adam Posted October 6, 2018 Report Share Posted October 6, 2018 Here is a quick look at how are rookies are doing so far: Smith - 15 solo tackles (2nd on team), 1 sack, 1 PD, played in a team-high 81% of defensive team snaps vs TB. He is clearly getting more and more playing time, and he is nowhere near his peak yet. Just think about it, no one is even talking about him because guys like Jackson, Hicks, Trevathan, Callahan, and of course Mack are playing great. Daniels - rotated with Kush in TB game, looks like he is ready for prime time. He seeks contact like a vulture. He wants to hit people and is very athletic and strong. A great combination for our OLine. He has to be starting coming out of the bye. Miller - 8 rec, 60 yards, 1 TD in 3 games, injured shoulder, 112 offensive snaps thru 3 games. Injury risk is going to be the only knock on him for the rest of the year. He has clearly cemented himself as our #3 WR. Iyiegbuniwe - Core special teamer, 19 ST snaps vs TB (70 for season, 3 defensive snaps). Iggy has played in every game this year, mainly on Special Teams, which is fine. Nichols - tied for team lead in TFL (3), 0.5 sacks in 3 games, 50 defensive snaps. This guy makes splash play after splash play in his limited playing time. Already tied for team lead for TFL, he is always in the backfield. I can see him getting in to spell Goldman more often going forward, which is not a knock on Goldman. Nichols has a lot of upside. Fitts - Inactive for first 4 games, 0 snaps. After Mack acquisition, someone was going to be the odd man out. With Acho injury, he may get some PT. Wims - Inactive for first 3 games, 1 offensive snap. Wims got activated for the TB game with Miller out. He has the same amount of targets as White does (0). I am not concerned at his lack of PT since he is a 7th round pick and still a depth piece. Toliver - A UDFA with 71 defensive snaps, 30 ST, and 8 solo tackles. A great pickup by Pace, and I would rather see him more than Cooper any day. Overall, at the quarter pole, a very successful draft with a varying degree of contributions to this point, which is to be expected. If Daniels starts, and Nichols starts getting more PT, this will be a very solid draft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connorbear Posted October 6, 2018 Report Share Posted October 6, 2018 Looks to be a great draft. Tolliver appears to be a steal as a UDFA. Count me as very impressed. Peace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChileBear Posted October 6, 2018 Report Share Posted October 6, 2018 Agree on this as a great draft. And I too like Tolliver over Cooper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASHKUM BEAR Posted October 6, 2018 Report Share Posted October 6, 2018 Looking over the team, we have turned it around. We were a dropped INT from being 4-0. For being short on draft picks next year, it is actually fine. Sure we will need and miss them, but I am beyond happy with were they were spent. Next years class will hopefully add the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ54 Posted October 7, 2018 Report Share Posted October 7, 2018 Even without Daniels assuming his starting role yet, this is already a very solid draft class including Tolliver. Tolliver just went up against two of the most dangerous weapons in the NFL in Evans and Jackson and absolutely held his ground. I have to believe those WRs were salivating at the chance to go against a UDFA rookie in week 4 so that performance was really outstanding. He's not getting a lot of recognition because of the focus on our pass rush but there were plenty of plays where Fitzpatrick or Winston had time to throw. I love the splash plays by Nichols but it's how well he's holding up in the running game even when an Olineman gets his hands on him that has me thinking he'll be a starting caliber DT soon. With a healthy defensive front he's already kicked one veteran to the inactive list, and then taken away snaps from Bullard and RRH. That goes beyond getting an opportunity and making the most of it, his play is forcing coaches to play him more. We already know we have legit starters in Smith and Miller. We're not talking starters because the roster depth is so poor the rookies get on the field, these guys are legit NFL starters on any team. Daniels has shown the potential to be starter and played well enough against a good Tampa front for us to be confident that will happen very soon. Nichols and Tolliver already look like they have starting potential down the road. How often does a draft produce 5 players who have played that well by week 4? The question is can this become a great draft class? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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