While most agree you shouldn’t evaluate a draft class until three years out, I say hogwash. These men are playing football right now and I want to know who’s making an impact! Week 1 obviously isn’t going to be the end all be all for their careers, but it does give us a good feel for which rookie classes are value adds this season. These are the five draft classes that stood out as making outsized contributions compared to where they were selected last April.
Note: While players like Abdul Carter, Armand Membou, Tyler Warren and others were undeniably awesome over the weekend, this exercise leaned on teams with multiple impact rookies from picks that were harder to hit on.
The Browns sent the NFL airwaves on fire from draft day all through training camp with their moves. In a humorous twist of irony, it was none of the players who dominated sports talk radio making an impact. We saw neither Shedeur Sanders nor Dillon Gabriel, and their top pick in Mason Graham, who they got instead of the oft-rumored Travis Hunter, was just okay in his debut.
No, it was the unheralded positions making outsized impacts for the Browns out the gate. Linebacker Carson Schwesinger, tight end Harold Fannin Jr., and running back Dylan Sampson looked like dudes. That’s a second-, third-, and fourth-rounder, respectively, showing out. Fannin was to me the most intriguing on rewatch because of how frequently Joe Flacco was looking his way. He’s an undersized, hybrid tight end who can create space on his own and after the catch. His seven catches and nine targets were second-most of any tight end in the league in Week 1.
Sampson also was a major factor as a receiver hauling in all eight of his targets for 64 yards with three broken tackles after the catch. There wasn’t much space for anyone running behind the Browns’ banged-up offensive line, but Sampson showed a willingness to fight for tough yards there as well. Even when Quinshon Judkins comes back, don’t expect Sampson to cede the starting role to the higher-drafted rookie.
The Falcons were searching for a big-time impact from this rookie class when they traded away a future first-rounder to go up and get James Pearce Jr.. It wasn’t either of their first-rounders, though, who were the headliner here. No, it’s the late third-rounder in safety Xavier Watts. Watts looked like he was back at Notre Dame reading routes well before they happened and seemingly always finding a way to be in the right place at the right time. Adding him next to Jessie Bates III will make opposing quarterbacks think twice about attacking downfield all season.
Of course, it didn’t stop there as the Falcons had three other major contributors defensively in Pearce (23 snaps), Jalon Walker (26 snaps), and Billy Bowman Jr. (47 snaps). The two first-rounders were eased in and while their athleticism flashed, you could still see the relative inexperience on tape.
One of the worst kept secrets in training camp was how good first-rounder Emeka Egbuka looked already and that translated immediately with four catches for 67 yards and two scores including the game winner. While he was exactly what they needed in the slot offensively, third-rounder Jacob Parrish was exactly what they needed in the slot defensively. He took over the mantle for Tykee Smith and might even be an upgrade. His physicality around the line of scrimmage was all over his tape as he shut down screens and wide runs. Parrish’s three targets resulted in a grand total of 2 yards.Â
The Bucs defense looks like it’s taken a step forward this year.
While third-round rookie Jordan Burch had a couple of nice pass-rushing reps, the Cardinals make this list because of second-round corner Will Johnson. He was not only the best rookie corner over the weekend, he put up one of the best performances of any corner in the league. He was targeted seven times and allowed four catches for 32 yards with two pass-breakups, according to PFF.
I was especially impressed with him in press coverage against the speedsters in New Orleans.
Johnson’s speed was a concern pre-draft, but it never showed up as he jostled the Saints wideouts throughout their routes. That’s a skill set the Cardinals didn’t have at corner last season and will be put to good use.
It seems like the Eagles are somehow always on this list and their most recent draft is no exception. Everyone raved about the fit of Jihaad Campbell in Vic Fangio’s defense when he was drafted and it came to fruition last Thursday. The flexibility he provides their defense is invaluable. It’s like they cloned Zack Baun. He can go from dropping down to the line of scrimmage and setting the edge one play to running to the deep middle in Tampa 2 the next and not looking out of place. He had a forced fumble and a pass-breakup in his very first start.Â
Andrew Mukuba deserves some praise too as the second-rounder also got the starting nod in Week 1. He finished with four tackles without a miss and only allowed 5 yards in coverage.