The Good The Bad & The Ugly Week 1 Rookies Edition

by Kris_06905 | 4 years ago | 1 Comments

There is little to compare with the thrill of a player's first SFL game. This week several rookies got to experience the pressure of performing under the fake lights of the SFL. Here is the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of some of those rookie performances for week 1.

 

The Good:

 

QB D'Eriq King - Vikings: Quarterback is the most challenging position in all of pro sports for even the highest draft picks. King was drafted in the 5th round as a potential project player out of the U. At 5'11", not even the Vikings thought he could have much of a future as a starting QB, but King looked like the real deal in his debut. King threw for 397 yards and 4 TDs with 0 INTs. Maybe most impressively, he completed 77% of his passes and finished with a perfect 158.3 QB rating. The downside is he doesn't play defense, and the Viking fell 41-40, wasting what was otherwise one of the best rookie debuts in history.

 

RB CJ Verdell - Jets: The 12th pick in the 2nd round carried the Jets to an upset win in week 1. Verdell ran for 169 yards on 21 carries, averaging 8.0 yards per rush. He also added another 26 yards receiving on 2 catches. The shifty runner from Oregon scored both of the Jets' TDs in their 14-13 win over the Bills. If Verdell is consistent all season, then the Jets should be a team to watch in the AFC playoff race in 2021.

 

RB Ty Chandler - Chiefs: The rookie out of Tennessee looked to be 3rd on the depth chart coming into the Chiefs 2021 season but moved up to 2nd with improvement in the pre-season, and after Clyde Edwards-Helaire's first carry of the season against the Jaguars, he found himself in the #1 spot. Chandler made the most out of his unexpected workload with 149 yards on 27 carries and 2 TDs against the Jaguars. Chandler took the pressure off of Mahomes in the poor weather and helped the Chiefs get the 31-17 win in Arrowhead.  

 

WR Dazz Newsome - Browns: The defending Super Bowl 34 champions already had a ridiculously good set of WRs but with a trade managed to get Newsome with the 3rd pick in the 3rd round. The former North Carolina Tarheel was Mayfield's favorite target in the Week 1 game against division rival Baltimore grabbing 8 balls for 155 yards. His outstanding performance wasn't enough, though, as the Browns fell 45-24 to the Ravens. Newsome should benefit significantly from OBJ and Landry, drawing the opposing team's best corners, leaving him with the potential for a big season if week 1 is any indication. Newsome was the only rookie pass-catcher to top the 100-yard mark in week 1.  

 

QB Jamie Newman - Colts: The 4th round pick out of Georgia won the job over the other rookie QBs Shane Beuchele and Tanner Morgan and played exceptionally well against division rival Tennessee Titans. Newman completed 19 of 30 for 304 yards and 2 TDs. He was sacked 3 times and intercepted once, but looked like he had early chemistry with fellow rookie, WR JaMarr Chase. Newman found Chase 6 times for 93 yards to lead all Colts' receivers.  

 

The Bad:

 

WR Jaylen Waddle - Jets: Unlike his rookie classmate CJ Verdell, Waddle did not impress in his debut. The Alabama product only managed 26 yards in 5 catches, and 10 of those yards came on 1 catch. The Jets did manage to win the game but were hoping for more out of the 12th pick in the draft. It's only week 1, and Waddle is determined to play better.  

 

QB Trey Lawrence - Cowboys: The #1 pick in the draft comes with unbelievable pressure. Being the QB for America's team only magnifies that pressure. All the hype surrounding the Clemson signal-caller and all his college success didn't translate into much of a debut. Lawrence managed to throw for 3 TDs and 284 yards but only completed 42% of his passes and was blown out 49-21 by the Raiders. Lawrence will get better as he learns the speed of the SFL, but looked worse than several other rookie QBs did week 1.   

 

The Ugly:

 

MLB Micah Parsons - Dolphins: Despite being the best MLB in the draft, Parsons was unable to get on the field for the Dolphins week 1. This might be a good problem to have for Miami as they managed to win 24-3 over the Steelers, but the fans expect the 6th pick in the draft to produce early on.  

 

QB Justin Fields - Saints: Replacing a legend is hard. Replacing the league leader in career yards and TD passes is really hard. The Saints hope they have found their next franchise QB in the #2 pick in the draft, Justin Fields. The former Buckeye has a long way to go before being mentioned in the same breath as Drew Brees, and Fields' game 1 performance already has the Saints' fanbase worried. Fields only completed 7 of 25 passes (28%) for 90 yards in a 26-0 loss to NFC South rival Tampa Bay. The silver lining is that Fields wasn't sacked and didn't turn the ball over, so there's that going for him.