Rookies Don’t Shine in Week One
All off-season each team reviews game film, studies their rosters, and moves up and down the draft board. All with the hope of landing that “one missing piece.” One week into the season, the report card on this rookie class reads a lot like most rookie classes do in September — flashes here and there, but mostly a class that's still finding its footing. During one week, no one set the world on fire and for the most part this year’s crop of rookies were largely non-factors.
The Top 5: How the Headliners Actually Looked
The Raiders' Darrelle Revis (1.1) had a quietly solid debut — 4 tackles, 2 deflections, and just 3 catches allowed in coverage. The Packers' Patrick Willis (1.2) was arguably the best of the high picks, posting 6 tackles, a deflection, and 3 catches allowed. Bears MLB Lawrence Timmons (1.3) matched Willis with 6 tackles but didn't add a deflection or TFL, a tackle-and-not-much-else line. Buccaneers RT Joe Thomas (1.4) did exactly what a Day 1 tackle should — 3 pancakes, zero sacks allowed, no drama. And Saints MLB Zak DeOssie (1.5) had maybe the most complete opening line of the five: 5 tackles, a TFL, and just 1 catch allowed. Solid across the board — but nobody in the top 5 was a difference-maker yet.
Standouts Worth Watching
A few names outside the top 5 popped more. LaRon Landry (Redskins, 1.12) led all rookies with 9 tackles and 2 TFL, the loudest defensive debut in the class, while Jon Beason (Broncos, 1.13) wasn't far behind with 7 tackles and 2 deflections. Turk McBride (Packers, 1.25) was the most disruptive rookie up front with 5 tackles and 3 TFL, and Aaron Rouse (Chiefs, 1.32) — the last pick of the round — had the class's flashiest turnover, picking off 2 passes for 20 yards. On offense, Jacoby Jones (Redskins, 1.16) was the top rookie WR with 7 catches for 97 yards and a score, though he was actually outproduced by second-round tight end Brent Celek; first-rounders Calvin Johnson and Sidney Rice were both quiet by comparison. And the only rookie quarterback to see the field at all was Jeff Rowe, a 7th-round pickup by Washington, who went 1-for-1 for 15 yards in limited relief.
The MLB Class: A Crowded Room, A Split Verdict
Six middle linebackers came off the board in round one — Timmons, DeOssie, Kelvin Smith, Anthony Waters, Stewart Bradley, and David Harris — and Week 1 showed some clear separation. DeOssie and Waters were the most disruptive against the run, each racking up multiple tackles for loss, while Timmons and Smith stayed around the ball without creating much extra havoc (Smith did force the group's only fumble). Bradley turned in a modest, complete-enough line, and Harris, the last of the six off the board at 1.31, had by far the quietest week with a single tackle.
The Big Picture
Beyond the linebackers, the running backs were the biggest no-show of the week — Marshawn Lynch (Packers, 1.29) managed just 7 carries for 20 yards, and no rookie back in the league topped 30 yards or found the end zone. It's one week, and no team should be panicking or celebrating off four quarters of football. But if you were hoping this class would immediately reshape the league, you'll have to keep waiting — for now, the shiny new toys are still just finding out where they fit.
|
