honyock
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Here is the midseason edition of the “How Are They Doing?’ report on the rookies who had been associated with the Cowboys pre-draft. They were either brought in for visits, linked as having team interest, or were talked about/hoped for/pet-catted by members here. Every year I get curious about what happens to those who don’t get selected by the team, so here is a brief recap for some of them.
I’ll do a longer report at the end of the season. The midseason version is really just a snapshot of which rookies have adapted the quickest to the NFL game. It doesn’t really mean too much beyond that. I’ve been doing this for four years now, and every year plenty of rookies start their first season slowly then start to figure things out the second half. Every year there are players who don’t make any midseason All-Rookie teams but by the end of the season, they are on virtually every All-Rookie list. And a few go the other way - they start fast and hit the wall or start to get exposed as time goes by. So this is just a very early look.
This is taken from a combination of national writers, local media, local bloggers, in some cases what coaches and opposing teams are saying about them, and if I can’t find much else, what is being said on team message boards, and if I can't find anything else, I resort to Bleacher Report (sorry, but I had to get that last part off my chest). It’s usually harder to find info about some of them at midseason than it is at seasons end, so I’ll go into more detail in the year-end report. I probably have left some off, so if there is anyone you want added to the season-end report, let me know.
This group is heavy on defensive lineman, offensive linemen, safeties, with a few linebackers and quarterbacks thrown in, to reflect where the pre-draft interest was at its strongest. As a note about DE’s in particular, a few writers who selected midseason all-rookie teams admitted that they had difficulty finding defensive ends to put on the list. Most of the top DE's coming out of college either started slowly, have been hurt, or are playing OLB at the NFL level. So none have really been standouts as DE's so far. Among other positions, no surprises that the rookies that have started fast have mostly come from the first and second rounds of the draft. I didn't include rookies that were going to go high enough that they weren't realistic to fall to the Cowboys (like Kahlil Mack, who has been terrific so far for the Raiders).
So here ya go, by round:
Round 1
Anthony Barr, OLB, Vikings - Very fast start for Barr with the Vikings. Playing strong side LB in the Vikings 4-3 D, has shown the ability to rush, defend the run and cover, has four sacks and three fumble recoveries through 8 games, and would be a front runner for defensive rookie of the year if the voting were held now. Named the NFC defensive player of the week after his strip/fumble recovery/TD in overtime against the Bucs. Was supposed to be raw but his learning curve has been very fast. The Cowboys scouts were right to be very high on him.
Taylor Lewan, OT, Tennessee - stepped in at left tackle after a season ending injury to Michael Roos after 5 games and has generally gotten positive reviews in his limited time starting.
Aaron Donald, DT, Rams - Started a little slowly, but has been better and better every game. In the conversation with Barr and Moseley for defensive rookie of the year. Great against the run, 3 sacks and very disruptive as a pass rusher. Has been living more and more in opposing backfields. Rams watchers are raving about him.
Ryan Shazier, OLB, Steelers - limited by a knee injury that had him miss 4+ games. Has been okay, just not enough time on the field to work through the rookie moments and learning curve.
C.J. Moseley, LB, Baltimore - Excellent for the Ravens. 4th in the NFL in tackles at the halfway point, leads all linebackers in passes defensed and has 2 picks. Another early defensive ROY candidate.
Calvin Pryor, S, NYJets - Has come under criticism for his play, including from his head coach, for not making the impact they’d hoped so far. There has been some talk they’re misusing him as a deep safety instead of putting him nearer the line of scrimmage where it’s felt he’d have more impact.
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, S, Green Bay - no big splash plays yet and some tackling issues, but has generally gotten high marks as a pretty solid cover safety for the Packers.
Manziel, Johnny, QB, Browns - on the bench behind Eric Hoyer, has thrown one pass so far.
Dee Ford, OLB, Chiefs - Has flashed a little as a pass rusher when he’s seen the field but he’s behind Justin Houston and Tamba Hall and having a hard time getting on the field.
Dominique Easley, DE, Patriots - Has gotten a lot of snaps in the Patriots d-line rotation and has started two games at DE, but it’s been a quiet start for him. Has a sack but hasn’t shown as much as they hoped as a pass rusher. Still coming back from a bad college injury, so the fact he’s played as much as he has at this point is a win for the Pats.
Jimmie Ward, CB/S, San Fran - lots of growing pains so far as a hybrid DB for the 49’ers. Out of position a lot, has struggled with a quad injury the past few games.
Round 2
Xavier Su'a-Filo, OG, Houston - They hoped he’d be a plug and play guard. Has started one game and filled in in others, hasn’t been very good, many struggles in pass protection.
Ra’Shede Hageman, DE, Atlanta - Limited playing time for Atlanta so far, and hasn’t shown much with the snaps he’s had.
Kyle Van Noy, OLB, Detroit - missed the entire first half recovering from sports hernia surgery.
Joel Bitonio, OG, Cleveland - great start, has gotten reviews very similar to Martin’s. Excellent run blocker already. May be the best rookie in the league so far outside of round 1.
Stephon Tuitt, DE, Pittsburgh - In the Steelers rotation at defensive end but has made little impact so far.
Trent Murphy, OLB, Commanders - seven very quiet games for the Commanders at OLB, then broke through against the Cowboys in game 8, with pressures, a batted pass and a fumble recovery.
Timmy Jernigan, DT, Baltimore - Has missed 3 games with knee issues. Only has 71 snaps in the five games in which he’s played.
Jeremiah Attaochu, OLB, San Diego - has been hampered by nagging hamstring issues all season that have limited his playing time and effectiveness. Had only 62 defensive snaps through 8 games.
Kony Ealy, DE, Carolina - slow start, has been gradually working his way into the d-line rotation for the Panthers. Hasn’t shown much yet. Did get his first sack in week 8.
Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, New England - After an up and down preseason, Garoppolo has played well in very limited mop-up duty for Tom Brady in 3 games so far.
Round 3
Morgan Moses, OT, Washington - A backup OT so far for the Commanders.
Billy Turner, OG, Miami - Miami moved him from tackle to guard. Hobbled by a foot issue early on, since then hasn’t gotten on the field.
Scott Crichton, DE, Vikings - has played very sparingly in Minnesota’s d-line rotation so far. Averaging about 2 snaps per game so far.
Gabe Jackson, OG, Raiders - Day 1 starter at left guard for the Raiders and has been steady and solid. Allowed just two QB hits and no sacks in the first half, his combination of speed and power has translated well to the NFL right off the bat.
Will Sutton, DT, Chicago - has seen quite a bit of playing time so far in the Bears d-line rotation. Not much impact as a pass rusher but has been a solid run defender.
Louis Nix, DT, Houston - placed on IR by the Texans before game 1.
Kareem Martin, DE, Arizona - Injuries along the Cardinals d-line have resulted in Martin getting plenty of snaps so far for Arizona. He’s struggled at times with mental mistakes, but he helped stabilize and hold down the fort until the starters got healthy. Nothing flashy but they sounds pleased with what he’s done so far.
Khyri Thornton, DT, Green Bay - struggled mightily in the preseason before going on IR with a season ending injury.
Trai Turner, OG, Carolina - gradually worked his way into the Panthers starting lineup by game 5, played pretty well before suffering a knee injury.
Brandon Thomas, OL, San Francisco - torn ACL during pre-draft workouts, picked by 49’ers late in round 3 anyway. Out for the year.
Round 4
Justin Ellis, DT, Raiders - has been solid so far as NT for the Raiders, has given them a ton of snaps. Another good pick for Oakland. As bad as they have been, he’s been part of a very solid rookie class.
DaQuan Jones, DT, Titans - Only 25 snaps through eight games on the d-line for Tennessee.
Kevin Pierre-Louis, OLB, Seattle Mainly a backup and special teamer for Seattle for most of the first half. Has played lots of snaps the past two weeks after Malcolm Smith was injured, and has gotten pretty good reviews. Active and fast.
Dakota Dozier, OL, NYJets - no offensive snaps for Dozier so far this year.
Round 5
Telvin Smith, OLB, Jacksonville - Has played regularly at OLB for the Jaguars and has gradually worked his way into the starting lineup. They’re pretty high on him.
David Yankey, OL, Vikings - has been a healthy inactive for most of the year so far.
Aaron Lynch, OLB, 49ers - has shown up pretty nicely so far, first as a situational pass-rusher for San Francisco, then with more and more playing time, averaging about 25 snaps per game. 2 sacks/4QB hits/13 hurries so far, made a big stop on Darren Sproles late in the win over Philly.
Caraun Reid, DT, Detroit - has been in the Lions defensive rotation all year and has gotten plenty of snaps. The reviews are are varied on him depending on who you listen to, ranging from overwhelmed and not strong enough, to steady and pretty decent start for a rookie.
Aaron Murray, QB Kansas City - third string developmental qb for the Chiefs.
AJ McCarron, QB, Cincy - has been on Cincinnati’s NFI list all year.
(I skipped rounds 6 and 7, just tired of all the googling by then.)
...but here are a couple of UDFA's that were talked about here pre-draft:
Jackson Jeffcoat, DE/OLB - signed and later released by Seattle, then signed by the Commanders to their practice squad, then promoted to the active roster before game 5. Has gotten one defensive snap since then.
Kelcy Quarles - has already bounced from the Giants to New England to the Colts, where he recorded a sack in his first game, but has gotten very limited playing time.
I’ll do a longer report at the end of the season. The midseason version is really just a snapshot of which rookies have adapted the quickest to the NFL game. It doesn’t really mean too much beyond that. I’ve been doing this for four years now, and every year plenty of rookies start their first season slowly then start to figure things out the second half. Every year there are players who don’t make any midseason All-Rookie teams but by the end of the season, they are on virtually every All-Rookie list. And a few go the other way - they start fast and hit the wall or start to get exposed as time goes by. So this is just a very early look.
This is taken from a combination of national writers, local media, local bloggers, in some cases what coaches and opposing teams are saying about them, and if I can’t find much else, what is being said on team message boards, and if I can't find anything else, I resort to Bleacher Report (sorry, but I had to get that last part off my chest). It’s usually harder to find info about some of them at midseason than it is at seasons end, so I’ll go into more detail in the year-end report. I probably have left some off, so if there is anyone you want added to the season-end report, let me know.
This group is heavy on defensive lineman, offensive linemen, safeties, with a few linebackers and quarterbacks thrown in, to reflect where the pre-draft interest was at its strongest. As a note about DE’s in particular, a few writers who selected midseason all-rookie teams admitted that they had difficulty finding defensive ends to put on the list. Most of the top DE's coming out of college either started slowly, have been hurt, or are playing OLB at the NFL level. So none have really been standouts as DE's so far. Among other positions, no surprises that the rookies that have started fast have mostly come from the first and second rounds of the draft. I didn't include rookies that were going to go high enough that they weren't realistic to fall to the Cowboys (like Kahlil Mack, who has been terrific so far for the Raiders).
So here ya go, by round:
Round 1
Anthony Barr, OLB, Vikings - Very fast start for Barr with the Vikings. Playing strong side LB in the Vikings 4-3 D, has shown the ability to rush, defend the run and cover, has four sacks and three fumble recoveries through 8 games, and would be a front runner for defensive rookie of the year if the voting were held now. Named the NFC defensive player of the week after his strip/fumble recovery/TD in overtime against the Bucs. Was supposed to be raw but his learning curve has been very fast. The Cowboys scouts were right to be very high on him.
Taylor Lewan, OT, Tennessee - stepped in at left tackle after a season ending injury to Michael Roos after 5 games and has generally gotten positive reviews in his limited time starting.
Aaron Donald, DT, Rams - Started a little slowly, but has been better and better every game. In the conversation with Barr and Moseley for defensive rookie of the year. Great against the run, 3 sacks and very disruptive as a pass rusher. Has been living more and more in opposing backfields. Rams watchers are raving about him.
Ryan Shazier, OLB, Steelers - limited by a knee injury that had him miss 4+ games. Has been okay, just not enough time on the field to work through the rookie moments and learning curve.
C.J. Moseley, LB, Baltimore - Excellent for the Ravens. 4th in the NFL in tackles at the halfway point, leads all linebackers in passes defensed and has 2 picks. Another early defensive ROY candidate.
Calvin Pryor, S, NYJets - Has come under criticism for his play, including from his head coach, for not making the impact they’d hoped so far. There has been some talk they’re misusing him as a deep safety instead of putting him nearer the line of scrimmage where it’s felt he’d have more impact.
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, S, Green Bay - no big splash plays yet and some tackling issues, but has generally gotten high marks as a pretty solid cover safety for the Packers.
Manziel, Johnny, QB, Browns - on the bench behind Eric Hoyer, has thrown one pass so far.
Dee Ford, OLB, Chiefs - Has flashed a little as a pass rusher when he’s seen the field but he’s behind Justin Houston and Tamba Hall and having a hard time getting on the field.
Dominique Easley, DE, Patriots - Has gotten a lot of snaps in the Patriots d-line rotation and has started two games at DE, but it’s been a quiet start for him. Has a sack but hasn’t shown as much as they hoped as a pass rusher. Still coming back from a bad college injury, so the fact he’s played as much as he has at this point is a win for the Pats.
Jimmie Ward, CB/S, San Fran - lots of growing pains so far as a hybrid DB for the 49’ers. Out of position a lot, has struggled with a quad injury the past few games.
Round 2
Xavier Su'a-Filo, OG, Houston - They hoped he’d be a plug and play guard. Has started one game and filled in in others, hasn’t been very good, many struggles in pass protection.
Ra’Shede Hageman, DE, Atlanta - Limited playing time for Atlanta so far, and hasn’t shown much with the snaps he’s had.
Kyle Van Noy, OLB, Detroit - missed the entire first half recovering from sports hernia surgery.
Joel Bitonio, OG, Cleveland - great start, has gotten reviews very similar to Martin’s. Excellent run blocker already. May be the best rookie in the league so far outside of round 1.
Stephon Tuitt, DE, Pittsburgh - In the Steelers rotation at defensive end but has made little impact so far.
Trent Murphy, OLB, Commanders - seven very quiet games for the Commanders at OLB, then broke through against the Cowboys in game 8, with pressures, a batted pass and a fumble recovery.
Timmy Jernigan, DT, Baltimore - Has missed 3 games with knee issues. Only has 71 snaps in the five games in which he’s played.
Jeremiah Attaochu, OLB, San Diego - has been hampered by nagging hamstring issues all season that have limited his playing time and effectiveness. Had only 62 defensive snaps through 8 games.
Kony Ealy, DE, Carolina - slow start, has been gradually working his way into the d-line rotation for the Panthers. Hasn’t shown much yet. Did get his first sack in week 8.
Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, New England - After an up and down preseason, Garoppolo has played well in very limited mop-up duty for Tom Brady in 3 games so far.
Round 3
Morgan Moses, OT, Washington - A backup OT so far for the Commanders.
Billy Turner, OG, Miami - Miami moved him from tackle to guard. Hobbled by a foot issue early on, since then hasn’t gotten on the field.
Scott Crichton, DE, Vikings - has played very sparingly in Minnesota’s d-line rotation so far. Averaging about 2 snaps per game so far.
Gabe Jackson, OG, Raiders - Day 1 starter at left guard for the Raiders and has been steady and solid. Allowed just two QB hits and no sacks in the first half, his combination of speed and power has translated well to the NFL right off the bat.
Will Sutton, DT, Chicago - has seen quite a bit of playing time so far in the Bears d-line rotation. Not much impact as a pass rusher but has been a solid run defender.
Louis Nix, DT, Houston - placed on IR by the Texans before game 1.
Kareem Martin, DE, Arizona - Injuries along the Cardinals d-line have resulted in Martin getting plenty of snaps so far for Arizona. He’s struggled at times with mental mistakes, but he helped stabilize and hold down the fort until the starters got healthy. Nothing flashy but they sounds pleased with what he’s done so far.
Khyri Thornton, DT, Green Bay - struggled mightily in the preseason before going on IR with a season ending injury.
Trai Turner, OG, Carolina - gradually worked his way into the Panthers starting lineup by game 5, played pretty well before suffering a knee injury.
Brandon Thomas, OL, San Francisco - torn ACL during pre-draft workouts, picked by 49’ers late in round 3 anyway. Out for the year.
Round 4
Justin Ellis, DT, Raiders - has been solid so far as NT for the Raiders, has given them a ton of snaps. Another good pick for Oakland. As bad as they have been, he’s been part of a very solid rookie class.
DaQuan Jones, DT, Titans - Only 25 snaps through eight games on the d-line for Tennessee.
Kevin Pierre-Louis, OLB, Seattle Mainly a backup and special teamer for Seattle for most of the first half. Has played lots of snaps the past two weeks after Malcolm Smith was injured, and has gotten pretty good reviews. Active and fast.
Dakota Dozier, OL, NYJets - no offensive snaps for Dozier so far this year.
Round 5
Telvin Smith, OLB, Jacksonville - Has played regularly at OLB for the Jaguars and has gradually worked his way into the starting lineup. They’re pretty high on him.
David Yankey, OL, Vikings - has been a healthy inactive for most of the year so far.
Aaron Lynch, OLB, 49ers - has shown up pretty nicely so far, first as a situational pass-rusher for San Francisco, then with more and more playing time, averaging about 25 snaps per game. 2 sacks/4QB hits/13 hurries so far, made a big stop on Darren Sproles late in the win over Philly.
Caraun Reid, DT, Detroit - has been in the Lions defensive rotation all year and has gotten plenty of snaps. The reviews are are varied on him depending on who you listen to, ranging from overwhelmed and not strong enough, to steady and pretty decent start for a rookie.
Aaron Murray, QB Kansas City - third string developmental qb for the Chiefs.
AJ McCarron, QB, Cincy - has been on Cincinnati’s NFI list all year.
(I skipped rounds 6 and 7, just tired of all the googling by then.)
...but here are a couple of UDFA's that were talked about here pre-draft:
Jackson Jeffcoat, DE/OLB - signed and later released by Seattle, then signed by the Commanders to their practice squad, then promoted to the active roster before game 5. Has gotten one defensive snap since then.
Kelcy Quarles - has already bounced from the Giants to New England to the Colts, where he recorded a sack in his first game, but has gotten very limited playing time.
