THE DAILY BRIEFING
| This from Vic Tafur of The Athletic:
New head coaches were 6-3-1 last week, with Mike McDaniel leading the way.
We checked and all of the 10 new head coaches met a holdover coach (i.e. no games that were a win and a loss).
– – –
The NFL announces an international agreement with Germany’s top soccer league per ESPN:
The National Football League and the German Bundesliga (DFL) announced an agreement on Thursday that will see two of the world’s most successful sporting operations collaborate to help grow business in their respective markets.
Having been informally sharing expertise in various areas since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NFL and DFL said they will increase collaboration in production, broadcast and programming, digital innovation and marketing.
The NFL will play its first regular-season game in Germany at Munich’s Allianz Arena on Nov. 13 with Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers taking on the Seattle Seahawks.
Germany will host one regular-season NFL game in each of the next four years, alternating between Munich and Frankfurt.
“Our first regular season game in Germany this fall also presents an opportunity to work with and learn from some of the most successful sports leagues around the world,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.
– – –
Alabama players are all over the NFL. The Crimson Tide, LSU and The Ohio State basically have enough to field their own teams:
Alabama remains the king of prospects on an NFL roster to open a season.
The Crimson Tide have had the most or tied for the most players (58) on active NFL Week rosters for the sixth consecutive season, the NFL announced Thursday. Alabama also placed the most active NFL players on season-opening rosters in 2018 (44), 2019 (56), 2020 (53) and 2021 (54), and shared the league lead in 2017 (39).
Here’s a glance at the top 10:
Alabama 58
LSU 52
Ohio State 52
Georgia 44
Notre Dame 37
Penn State 35
Florida 33
Michigan 33
Oklahoma 32
Iowa 31
This from SI.com (written before Week 1) shows the depth of the Alabama squad:
When the National Football League kicks off its season next week, the Alabama football program is on pace to have 57 active players on various 53-man rosters.
Note: The league credits Jalen Hurts to Oklahoma, but we claim him for the Crimson Tide as well because he was a starter and finished his degree before transferring. So officially it’ll be 56.
That should lead the nation again as Buckeyes Now reported that 51 former Ohio State players survived the final cuts on Tuesday.
Alabama will also have 13 additional non-active players who are on some form of injured reserve, or on a practice squad. Among them, running back Brian Robinson Jr. and wide receiver Jameson Williams are expected to rejoin their teams in about a month.
With the Houston Texans signing O.J. Howard and placing rookie linebacker Christian Harris on the injured reserve, with wide receiver John Metchie III on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury list, there are only four teams that don’t have an active Crimson Tide player: Bills, Chiefs, 49ers and Seahawks.
The breakdown is as follows:
Quarterbacks: 3
Running backs: 6
Wide receivers 6
Tight ends: 2
Offensive linemen: 10
Defensive linemen: 11
Linebackers: 5
Defensive backs: 13
Special teams: 1
According to SportTrac, the current Alabama players will make $262 million this year and have careere earnings of over a billion dollars.
The Fantasy team is Tua and Mac Jones handing off to Derrick Henry, Najee Harris, Damien Harris and others. The top receivers are Jaylen Waddle, DeVonta Smith and Amari Cooper. Irv Smith, Jr. is the best tight end. They don’t have a placekicker. |
| NFC NORTH |
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DETROIT
RB DeANDRE SWIFT tells Lions fans (and his Fantasy owners) not to worry about Sunday with the Commanders. Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com:
Detroit Lions running back D’Andre Swift missed his second consecutive practice Thursday because of an ankle issue, but he told ESPN that he’ll “most definitely” be ready to play against the Washington Commanders on Sunday.
“I’m all right,” Swift said.
Swift, who rushed for a career-best 144 yards on 15 attempts in Week 1, has a chance to join Billy Sims (1980) and Barry Sanders (1996) as the only Lions players with 100 rushing yards in each of the team’s first two games.
“It was cool,” Swift told ESPN. “I think they did a good job of getting me and 30 [Jamaal Williams] involved.”
Swift rolled an ankle during the first half of Sunday’s loss to Philadelphia, but he stayed in the game.
“Everyone knows, players and coaches, when the ball is in his hands, it’s usually a good thing for us,” Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said.
The Lions are currently 1½-point favorites against the Commanders. It’s the first time that the team has been favored in a game since Nov. 22, 2020, according to Caesars Sportsbook.
Swift said he’s often contacted by fantasy football players about his game-time status, but he said he doesn’t “pay no mind to it,” as the Lions are trying to avoid an 0-2 start for the third straight year and the fourth time in the past five seasons.
“We’ve got to find a way to finish,” Swift told ESPN. “Coming off the last game, we’ve got to find a way to build off the things we did well and fix the little mistakes that we did make and not let it happen again throughout the season. Just build on what we did well for Week 2.”
And this is re-assuring for Swift and his backers, per Kevin Patra of NFL.com:
Detroit Lions running back D’Andre Swift blasted out of the gate with a big Week 1. Could the dynamic playmaker be in line for more touches moving forward?
Swift ranked third in the NFL in rushing last week, netting 144 yards with a TD, and led the league with a 9.6 yards per carry average. But he ranked tied for 12th with 15 carries.
The third-year back deserves a few more touches per week, but offensive coordinator Ben Johnson isn’t giving away the plan yet.
“He certainly had a hot start for us we’d like to continue to build on,” Johnson said Thursday, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “We have a vision for how we want to use him. We might not want to share that publicly right now, but no, he’s certainly a big part of our offense.” |
| NFC EAST |
|
NEW YORK GIANTS
The 1-0 Giants will get their prized rookie back on Sunday. Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com:
New York Giants top pick Kayvon Thibodeaux says he feels “really confident” in being ready to make his NFL debut Sunday against the Carolina Panthers despite being limited in practice for the second consecutive day. The rookie missed the opener because of a sprained right MCL he suffered in the second preseason game three-plus weeks ago.
Coach Brian Daboll said that Thibodeaux participated in team drills Wednesday. Thibodeaux said he did a bit more at Thursday’s practice. The No. 5 pick in this year’s draft worked on the side with a trainer and rode the stationary bike during most of the period of practice open to the media.
“Getting close,” Thibodeaux said Thursday. “Like I said, trying not to look too far — what is today? Today is Thursday – still have Friday, Saturday. I’m really confident in this Sunday.”
Thibodeaux said he was feeling “a lot better” than he had previously. He still has some hurdles to clear and labeled himself day-to-day. He will see how he progresses over the next few days before any final decision is made.
The Giants (1-0) won in Tennessee without both starting edge rushers: Azeez Ojulari and Thibodeaux. Ojulari was also limited at Thursday’s practice as he tries to get back from a calf injury incurred at practice this summer.
Wide receiver Kadarius Toney also made an appearance on the injury report Thursday. He was limited with a hamstring injury, a problem he also dealt with this summer. |
|
WASHINGTON
A nugget from Vic Tafur of The Athletic:
Even without Chase Young last week, the Commanders posted Week 1’s highest pressure rate: 44.4 percent |
| NFC SOUTH |
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TAMPA BAY
Former QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, who thinks he was a target of the GOAT’s dismissive ire, is not a fan of QB TOM BRADY.
Ryan Fitzpatrick played in the NFL for 17 seasons but, apparently, that wasn’t long enough to earn the respect of Tom Brady.
During a recent interview on “Pardon My Take,” Fitzpatrick made it pretty clear that he’s not a huge fan of the Buccaneers quarterback. The subject of Brady came up after one of the hosts brought up the seven-time Super Bowl winner’s candid comments from June 2021 when Brady referred to an unnamed quarterback as a “mother [expletive].”
At the time, Brady was talking about his free agency tour and the fact that one team passed him because they were sticking with their current guy.
“One of the teams, they weren’t interested at the very end,” Brady said. “I was thinking, you’re sticking with that mother [expletive]. Are you serious?'”
Although most people believe Brady was referring to Derek Carr or even Jimmy Garoppolo, Fitzpatrick is convinced that Brady was referring to him.
“It had to be me,” Fitzpatrick said.
It’s definitely possible that Brady was referring to Fitzpatrick. We know Brady was contacted by the Dolphins multiple times in the lead up to his free agency in March 2020 and we also know that Brian Flores, who was Miami’s coach at the time, wanted nothing to do with Brady. In the end, the Dolphins passed on Brady so they could stick with the combination of Fitzpatrick and Tua Tagovailoa, who was drafted one month after Brady signed with the Buccaneers.
During the podcast interview, Fitzpatrick was told that Brady definitely respects him, and the former Dolphins QB did NOT agree with that take.
“No. Zero respect,” Fitzpatrick said. “He’d never shake my hand.”
From there, Fitzpatrick explained why he’s not a huge fan of Brady.
“Man, I’ve told this story before, but he just pisses me off,” Fitzpatrick said of the 45-year-old. “[I’m] in Buffalo … playing New England, they’re kicking our ass every single year, they’re beating us. We finally, in 2011, knocked them off. It was right at the beginning of the season. We had this great start and he threw five interceptions in the game, which was just wonderful to see every single one of them. Just wonderful to see.”
What wasn’t so wonderful for Fitzpatrick following Buffalo’s 34-31 win was that Brady ran “straight off” the field without taking part in a postgame handshake. After finally getting the best of Brady, Fitzpatrick was looking forward to the moment they were going to have at midfield, but it never came.
“Like, no handshake, no quarterback middle of the field, ‘Where are the cameras? OK, hey, stay healthy buddy.’ Pat me on the head and let me go. Just ran straight off,” Fitzpatrick said. “It just bothered me so much because there was no respect there. Every time I played him after that, I was like ‘All right, let’s make this dude respect me.'”
The upside in all of this for Fitzpatrick is that he ended up getting the last laugh. Fitzpatrick’s final game ever against Brady came in the 2019 regular-season finale. In the game, the Patriots needed a win to clinch a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, but that didn’t happen. Fitzpatrick and the Dolphins ended up shocking the Patriots 27-24.
“The last one was especially sweet because it was the ‘Tank For Tua’ year,” Fitzpatrick said. “It was start out 0-7, ‘Is this the worst football team of all time?’ They beat us [43-0] at the beginning of the season. They needed to beat us to get home-field advantage and it was his last regular-season game as a Patriot, and we go and we score at the end of the game and beat them.”
After that game, Fitzpatrick thinks he might have finally gotten that postgame handshake he was looking for.
“I probably initiated it,” Fitzpatrick said.
The now retired quarterback has been making the media rounds this week to promote the fact that Amazon is taking over “Thursday Night Football.” Fitzpatrick is an analyst for “NFL on Prime” who will be working on the pregame, halftime and postgame shows. If Amazon really wants to spice things up, the company will make sure the Fitzpatrick interviews Brady at some point in the lead up to Tampa Bay’s Thursday night game in Week 8. |
| NFC WEST |
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SEATTLE
Vic Tafur of The Athletic:
Pete Carroll may be 9-4 against the spread when facing a quarterback in one of the first five starts of his career, but this is the first time playing a week after a “Super Bowl” win. |
| AFC WEST |
|
KANSAS CITY
Frank Schwab of YahooSports.com tells us about the big play of Chiefs rookie hero DB JAYLEN WATSON:
Everyone found Amazon Prime Video’s stream on Thursday night to watch Justin Herbert vs. Patrick Mahomes. Instead, Jaylen Watson ended up being the star of the show.
Jaylen who? Watson was a seventh-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs in this year’s draft. He stepped into a big role for Thursday night’s game because first-round pick Trent McDuffie was out due to an injury.
In a game full of big-name players, Watson made the play that decided it.
In the fourth quarter of a tie game, Watson picked off a Justin Herbert pass near the goal line and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown. That changed the entire game, as the Chiefs went on to a 27-24 win in a game that will loom large all season in the AFC West race.
Before the biggest play of the game — and what will hold up as one of the most important plays of the season — Chargers tight end Gerald Everett was asking out after catching a pass inside the 5-yard line. The Chargers wanted to keep playing fast without a huddle, so they didn’t sub Everett out of the game. That allowed Watson to jump inside of Everett on Herbert’s pass and turn around a massive divisional game.
The Chargers will regret that series of events all season.
Not a high-scoring start
The game was expected to be a high-scoring one with two of the NFL’s most exciting quarterbacks, but both offenses struggled to score in the first half. The Chargers took a 10-0 lead, and the Chiefs answered with a nice sidearm touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes to Jerick McKinnon. Both offenses were fairly efficient, but there weren’t many big plays. Both defenses were focused on not letting the other team’s strong-armed quarterback beat them over the top, and they mostly kept everything in front of them.
The Chargers struck right away in the third quarter. They picked up a fourth-and-1 on a strong Austin Ekeler run. Then Herbert floated one up to Mike Williams, who made a phenomenal one-handed touchdown catch. That put the Chargers ahead 17-7.
Mahomes came right back. Mahomes stepped up in the pocket and with a flick of the wrist he hit Justin Watson — who was in the game because Mecole Hardman came out before the play to get a heel injury checked out — deep downfield for a 41-yard touchdown. Even Mahomes’ old teammate Tyreek Hill was impressed.
It set up a tense finish between division rivals in what should be a tight AFC West race all season.
Momentum shifts in the fourth quarter
The fourth quarter started with the Chiefs deciding whether to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. The Chiefs settled for a 19-yard field goal. It was a safe play, but it did tie the game 17-17.
It turned out well. The Chargers drove right downfield and got inside the 5-yard line on a catch by Everett. Everett was exhausted and wanted out of the game, but the Chargers were in hurry-up mode and he didn’t come out. Everett faded a bit on his short route, allowed Watson to jump inside of him and catch an interception that he returned 99 yards for a score. It was the type of non-obvious mistake, ignoring Everett trying to get out of the game, that can decide a very important game.
The Chargers went three-and-out after that, and it was clear all the momentum the Chargers built up over three-plus quarters was gone.
Herbert had another chance, though he went down for a few scary moments after a hit. He got up and came back in after one play off, but got hit again on his next attempt and was grimacing as he got up, clutching his side. Herbert’s two passes after coming back were incomplete and the Chargers punted with four minutes left. Clyde Edwards-Helaire snapped off a 52-yard run after that and the game was all but over. The Chiefs got a field goal to take a 10-point lead.
The Chargers scored with 1:11 left on a fourth-down pass from Herbert to Josh Palmer, but the Chiefs recovered an onside kick to wrap up the win.
The Chiefs were challenged by the Chargers, and could be pushed by them in the AFC West race all season. But Watson’s pick-six stole the show. Chiefs fans will remember his name after Thursday night.
More from Grant Gordon of NFL.com:
“The ball just ended up in my chest and I took it home,” Watson said after the game, in which he also had four tackles and a pass breakup. “It was a surreal feeling, just so grateful and blessed to be in this position, and I didn’t even know what to do when I got in the end zone, that’s why everyone seen me just standing there, but it’s a moment I’ll never forget.”
Taken at No. 243 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Washington State, Watson earned a start Thursday for the reigning AFC West champions and in the eighth quarter of his professional career provided one of the biggest highlights of the young season.
“It was an important, big play,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said. “Big play.”
Trailing 17-7 in the third quarter, the Chiefs rallied to tie it at 17 on a Matt Ammendola field goal. However, on the ensuing drive, Herbert and the Chargers were driving to retake the lead when Gerald Everett hauled in a 26-yard reception to the Kansas City 3-yard line. Noticeably gassed on the play, Everett wasn’t subbed out and Herbert went right back to him. Herbert’s pass was low and Watson jumped the route before bringing the Chiefs faithful to its feet 99 yards later.
As big of a highlight as it was for Watson, it was also historic. It is currently etched in the record books as the longest go-ahead fourth-quarter TD by a rookie in history, per NFL Research. It was also an indisputable game-changer, as the Chiefs’ win probability increased by 54.1 percentage points, per Next Gen Stats.
Watson played in Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals, but Thursday’s prime-time showdown with the rival Chargers was the setting for his first NFL start.
“I’ve just been working my butt off and if the time came where someone went down I was going to be ready and prepared, and that’s what happened,” Watson said.
The time and the moment came for the 23-year-old and he shined. Still, it was a moment Watson said he predicted.
“I woke up knowing I was going to get a pick, honestly,” he said. “I just knew, being a seventh-rounder, having my first start, I was going to get tested a lot and early, and I just felt I was going to get one today, and that’s what happened.
“I was surprised. I still knew I was going to get one, but obviously I was surprised when it happened.”
Watson is from Augusta, Georgia, finding his way to Washington State through Ventura CC in California. He did not start for the Cougars fulltime until 2021, his fifth season out of high school (he started 3 games in Covid shortened 2020).
– – –
Meanwhile, QB PATRICK MAHOMES admits he got away with some errant throws. Kevin Patra of NFL.com:
Good teams win their clunkers.
The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t play crisp football Thursday night but found a way to overcome a 10-point second-half deficit to defeat the Los Angeles Chargers, 27-24.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes made some fantastic plays to lead the Chiefs, but his play was sporadic, tossing several balls that could have been picked off on the night.
“First off, I’m livin’ right,” Mahomes said via the official transcript. “Because I had a couple interceptions that didn’t get called with flags because there were flags and then that one got overturned when it hit the ground. Yeah, whenever you get that second opportunity where you’re going to go back out there and they had had the ball 17-7 with the ball already in the red zone and getting another opportunity to go back out there and score you have to capitalize on it when you’re playing great football teams and so it was a great job as an offense that we found a way to score on that drive. I had to stop giving them even chances. It’s just too close sometimes and I’m going to make sure I get better at that.”
A key sequence came midway through the third quarter, with K.C. trailing by double digits. Mahomes threw a wayward pass to Travis Kelce that corner Asante Samuel Jr. jumped and appeared to intercept. However, officials ruled that Samuel didn’t control the ball to the ground, overturning the call.
Six plays later, Mahomes made the Chargers pay, stepping up in the pocket and rifling a perfect off-balance laser to Justin Watson for the TD.
Mahomes credited the Chargers’ defense with making life difficult on him, particularly the overturned interception.
“So, you hope that it’s overturned obviously, but on the play they got me,” he said. “They were all game. They were playing one coverage and out of nowhere they threw me with a shell coverage with a corner who had been playing just kind of getting out of there the whole time. He dropped down to play Cover 2 and so it got me. I don’t throw just straight to guys most times and so (we) got lucky enough that it bounced around, hit the ground and I was able to get another chance at it. I’m sure PFF will have me at a low grade for that, but I’ll keep rolling.”
L.A.’s reworked defense got its hands on a host of Mahomes passes. His 24-of-35 passing, 235-yard and two-TD stat line could have looked much worse had the INT luck not bounced the Chiefs’ way.
But K.C. made the Chargers pay for those missed opportunities, and the defense roared to life in the second half. On a short week, not playing their best football against a good division opponent, the Chiefs will bank the comeback W.
“I think this year we found a way to win it,” Mahomes said. “That’s going to be a team that’s going to be in the playoff picture. They’re Super Bowl contenders. They have a great defense, great offense, great special teams so to find a way to win and keep that home field advantage, I think it was huge and it’ll be something that we’ll look back on at the end of the season and say that was a big win for us.” |
|
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
Chargers QB JUSTIN HERBERT came out of Thursday’s loss with a rib injury. Lindsay Thiry of ESPN.com:
– Twenty minutes after losing to the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert exited the locker room with medical staff and walked — with a look of discomfort on his face — to the X-ray room.
With 5:09 remaining in Thursday night’s 27-24 loss, Herbert took a hit from Chiefs defensive end Mike Danna that left him lying on the field for an extended period. He missed one play before returning, and then was immediately crushed between Chiefs pass-rushers Frank Clark and George Karlaftis but remained in the game.
Herbert did not speak to reporters afterward, with a Chargers spokesperson saying he would not be available and citing a rib injury.
Chargers coach Brandon Staley initially downplayed any potential injury, saying, “It was just a tough NFL game and he took some big hits.”
Asked whether he felt concerned about Herbert going forward, Staley said, “No. Because he’s Justin Herbert.”
But Staley later said the Chargers likely will learn more Friday about the nature of any injury to Herbert.
– – –
Something seems to have happened to Coach Brandon Staley over the offseason. Last year’s version made bold gambles. The 2022 edition, as on display Thursday night, played it safe, perhaps too safe. Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com:
Chargers head coach Brandon Staley earned a reputation as someone who likes to go for it on fourth down during the 2021 season, but he veered away from that habit in Kansas City on Thursday night.
Staley opted to kick a field goal on fourth-and-2 from the Chiefs’ 13-yard-line at the end of the team’s first possession of the game and then punted on two more short fourth downs in Chiefs territory in the second quarter of the game.
After the 27-24 loss was in the books, Staley explained why he made those choices.
“Just wanted to give our defense a chance to compete, I really loved the way we were playing,” Staley said, via the team’s website. “I felt like that was the formula, to slip the field there. I felt like we were aggressive when we needed to be tonight, converted all four of our fourth downs. But felt like with who’s over there and the way our defense was playing, field position would be a big edge for us to pin them back there.”
The Chargers defense did not give up any points after the two punts, so Staley’s faith in his defense paid off in those spots. He probably wouldn’t have had the same faith in the unit last year and that change is a significant one even if the game didn’t wind up going the Chargers’ way on Thursday.
Of the four 4th downs that LAC converted one was on a 4th-and-1 near midfield in the 1stquarter, one was a 4th-and-1 at the KC 18 in the 3rd quarter on a successful TD drive and two were on the final desperate drive where going for it was required under any circumstances. So two elected 4th down conversion tries, two that were dictated to any coach. |
| AFC EAST |
|
NEW ENGLAND
QB MAC JONES took ill on Thursday and missed Patriots practice. Mike Reiss of ESPN.com:
New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones didn’t practice on Thursday because of an illness, according to the team.
Jones’ illness currently isn’t expected to impact his availability for Sunday’s road game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, according to sources.
But it also isn’t ideal on a day the Patriots generally work on third-down situations, among other things. Veteran Brian Hoyer and rookie Bailey Zappe were the lone quarterbacks at Thursday’s practice.
Jones’ illness adds another layer to an eventful week for the second-year quarterback, who injured his back in Sunday’s season-opening loss and underwent X-rays shortly thereafter, which led to the cancellation of his postgame news conference.
Jones said all the tests after the game came back “fine.” He practiced fully on Wednesday and afterward reported that his back responded well.
“Feels good, keeping it warm, throwing the football,” he said, adding that he was ready to play Sunday.
The Jones-led Patriots offense committed three turnovers in a 20-7 loss to the Miami Dolphins, while the Steelers’ defense created five turnovers in an overtime victory over the defending AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals.
Before his illness, Jones said: “Steelers [have] always had that hard-nosed, turnover-type football team. They’ve kept that M.O.”
The Patriots have lost RB TY MONTGOMERY for at least four weeks with a knee injury as the 8-year vet has gone to IR. |
|
THIS AND THAT |
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TOP ROOKIES
NextGenStats has some secret sauce to determine the top 10 rookies of Week 1:
For example, the formula assigned the top player below, Falcons receiver Drake London, a composite score of 77. In other words, his performance placed him in the 77th percentile of all receivers of all experience levels in Week 1. When compared to the percentile scores of all rookies at every measurable position, London’s 77 was the top overall score.
NOTE: To qualify for the formula, players had to log at least five snaps in Week 1. Also, rookie offensive linemen were not scored, because there is not a sufficient number of metrics that represent individual blocking performance. That said, 14 different rookie offensive linemen started and played every offensive snap in their NFL debut.
1 – Drake London
WR · Round 1 (No. 8 overall)
Atlanta Falcons
KEY WEEK 1 METRICS:
7 targets, 5 receptions, 74 receiving yards (led all rookies in receiving yards)
+16 receiving yards over expected (led all rookies)
+12.2 percent catch rate over expected
2.8 yards per route
+3.7 receiving EPA when targeted (led all rookies)
5 targets, 3 receptions, 59 yards on passes of 10-19 air yards
WEEK 1 OVERALL SCORE: 77
There were questions all week long about whether the first receiver selected in the 2022 NFL Draft would play in Week 1 following a preseason knee injury. Not only did London suit up, but he dominated, showing no signs of rust. As the above metrics indicate, London excelled, especially on intermediate passes. That includes this 31-yard gain (on a ball that traveled 17.6 air yards), where he beat the Saints’ zone coverage on an in route to set up a field goal. As the Falcons work through their first season without Matt Ryan at quarterback since 2007, London appears poised to help keep the aerial attack afloat.
2 Jalen Pitre
S · Round 2 (No. 37)
Houston Texans
KEY WEEK 1 METRICS:
90 defensive snaps (tied for most among rookies, with teammate Derek Stingley Jr.)
10 tackles (second among rookies, behind the Jaguars’ Devin Lloyd)
4 defensive stops (fourth among rookies)
1 run stuff
0.4 yards allowed/coverage snap (17 yards, 47 coverage snaps)
WEEK 1 OVERALL SCORE: 75
Pitre’s reputation coming out of Baylor was that he could do it all on the field, and that versatility carried through to his professional debut. In a staggering 90 defensive snaps against the Colts, Pitre left it all out there to help Houston secure a tie. This first-and-goal stop of Jonathan Taylor helped set up an Indianapolis turnover on downs in the second quarter. In the passing game, Pitre’s yards-allowed-per-coverage-snap mark (0.4) proved he can handle any task assigned to him on the field.
3 Cade York
K · Round 4 (No. 124)
Cleveland Browns
KEY WEEK 1 METRICS:
4-4 FGs, 2-2 XPs, game-winning 58-yard FG
+23.4 percent field goal percentage over expected
WEEK 1 OVERALL SCORE: 75
A perfect day from York helped the Browns snap the longest Week 1 winless drought in NFL history (from 2005 to 2021, Cleveland logged zero Week 1 wins and one tie). While York was sharp all day long, his most notable kick was a 58-yard game-winner against the Panthers, denying ex-Brown Baker Mayfield his chance for revenge. Entering Week 1, York was best known for a game-winning 57-yarder in December 2020 over No. 6 Florida in the “Shoe Game,” and York showed a similar knack for heroics on the professional stage; the decisive boot tied for the second-longest made field-goal try in Browns history, and it carried an expected field goal percentage of 33.5, according to Next Gen Stats’ model. For the full game, York’s field goal percentage over expected (+23.4) trailed only Greg Joseph of the Vikings (+24.8) among kickers with three-plus attempts.
4 Derek Stingley Jr.
CB · Round 1 (No. 3)
Houston Texans
KEY WEEK 1 METRICS:
90 defensive snaps (tied with teammate Jalen Pitre for most among rookies), with 49 coverage snaps
5 targets as nearest defender, with 2 receptions, 29 receiving yards, 0 TDs and a 59.6 passer rating allowed; 1 pass defensed
-17.8 percent catch rate over expected allowed as nearest defender
60.0 percent coverage success rate
0.6 yards allowed per coverage snap
WEEK 1 OVERALL SCORE: 73
Like Pitre, Stingley’s efforts were vital to Houston avoiding a loss in Week 1. Stingley’s lone pass breakup came on an extremely important play, as he showed off his pristine change-of-direction skills by locking up Colts rookie receiver Alec Pierce in a third-and-goal situation that forced Indy to settle for a field goal. Between Stingley and Pitre, Houston might have the foundation of its secondary set for a long time.
5 Dominique Robinson
Edge · Round 5 (No. 174)
Chicago Bears
KEY WEEK 1 METRICS:
27 defensive snaps
7 tackles (25.9 tackle percentage, which led all players with 20-plus defensive snaps)
1.5 sacks (led all rookies)
6 defensive stops (tied for most among rookies, with the Jaguars’ Devin Lloyd)
22.2 percent defensive stop rate (led all players with 20-plus defensive snaps)
2 QB pressures on 11 pass rushes (18.2 QB pressure percentage)
WEEK 1 OVERALL SCORE: 70
Robinson’s performance didn’t just stand out among rookies in Week 1; some of the defensive numbers posted above ranked among the best in the league, period. How did he get it done? Sheer effort went a very long way. Robinson had three hustle stops in Chicago’s win over San Francisco, the most by any rookie defensive lineman in a game in the NGS era (since 2016). Robinson’s chase-down of a screen pass to Jeff Wilson is a great example of a hustle stop, which is defined as any tackle resulting in a successful play for the defense in which the tackler covered at least 20 yards from snap to tackle.
6 Malcolm Rodriguez
LB · Round 6 (No. 188)
Detroit Lions
KEY WEEK 1 METRICS:
44 defensive snaps
6 tackles (13.6 tackle percentage)
5 defensive stops (third among rookies)
2 run stuffs (most among rookies)
WEEK 1 OVERALL SCORE: 67
Rodriguez was all over the field against the Eagles, securing five defensive stops, which are tackles on plays that were successful for the defense. Rodriguez paced rookies in run stuffs (which are run plays in which the ball-carrier is stopped with a gain of 1 or fewer yards), including this clutch solo stop of Boston Scott on a third-and-1, when the Eagles were trying to run out the clock. The Hard Knocks standout earned a starting role on your TV this summer, and his Week 1 performance — Detroit head coach Dan Campbell told the media that the player known as “Rodrigo” did not miss a single assignment in Week 1 — suggests he might be there to stay.
7 Jaquan Brisker
S · Round 2 (No. 48)
Chicago Bears
KEY WEEK 1 METRICS:
26 coverage snaps, 5 targets as nearest defender, 1 reception, 2 yards, 0 TDs, 39.6 passer rating allowed
4 tackles, 2 defensive stops, 1 run stuff
-54.3 percent catch rate over expected allowed (led all DBs, among those with a minimum of 3 targets)
-2.4 EPA when targeted
100 percent coverage success rate (tied for first among all players)
0.1 yards allowed per coverage snap (second among DBs, to D.J. Reed, among those with a minimum of 5 targets)
WEEK 1 OVERALL SCORE: 66
The Bears’ defense was the centerpiece to their win over a 49ers team that reached the NFC Championship Game last season, and Brisker — classified as a “sleeper” by Next Gen Stats’ draft scores in April — played a major role. As the above metrics show, Brisker was among the NFL’s most effective DBs in pass coverage in Week 1. He also made some major plays in the ground game when the Bears needed them most, adding a crucial fumble recovery from Deebo Samuel in the red zone on the 49ers’ opening drive, then making a goal-line stop of Jeff Wilson that forced San Francisco, which was leading 7-0 at the time, to settle for a third-quarter field goal.
8 Jahan Dotson
WR · Round 1 (No. 16)
Washington Commanders
KEY WEEK 1 METRICS:
5 targets, 3 receptions, 40 receiving yards, 2 receiving TDs
+14 receiving yards over expected
15.7 air yards per target
3 targets, 2 receptions, 31 yards, 2 TDs on passes of 10-plus air yards
WEEK 1 OVERALL SCORE: 65
Like Brisker, his former Penn State teammate, Dotson made a major splash in his NFL debut while helping his team to a Week 1 victory. Since Terry McLaurin was drafted in 2019, no other Washington wide receiver has reached 500 receiving yards in a season. But based on Dotson’s performance Sunday, he could be the long-sought-after complement to McLaurin. The explosiveness and ball skills that Dotson thrived with at the college level were on full display, as both of his receiving touchdowns from Carson Wentz came on vertical routes (one go route, one post route). The latter of those two scores gave the Commanders a lead they would never relinquish, when Dotson beat Jacksonville cornerback Tyson Campbell on a double move with 1:52 remaining for the game-winning touchdown.
9 Travon Walker
Edge · Round 1 (No. 1)
Jacksonville Jaguars
KEY WEEK 1 METRICS:
58 defensive snaps
4 tackles, 1.0 sack
2 defensive stops, 1 QB pressure
1 INT (only rookie to have an INT in Week 1)
WEEK 1 OVERALL SCORE: 63
The first overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft showed glimpses of why he earned that status in the Jaguars’ close loss to Washington. Raise your hand if you thought the NFL’s only interception from a rookie in Week 1 would come from a defensive lineman … and put your hand down if you were bold enough to lie to yourself like that. Walker, of course, made that absurd-sounding scenario a reality, showing remarkable instinct while detecting a Carson Wentz screen pass intended for Antonio Gibson and putting himself in position to secure the pick. That play increased the Jags’ win probability by 28.6 percentage points. Walker also showed off his burst with a third-quarter sack of Wentz. He became the first rookie to have one-plus sack and one or more interceptions in Week 1 since T.J. Watt back in 2017.
10 Garrett Wilson
WR · Round 1 (No. 10)
New York Jets
KEY WEEK 1 METRICS:
8 targets, 4 receptions, 52 rec yards
+2.9 receiving EPA when targeted
3 targets, 2 rec, 28 rec yards on out-breaking routes (corner, flat, out)
WEEK 1 OVERALL SCORE: 63
While the Jets’ offense struggled to get points on the board in their Week 1 loss to the Ravens, Wilson was a bright spot for a group riddled with young skill-position talent. Wilson’s expected points added (EPA) on his targets (+2.9) ranked third among all rookies, behind only Drake London and the Saints’ Chris Olave. Wilson was particularly sharp on out-breaking routes throughout the game, including this deep out on a fourth-and-15 in the fourth quarter that set up the Jets’ only touchdown. Wilson’s 23 percent target rate was second among Jets WRs/TEs in the game, an indicator he could be in store for a major role all year long. |
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