5 NFL rookies with a very bright future
I thought it would be cool to get on here and write about 5 rookies that I feel have that “It” factor after their first year in the NFL. While you will not see a first round pick on here, these five draft picks from last year will have an extremely bright future in the NFL in my opinion.
Back in April on night two of the NFL Draft, the San Diego Chargers selected Keenan Allen in the third round. At the time, General Manager Tom Telesco said they were shocked that he was still on the board. Wide receiver was not a position of need for the Bolts, but when a player as talented as Allen is still available, it’s a no brainer to select him. The once proclaimed best wide receiver in the draft, showed that he was as good as everyone thought in the beginning. The Cal product set Chargers rookie records with 1,046 yards and 71 catches, leading all NFL rookies in receptions, yards and touchdown catches (eight). Keenan Allen will have a very bright future in the NFL for the Chargers.
In the second round the Buffalo Bills selected Kiko Alonso a troubled linebacker from Oregon, and boy did he come to play football. The first-year standout from Oregon tallied 159 total tackles (third-best in the NFL) and tied for the Bills’ team-lead with four interceptions. I feel deep down inside that Alonso was snubbed for the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year honors on Saturday, a day before Super Bowl XLVIII, but I am sure he will use that as fuel for his fire. This rookie is a ball of energy and is all over the field, expect him to get better next year after knowing he can play at the highest level.
We all knew that the “Honeybadger” could play football, but who would have thought he would have had the impact he did in his first season? Tyrann Mathieu played 13 games, starting 11. He picked off two passes, had one sack and a forced fumble. He was second on the team with 65 solo tackles. Mathieu might have been the biggest steal of the draft, especially when everyone knew what the former Heisman runner up was capable of. Mathieu will have a very bright NFL career with the Cardinals.
The Washington Redskins have found gold in the later rounds in the past two drafts. This year Jordan Reed of Florida was a steal in the third round. The kid was amazing even though he ended up injured. Reed showed promise and even though he was injured the kid still showed out. Despite missing seven games in 2013, Reed, 23, finished the season with 45 receptions for 499 yards, which are both Redskins’ single-season rookie tight end records.
The Dallas Cowboys have done a good job in the first 2 rounds as of late, but last year they struck gold with a Baylor Bear wide receiver named Terrance Williams. Williams had good and bad moments in 2013. Overall the 24-year-old finished his rookie season with 44 catches for 736 yards and five touchdowns. With Scott Linehan taking over the play caller duties in Dallas, there’s some who believe that the Cowboys will become even more pass happy. If so Williams could be in store for a big year as an offensive play maker after he caught 12 passes for 20 or more yards last season.
NFL Draft Diamonds was created to assist the underdogs playing the sport. We call them diamonds in the rough. My name is Damond Talbot, I have worked extremely hard to help hundreds of small school players over the past several years, and will continue my mission. We have several contributors on this site, and if they contribute their name and contact will be in the piece above. You can email me at nfldraftdiamonds@gmail.com