Who is your biggest surprise player so far this season?

[aikemirv]

Dorance Armstrong

That was my pick.

Donovan Wilson had impressed me a while back. I was never that worried about Tyler Smith for some reason and Cooper Rush did what he did against Minnesota last year, although he did surprise me that he kept it going as long as he did

 

[Doomsday101]

Yeah, like a lot of these questions it depends on how you look at them. I tend to exclude players I felt like I knew were capable (TP, Rush) and rookies just because you never know how they are going to react to this level. So, for returning players that I really wasn't comfortable with I would say Biadasz or Maher. Oddly enough I would still say TB is the weakest link on the Oline but his play has been solid. Much better than last year.

I agree, This is year 3 for TB and he is showing the development I had hoped to see in him. I think many of us are quick to write a player off so I think giving props to a guy who is showing big improvement is warranted

 

[G2]

Most of the rookie draft class. It's special. Often times, you only get 1 or 2 players that come in, start and are productive.
Tyler Smith, Sam Williams, jake Ferguson, Daron Bland & Damone Clark are going to be in the highlight reels for years to come. Not only are they playing at a high level, but the franchise gets more "bang for their buck" when players are on rookie contracts. What a great year of evaluating.

Except Jalen Tolbert. I hope he develops.

 

[Whyjerry]

brett maher....for a position that has been fraught with inconsistency since we lost dan the man, this has been such a refreshing year....i think he alone has reduced my blood pressure by at least 10 points.

Oh good one too!

 

[Bermystar12]

Biggest surprise? I had high hopes for Smith, Ferguson and Williams and they've all met or surpassed those expectations.

1. Cooper Rush - I thought would win half the games he did...at best.
2. Brett Maher - I was sure the kicking game would be abysmal.
3. Damone Clark - As an LSU fan I thought he'd be great if he could eventually get back for NEXT SEASON. So him playing, and flashing, so early has to be on my list.

 

[Whyjerry]

I will also add Damone Clark. That poor guy had people questioning whether he would play again. Certainly looked like a redshirt guy. Now he is the third best LB on the team I believe. A steal of a pick.

 

[Risen Star]

Zack Martin.

Sometimes the light bulb just finally turns on.

 

[ColeBeasley11]

Dorance Armstrong

Same here. Rush showed he can be capable backup last year and the way we draft not surprised Tyler looking great. Most on here heavily criticized the DA signing. I was confused at the time as well but man he is a force. Seems like a great complement to Micah. 8 sacks and more splash plays!

 

[817Gill]

Dorance Armstrong

Bingo!

 

[cowboyec]

offense:cooper rush
defense:daron bland

 

[McKDaddy]

Zack Martin.

Sometimes the light bulb just finally turns on.

Having that Alpha on his right shoulder helps out the slow learners.

 

[KJJ]

Although he only played five games it’s still Cooper Rush. After the way we got beat by the Bucs in the opener with Dak no one would have ever imagined we would go 4-1 with Rush. There’s some fans that still wish he was starting. Lol

 

[Hagman]

All good answers so far.

So I'll say Lamb. He's played lights out since Dak returned and now he's making spectacular catches instead of dropping balls.

 

[Oz-of-Cowboy-Country]

Malik Davis...when I saw him in preseason, I wrote him off as a jag. He's surprised the hell out of me.

 

[KJJ]

As far as an unpleasant surprise, I’m surprised how bad Jalen Tolbert has been. His early camp reviews were pretty good and many in the media thought he would be one of our starters but he’s done absolutely nothing. He hasn’t even been active for some games. With James Washington going down in training camp and no Michael Gallup for the first few games we all thought for sure Tolbert would get a lot of reps. He’s a third round pick who’s only had 2 catches for 12 yards this entire season.

 

[big dog cowboy]

So many good answers. Hard to choose one but I'll go with Rush.

Everyone thought we were dead when Dak got hurt. Dude just came in and straight up balled.

 

[Creeper]

I think it has to be Connor McGovern on offense. Earlier in the season it might have been Noah Brown, but McGovern has been a very solid LG since coming back from injury. On the flip side, Tolbert has been an unpleasant surprise.

On defense I would go with Armstrong. Way better than I thought he could be.

 

[leeblair]

We've got a bunch of really solid contributors this year, when a lot of us (not all) were expecting a significant drop off.

Just curious who have been your biggest pleasant surprises?

While I've been a fan of Tony Pollard, and we've seen what he can do, he's really broken out this season. I think we all wondered how much of a heavier load he could actually handle, and boy has he answered the call.

I think he's got to be my pick, with honorable mentions going to terrence steele and dorrance armstrong.

The entire offensive line.

 

[Runwildboys]

So many good answers here. It might be easier to answer who hasn't surprised.

 

[xwalker]

We've got a bunch of really solid contributors this year, when a lot of us (not all) were expecting a significant drop off.

Just curious who have been your biggest pleasant surprises?

While I've been a fan of Tony Pollard, and we've seen what he can do, he's really broken out this season. I think we all wondered how much of a heavier load he could actually handle, and boy has he answered the call.

I think he's got to be my pick, with honorable mentions going to terrence steele and dorrance armstrong.

Surprises:
Damone Clark: I didn't expect him to play and if he did I expected it to be primarily special teams.

McGovern: Huge improvement compared to his 4 starts in 2021.

Bland: I thought he would be OK based on camp/preseason, but didn't expect him to be this good.