Week 1 of the 2020 season has come and gone, with a bevy of rookies seeing their first NFL action. Others are either injured or are waiting behind established starters. Regardless, here is how each of the 32 first-round picks has graded through Week 1.
[Editor's Note: PFF's advanced statistics and player grades are powered by AWS machine learning capabilities.]
Pick No. 1: QB Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
2020 overall grade: 61.6
It was far from a perfect outing for Joe Burrow, who threw one of the worst interceptions of the week, flicking the ball casually to a defensive lineman. However, it’s tough to ignore the poise he showed when the chips were down late in the game. He executed the two-minute drill on his way to what should have been to be the first fourth-quarter comeback of his NFL career.
Pick No. 2: EDGE Chase Young, Washington Football Team
2020 overall grade: 86.5
Chase Young was billed by PFF as the best edge-rushing talent to enter the league since we started grading college football (2014), which features NFL stars such as the Bosa brothers and Myles Garrett. His debut didn’t disappoint, with Young posting four total pressures and two sacks.
Perhaps most impressive is that the damage didn't come against a makeshift right side of the Eagles' offensive line but, rather, against one of the best left tackles of his generation in Jason Peters. While Peters is 38 years old and was practicing at guard for most of the offseason, the fact that he had that much trouble with Young is a great sign for the rookie.
Pick No. 3: CB Jeffrey Okudah, Detroit Lions
2020 overall grade: n/A
Did not play due to a hamstring injury.
Pick No. 4: OT Andrew Thomas, New York Giants
2020 overall grade: 60.8
First-rounder Andrew Thomas played every snap at left tackle in Week 1. And though he surrendered some pressure, he wasn’t the primary source of the team's protection problems. Thomas allowed four total pressures within a unit that was overmatched by Pittsburgh’s defensive front and blitz packages. His work in the run game was better, but the Giants as a whole were dominated in that regard, so it would be difficult to tell without focusing on him individually.
Pick No. 5: QB Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
2020 overall grade: N/A
Tua Tagovailoa is healthy, but he has yet to win the starting job from Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Pick No. 6: QB Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
2020 overall grade: N/A
Justin Herbert has yet to win the starting job from Tyrod Taylor.
Pick No. 7: DI Derrick Brown, Carolina Panthers
2020 overall grade: 32.7
The one thing we were all sure about with Derrick Brown was that he would be a high-level force against the run in the NFL — the debate was whether he could generate pressure. However, he struggled in the former facet, earning a 28.5 grade against the run. The biggest impact he made was batting down two passes at the line, but this was not an opening to look back on with any fondness for the seventh overall pick in the draft. Brown recorded one hurry from 21 snaps rushing the passer and had a missed tackle to go along with his struggles in the run game.
Pick No. 8: LB Isaiah Simmons, Arizona Cardinals
2020 overall grade: 27.1
Isaiah Simmons wasn’t an every-down starter for the Cardinals in Week 1, which might have been a good thing. On the snaps he did play, he may as well have worn a giant bullseye such due to the regularity and accuracy with which Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers' passing attack looked to exploit him.
Simmons was out of position on Raheem Mostert’s catch-and-run touchdown, but he was also beaten by Jerrick McKinnon and George Kittle for catches. Simmons’ main selling point as a prospect was being a matchup weapon on defense — a player who could neutralize these types of threats — but his debut suggests he is far from ready to hold up to that yet.
© 2024 PFF - all rights reserved.