ESPN: Ranking the NFL's most productive 2019 Rookie Classes (We're #1)

[Burgundy Yoda]

1: Washington Redskins

 

Why they're ranked here: The Redskins got average quarterback play from Dwayne Haskins after he took over as the starter in Week 9 and an outstanding performance from third-round receiver Terry McLaurin. Play like that from two of the most valuable positions in the NFL will go a long way toward making a top draft class.

 

How their top pick fared: Haskins (No. 15 overall) got off to a rough start to his career with two shaky performances off the bench, but he rebounded with a 73.4 PFF grade (12th among quarterbacks) after taking over as the starter in Week 9.

 

Best value pick: McLaurin (No. 76 overall) was a revelation in 2019. His 86.5 receiving grade not only led all rookie wide receivers this season, but it was the highest mark since Odell Beckham Jr.'s in 2014.

 

More here: https://www.espn.com/nfl/insider/story/_/id/28517018/ranking-nfl-most-productive-2019-rookie-classes-1-32

 

Incredible job by the rookie class!

[NickyJ]

Without having seen him play during training camp, I expected the hype of McLauren to fall apart come regular season. It feels great to find out that the Redskins got a WR that was even better than advertised.

[Burgundy Yoda]

2 minutes ago, NickyJ said:

Without having seen him play during training camp, I expected the hype of McLauren to fall apart come regular season. It feels great to find out that the Redskins got a WR that was even better than advertised.

 

Terry is something else, I remember jumping on the hype train after Philadelphia and I normally don't jump to conclusions on players quickly, but it was obvious he was amazing. Btw, look at the rest of the class, it looks like 10 guys that belong on a roster with multiple starters thrown in there. Best class we've had in a while in my opinion. 

[SkinsGuy]

It's surprising they are #1, but not surprising they are rated high.

 

The Redskins rookie class was a very bright spot in a dark, dismal 2019 season.

[bakedtater1]

After drafting chase young it will be the absolute most anticipated off season into pre season in the longest time.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Some good news.

 

They weren't on the field together very long.  But when Haskins, McLaurin and Guice were healthy, you could see a glimpse of what they could be.  

 

There's reason for optimism.

[Burgundy Yoda]

1 hour ago, bakedtater1 said:

After drafting chase young it will be the absolute most anticipated off season into pre season in the longest time.

Everything depends on Haskins development. If he comes along nicely there will be a lot to look forward to 

[rumplestilskin]

We all knew something was up when they were trying to hide Scary Terry in the preseason.

[RWJ]

Kyle Smith's the man!

[Koolblue13]

I we draft oline and TE we could have almost an entire starting offense on rookie deals. Scherff and probably 2 other people will be the exception. AP too, especially if Guise or Love can't stay healthy. We've got a solid young team.

[Malapropismic Depository]

Other than McLaurin, none of them had a great year, even by rookie standards.

However, I can see how we could be rated that high, if you consider the aggregate sum of contributions from them all

Holcomb, Moreland, Sweat, Harmon, Martin, and I think Sims, even as an UDFA, should all count.

Again, this is if you scored them as a collective sum.

 

The only one that disappointed me personally, is Piersbacher, as I had good expectations for him. But I'm far from giving up on him.

The other 2 (Love and Brailford) were not expected to do much, if anything.

 

[Burgundy Yoda]

6 hours ago, Malapropismic Depository said:

Other than McLaurin, none of them had a great year, even by rookie standards.

However, I can see how we could be rated that high, if you consider the aggregate sum of contributions from them all

Holcomb, Moreland, Sweat, Harmon, Martin, and I think Sims, even as an UDFA, should all count.

Again, this is if you scored them as a collective sum.

 

The only one that disappointed me personally, is Piersbacher, as I had good expectations for him. But I'm far from giving up on him.

The other 2 (Love and Brailford) were not expected to do much, if anything.

 

105 tackles and 3 FFs isn't great for a 5th rounder? 

[Panninho]

17 minutes ago, Burgundy Yoda said:

105 tackles and 3 FFs isn't great for a 5th rounder? 

I think people are judging players way too fast. I mean I get it, Holcomb didn't have a season that is in general considered a great season for a ILB. But for a rookie 5th round pick that was considered a special teams and backup player to start 15 games and put up these numbers that's pretty solid.

It's just unfair to compare him to the best linebackers in the league. Compare him to players from his rookie class.

 

Devin White: 58 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 3 FF, 1 Int

Devin Bush: 72 tackles, 1 sack, 1 FF, 1 Int

Bobby Okereke: 48 tackles, 1 sack, 2 FF, 0 Int

Cole Holcomb: 74 tackles, 1 sack, 3 FF, 0 Int

 

Doesn't look to shabby. Considering he played on a defense that was confused about 80% of their snaps.

[SkinsGuy]

1 hour ago, Panninho said:

 Doesn't look to shabby.

 

Not too shabby?

 

Considering he was playing on a Manusky-ran defense, it's astounding.

 

[KDawg]

Holcomb is always around the ball. His concerns are strictly based on coverage. He's slow to get to his run assignment because he's worried about the pass, where he struggles.

 

A move to MIKE should help him significantly. It significantly lessens his coverage responsibility. He should be very good in that role. I don't like him at OLB, though.

 

As far as our rookies being most productive - Yeah. We had 3 rookie receivers, a rookie quarterback, a rookie MLB, a rookie DE, etc.

 

We had so many damn rookies I don't know how they couldn't have been the most productive. 

[Always A Commander Never A Captain]

Wait, PFF thinks Haskins was the 12th best QB last season?  I mean, we all saw his development.  But that means there are more mediocre to bad QB's in this league then I thought.

 

I'm not bothering to count his first backup appearance.  Gruden tanked it on purpose.

[Koolblue13]

21 minutes ago, Alcoholic Zebra said:

Wait, PFF thinks Haskins was the 12th best QB last season?  I mean, we all saw his development.  But that means there are more mediocre to bad QB's in this league then I thought.

 

I'm not bothering to count his first backup appearance.  Gruden tanked it on purpose.

 Hopefully, with a full offseason, we should see a ton of improvement from Haskins also. Not to mention the Turner system being very young QB friendly if we can add the right TE. Our offense should be legit health and moves considered.

[LD0506]

1 hour ago, KDawg said:

Holcomb is always around the ball. His concerns are strictly based on coverage. He's slow to get to his run assignment because he's worried about the pass, where he struggles.

 

A move to MIKE should help him significantly. It significantly lessens his coverage responsibility. He should be very good in that role. I don't like him at OLB, though.

 

As far as our rookies being most productive - Yeah. We had 3 rookie receivers, a rookie quarterback, a rookie MLB, a rookie DE, etc.

 

We had so many damn rookies I don't know how they couldn't have been the most productive. 

 

Both Rivera and Del Rio have made a point of addressing communication woes. The rooks were often left to their own instincts with very little worthwhile guidance/coaching from Manusky et. al., and they still did well enough to be noticed, much less mentioned? I am really looking forward to what the young'uns might accomplish with clearly defined assignments and very direct coaching this coming year.

[MisterPinstripe]

Are we also forgetting that Sweat came on towards the end of the year after they let him rush more? 7 official sacks but in reality 8 the refs just screwed him out of one in the last few games. Not bad for a rookie and he should improve with an actual competent DC.

[HTTRDynasty]

1 hour ago, Alcoholic Zebra said:

Wait, PFF thinks Haskins was the 12th best QB last season?  I mean, we all saw his development.  But that means there are more mediocre to bad QB's in this league then I thought.

 

I'm not bothering to count his first backup appearance.  Gruden tanked it on purpose.

They are only counting his starts, which is fair. 
 

In regards to this thread, it’s exciting that we had such a productive rookie class last season but I’m going to be a bit skeptical until I see them do it again next season at the very least. Last season reminded me of the 2015 draft, which everyone was hyped about after the rookie players’ came up big for us and led us to the playoffs.
 

We had Scherff, Smith, Matt Jones, Crowder, Kuondijo, Spaight, Kyshon Jarrett, Austin Reiter, Evan Spencer, and Tevin Mitchell.  10 picks and we were all on cloud 9, thinking this would be the foundation of our team for years to come. Only 1 of those guys still plays for us. So yeah, I’m not willing to pat ourselves on the back until we see what this class looks like 3 or 4 years in. 

[KDawg]

52 minutes ago, LD0506 said:

 

Both Rivera and Del Rio have made a point of addressing communication woes. The rooks were often left to their own instincts with very little worthwhile guidance/coaching from Manusky et. al., and they still did well enough to be noticed, much less mentioned? I am really looking forward to what the young'uns might accomplish with clearly defined assignments and very direct coaching this coming year.

 

Linebackers play on instinct, though. Holcomb just isn't the guy I'd look at as a SAM/WILL. So, in that sense, he's not a guy I look at as a 3-4 inside backer, either.

 

He IS a guy that fits well in the MIKE. Athletic enough to cover, smart enough to play the spot, aggressive enough to make plays and he's smart and a sure tackler. He checks the boxes for MIKE. With less of a role in coverage and more downhill play I think he's going to thrive. 

[Unbias]

If Haskins turns out, then we could have hit the jackpot with him, Sweat, Terry and Holcomb. 

[Renegade7]

When you draft that well, you need more picks.

[KDawg]

17 minutes ago, Renegade7 said:

When you draft that well, you need more picks.

 

I don't think it's a sign of us drafting well or not. 

 

I tend to think we had a good draft. But I guarantee that this team wouldn't have been #1 in rookie production if the team was built better. 

 

Our reliance on injury prone players and a poorly built roster thrust guys into playing roles that didn't necessarily need to be. Which led to higher production.

 

This stat is less about a good draft and more about the amount of rookie playing time due to it being a necessity.

 

That's NOT a knock on our draft last year. I think it was pretty damn good.

 

I just don't think this stat is what proves it.

[Renegade7]

14 minutes ago, KDawg said:

 

I don't think it's a sign of us drafting well or not. 

 

I tend to think we had a good draft. But I guarantee that this team wouldn't have been #1 in rookie production if the team was built better. 

 

Our reliance on injury prone players and a poorly built roster thrust guys into playing roles that didn't necessarily need to be. Which led to higher production.

 

This stat is less about a good draft and more about the amount of rookie playing time due to it being a necessity.

 

That's NOT a knock on our draft last year. I think it was pretty damn good.

 

I just don't think this stat is what proves it.

 

I dont disagree with your evidence, I disagree with your conclusion.  The fact that we drafted four starters in one draft isnt because of injuries, two of them were planned to be starters and importantly were versus being busts.  Two were not planned to be starters yet and overachieved.  Terry stole jobs and had a historic season as a rookie, theres nothing Richardson could do about that, healthy or not.  They arent jus contributing, they are as good or better then some veterans already as rookies.