Rookie Observations From Week 1 of Preseason

The wait is over; football is back! Preseason is under way and it is a great time of year to be a football fan. Not only do fans get to watch their favorite teams play after a long offseason but they are also given an opportunity to get a small glimpse of this year’s rookie class. While some may think preseason is boring, these next four weeks could have a huge impact on the decision’s made by team’s front offices regarding who they will keep or release.

Obviously the main focus of this week was the debut of many NFL rookies including several of this year’s top picks and the first one to make his debut was Eagles’ rookie quarterback Carson Wentz. Throughout his debut, Wentz made several plays both inside and outside of the pocket and even displayed his athleticism by scrambling out of the pocket and throwing on the run. Even though Wentz looked comfortable at times, he still showed signs of a rookie quarterback including an interception after a bad throw in the pocket. Wentz was not the only rookie quarterback who played as Jared Goffalso made his debut in Los Angeles only this debut was short-lived. Goff only played a limited amount of snaps in the game and did not really show that much on the field. During one of his first plays in the NFL, Goff threw an interception and like Wentz looked the part of a rookie rather than an elite top pick. Other quarterbacks who made their debuts included Paxton Lynch, Dak Prescott, Connor Cook, Cardale Jones and Kevin Hogan. Out of the rookie quarterbacks who played in week 1, two who stood out the most were Dak Prescott and Cardale Jones. Prescott put on a show for Dallas and had command of the offense the entire time he was on the field. For the entire first quarter and most of the second quarter, Prescott was starting with a majority of the Cowboys starting offense and looked every bit of a future starter and the replacement for Tony Romo down the road. Unlike Prescott, Cardale Jones played towards the end of the game for Buffalo and almost led the Bills to a comeback victory over the Colts. Jones used both his arm and his legs to create plays both down the field and in short yardage situations during the final moments of the game. So far this year’s rookie quarterback class looks promising from Wentz all the way to mid round picks in Prescott and Jones.

Now stepping away from the quarterback position there were other rookies that contributed in their debuts as well both on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. The running backs were quiet this week with the exception of a few rookies who made a name for themselves in more than one area of the game. Ravens’ rookie Kenneth Dixon displayed his ability to play multiple roles as both a running back and a return man while Titans’ rookie Derrick Henry played both as a lead back and a complementary back in a two running back set with DeMarco Murray. Several wide receivers also put their talents on display as well including Laquon Treadwell, Tyler Boyd, Sterling Shepard andMichael Thomas. One receiver who shined when given a chance to play was Rams’ receiver Nelson Spruce. Spruce is not as known as some of the other receivers but helped the Rams pull out a come from behind victory over the Cowboys in the final minutes of the game. The amount of potential on the offensive side of the ball this year looks to be exciting and will only get better as the season progresses.

Switching from offense to defense, let’s discuss some rookie defenders who showed promise and value in their first games as an NFL player. Two defensive linemen that had impressive starts to their NFL career were Browns’ linemen Emmanuel Ogbah and Carl Nassib. I stated in one of my previous articles that Nassib was someone to watch this year and he seems to be continuing from where he left off at Penn State by recording his first sack along with Ogbah. Both of these defenders seem to be promising for the Browns and could be bright spots on the team this year. Another defender who was drafted high and showed his speed and quickness off the line of scrimmage was Bear’s linebacker Leonard Floyd. The Bears traded up to get Floyd and so far, the trade may seem to pay off for the Bears as Floyd used his variety of moves to elude the opposing offensive lineman.  Many of the big name defenders from this year’s draft did not play big minutes but mid round picks and other rookies showed up this week and there are three defenders that should be monitored as preseason progresses. Three defenders to watch throughout preseason and into the regular season are Bears’ cornerback Deiondre Hall, Jaguars’ defender Yannick Ngakoue and Panthers’ linebacker/safety Jeremy Cash. Each of these athletes were not first round picks but each had impressive debuts this week and could eventually land major roles with their teams in the near future.

So far this year’s rookie class has had its up and down moments but for the most part looks to be yet again another exciting rookie class. While many of the star rookies may not have shined in their debuts, there is still three more weeks of preseason and the regular season has not even started yet. It will be interesting to see how these rookies progress and develop in the coming weeks and how much impact they will have on their teams this coming season.