Mark Tenally/Associated Press

NFL Rookies Struggling to Meet High Expectations

Chris Roling

The 2019 NFL season has forced adjustments to quite a few expectations. Through five weeks, four teams haven't won a game and four more have one win. One coach has already been shown the door. 

Those adjusted expectations extend to the 2019 rookie class. Kyler Murray, Nick Bosa and other notables already look great—but others have started slowly. 

Reasons vary, but a lack of instant impact from a first-round pick or recognizable name always puts a damper on things. Some first-year players are having a tough time transitioning, some have dealt with injuries and others just haven't played well. 

These are the rookies who—so far—haven't matched the hype. All hope isn't lost, but the beginning isn't encouraging.      

     

L.J. Collier, Edge, Seattle Seahawks

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

The Seattle Seahawks made TCU product L.J. Collier a surprise first-round pick at 29th overall. Even he noted the team expected big things from him after it traded Frank Clark in April. 

Since, the edge-rusher has battled an ankle injury and only appeared in two games. 

During those two contests, Collier only got on the field for 36 snaps, tallying just one tackle and no quarterback hits. 

That's a stark difference from the hopes the Seahawks had for Collier before the season. 

Seattle has only gotten one sack apiece from Jadeveon Clowney and Ziggy Ansah, so a third rotational presence such as Collier could only help. The Seahawks will stress patience, but they sure wouldn't mind if he started making his presence felt.

N'Keal Harry, WR, New England Patriots

Duane Burleson/Associated Press

N'Keal Harry had a chance to be the next big thing for Tom Brady in Foxborough. 

Even Bill Belichick didn't hide his enthusiasm for the wide receiver over the offseason. 

"A big kid that runs well," Belichick said, according to NBC Sports Boston. "Good catch radius. Very strong, physical receiver. He has a long way to go ... but he's gotten better every day and been dependable, durable, tough. ... making good progress."

Instead, the draft's 32nd pick sits on injured reserve for the New England Patriots, and while he might return this season, the depth chart hasn't been kind to him. Harry was surpassed by undrafted receiver Jakobi Meyers, watched the Patriots get Josh Gordon back and then go after Antonio Brown (who they later released). 

Recent history for first-round wideouts who struggle as rookies isn't great. With any luck, Harry will get back on the field and contribute. But since the Patriots took the initial risk on Brown, it wouldn't be shocking if they pulled another move at the Oct. 29 trade deadline.

Garrett Bradbury, C, Minnesota Vikings

Bruce Kluckhohn/Associated Press

Things aren't going as planned for the Minnesota Vikings with No. 18 overall pick Garrett Bradbury. 

The team's passing problems are well-known, which is something the front office had hoped to avoid, in part by inserting the rookie as a starter at center.

"He is doing great. For a rookie to be put in there at center from Day 1, it's hard on him," offensive adviser Gary Kubiak said over the summer, according to the Star Tribune's Sid Hartman. "But he is doing a good job."

But during 307 snaps played, Bradbury has allowed one sack and been flagged four times on a grade of 39.3 at Pro Football Focus. He's partially the reason Kirk Cousins has been hurried 25 times, suffered nine hits and taken 11 sacks. 

The last thing the Vikings want to do is bench a first-rounder after investing not only a draft pick, but also summer and preseason reps. Still, if his play doesn't turn around, a benching could enter the discussion.     

DeAndre Baker, DB, New York Giants

Vera Nieuwenhuis/Associated Press

DeAndre Baker didn't need long to impress New York Giants coaches this offseason after he arrived via the 30th pick. 

The feel-good vibes haven't translated to the regular season. 

Opposing offenses have picked apart Baker in five games for a 29.5 grade at Pro Football Focus, and he's allowed 18 catches on 24 targets. Pro Football Reference has him at 15 on 21, respectively, with 297 yards, two touchdowns, 14.1 yards per target and a rating of 145.4 allowed. He's also missed 22.7 percent of his tackles. 

This doesn't mean he can't turn it around with experience—he had first-round traits, after all—but it might take longer than expected for the Giants to see a respectable return on their investment. 

Clelin Ferrell, Edge, Oakland Raiders

Jim Mone/Associated Press

The Oakland Raiders have massive hopes for fourth overall pick Clelin Ferrell, yet one could argue he's been outplayed by the team's other two first-round picks, Josh Jacobs (24th) and Johnathan Abram (27th).

Ferrell has appeared in four games, playing at least 73 percent of the snaps each time. But he has just 10 tackles, two quarterback hits and a sack. 

As Pro Football Focus' Mike Renner pointed out, as of October 1, no edge-rusher with 100-plus pass-rushing snaps had a lower win rate than Ferrell. 

Granted, pass-rushing isn't the only thing the Raiders want Ferrell to do well. But considering his unit has just nine sacks, the front office was probably hoping for a more noticeable bump.      

Noah Fant, TE, Denver Broncos

Jack Dempsey/Associated Press

The Denver Broncos made a win-now move by bringing on Joe Flacco under center and then turned around and spent a top-20 pick on tight end Noah Fant. The hope was to round out a passing attack that already included veteran wideout Emmanuel Sanders and promising sophomore receiver Courtland Sutton.

"He'll be out there a lot," coach Vic Fangio said, according to the Denver Post's Kyle Fredrickson, "so hopefully some of the targets will go his way."

Fant has indeed seen a healthy amount of playing time over five weeks, getting in on at least 40 snaps per game. But he's only caught 12 of his 16 targets for 136 yards and a score. In Denver's first win of the season in Week 5 against the Los Angeles Chargers, he had just one catch for six yards in his worst performance thus far.

While Fant still seems loaded with potential, he hasn't had an instant impact as one might expect from a top-20 product.      

Montez Sweat, EDGE, Washington Redskins

Mark Tenally/Associated Press

After losing pass-rusher Preston Smith to free agency and drafting Dwayne Haskins with the 15th pick, the Washington Redskins took a chance by sacrificing future assets to move back into the first round and select Montez Sweat at No. 26. 

Through five pro games, Sweat has just one sack. 

Washington spent loads to replace a free agent with a high-upside prospect in Sweat, letting him run free across from Ryan Kerrigan as a key part of the pass rush. He's been in on at least 59 percent of the snaps in every game so far for a winless team now without a true head coach. 

Sweat was always viewed as a bit raw, but pairing him with Kerrigan and what looked like one of the best defensive lines in the league figured to help ease him into a strong season. And while some of this might come down to coaching for a staff that has already suffered a setback, the early returns likely aren't what the Redskins had hoped for after making the big move.     

Rashan Gary, LB, Green Bay Packers

Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

The Green Bay Packers took a gamble with Rashan Gary at No. 12, and to date, he hasn't gotten on the field consistently.     

Some of this might be by design, given Green Bay's additions of Preston Smith and Za'Darius Smith this offseason. But that won't quell some of the disappointment for a top-12 pick. 

Through five games, Gary has appeared in as many as 36 percent of snaps in a given contest on the way to one sack and pressure while missing 20 percent of his tackle attempts. 

Gary is a big work in progress at this point, which wouldn't seem so bad if he hadn't come off the board so early. Luckily for him, the overall strong play of his unit so far has mitigated some of this for the time being.

   

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