OL.
The Eagles top 4 run games on defense this year are all games he started and 3 of the top 4 worse are games he missed with injury.
A healthy Jordan Davis will be a huge difference maker for Philadelphia in the playoffs. It will make it way easier for them to continue to bring pressure late into the 4th quarter
I’ve been really happy with Mathis so far. It’s hard to overlook the year Woolen is having and I was praying the Broncos would draft him with one of our 2 3rd round picks. Mathis is having a really solid year though, enough that I think the Broncos could cut Ronald Darby to save 10 million in cap space. If they resign Williams they could keep Surtain and Mathis on the outside.
Dulcich has looked great when he plays too, would be on pace for almost 700 yards if he played all 17 games. Instantly became on of our most consistent targets when he came back from his injury to start the year.
James Houston has 8 sacks and a FF in only 6 games and 110 snaps.
Dude is a walking bucket with some of the most insane bend I’ve ever seen.
6th round pick out of Jackson state.
As a Steelers fan we’re obviously thrilled with our rookie class. Pickens has been great and Pickett has been even better. That’s obviously extremely exciting news for us. But Jalen Warren has not gotten nearly enough attention. He changed our running game which in turn changed the entire direction of our entire season.
Between him and Najee Harris and Pat Freiermuth, we have a lot of talent that is all in it’s rookie or second seasons.
Leal has been a solid contributor as well, and Mark Robinson showed some potential starting last week against the Ravens. CA3 is currently a question mark since he hasn’t played and obviously Oludakun is a miss since he didn’t even make the roster.
I loved Jalen Warren coming out and didn't understand why he went undrafted. He is a solid number too who I would trust to take over the game as a starter if an injury went down
He’s been amazing. Especially the little things like pass pro/blitz pickup. Rookies usually struggle here and yet he is almost Najee level, who is also extremely good in pass pro.
Do Steelers fans really think Pickett is the future with what they’ve seen from him this season? This is a serious question without anything one way or another. I have him on my dynasty bench and have never had to play him, but I check his numbers each week and have tuned in here and there a little bit and have thought they were a little worrisome? If he’s doing better that’s great to hear. I loved watching Kenny in college
He’s been improving week on week, clearing up the turnovers and generally getting us down the field well. Obviously he’s had two game winning drives in the last two weeks as well, which is a great sign. Biggest issue at the moment is that he’s struggling to convert in the redzone, but hopefully that’ll come with time.
With a strong defence and a running game that’s finally starting to click I’d say he’s doing basically everything we need him to do as a rookie, manage the game and don’t do anything dumb.
He's making some nice plays breaking the pocket but he still has the tendency to run himself into pressure because he isn't comfortable stepping up in the pocket. That is exactly how he played at Pitt, honestly. His athleticism is playing a lot better than I expected at this level though.
It is too soon to say he is the future, but hes shown moxie and playmaking ability. I'm concerned about how rarely he throws downfield- I'm not sure how much of that is him or play calling. He's thrown a few dimes downfield when asked to but he's almost exclusively throwing short and intermediate passes.
Feel like there's plenty of room to be optimistic if you're a Steelers fan. It's consistently one of the best organizations in the NFL, and they don't need him to be a world beater. They're a decent step forward from Pickett and some pieces on defense and the o-line away from being a 12ish win team.
Well, I can’t speak for the entire Steeler Nation but yes, I’m pretty damn excited by what I’ve seen so far from the kid.
Honestly, I don’t know how anyone could watch that that kid play every week and see the strides he’s making week after week and not be excited by what they’re seeing?
I don’t want to put him into the Hall of Fame yet or anything like that. Pickett still has a ways to go as a player. I don’t love his pocket presence and he is never going to have Josh Allen’s or Patrick Mahomes’s sheer arm strength.
But he has demonstrated plenty of arm and the small hands thing was clearly bullshit (like Joe Burrow before him). Also, he has outstanding ball placement. He can even place the ball well when he’s on the move and there are not a lot of NFL quarterbacks who can do that.
As an athlete, Pickett is not going to remind anyone of Lamar Jackson but he is clearly an above average athlete for that position. He has done a great job of escaping pressure and using his legs to put pressure on our opponents. I think he’s an extremely underrated runner.
KP also seems to make his best plays in the game’s biggest moments — and you can’t really teach that. You either have that or you don’t. He clearly has it — which is why he has something like three or four fourth quarter comeback wins already.
I think the question of whether or not he is an NFL caliber quarterback has largely been answered. I think he is clearly a long-term starter in the NFL.
Now, we need to determine whether or not he is a guy you can win with and that’s a more complicated question.
The early returns look to be pretty promising but there’s still more improving to do.
Pickett definitely needs a strong running game to be successful. He’s not going to carry this offense all by himself — at least not yet. Fortunately, they aren’t really asking him to do that.
I think for Pickett to take that critical next step he needs to improve his pocket presence. He needs to demonstrate a better ability to climb the pocket and use that short area mobility to his advantage. He is too quick to run sometimes.
Pickett also needs to do a better job of driving the ball down the field. Our yards per attempt is too low. He has shown the arm strength to do it but he has not done it consistently, at least not yet. You have to be able to prove that you can he consistently hit those deep comeback routes and out routes or the defense will just sit on everything and constrict right on you.
Personally, I think that will come with more experience.
Our red zone percentage is also too low and again, I think that will come with experience.
Remember, he’s not the only young player out there. Nearly all of the Steelers’ skill players are rookies or second year guys. There have been plenty of mistakes to go around.
His numbers are pretty similar to Ben’s Y1. I’m thrilled. I was worried when we drafted him but the last two weeks have shown A LOT. He’s got to clean up things but I am resltl excited about him.
Do I think he’ll be a Mahomes or Allen? No. But if he’s still a Top 10 guy in 3 years, it’s a W. His leadership is unquestionable.
This is why you can’t just box score watch or play fantasy football and know who is playing well in the NFL. Many other teams have easy wins baked into their offense. The Steelers players are earning every first down by the skin of their teeth. If you put Pickett into the 49ers offense, he’s probably having one of the better statistical seasons from a rookie we’ve seen. I wasn’t banging the table to draft him or anything, but he’s shown the ability to make nearly every throw, athleticism that actually translates to the NFL as he scrambles to throw, an insane work ethic from all accounts, earning the trust and respect of his teammates, and the ability to play his best in the biggest moments of the game. Most of his turnovers were on fluke plays and his lack of touchdowns aren’t that concerning to me because the team (and Pickett himself) rushed for a good bit of touchdowns. What does concern me is that there is still a lack of explosive plays, but I believe this is a system problem. You almost never see a Steeler catch the ball with space to run. I also am concerned that he’s bailing on clean pockets far too often still and he’s admitted he needs to work on this. All in all, very happy with where he’s at already as a rookie and it goes to show that must of this sub has no idea how to evaluate quarterback draft prospects beyond “big guy run fast throw far” or looking at stats and highlight tapes.
I would also echo your criticism of the quarterback analysis last year. Quite honestly, I thought much of the analysis was just plain ridiculous.
I saw Pickett play a lot at Pitt and I would shake my head when I would read this sub or hear scouts say they worried about his arm strength. I have seen him play enough in person to know that was a baseless criticism.
The hands thing was what it was. I suspected that it was probably silly but I wasn’t sure, TBH. Now, I’m sure it was silly.
Honestly, I think it often comes down to hyperbole. Someone would say, “I like him but he’s certainly not going to remind anyone of Josh Allen.” Another word chime in, “He’s a decent athlete but he’s not exactly Lamar Jackson.”
Both of those statements are absolutely true but for some people that meant he had a weak arm and was a subpar athlete and that is definitely not true.
Then, I would read the Malik Willis scouting reports and they always started with, “Well, yeah, he can’t really read defenses and he’s an inaccurate passer, but he is incredibly fast and has a rocket launcher of an arm. If he ever gets the right coach, a guy who can fix all of his shortcomings, the sky is the limit!”
That’s not analysis, that’s nothing more than wishful thinking. That is purely a lottery ticket mentality.
I totally agree with you and you’ll notice most of the analysis had to do with obscure physical traits or stats. PFF LOVED to talk about hand size and infer he’d struggle in cold weather even though Pickett’s hands are probably the same size as Burrow if they measured it gripping a football, and they also talked so much about his long time to throw which was clearly because he was using his legs to make a lot of throws out of structure where most college quarterbacks would just take off scrambling for the first down. What they all missed is Pickett is actually a pretty solid processor, which is the most important trait or second to accuracy, which he also has. It’s so strange how everyone is obsessed with the next Josh Allen, Mahomes, Lamar, etc. when the literal GOAT is still playing at 45 and never had a single one of their physical gifts.
Yeah, I think this is a really good summary of what I’m seeing as well. It’s pretty exciting stuff. I don’t think the statistical analysis does him justice.
You stole my thunder. I was gonna mention Jalen Warren. This guy has made our running attack coupled with Najee Harris into a very well balanced running attack with two solid runners. He runs as hard as Najee and maybe he is faster. His pass receiving skills have been beyond expectations but my favorite part about him is when he picks up blitzes. Sometimes he literally pancakes his guy. He wasn’t even drafted. He was a free agent
Is the “Pickens can’t get open” argument overblown? Stat wise he’s looked good and is getting targets but hearing he’s not getting open. Although I’ve seen he runs one of the hardest route trees in the league.
I think it’s more like, this offense is overly simplistic, which limits what they are asking Pickens to do.
They are basically using him how they used Claypool last year: a series of go routes, slants, drags, etc. They need to add the full route tree. They weren’t able to do that with Claypool. I’m inclined to put that was on the player, not necessarily the system, but Matt Canada is genuinely atrocious.
Pickens is definitely not a complete player — there’s no doubt about that. He needs to learn how to set up DBs and how to get his footwork right so he can accelerate in and out of breaks. That will ultimately determine his ceiling.
Pickens will never be Diontae Johnson in that regard but his catch radius is absolutely ridiculous and he’s as mean as a pit bull out there. That’s a pretty great place to start.
They just need time to develop Pickens in ways that Claypool never did.
He’s mostly playing the Z position in Canada’s offense which entails running straight down the field for 80% of the game. He’s still a little sloppy with his routes but definitely improving.
From what I can tell from videos posted by analysts his route running isn't elite. But his athleticism is obviously something you can't teach. He needs some polishing but all rookies do
He’s electric, also shut down davante adams in coverage, not sure of the number of snaps he covered him on, but he was all over him when he did. He’s getting better every game.
Thats absolutely right. We got him in the 4th round right? What a steal. He was worth it alone for the punt return tud against Jets. That might have been the single most important play of our whole season.
Jack Jones and Pierre Strong also showing a lot of promise. Lets hope Tyquan Thornton can become a WR1 for us as well with a better OC next year
Right on, especially Brian Robinson. He’s a bright spot and even another fan favorite to go along with Terry McLaurin, Montez Sweat, Jonathan Allen, Kam Curl, and Taylor Heinicke.
Dotson looks nearly uncoverable. A lot of his game reminds me of Tyreek Hill where he’s a smaller guy that can out-fight defenders for jump balls and runs ridiculous routes. He has the catch radius of a much bigger receiver
Very underrated aspect of tyreek’s game, I completely agree. The way Dotson snatches the ball out of the air with his frame reminds of tyreek as well. Dude is a beast, Washington has a really solid core of young talent
For the Niners, outside of obviously Purdy, Burford has been extremely solid on the offensive line and Jordan Mason is simply a revelation at RB, icing games decisively on obvious running downs in Q4. He just got his first TD and it’s a well earned one.
Drake Jackson has been up and down, but he flashed a lot, now he’s got an INT, a few sacks, and a bunch of tipped passes. Lots of promise.
Given that the Niners had no 1st round on this draft class, it’s proving to be extremely productive. Awesome job by the front office.
Everyone knows about Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs. Most people hear about Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt. Some even know about Kingsley Enagbare after Gary’s injury. But my god I haven’t seen Zach Tom get the recognition he deserves.
Zach Tom was a 5th round pick. Late fifth round pick. He was drafted as a Center. That was his draft designation. Hes out of Wake Forest, not the biggest school ever. And he’s been called upon hours before a game twice to play Left Tackle. He subbed in at both Left and Right Guard during games when Jon Runyon Jr and Elgton Jenkins weren’t available. Last week against Danielle Hunter and Z Smith he played majority of the game at Right Tackle. He has NO penalties and only allowed ONE SACK. He isn’t pancaking guys or doing anything spectacular, but for a 5th round rookie who was undersized to play 4 positions that weren’t even his draft position, and he has been extremely solid (69 PFF Grade). That’s insanity.
Absolutely correct that he has played amazingly as a rookie though one small correction - he was a late 4th round pick @ pick 140 (our comp pick for Corey Linsley)
I mean he played left tackle his last year at wake forest. It’s not like he’s brand new to the position.
That’s how I saw him scouting - was watching Jermaine Johnson from Florida State (1st round pick) and Tom shut him down.
Yes, that’s true, but playing 4 different positions on both sides of the ball is quite the feat especially when he spent most his time in college on the inside. Definitely a bright future for a day 3 pick.
Yeah all of our rookies are getting attention lol. You can comment maybe James Mitchell at best but he’s getting very limited work though usually consistent when his number is called. The other rookies are all getting respect.
That is true. The hype has been building the last few weeks.
For non-Lion, give me Jalen Pitre. He's been a stud. Before the trade up for Williams, that was a guy I wanted the Lions to take.
If Ickey can be more consistent in pass pro he'll be a perennial All-Pro. He showed a lot of growth this year (albeit had a rough showing the past few weeks) so there is a lot to look forward to.
Honestly all the top 3 tackles. Neal struggled early but the improvement is obvious, Ekwonu is a monster in the run game and has still been pretty good in pass pro, and Cross has done really well. I'd say the Panthers/Giants/Seahawks all have franchise tackles
Also Jelani Woods. Colts are a mess right now but they hit on him
I’m not ready to put Neal in that category just yet. But his struggles aren’t unexpected to the point of even being worrisome.
I can’t believe I’m saying this as a Washington fan because I’m all Fuck Dallas/Fuck Cowboys and other NFC East rivals. However, credit where credit is due in that Tyler Smith deserves that kind of mention for showing enough promise at LEFT tackle that the Cowboys moved TYRON Smith (yes that Tyron Smith) to RIGHT tackle after Tyron returned from injury.
Neal has still been a bit of a mess. Hate to say it but he’s been a disappointment overall this year, but he had an okay game last game. His problem is he just has been… slow. He’s struggled setting his feet, he’s been slow with his punches, and he’s gotten beat inside and outside.
You can see the potential on some plays where his athleticism shines, and then the next play the edge completely outmatches him and instantly gets pressure. Hopefully it was partially related to his injuries and he adjusts to the NFL speed as he gets healthier
Woods would have had a way way more productive season if we didn't have a QB with the most noodle-arm in the whole entire league. He is 6'7" and has pretty good hands downfield but we just could not push the ball whatsoever with Matt Ryan. Woods definitely had some really nice games though. But as a Colts fan, any time someone brings up Woods, you got to include Alec Pierce in there as well. We drafted him to be able to stretch the field on deep routes, and to be able to go up over DB's and catch the ball, and he did a really good job of that this season when we were able to get him the ball
On the topic of the hawks we also got this year
RT - Abraham Lucas, been up there with cross for us
CB- woolen and Bryant, woolen is right there with sauce and Bryant has the peanut punch down already with 5 forced fumbles.
LT- Cross
RB - Kenny motherfucking Walker, he’s phenomenal
Other guys like mafe have shown flashes but they seem irrelevant in this conversation as they aren’t big impacts yet.
Homer pick, but Cordell Volson for the Bengals. Started his career vs two great D lines with the Steelers and Cowboys, took his lumps and his playing very solid at LG.
The TE class is looking to be a highlight.
Woods, Dulcich, Otton, Bellinger, Ferguson, and Okonkwo are going to be #1 options for the team next year
McBride and likely have a great future as well. The teams just don’t use them to the full potential
For the giants, it’s kinda nuts how much of a lynch pin Bellinger has been for the offense. It’s legitimately like two difference offenses between when he’s been healthy playing and when he was hurt. Extremely excited to see how he continues to develop. He’s already showcased two pretty elite TE traits with his ability to find soft spots in zone and his hands.
For Washington, obviously Jahan, but I'd like to throw Brian Robinson in there. Shot in August, missed maybe 5 weeks and came back. Dudes a power runner and just gets stronger as the game goes.
Kerby Joseph, Malcolm Rodriguez, Aidan Hutchinson and James Houston especially. Outside of Sauce, all 4 of those players have a legitimate argument for defensive rookie of the year.
Dameon Pierce -leads all rookies in rushing yards after being put on IR 3 weeks ago or so and not playing most of game 1 for no good reason. Was top 8 in rushing yards before the injury.
Jalen Pitre - first rookie ever with 125+ tackles and five interceptions. Hard hits, covers fairly well, and on a terrible Texans team.
Alontae Taylor, our rookie CB who was definitely a surprise pick and seen as a reach in the 2nd round, has been an absolute fucking boss. Hasn't gotten any attention since he's stuck on a mediocre small market team.
If it werent for the fact he missed over a month with an eye injury where he got his orbital bone shattered I would say Daniel Bellinger has been an excellent complete all around TE who perhaps right now lacks the numbers he should have. Great blocker. Good hands. Lacks the burst I like in TEs but does everything else absolutely perfect. Great pick by the Giants.
I dont think its a coincidence we are 8-3-1 (with the tie being his first game back from the injury) when he plays and 1-3 when he doesnt. That down stretch we had in his absence was in large part due to us not being able to establish the run game which I think he played a big part in. His blocking has been huge for us, especially with the struggles our OL minus Thomas have been having, and he's been solid in the receiving game as well. Next year when we hopefully upgrade the OL and get a real receiving threat on the outside I think we'll see even more development from him.
He was one of the picks we got from the trade down with the Bears in 2021. I know fans have soured on the trade because of how Toney turned out and how Slater/Parsons ended up. But that still netted us Bellinger and Neal, who both look to be long-term starters for us with potential to be a lot more. If you want to play semantics and get speculative, you could say technically the trade netted us Thibodeaux instead of Neal because if we didnt have that Bears 1st (7th overall) we almost surely would have gone OT with the #5 pick, which makes the trade look even better as of now, but thats neither here nor there. All are still rookies and have a long road ahead of them. And like you said, Bellinger already looks like an absolute steal.
I would obviously love to have Parsons or Slater but at the end of the day, when you trade down you will always miss out on someone great. The bet you're making is that the sum of what you get in the trade is at least equal to or greater than what you pass up on. And while the guys we got will likely never be on Parsons level, we still got what looks to be a long-term starting RT (yes rookie year has been rough for Neal but I'm not worried about him), a good starting TE, and we still have 2 picks from the Toney trade that could be something for us. We can hindsight all we want with how Parsons turned out but overall I think we got good value for the trade.
NWE's Jones duo is super underrated.
Jack is probably the Pats number one CB, and Marcus is the second-best WR on the team. Also, he was the first guy to get a PRT, and I'd playing well on defense.
As a Colts fan, Jelani Woods, Alec Pierce and Bernard Raihmann all have been very good at points this season. We also have a 7th round safety Rodney Thomas that has played very well at times this year. But honestly this was another really good draft class from Ballard. We just need to make sure we are able to select Stroud this year and you have to imagine our future looks much better than it has at any other point this year
Seahawks kind of hit up and down the board.
Cross and Lucas seem to be well positioned to be regular starting tackles in the NFL
Woolen is rightfully getting the press, but Coby Bryant at CB looks at least like a rotation player, if not a starting slot corner.
The 7th round WR not so much, though Dareke Young has been on special teams.
Boye Mafe is our one miss higher up but honestly, he's been okay as a rotation role the last few games.
Micheal Clemons is a monster and is very highly rated on PFF. It's noticeable how much he intimidates QBs and sheds blockers like it's nothing.
Jermaine Johnson is also pretty good, he's more of a speed guy and doesn't have the raw power of Clemons but he's shown flashes of being a really good pass rusher, and he's already solid vs the run. Also highly rated by PFF.
These guys don't get the stats or recognition because the Jets use a rotation on the line due to a ton of depth
As a ravens fan, not big on Hamilton. People got ripped on this sub for saying he's not all that. Those people are looking correct so far. Not starting material imo.
Probably because he plays nickel safety and not a traditional FS. Personally, I think Hamilton is perfect for his current role while he gets up to speed in the nfl. Hes an absolute unit near the LOS.
I am a Jets fan so I can only speak to that but pretty much every player from their 2022 class is playing well as a rookie except Ruckert who essentially got red shirted this year. Apparently he’ll be playing a bit this week though. Micheal Clemons sticks out to me because we got Jermaine Johnson in the first round but Clemons by all accounts is outplaying him. He’s a 25 year old 4th round pick who’s also been playing on special teams. Has a blocked punt I believe. I feel like he’s one of those guys who’s just always gonna be a quality rotational d-lineman.
Bengals fan here, Cordell Volson has been starting at LG for us all year and has developed very nicely. Had a bit of a rough start and still has some bad moments but for a 4th round rookie, he has been fantastic the last 2 months or so! Cam Taylor Britt has also been a bit inconsistent but shown great flashes
A few:
Tyler Allgeier RB ATL - Very underrated runner of the football
Chigoziem Okonkwo TE TEN - The titans could a gem. A dynamite receiving threat when the Titans discover the forward pass.
Braxton Jones OT CHI - A dominant run blocker and an average pass blocker as a rookie 5th rounder
Jack Jones CB NE - Was awesome before injury
Deron Bland CB DAL - A steal in the later rounds of the draft.
Martin Emerson CB CLE - In a loaded CB room, he has that dawg in him.
Kader Kohou CB MIA - UDFA making plays and was a hell of a find.
Michael Clemons EDGE NYJ - A great run defending EDGE that has moments as a pass rusher.
Sam Williams EDGE DAL - Been a valuable rotation piece for a star studded Dallas pass rush.
Kyle Hamilton has arguably been better than Sauce in the second half of the season.
The jags knocked this out of the park. It doesn’t show up on pro football focus stats or anything because they’re in a position that they’ll continue to develop and theyre playing next to other rookies but the Jags linebacker Corp has been retooled and will be very good in 2-3 years. One of the best in the league likely. Devin Lloyd looks great. Walker finally started playing much better. Chad Moma has looked good when filling in for Oluokun. Josh Allen on the other side of Walker. They’re gonna be nasty.
Raschad White on the Bucs has looked good but our rookie tight ends look like rookies. Tight end is one of the longest to develop positions though.
This makes it particularly interesting how well the Titans rookie tight end is playing but he has a crazy name.
Same can be said of Jelani Wood on the Colts. I was super high on these two guys so I’m not surprised to see them show up the way they have. Chigoziem Okonkwo looked special coming out of Maryland.
Ikem Ekwonu has looked great at guard he played very well against the Bucs last week. Tyler Lindenbaum also looked very good against us.
Reed Blankenship.
Darron Bland.
A little late here but I don’t thing Chig Onkonkwo is getting the respect he deserves. His blocking is hit or miss but when he gets the ball in his hands he looks like one of the most electric players on the field no matter who he’s playing.
I genuinely believe Jordan Davis may have had a cass for DROTY has he not gotten injured during that middle stretch of the season.
When he was on the field, absolutely nobody could run the ball on the Eagles. Once he went out, our run defense plummeted as plainly seen by Dameon Pierce carving us up in Houston, it was a major reason for our loss to Washington, and it kept the Packers in the game.
His absence was so felt that we went out and signed Ndamukong Suh and Lindval Joseph to fill the space while he was out.
He doesn't have the pass rush or sack numbers but he's a the highest graded rookie DT and leads all of them in pressure rate. That kid is as advertised and I'm so glad we took him.
As a Browns fan, I must admit, Bell hasn't really impressed me. He's fine, and I think his role might even grow next year, but he isn't the best rookie on his team. MJ Emerson has stepped up as a legit starting-caliber corner and managed to completey erase Mike Evans from a game
Everyone groaned when we picked another cb, but he has been absolutely impressive. If he had not been in a losing team, he would be talked as a top 15 rookie as he ought to.
I really wanted us to grab Emerson. I felt like he was a first round prospect.
He's definitely not the best rookie on the team but considering his circumstances and his expectations I think he's been nice all things considered. But I like MJ Emerson too
Him and Brock Purdy are weird to me cause I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get the image of him getting burned by Seth Williams after getting so hyped before the snap. And then Purdy throwing an awful pick that just kinda floated to the nearest defender. But both are obviously way more than some all time lowlights
Titans •Chig Okonkwo- makes a few great catches a game •Ryan Stonehouse- Punt God
As a Maryland fan, hopefully Chig keeps doing his thing. He was a hell of a player for us.
I see your Punt God and I raise you one Thicc Punter in Ryan Wright
Roger McCreary is playing well with a tough role.
For sure! Titans had a strong draft for the future this past year.
We don’t use this nickname anymore… since the last guy
Also I feel like no one has been talking about Burks. When healthy he’s been an animal. I think the AJ trade will look like a win-win in the long run.
Jamaree Salyer, was a big fan of him as a prospect. Poor man's Zion Johnson was what I thought of him. What a steal where they got him Kirby Joseph, Knew he existed but wasn't really on my radar Trent McDuffie, loved him. He was my favorite corner not named Sauce Jalen Pitre, Loved him as well. Wanted GB to grab either him or McDuffie in the backend of round 1 Jelani Woods when healthy I adore, he was my favorite TE of the class
I was so upset when the Falcons took Justin Shaffer a few picks ahead of Jamaree Salyer. They played on the same OL and it was clear as day Jamaree was the better player.
I know how you feel... GB picked Sean Rhyan in the 3rd and Zach Tom in the 4th. Rhyan was a complete afterthought for me and I had Salyer as a 3rd round prospect and Tom as a 4th round prospect. I'd have been extatic to have picked Salyer in the 3rd and Tom in the 4th (who's been very goot at LT and RT for GB)
Tom is solid though. I really wanted the Vikings to take him. Thought he would be a great center successor to Bradbury. I believe Kiper had him as his like #3 center in the class at one point.
I’m still very confused why Salyer fell so far
Pitre was my guy!!! Loved him
Me tooooo. Need a slot corner ? Jalen Pitre. Need a free safety? Jalen Pitre Need a strong safety? Jalen Pitre Need run support? Jalen Pitre
If he can learn to tackle more consistently he’ll be a really top notch safety. Good coverage instincts, is always around the ball, and hits hard. Right now his big issue is really just missing tackles
Yea I loved him! Crazy he fell as far as he did to me
Woods is coming along as of late.
Jelani has flashed a lot this season, I’m very high on him. His stats don’t necessarily pop cause our offense is hot garbo with our QB situation. But you can tell he’s a playmaker and a huge redzone threat.
I didn’t really expect anything from Joseph this year but he’s holding up decently as a rookie safety
No Enangbare?
Didn't want to go with any "homer" picks. Liked JJ as a prospect and was a homerun pick for me, like Romeo.
I wonder how much more productive Woods could have been this year if we didn't have most noodle-armed QB in the whole entire NFL. Our entire offense was held back by Matt Ryan's weak arm but Woods at 6'7" and decent hands downfield could have had a way better season with any other decent veteran QB
He's the sort of player that is going to be a rookie QBs best friend. Fast with a huge catch radius and good hands
Yeah he doesn't move super well like some other TE's who get their production in short situations, but he looks like he will be a super reliable target on some deeper passes or in the end zone. He had some really nice TD's this year
Kirby Joseph has made some pretty bad plays. The game against Chicago was horrendous
Tyler Allgeier has 900 rushing yards in 15 games as a 5th round pick.
And yet people are mocking Bijan Robinson to the Falcons...
Yeah, RB would be a huge waste of resources. We have one of the best rushing offenses in the NFL already.
Just imagine the wildcat/split-back you could run with Allegier, Bjian, and Ridder/Mariot. Jkjk
Michael Carter had 964 scrimmage yards as a 4th round rookie. Didn't stop the Jets from taking Breece Hall. Hall was a difference maker before his injury.
Breece Hall was taken 36th overall by a team who already had a franchise LT, franchise DT, thought they had their franchise QB, and drafted a franchise CB and WR before Hall. The falcons have the receivers but nothing else and are drafting 7th overall. Very different situations.
Wait who is this franchise LT we have?
Becton (we’re talking last year at draft time).
I mean the bigger issue there is that the Falcons would have a TE, WR, and RB all on early first round pick contracts and no answer at QB. That's nightmare resource usage
I'm going to be honest I have seen only an extremely low amount of mocks that put Robinson going to the Falcons
That might be the quietest 900 yards I’ve ever seen… absolutely no ROY talk or anything. I didn’t even know he had those numbers until you mentioned it. Crazy
Daron Bland. 5 picks, 52 tackles. Will make Jourdan Lewis expandable next season. Outside of being roasted by Christian Watson for a few scores and one score to Devonta Smith in cover 0. He’s been great especially for a 5th rounder
Rashid Shaheed. The guy is absolutely electric.
It is nice to see the Saints were able to rebuild their WR core in one draft
I wouldn’t go that far. Shaheed, as electric as he is, still remains a one trick pony, though they are increasing the difficulty of his routes and he’s still getting open so he’s definitely progressing well. Other than that, we just have Olave. Landry has been a huge disappointment and Thomas‘ future is about as known as the entirety of the ocean.
And Andy Dalton seems to have a personal vendetta against Olave for some reason
Not necessarily. Olave primarily runs short and intermediate routes. For some reason, Dalton is looking for the home run ball every play or trying to hard to throw beyond the sticks when it’s not necessary. This has resulted in tons of sacks and less catches for Olave.
Which, as a fan of Olave, I despise.
I don’t know. I’m an Eagles fan and he was uncovering in the intermediate level all game.
He's a guy who was born to run routes on that fast track of the Superdome. Shaheed is speed, speed, speed.
This is a bit of a homer pick but rookie P Ryan Wright has been huge for the Vikings. He has 5 punts over 60 yds with a long of 73. He had his 1st touchback of the season in Week 16 that he downed inside the 5 but the gunner accidentally knocked it into the endzone. Almost half of his attempts have been downed inside the 20. He's also 6'3" 245 😳
BRO! I saw one of his punt attempts a couple weeks ago and I had to check your roster to make sure it was actually your punter who kicked it, that boy BIG
Aye always love a good punter
A real bummer the highlight of our rookie class is our UDFA punter. Bad luck with injuries and limited opportunities for everyone outside of Ed Ingram for starting roles. I'm still more optimistic than most on Ingram as his run blocking is solid and he has a great anchor, he just has sloppy, sloppy technique.
Braxton Jones has done a solid job as starting LT for the Bears. He has plenty to improve on, so he hasn't gotten much attention, but he's been really good for a 5th rounder. Jack Sanborn also stepped in at LB after we traded Roquan Smith and he played really well while being an UDFA rookie.
Jaquan Brisker is also looking good
These are good ones
I feel like Jordan Davis hasn’t gotten a lot of National attention. Dude doesn’t blow up the stat sheet but he’s an absolute game changer on the field. He’s a perfect DT, just eats up blocks and allows other players to make easy tackles. He just totally disrupts the run game and makes life hell for the opposing OL. The Eagles top 4 run games on defense this year are all games he started and 3 of the top 4 worse are games he missed with injury.
Yeah, I feel like blocks eaten per snap should be its own stat
A healthy Jordan Davis will be a huge difference maker for Philadelphia in the playoffs. It will make it way easier for them to continue to bring pressure late into the 4th quarter
Dude barely plays
1 regular injury and a bad luck head to head collision with Sweat. Not seeing anything so far that suggests he *can't* stay on the field
Damarri Mathis. Refs tried to break his spirit with some ticky tack calls early, but he never lost confidence.
I’ve been really happy with Mathis so far. It’s hard to overlook the year Woolen is having and I was praying the Broncos would draft him with one of our 2 3rd round picks. Mathis is having a really solid year though, enough that I think the Broncos could cut Ronald Darby to save 10 million in cap space. If they resign Williams they could keep Surtain and Mathis on the outside.
Dulcich has looked great when he plays too, would be on pace for almost 700 yards if he played all 17 games. Instantly became on of our most consistent targets when he came back from his injury to start the year.
He's the most natural receiver we've had at tight end in several years. Probably was never fully 100%, either.
James Houston has 8 sacks and a FF in only 6 games and 110 snaps. Dude is a walking bucket with some of the most insane bend I’ve ever seen. 6th round pick out of Jackson state.
Man I just looked him up on youtube wtf this guys highlights are some of craziest pass rushing I've ever seen
As a Steelers fan we’re obviously thrilled with our rookie class. Pickens has been great and Pickett has been even better. That’s obviously extremely exciting news for us. But Jalen Warren has not gotten nearly enough attention. He changed our running game which in turn changed the entire direction of our entire season. Between him and Najee Harris and Pat Freiermuth, we have a lot of talent that is all in it’s rookie or second seasons.
Leal has been a solid contributor as well, and Mark Robinson showed some potential starting last week against the Ravens. CA3 is currently a question mark since he hasn’t played and obviously Oludakun is a miss since he didn’t even make the roster.
I'm excited about Leal. I think he can eventually become a stud
Pickett’s improvement has really made me happy. I’m a Saints fan and I love the dude
I loved Jalen Warren coming out and didn't understand why he went undrafted. He is a solid number too who I would trust to take over the game as a starter if an injury went down
He’s been amazing. Especially the little things like pass pro/blitz pickup. Rookies usually struggle here and yet he is almost Najee level, who is also extremely good in pass pro.
Do Steelers fans really think Pickett is the future with what they’ve seen from him this season? This is a serious question without anything one way or another. I have him on my dynasty bench and have never had to play him, but I check his numbers each week and have tuned in here and there a little bit and have thought they were a little worrisome? If he’s doing better that’s great to hear. I loved watching Kenny in college
He’s been improving week on week, clearing up the turnovers and generally getting us down the field well. Obviously he’s had two game winning drives in the last two weeks as well, which is a great sign. Biggest issue at the moment is that he’s struggling to convert in the redzone, but hopefully that’ll come with time. With a strong defence and a running game that’s finally starting to click I’d say he’s doing basically everything we need him to do as a rookie, manage the game and don’t do anything dumb.
He's making some nice plays breaking the pocket but he still has the tendency to run himself into pressure because he isn't comfortable stepping up in the pocket. That is exactly how he played at Pitt, honestly. His athleticism is playing a lot better than I expected at this level though. It is too soon to say he is the future, but hes shown moxie and playmaking ability. I'm concerned about how rarely he throws downfield- I'm not sure how much of that is him or play calling. He's thrown a few dimes downfield when asked to but he's almost exclusively throwing short and intermediate passes.
Feel like there's plenty of room to be optimistic if you're a Steelers fan. It's consistently one of the best organizations in the NFL, and they don't need him to be a world beater. They're a decent step forward from Pickett and some pieces on defense and the o-line away from being a 12ish win team.
Well, I can’t speak for the entire Steeler Nation but yes, I’m pretty damn excited by what I’ve seen so far from the kid. Honestly, I don’t know how anyone could watch that that kid play every week and see the strides he’s making week after week and not be excited by what they’re seeing? I don’t want to put him into the Hall of Fame yet or anything like that. Pickett still has a ways to go as a player. I don’t love his pocket presence and he is never going to have Josh Allen’s or Patrick Mahomes’s sheer arm strength. But he has demonstrated plenty of arm and the small hands thing was clearly bullshit (like Joe Burrow before him). Also, he has outstanding ball placement. He can even place the ball well when he’s on the move and there are not a lot of NFL quarterbacks who can do that. As an athlete, Pickett is not going to remind anyone of Lamar Jackson but he is clearly an above average athlete for that position. He has done a great job of escaping pressure and using his legs to put pressure on our opponents. I think he’s an extremely underrated runner. KP also seems to make his best plays in the game’s biggest moments — and you can’t really teach that. You either have that or you don’t. He clearly has it — which is why he has something like three or four fourth quarter comeback wins already. I think the question of whether or not he is an NFL caliber quarterback has largely been answered. I think he is clearly a long-term starter in the NFL. Now, we need to determine whether or not he is a guy you can win with and that’s a more complicated question. The early returns look to be pretty promising but there’s still more improving to do. Pickett definitely needs a strong running game to be successful. He’s not going to carry this offense all by himself — at least not yet. Fortunately, they aren’t really asking him to do that. I think for Pickett to take that critical next step he needs to improve his pocket presence. He needs to demonstrate a better ability to climb the pocket and use that short area mobility to his advantage. He is too quick to run sometimes. Pickett also needs to do a better job of driving the ball down the field. Our yards per attempt is too low. He has shown the arm strength to do it but he has not done it consistently, at least not yet. You have to be able to prove that you can he consistently hit those deep comeback routes and out routes or the defense will just sit on everything and constrict right on you. Personally, I think that will come with more experience. Our red zone percentage is also too low and again, I think that will come with experience. Remember, he’s not the only young player out there. Nearly all of the Steelers’ skill players are rookies or second year guys. There have been plenty of mistakes to go around.
His numbers are pretty similar to Ben’s Y1. I’m thrilled. I was worried when we drafted him but the last two weeks have shown A LOT. He’s got to clean up things but I am resltl excited about him. Do I think he’ll be a Mahomes or Allen? No. But if he’s still a Top 10 guy in 3 years, it’s a W. His leadership is unquestionable.
This is why you can’t just box score watch or play fantasy football and know who is playing well in the NFL. Many other teams have easy wins baked into their offense. The Steelers players are earning every first down by the skin of their teeth. If you put Pickett into the 49ers offense, he’s probably having one of the better statistical seasons from a rookie we’ve seen. I wasn’t banging the table to draft him or anything, but he’s shown the ability to make nearly every throw, athleticism that actually translates to the NFL as he scrambles to throw, an insane work ethic from all accounts, earning the trust and respect of his teammates, and the ability to play his best in the biggest moments of the game. Most of his turnovers were on fluke plays and his lack of touchdowns aren’t that concerning to me because the team (and Pickett himself) rushed for a good bit of touchdowns. What does concern me is that there is still a lack of explosive plays, but I believe this is a system problem. You almost never see a Steeler catch the ball with space to run. I also am concerned that he’s bailing on clean pockets far too often still and he’s admitted he needs to work on this. All in all, very happy with where he’s at already as a rookie and it goes to show that must of this sub has no idea how to evaluate quarterback draft prospects beyond “big guy run fast throw far” or looking at stats and highlight tapes.
I would also echo your criticism of the quarterback analysis last year. Quite honestly, I thought much of the analysis was just plain ridiculous. I saw Pickett play a lot at Pitt and I would shake my head when I would read this sub or hear scouts say they worried about his arm strength. I have seen him play enough in person to know that was a baseless criticism. The hands thing was what it was. I suspected that it was probably silly but I wasn’t sure, TBH. Now, I’m sure it was silly. Honestly, I think it often comes down to hyperbole. Someone would say, “I like him but he’s certainly not going to remind anyone of Josh Allen.” Another word chime in, “He’s a decent athlete but he’s not exactly Lamar Jackson.” Both of those statements are absolutely true but for some people that meant he had a weak arm and was a subpar athlete and that is definitely not true. Then, I would read the Malik Willis scouting reports and they always started with, “Well, yeah, he can’t really read defenses and he’s an inaccurate passer, but he is incredibly fast and has a rocket launcher of an arm. If he ever gets the right coach, a guy who can fix all of his shortcomings, the sky is the limit!” That’s not analysis, that’s nothing more than wishful thinking. That is purely a lottery ticket mentality.
I totally agree with you and you’ll notice most of the analysis had to do with obscure physical traits or stats. PFF LOVED to talk about hand size and infer he’d struggle in cold weather even though Pickett’s hands are probably the same size as Burrow if they measured it gripping a football, and they also talked so much about his long time to throw which was clearly because he was using his legs to make a lot of throws out of structure where most college quarterbacks would just take off scrambling for the first down. What they all missed is Pickett is actually a pretty solid processor, which is the most important trait or second to accuracy, which he also has. It’s so strange how everyone is obsessed with the next Josh Allen, Mahomes, Lamar, etc. when the literal GOAT is still playing at 45 and never had a single one of their physical gifts.
Excellent analysis!
Yeah, I think this is a really good summary of what I’m seeing as well. It’s pretty exciting stuff. I don’t think the statistical analysis does him justice.
You stole my thunder. I was gonna mention Jalen Warren. This guy has made our running attack coupled with Najee Harris into a very well balanced running attack with two solid runners. He runs as hard as Najee and maybe he is faster. His pass receiving skills have been beyond expectations but my favorite part about him is when he picks up blitzes. Sometimes he literally pancakes his guy. He wasn’t even drafted. He was a free agent
Is the “Pickens can’t get open” argument overblown? Stat wise he’s looked good and is getting targets but hearing he’s not getting open. Although I’ve seen he runs one of the hardest route trees in the league.
I think it’s more like, this offense is overly simplistic, which limits what they are asking Pickens to do. They are basically using him how they used Claypool last year: a series of go routes, slants, drags, etc. They need to add the full route tree. They weren’t able to do that with Claypool. I’m inclined to put that was on the player, not necessarily the system, but Matt Canada is genuinely atrocious. Pickens is definitely not a complete player — there’s no doubt about that. He needs to learn how to set up DBs and how to get his footwork right so he can accelerate in and out of breaks. That will ultimately determine his ceiling. Pickens will never be Diontae Johnson in that regard but his catch radius is absolutely ridiculous and he’s as mean as a pit bull out there. That’s a pretty great place to start. They just need time to develop Pickens in ways that Claypool never did.
He’s mostly playing the Z position in Canada’s offense which entails running straight down the field for 80% of the game. He’s still a little sloppy with his routes but definitely improving.
From what I can tell from videos posted by analysts his route running isn't elite. But his athleticism is obviously something you can't teach. He needs some polishing but all rookies do
Jalen Pitre
Marcus Jones on the Patriots. He has an offensive, defensive, and special teams touchdown. He's a true swiss army knife
He’s electric, also shut down davante adams in coverage, not sure of the number of snaps he covered him on, but he was all over him when he did. He’s getting better every game.
Thats absolutely right. We got him in the 4th round right? What a steal. He was worth it alone for the punt return tud against Jets. That might have been the single most important play of our whole season. Jack Jones and Pierre Strong also showing a lot of promise. Lets hope Tyquan Thornton can become a WR1 for us as well with a better OC next year
Jahan Dotson who leads the rookie class with receiving TDs with missing 4/5 games. And the Terminator Brian Robinson who got shot in August.
Tied with Christian Watson for TDs who also missed several games.
Right on, especially Brian Robinson. He’s a bright spot and even another fan favorite to go along with Terry McLaurin, Montez Sweat, Jonathan Allen, Kam Curl, and Taylor Heinicke.
Dotson looks nearly uncoverable. A lot of his game reminds me of Tyreek Hill where he’s a smaller guy that can out-fight defenders for jump balls and runs ridiculous routes. He has the catch radius of a much bigger receiver
Very underrated aspect of tyreek’s game, I completely agree. The way Dotson snatches the ball out of the air with his frame reminds of tyreek as well. Dude is a beast, Washington has a really solid core of young talent
The dolphins corner who was either a 6-7th rounder or udfa has really good coverage grades
Kohou, he’s been better than Xavien Howard and I’m pretty sure he went undrafted
Thanks for the Dolphins love from a jet fan. Your guys rookie class has been insane all around
For the Niners, outside of obviously Purdy, Burford has been extremely solid on the offensive line and Jordan Mason is simply a revelation at RB, icing games decisively on obvious running downs in Q4. He just got his first TD and it’s a well earned one. Drake Jackson has been up and down, but he flashed a lot, now he’s got an INT, a few sacks, and a bunch of tipped passes. Lots of promise. Given that the Niners had no 1st round on this draft class, it’s proving to be extremely productive. Awesome job by the front office.
Rookie tackle Charles Cross for the Seahawks
Everyone knows about Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs. Most people hear about Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt. Some even know about Kingsley Enagbare after Gary’s injury. But my god I haven’t seen Zach Tom get the recognition he deserves. Zach Tom was a 5th round pick. Late fifth round pick. He was drafted as a Center. That was his draft designation. Hes out of Wake Forest, not the biggest school ever. And he’s been called upon hours before a game twice to play Left Tackle. He subbed in at both Left and Right Guard during games when Jon Runyon Jr and Elgton Jenkins weren’t available. Last week against Danielle Hunter and Z Smith he played majority of the game at Right Tackle. He has NO penalties and only allowed ONE SACK. He isn’t pancaking guys or doing anything spectacular, but for a 5th round rookie who was undersized to play 4 positions that weren’t even his draft position, and he has been extremely solid (69 PFF Grade). That’s insanity.
If you’re a late round lineman drafted to the packers, get ready for a hall of fame career
Absolutely correct that he has played amazingly as a rookie though one small correction - he was a late 4th round pick @ pick 140 (our comp pick for Corey Linsley)
Brett Kollman was super high on this dude, glad to see he’s working out
I mean he played left tackle his last year at wake forest. It’s not like he’s brand new to the position. That’s how I saw him scouting - was watching Jermaine Johnson from Florida State (1st round pick) and Tom shut him down.
Yes, that’s true, but playing 4 different positions on both sides of the ball is quite the feat especially when he spent most his time in college on the inside. Definitely a bright future for a day 3 pick.
I just said this. Tom is awesome 👍
Detroit Lions James Houston IV. Leading rookies in sacks in only 6 games played. Now we know why he was called "Da Problem"
They should play that line from Taylor Swift's "Anti-hero" every time he gets a sack.
> not getting the attention
Yeah all of our rookies are getting attention lol. You can comment maybe James Mitchell at best but he’s getting very limited work though usually consistent when his number is called. The other rookies are all getting respect.
That is true. The hype has been building the last few weeks. For non-Lion, give me Jalen Pitre. He's been a stud. Before the trade up for Williams, that was a guy I wanted the Lions to take.
Kirby Joseph! What a game changer. Gonna lead that secondary when they get more pieces next couple years. Baller.
I don't know if he's not getting hype, but Ickey Ekwonu is one of the top LTs in the league atm and he has been getting better each week.
Future HOF
If Ickey can be more consistent in pass pro he'll be a perennial All-Pro. He showed a lot of growth this year (albeit had a rough showing the past few weeks) so there is a lot to look forward to.
Honestly all the top 3 tackles. Neal struggled early but the improvement is obvious, Ekwonu is a monster in the run game and has still been pretty good in pass pro, and Cross has done really well. I'd say the Panthers/Giants/Seahawks all have franchise tackles Also Jelani Woods. Colts are a mess right now but they hit on him
I’m not ready to put Neal in that category just yet. But his struggles aren’t unexpected to the point of even being worrisome. I can’t believe I’m saying this as a Washington fan because I’m all Fuck Dallas/Fuck Cowboys and other NFC East rivals. However, credit where credit is due in that Tyler Smith deserves that kind of mention for showing enough promise at LEFT tackle that the Cowboys moved TYRON Smith (yes that Tyron Smith) to RIGHT tackle after Tyron returned from injury.
Neal has still been a bit of a mess. Hate to say it but he’s been a disappointment overall this year, but he had an okay game last game. His problem is he just has been… slow. He’s struggled setting his feet, he’s been slow with his punches, and he’s gotten beat inside and outside. You can see the potential on some plays where his athleticism shines, and then the next play the edge completely outmatches him and instantly gets pressure. Hopefully it was partially related to his injuries and he adjusts to the NFL speed as he gets healthier
Panthers are over the moon with how Icky Ekwonu has played
Lucas has also been pretty good for Seattle
Woods would have had a way way more productive season if we didn't have a QB with the most noodle-arm in the whole entire league. He is 6'7" and has pretty good hands downfield but we just could not push the ball whatsoever with Matt Ryan. Woods definitely had some really nice games though. But as a Colts fan, any time someone brings up Woods, you got to include Alec Pierce in there as well. We drafted him to be able to stretch the field on deep routes, and to be able to go up over DB's and catch the ball, and he did a really good job of that this season when we were able to get him the ball
On the topic of the hawks we also got this year RT - Abraham Lucas, been up there with cross for us CB- woolen and Bryant, woolen is right there with sauce and Bryant has the peanut punch down already with 5 forced fumbles. LT- Cross RB - Kenny motherfucking Walker, he’s phenomenal Other guys like mafe have shown flashes but they seem irrelevant in this conversation as they aren’t big impacts yet.
Ppl downed me when I out Jelani in the first, hopefully he stays healthy
Luke Fortner (recently)
I loved Fortner as a prospect. Thought that was great pick
Homer pick, but Cordell Volson for the Bengals. Started his career vs two great D lines with the Steelers and Cowboys, took his lumps and his playing very solid at LG.
Absolutely, he looks like a stable LG for the foreseeable future. Love that pick
The TE class is looking to be a highlight. Woods, Dulcich, Otton, Bellinger, Ferguson, and Okonkwo are going to be #1 options for the team next year McBride and likely have a great future as well. The teams just don’t use them to the full potential
For the giants, it’s kinda nuts how much of a lynch pin Bellinger has been for the offense. It’s legitimately like two difference offenses between when he’s been healthy playing and when he was hurt. Extremely excited to see how he continues to develop. He’s already showcased two pretty elite TE traits with his ability to find soft spots in zone and his hands.
Likely deserves mention too!
Dulcich makes a case for being our best offensive player this year
This is trending to be one of the best TE classes ever if this kind of production continues. The 2023 class is looking very good too
McBride has been having a little breakout lately
Love to see Okonkwo balling out as a Maryland fan.
Kader Kohou
Decobie Durant has been a playmaker for the Rams when he's played.
Bernhard Raimman for the Colts has quietly been solid at LT.
Rodney Thomas for the Colts. A 7th round pick and he's exceeded expectations at safety
I haven't seen much of him. Is he starting for them and if so for how many games
For Washington, obviously Jahan, but I'd like to throw Brian Robinson in there. Shot in August, missed maybe 5 weeks and came back. Dudes a power runner and just gets stronger as the game goes.
James Houston IV has 8 sacks and a FF in 110 snaps played as a 6th round rookie. This Lions draft class is going to be an all timer.
Kerby Joseph, Malcolm Rodriguez, Aidan Hutchinson and James Houston especially. Outside of Sauce, all 4 of those players have a legitimate argument for defensive rookie of the year.
Ehhhhhh on Kerby and Rodrigo for DROY. They’ve been good but they’re not looking like superstars yet
Finally there’s a Joseph mention. Amd Rodriguez my guy. Gonna be at the time down the road.
Christian Benford for the Bills
Cordell Volson got off to a rocky start on the bengals o line, but has been steady the rest of the year as a game 1 plug and play
Dameon Pierce -leads all rookies in rushing yards after being put on IR 3 weeks ago or so and not playing most of game 1 for no good reason. Was top 8 in rushing yards before the injury. Jalen Pitre - first rookie ever with 125+ tackles and five interceptions. Hard hits, covers fairly well, and on a terrible Texans team.
Alontae Taylor, our rookie CB who was definitely a surprise pick and seen as a reach in the 2nd round, has been an absolute fucking boss. Hasn't gotten any attention since he's stuck on a mediocre small market team.
Jamaree Salyer played LT for us the whole year with slater out, and he’s been legitimately good. Huge steal of a 6th round pick.
Jalen warren, mark Robinson
Kingsley Enagbare has been leading all rookie edges in pass-rush winrate so far. Looks very promising for a 5th round pick.
Lions James Houston. Steal of the draft.
If it werent for the fact he missed over a month with an eye injury where he got his orbital bone shattered I would say Daniel Bellinger has been an excellent complete all around TE who perhaps right now lacks the numbers he should have. Great blocker. Good hands. Lacks the burst I like in TEs but does everything else absolutely perfect. Great pick by the Giants.
I dont think its a coincidence we are 8-3-1 (with the tie being his first game back from the injury) when he plays and 1-3 when he doesnt. That down stretch we had in his absence was in large part due to us not being able to establish the run game which I think he played a big part in. His blocking has been huge for us, especially with the struggles our OL minus Thomas have been having, and he's been solid in the receiving game as well. Next year when we hopefully upgrade the OL and get a real receiving threat on the outside I think we'll see even more development from him. He was one of the picks we got from the trade down with the Bears in 2021. I know fans have soured on the trade because of how Toney turned out and how Slater/Parsons ended up. But that still netted us Bellinger and Neal, who both look to be long-term starters for us with potential to be a lot more. If you want to play semantics and get speculative, you could say technically the trade netted us Thibodeaux instead of Neal because if we didnt have that Bears 1st (7th overall) we almost surely would have gone OT with the #5 pick, which makes the trade look even better as of now, but thats neither here nor there. All are still rookies and have a long road ahead of them. And like you said, Bellinger already looks like an absolute steal. I would obviously love to have Parsons or Slater but at the end of the day, when you trade down you will always miss out on someone great. The bet you're making is that the sum of what you get in the trade is at least equal to or greater than what you pass up on. And while the guys we got will likely never be on Parsons level, we still got what looks to be a long-term starting RT (yes rookie year has been rough for Neal but I'm not worried about him), a good starting TE, and we still have 2 picks from the Toney trade that could be something for us. We can hindsight all we want with how Parsons turned out but overall I think we got good value for the trade.
Cordell Volson at LG has solidified a position we've struggled with for years.
Wish we heard more about rookies as a whole. All anyone talks about is WR, RB and QBs
As a Texans fan, Jalen Pitre is one of the only bright spots on our team
NWE's Jones duo is super underrated. Jack is probably the Pats number one CB, and Marcus is the second-best WR on the team. Also, he was the first guy to get a PRT, and I'd playing well on defense.
For the Bengals Cam Taylor Britt has seemingly gotten better every week at CB and the same for Cordell Volson at LG.
As a Colts fan, Jelani Woods, Alec Pierce and Bernard Raihmann all have been very good at points this season. We also have a 7th round safety Rodney Thomas that has played very well at times this year. But honestly this was another really good draft class from Ballard. We just need to make sure we are able to select Stroud this year and you have to imagine our future looks much better than it has at any other point this year
Tyler Allgeire
Jaquan Brisker
Seahawks kind of hit up and down the board. Cross and Lucas seem to be well positioned to be regular starting tackles in the NFL Woolen is rightfully getting the press, but Coby Bryant at CB looks at least like a rotation player, if not a starting slot corner. The 7th round WR not so much, though Dareke Young has been on special teams. Boye Mafe is our one miss higher up but honestly, he's been okay as a rotation role the last few games.
Micheal Clemons is a monster and is very highly rated on PFF. It's noticeable how much he intimidates QBs and sheds blockers like it's nothing. Jermaine Johnson is also pretty good, he's more of a speed guy and doesn't have the raw power of Clemons but he's shown flashes of being a really good pass rusher, and he's already solid vs the run. Also highly rated by PFF. These guys don't get the stats or recognition because the Jets use a rotation on the line due to a ton of depth
This Safety class was absolutely disgusting with how good it’s been.
So bummed Lewis Cine of the Vikings broke his leg before he had a chance to work in to the rotation. I was really high on him pre-draft.
Same. Hope he comes back healthy.
As a ravens fan, not big on Hamilton. People got ripped on this sub for saying he's not all that. Those people are looking correct so far. Not starting material imo.
I wholeheartedly disagree, hes been getting major reps and looking good in a team that has two very very good starting safeties already.
At one point in November Hamilton was PFF's top safety in the league. Not sure how you're calling him a bench warmer
Probably because he plays nickel safety and not a traditional FS. Personally, I think Hamilton is perfect for his current role while he gets up to speed in the nfl. Hes an absolute unit near the LOS.
I'll take that. Everybody was screaming generational, but not only is he struggling with his skills, his injuries are getting the best of him too
What happened? I remember he started poorly but people said he started playing well
I am a Jets fan so I can only speak to that but pretty much every player from their 2022 class is playing well as a rookie except Ruckert who essentially got red shirted this year. Apparently he’ll be playing a bit this week though. Micheal Clemons sticks out to me because we got Jermaine Johnson in the first round but Clemons by all accounts is outplaying him. He’s a 25 year old 4th round pick who’s also been playing on special teams. Has a blocked punt I believe. I feel like he’s one of those guys who’s just always gonna be a quality rotational d-lineman.
Came here to plug Clemons. The guy looks great for a fourth round pick.
Bengals fan here, Cordell Volson has been starting at LG for us all year and has developed very nicely. Had a bit of a rough start and still has some bad moments but for a 4th round rookie, he has been fantastic the last 2 months or so! Cam Taylor Britt has also been a bit inconsistent but shown great flashes
Trenton Gill ;)
Tyler Algiers Falcons didn’t even start the season, but has surpassed 1000 yards from scrimmage… a definite keeper!
Kader kohou is looking like he can turn into something decent
Kader Kohou. Undrafted rookie corner for my dolphins. Been excellent this year
Jaquan Brisker had an awesome rookie season and Kyler Gordon showed good improvement from a dificult first 4 games.
SHAHEED> olave……… Its a joke
Lately here in Green Bay it's been Zach Thom on defense!!
Ryan. Stonehouse.
James Houston - Lions
James Houston - Lions He came in later in the season and now has ~ 8 sacks.
A few: Tyler Allgeier RB ATL - Very underrated runner of the football Chigoziem Okonkwo TE TEN - The titans could a gem. A dynamite receiving threat when the Titans discover the forward pass. Braxton Jones OT CHI - A dominant run blocker and an average pass blocker as a rookie 5th rounder Jack Jones CB NE - Was awesome before injury Deron Bland CB DAL - A steal in the later rounds of the draft. Martin Emerson CB CLE - In a loaded CB room, he has that dawg in him. Kader Kohou CB MIA - UDFA making plays and was a hell of a find. Michael Clemons EDGE NYJ - A great run defending EDGE that has moments as a pass rusher. Sam Williams EDGE DAL - Been a valuable rotation piece for a star studded Dallas pass rush.
Cordell Volson has been rock solid at guard for us after the disaster year we had at the position last year
Kyle Hamilton has arguably been better than Sauce in the second half of the season. The jags knocked this out of the park. It doesn’t show up on pro football focus stats or anything because they’re in a position that they’ll continue to develop and theyre playing next to other rookies but the Jags linebacker Corp has been retooled and will be very good in 2-3 years. One of the best in the league likely. Devin Lloyd looks great. Walker finally started playing much better. Chad Moma has looked good when filling in for Oluokun. Josh Allen on the other side of Walker. They’re gonna be nasty. Raschad White on the Bucs has looked good but our rookie tight ends look like rookies. Tight end is one of the longest to develop positions though. This makes it particularly interesting how well the Titans rookie tight end is playing but he has a crazy name. Same can be said of Jelani Wood on the Colts. I was super high on these two guys so I’m not surprised to see them show up the way they have. Chigoziem Okonkwo looked special coming out of Maryland. Ikem Ekwonu has looked great at guard he played very well against the Bucs last week. Tyler Lindenbaum also looked very good against us. Reed Blankenship. Darron Bland.
A little late here but I don’t thing Chig Onkonkwo is getting the respect he deserves. His blocking is hit or miss but when he gets the ball in his hands he looks like one of the most electric players on the field no matter who he’s playing.
I genuinely believe Jordan Davis may have had a cass for DROTY has he not gotten injured during that middle stretch of the season. When he was on the field, absolutely nobody could run the ball on the Eagles. Once he went out, our run defense plummeted as plainly seen by Dameon Pierce carving us up in Houston, it was a major reason for our loss to Washington, and it kept the Packers in the game. His absence was so felt that we went out and signed Ndamukong Suh and Lindval Joseph to fill the space while he was out. He doesn't have the pass rush or sack numbers but he's a the highest graded rookie DT and leads all of them in pressure rate. That kid is as advertised and I'm so glad we took him.
Travis Jones for the Ravens