Tag: rookies

Pelle Larsson: ‘You never know if you’re gonna have a big night or not’

Miami Heat rookie Pelle Larsson is quietly establishing himself as one of the most efficient and reliable players among rookies this season. Despite inconsistent playing time and being thrust into action out of necessity due to injuries within the …

Miami Heat rookie Pelle Larsson is quietly establishing himself as one of the most efficient and reliable players among rookies this season. Despite inconsistent playing time and being thrust into action out of necessity due to injuries within the rotation, Larsson has made the most of his opportunities. The Swedish swingman, a product of the University of Arizona, is emerging as a trusted rotational piece under Erik Spoelstra’s system, positioning himself among the league’s most effective rookies.

So far this season, Larsson is averaging 15.7 minutes, 5.9 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game while shooting a blistering 58.8 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from beyond the arc.

His offensive efficiency is where he truly shines. With an impressive 67.7 percent effective field goal percentage, he ranks in the 95th percentile among wings, driven by his precision on non-corner three-pointers and strong finishing around the rim. His points scored per shot attempt (PSA) of 131.6 is elite for his position, which demonstrates his knack for capitalizing on scoring chances with minimal wasted possessions.

Larsson spoke this week with HoopsHype about his season with the Miami Heat.

Saints rookies Dallin Holker, Jaylan Ford make their season debut vs. Eagles

New Orleans Saints rookies Dallin Holker and Jaylan Ford are set to make their NFL debut on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles:

The New Orleans Saints have announced their Week 3 inactive list, and for the first time this season it will not include two of their rookies, who will both make their debut against the Philadelphia Eagles. Undrafted free agent Dallin Holker (a tight end from Colorado State) and fifth-round draft pick Jaylan Ford (a linebacker from Texas) have both been activated, and will hopefully get some decent playing time.

Ford had missed most of the summer recovering from a knee injury he sustained in late 2023, before playing in Week 1 of the preseason. He then dealt with a hamstring injury which held him out of the remaining preseason  games as well as the first two weeks of the regular season. He will now make his debut alongside a strong linebackers unit with Demario Davis, Pete Werner, Willie Gay Jr., Anfernee Orji, and Isaiah Stalbird also on the game-day roster. Watch out for Ford on special teams.

Holker has had a little different experience, as he was a healthy scratch for the past few weeks due to the logjam at tight end. Taysom Hill, Foster Moreau, and Juwan Johnson were all ahead of him. However, the chest injury to Hill will hold him out for the Week 3 contest, and this has provided Holker with an opening on the active roster to try and make an impact. Look for him to draw some targets and work to climb the depth chart.

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Rams lead NFL with 15 rookies on 53-man roster

The Rams have an NFL-high 17 total rookies on the team, 15 of which are on the 53-man roster

If you watched the Los Angeles Rams last season, you would know the team was very young with a bevy of unproven talent scattered all over the field. Last season, the Rams had rookie starters on both sides of the football and, to the surprise of many, those rookies blossomed. Fast-forward to this season and it appears the Rams are looking to replicate the success they’ve had via the draft and undrafted free agency.

This season, the Rams will feature a whopping 15 rookies on the active roster, with two additional rookies on IR (KT Leveston and Anthony Goodlow). For reference, the team with the second-most rookies on the roster is the Las Vegas Raiders, as they’ll have 10 rookies on the active roster and five on IR.

The Commanders are third with 14 total rookies on the roster.

Sean McVay and Les Snead have proven time and time again that they’re among the best in the NFL when it comes to identifying talent. Rookies from last year such as Puka Nacua, Kobie Turner, Steve Avila, and Byron Young proved experience may not be as important as some may have initially believed.

This season will feature much of the same, as rookies Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, Blake Corum, and Omar Speights will be expected to have an impact immediately. Even Jordan Whittington, a sixth-round pick, could see action in what’s become one of the deepest receiving rooms in the NFL. Kicker Joshua Karty was also a sixth-round pick.

The Rams have become trendsetters in the league, from never playing key players in the preseason to completely disregarding the importance of a first-round pick. It seems as though the Rams have found a new formula they’re going to roll out for a second trial when it comes to utilizing rookie talent, and it may not be long before the rest of the NFL tries to replicate this formula.

Xavier Worthy earned exceptional PFF grade after breakout performance vs. Lions

Xavier Worthy earned the second-best PFF grade among rookie WRs after his exceptional performance in the #Chiefs’ loss to the #Lions.

Though the Kansas City Chiefs fell just short of victory in their one-point loss to the Detroit Lions over the weekend, the defending champions saw several players put together exceptional performances.

Patrick Mahomes dazzled fans with a tricky behind-the-back pass to Travis Kelce, but it was rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy who had a breakout game that caught the attention of the experts at Pro Football Focus.

On Monday, PFF announced that Worthy earned the second-best grade among all rookie receivers for his efforts in the second week of the preseason.

New York Giants pass-catcher Malik Nabers was the only first-year receiver to earn a higher grade, by less than one point.

Worthy faces high expectations heading into the 2024 season, and after his phenomenal showing against Detroit, the first-rounder seems set to have a huge impact on Kansas City’s offense.

Expect to see Worthy back in action when the Chiefs face the Chicago Bears on Thursday.

NFL.com writer looking directly at Saints’ rookie class vs. 49ers

This NFL writer is looking for Taliese Fuaga, Kool-Aid McKinstry and Spencer Rattler to take another step up. The Saints’ youth movement must continue:

The New Orleans Saints are preparing for their second preseason game versus the San Francisco 49ers. You can point to individual players or units who left much to be desired in the preseason opener versus the Arizona Cardinals, and look for them to elevate their game this weekend.

NFL.com lead draft writer Eric Edholm wrote about what he wants to see from every team in their second preseason game. Edholm looked directly at the Saints rookie class. Taliese Fuaga, Kool-Aid McKinstry and Spencer Rattler all were players who had good performances vs. the Cardinals. So while they aren’t looking to rebound, Edholm still wants them to take another step up and carry the momentum from week to week.

Edholm recapped their preseason thus far as, “nice debuts for three Saints rookies, and they’ll have the chance to raise the bar against the reigning NFC champion Niners.”

This is particularly important for Rattler. Of the triumvirate, he has the most at stake during the preseason. Rattler is battling with Jake Haener for determining who will be Derek Carr’s primary backup.

Rattler and Haener are both putting up solid showings in practice and the first preseason game. Rattler could get the second-team reps this weekend as the Saints continue to evaluate the battle, but we’ll have to wait for kickoff to know for sure.

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Andy Reid praises Chiefs rookies after loss to Jaguars

Despite the #Chiefs’ loss to the #Jaguars on Saturday, Andy Reid saw plenty of positives from the performances of Kansas City’s rookies.

The Kansas City Chiefs took to the field for the first outing of the preseason when they traveled to Jacksonville to play against the Jaguars on Saturday.

While both teams were there to see how their changes during the offseason would begin to materialize, Jacksonville appeared to have the upper hand in this match after the Chiefs’ defense allowed their opponents to score quickly in the first quarter, and the offense was also seen struggling to make progress early in the game.

Head coach Andy Reid took the stand in front of the press after the game to share his impressions of the Kansas City Chiefs’ first preseason tilt, and in his remarks, when asked about the Chiefs’ additions for 2024 Reid had this to say:

“[…] I like what I’ve seen,” Reid explained. “I’m not going to go back through all those guys. I thought there were some positives things they can take from it. In some cases, they have to learn and we’ll clean all that up. That’s what it’s for, that’ll be a good tape for them.”

It sounds like Coach Reid saw some things on the field that he was content with even though the Kansas City Chiefs finished the match at a loss with a final score of 26-13, fans can expect a confident return when the team retakes the field at Arrowhead on August 17 for their second preseason tilt versus the Detroit Lions.

WATCH: Louis Rees-Zammit blocks rookie LB at Chiefs training camp

Check out this video of #Chiefs RB Louis Rees-Zammit honing his skills as a blocker during Kansas City’s training camp practice on Friday.

The Kansas City Chiefs are honing their game during training camp at Missouri Western State Univerity in St. Joseph. With each passing day, players are getting more into their grooves ahead of the team’s preseason debut against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Though veterans like Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Chris Jones, and Trent McDuffie are already starting to peak, some of the younger players are still perfecting their techniques before next week’s regular season exhibition.

One such player is former rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit, who was seen running blocking drills against rookie linebacker Swayze Bozeman in a video posted to Twitter by Fox 4 K.C.’s PJ Green:

Though Rees-Zammit won’t be expected to compete with starting running back Isiah Pacheco for the top spot on Kansas City’s depth chart, his effort during practice could help him earn a valuable backup role in his first season with the Chiefs.

Be on the lookout for Rees-Zammit in Kansas City’s three preseason games to see if his rugby background helps him thrive in the NFL.

2024 Rookie preview: Caleb Williams, QB, Chicago Bears

2024 Rookie preview for No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams with the Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears experienced a bit of a windfall via a nuclear breakdown of the Carolina Panthers organization, inheriting the eventual number one overall pick in a trade from last offseason. With that first overall pick, the Bears landed on one of the most hyped-up prospects we have seen at the quarterback position since Trevor Lawrence in former USC playmaker Caleb Williams.

Along with the hype coming from his draft stock, Williams also has high expectations as he inherits one of the best situations a first-overall pick has ever walked into, with Chicago loading up on offensive weapons like fellow first-round pick Rome Odunze and Pro-Bowl veteran Keenan Allen.

On the field at USC Caleb Williams was a playmaking machine and the best quarterback in the entire country for the better part of two years. William’s play is set to translate well to a modern NFL offense that relies on quarterbacks to make plays outside of the pocket and extending the play to find openings down the field. There was no one better at that in this class than Williams, and he is set to thrive with a re-tooled offensive line and an embarrassment of riches at wide receiver. Expect Williams to live up to the hype and produce heavily as a rookie.

Stat projection: 4,200 passing yards, 450 rushing yards, 34 touchdowns, 14 interceptions

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Saints sign second-round draft pick Kool-Aid McKinstry

The New Orleans Saints signed second-round draft pick Kool-Aid McKinstry. Their rookie draft class is under contract almost two months before training camp:

Good on both sides moving quickly here. KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson reports that the New Orleans Saints have signed second-round draft pick Kool-Aid McKinstry. This means the Saints’ entire 2024 draft class is under contract almost two months before training camp starts in late July. The roster is officially at its 91-man capacity, including the former Alabama cornerback.

It’s a bit of a surprise. Each of the Saints’ last three second-round picks (Isaiah Foskey, Alontae Taylor, and Pete Werner) didn’t sign their contracts until about a week before camp opened. Second rounders have become a point of contention between teams and agents haggling over guaranteed money, offsets, and other minutiae, but McKinstry’s representatives and the Saints front office were able to cut a deal here very quickly.

So that’s one less thing to sweat as we move into summer. McKinstry figures to compete for snaps either out wide (with Paulson Adebo) or in the slot (against Taylor), but he could also get on the field at safety in dime personnel sets. Saints coach Dennis Allen has frequently praised his intelligence and football instincts, and as a former defensive back himself should have no problem carving out a role for the rookie. With Marshon Lattimore unlikely to be traded, the Saints may have the NFL’s best depth chart at cornerback.

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Commanders move on from longtime team executive

Malcolm Bracken will not return to Washington.

With the 2024 NFL draft in the books, we are beginning to see more movement from the Washington Commanders as they reconfigure their football operations department.

Last week, we learned that Washington was not bringing back Eric Stokes. Stokes had been with the Commanders since 2020, most recently serving as senior director of player personnel.

On Monday, another Washington executive with longer ties to the organization will not return. Ben Standig of The Athletic reported that Malcolm Blacken, the team’s senior director of player development, will not have his contract renewed.

Bracken served three different stints in Washington, first from 1996-2000 as a strength and conditioning coach and in 2010. He returned in 2013 to serve as Washington’s director of player development before being elevated to his current role in 2020.

A former running back at Virginia Tech, Bracken helped players on and off the field, specifically rookies adjusting to the NFL. Bracken was often praised for his work.

Here he is back in 2023 with the rookie class:

It’s unknown if Washington will replace Bracken from within, or hire someone from the outside.