Tag: rookie class

Packers rookie class in 2022 ranked middle of the pack for production and value

The Packers got important contributions from at least five rookies in 2022 but the class overall ranked 14th in production and value by ESPN.

The 2022 draft class of the Green Bay Packers ranked 14th among NFL teams in production and value during its first season by ESPN.

The ranking focused primarily on production and used inputs from Sports Info Solutions, DVOA from Football Outsiders and ESPN’s player tracking metrics to establish a pecking order.

The Packers received important contributions from first-round pick Quay Walker, second-round pick Christian Watson, fourth-round picks Zach Tom and Romeo Doubs and fifth-round pick Kingsley Enagbare, but the draft class only just finished in the top half of the rankings.

The post highlighted Walker’s numbers from 2022:

First-round linebacker Quay Walker had an excellent year, one of just 11 rookies to earn 40 or more Total Points in that SIS metric. Walker had 121 total tackles with a 10% broken tackle rate, outstanding for a rookie linebacker, and allowed just 2.4 yards per target in coverage. Green Bay’s other defensive first-round pick, tackle Devonte Wyatt, played a much smaller role, seeing 22% of defensive snaps.

Walker was nothing if not productive during his first season, even if his rookie campaign was a healthy mix of good and bad.

At wide receiver, the Packers got 88 catches, 1,118 yards and 13 total touchdowns out of Watson, Doubs and seventh-round pick Samori Toure. Tom played almost 500 total snaps across four different positions along the offensive line, and Enagbare started seven games at edge rusher and produced eight quarterback hits. Even seventh-round pick Tariq Carpenter became a productive special teams player down the stretch.

The class was likely dragged down due to Devonte Wyatt’s lack of playing time and the redshirt rookie season of third-round pick Sean Rhyan.

The post included other relevant information on a few other rookies:

Wide receiver Christian Watson really came on in the second half of the season, starting every game from Week 8 onward and catching 41 passes for 611 yards and seven touchdowns in a little more than half a season. He finished 20th out of 85 qualifying wide receivers in Football Outsiders’ receiving DVOA rating. The Packers also got valuable contributions from edge rusher Kingsley Enagbare, who started seven games and had three sacks with 23 pressures, and offensive lineman Zach Tom, who had five starts at both left tackle and left guard.

The following teams ranked ahead of the Packers, in order from first to 13th: Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons.

Overall, this was one of the most productive and valuable rookie classes from the Packers in recent team history, even if the rankings here suggest otherwise.

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A quick look at the rookie season of each Packers 2022 draft pick

The Packers got a lot of help from the 2022 draft class. Let’s take a look at each rookie.

The Green Bay Packers’ 2022 season has come to an end, and so has the rookie year for their most recent draft class.

The Packers selected 11 players in last year’s draft: six offensive players and five defensive players. Some went on to play meaningful snaps, while others struggled to get on the field.

Obviously, it is hard to draw any major conclusions from a player’s first season. At some point, we will take a more in-depth look at each individual player, but for now, let’s look back with an overview of each draft pick.

Seahawks assign jersey numbers to their 2022 NFL draft class

Ahead of the start of rookie minicamp, the Seattle Seahawks assigned jersey numbers to their 2022 NFL draft class.

The Seattle Seahawks kicked off rookie minicamp on Friday, and with that, announced the assignment of jersey numbers for this year’s draft class.

Below are the new numbers in ascending order.

Seahawks 2021 rookie class finishes dead last in end-of-year rankings

The Seattle Seahawks 2021 rookie class of Dee Eskridge, Tre Brown and Stone Forsythe finished dead last in NFL.com’s end-of-year rankings.

The 2021 NFL season is now a distant memory and the end-of-the-year grades have been issued. A couple of writers over at NFL.com, Gennaro Filice and Nick Shook, evaluated the rookie classes of all 32 teams and ranked them from first to worst.

The Seattle Seahawks’ draft class of just three players – wide receiver Dee Eskridge, cornerback Tre Brown, and tackle Stone Forsythe – finished dead last.

“With a league-low three picks in the 2021 draft, this Seahawks class was fighting an uphill battle from Day 1,” Filice writes. “And then injuries hit, leveling the limited sources of joy. Eskridge, Seattle’s only pick in the first two days of the draft, missed much of the offseason ramp-up due to a nagging toe injury. He was active for the season opener, but suffered a concussion and missed the next seven games. All in all, he played 10 games and posted a grand total of 14 touches for 123 yards.”

“Brown’s rookie campaign had to be the biggest gut-punch of them all, though,” Filice continues. “After starting the season on injured reserve with a knee sprain, the cornerback made his NFL debut in Week 6 and immediately provided positive returns in an area of extreme need. One month later, he suffered a season-ending patellar tendon injury . . .  Forsythe, Seattle’s final pick, played just 14 offensive snaps on the season.”

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Lions rookie class comes in 6th in ESPN’s rankings

The Detroit Lions rookie class comes in 6th in ESPN’s rankings of the most productive first-year contributions

The Detroit Lions relied heavily on rookie contributors in the trying 2021 season. And the results, while uneven in a 3-13-1 campaign, bode well for the future. The analysts at ESPN definitely like what they saw of the first-year players in Detroit.

ESPN called upon Pro Football Focus and its value-added metric to rank the rookie classes of all 32 teams. Or to let them explain,

“With the help of Pro Football Focus’ Wins Above Replacement (WAR) metric, we ranked all 32 teams on the value of their rookie class over expectation given where each player was selected in the 2021 NFL draft.”

The Lions class fared quite well, coming in at No. 6 overall. Detroit hit it big with first-round pick Penei Sewell but also later with fourth-rounder Amon-Ra St. Brown and undrafted Jerry Jacobs. All three were among the top 25 overall rookies in the class.

Detroit owned two of the 12 most valuable non-quarterback rookies in the 2021 draft class with first-round offensive tackle Penei Sewell and Day 3 wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. Undrafted free agent cornerback Jerry Jacobs also ranked inside the top 25 among that group. Sewell’s success was to be expected, but St. Brown and Jacobs surpassed expectations with flying colors.

The New England Patriots were at the top, with the Minnesota Vikings bringing up the rear.

Analyzing Packers’ 2021 rookie class at the bye week

Breaking down the Packers’ 2021 rookie class after the first 12 games of the season.

The Green Bay Packers are 12 games into the 2021 season and currently enjoying the bye week. The stretch before the bye was a grind, but the 12 games provided a terrific look at the rookie class entering the final five games.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the rookie class at the bye week:

Reviewing Packers rookie class after two preseason games

Reviewing the Green Bay Packers’ 2021 rookie class through two preseason games.

The Green Bay Packers must be pleased with the early returns on the 2021 rookie class through two preseason games.

By sitting 30 veteran players in the preseason opener and 32 more against the New York Jets on Saturday, Matt LaFleur’s team has provided ample opportunities for young players – including the first-year players – to see the field in meaningful ways. And for the most part, the rookies have responded with strong performances.

Here’s a quick review of the entire rookie class after two games:

Fantasy football: Top 20 rookie rankings

Our Derek Okrie offers up the top 20 rookies for fantasy football

It’s the season for fantasy football drafts. If your league hasn’t selected yet, or if you’re looking to make some preseason deals, here are the top rookies from a fantasy perspective.

1. Najee Harris, RB Steelers – heavy workload and his impact in the passing game put him at the top of the list

2. Ja’Marr Chase, WR Bengals – his connection with Bengals QB Joe Burrow is special and he’s just a top-notch player

3. Travis Etienne, RB Jaguars – some are sleeping on Etienne, but if you watched him in college, his speed and playmaking will translate well to the NFL

4. Javonte Williams, RB Broncos – very solid frame, and I see him finding the end zone often plus RBs are always at a premium in fantasy football

5. Kyle Pitts, TE Falcons – will be used a ton early and the Falcons will throw it all over the yard

6. Elijah Moore, WR Jets – this kid is special and a dynamic playmaker

7. DeVonta Smith, WR Eagles – reports are he has been great in training camp and the Heisman Trophy winner should be the top target in Philly if he can stay healthy

8. Jaylen Waddle, WR Dolphins – his speed is special and that same speed will make him a unique talent in this new NFL game that is played today

9. Rashod Bateman, WR Ravens – injury might limit him at the start of the season, but he projects to be the top wide receiver in Baltimore before you know it and he can do it all

10. Trevor Lawrence, QB Jaguars – he has always been a top player and a winner, so why not value him high in fantasy football too based on how he can throw it and fun the football

11. Michael Carter, RB Jets – expect him to be the lead RB for the Jets early this season, and might be one of the steals of the draft

12. Terrace Marshall Jr., WR Panthers – he has really played well the preseason with his former Offensive Coordinator Joe Brady, so expect him to make an impact early if Sam Darnold, QB Panthers finds his groove

13. Trey Sermon, RB 49ers – again RBs are going to be more highly valued than other positions in most fantasy leagues, and Sermon could be the guy for the 49ers where they always have a good running game

14. Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR Lions – seems very focused and professional plus the targets will be there in Detroit.

15. Trey Lance, QB 49ers – his ability to run makes him an even more valued target, but when will he play?

16. Rondale Moore, Cardinals – there are lots of wide receivers in Arizona, but his speed and playmaking ability seem like a great fantasy football combo to target later in your drafts

17. Zach Wilson, Jets – he was picked No. 2 overall for a reason and can’t make every throw. Don’t be surprised if his rushing yards surprise people too at the quarterback position

18. Justin Fields, Bears – the coaching staff seems to be dead set on Andy Dalton being the guy early, so that is what hurt his value here. Once he plays I see him being fascinating to watch but also mistakes early will hurt his fantasy points

19. Kenneth Gainwell, Eagles – don’t sleep on this player. He looks very good for the Eagles early and he’s very fun to watch in the passing game

20. Amari Rodgers, Packers – with the Packers bringing back Randall Cobb that could hurt his value a bit this year, but project Rodgers to be the next Cobb for Green Bay for years to come

Grading the rookies in Washington at the halfway point of the 2020 season

With half of their rookie season behind them, we handed out grades to the young players in Washington who are starting out their careers.

With seven weeks of the 2020 season in the rearview mirror, it feels like a good time to take stock of the season and reflect on what we’ve seen thus far. For the Washington Football Team, things started out with a bang after a thrilling comeback victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1, but it’s been a frustrating watch ever since, minus the blowout win over the Dallas Cowboys last weekend.

Fortunately for Washington, the young players on the team have been performing pretty well for the most part, and it seems to be yet another successful draft class that was put together in 2020. Here are our grades for the rookies class so far this season.

Report: Lions sign Jashon Cornell, entire rookie class under contract

Dave Birkett of the Free Press is reporting that the Detroit Lions have signed seventh-round defensive lineman Jashon Cornell and now their entire rookie class is under contract.

Dave Birkett of the Free Press is reporting that the Detroit Lions have signed seventh-round defensive lineman Jashon Cornell and now their entire rookie class is under contract.

As a prized defensive end in high school, Cornell was once considered the top player in his recruiting class. He opted for Ohio State, where a loaded position group — featuring the Bosa brothers and Chase Young — kept him off the field early in his college career.

In an effort to find more playing time, Cornell expanded his role and began taking reps inside at the 3-technique. He shifted inside full time in 2019 and was Pro Football Focus’ third highest-graded defensive tackle in this draft class.

Cornell’s hybrid skill set makes him an ideal fit for the Lions 3/5-technique, where Da’Shawn Hand and Nick Williams are expected to rotate through starting duties. Because of the schematic demand for this style of position player, and the expectation that they are able to play multiple spots, the Lions have kept at least three players at this position in previous seasons.

Last year Kevin Strong manned the third spot on the depth chart here, but with the arrival of Cornell, this figures to be one of the more intriguing training camp battles this fall.

Terms of the deal are not immediately available, but according to OverTheCap.com’s 2020 draft pick estimates, as the 235th pick in the draft, Cornell’s contract would be in the ballpark of 4-years totaling close to $3.4 million, with a cap hit this season of $631,133 and a little under $85,000 in guaranteed money.