These grades are for first-round rookies in the 2022 preseason, listed in the order the players were drafted. Before I get started, if a rookie isn’t on the list, it’s either because he didn’t play in his respective team’s opening game or, for a variety of reasons, he wasn’t able to make an impact at all, good or bad. Grade: B- Walker had three tackles in two preseason outings. He shined as a force against the run. The No. 1 overall pick’s length and strength dropped again, often pushing blockers. Was he dominated? No. But it hardly seemed out of place. The pass rush part of his game was expected to get him, and he will.
Grade: B- We haven’t seen much of Hutchinson this preseason, but I’m intrigued by his usage in the exhibition finale against the Steelers, where the former Michigan superstar lined up from the wide nine spot to the inside on three tackles. He had one pressure and came close to recording a sack on a couple of other occasions. Grade A Stingley has been stingy this preseason, allowing just one catch in his target area and showing dynamic explosiveness following receivers in man and zone. He also had a breakaway pass, but showed such tight coverage, his targets were few and far between.
Grade A- Gardner was not targeted throughout the preseason. In other words, Soss was drowning out his shipments all summer. But we only saw him in 23 coverage snaps. All in all, coach Robert Saleh and the entire Jets organization should be more than happy with their first of three Round 1 picks. Grade: B+ Before the scary knee injury that was ultimately deemed not too serious, Thibodeaux looked poised and strong at the point of attack for the Giants, even if he wasn’t generating a ton of snaps. His burst off the ball looked just like it did at Oregon, he handled NFL tackles well and made a splash.
Grade: B- It was an expected preseason from Ekwonu, who, on film at NC State, was a Mack truck for the run game and mostly good but not spectacular in pass protection. That’s exactly how he played in the preseason, although we all know pass pro is more critical than anything else in the NFL. Grade: B- Neal did not play in the final preseason game, but was otherwise solid but not dominant in the other two preseason games. He moves remarkably well for a man of his tall and heavy frame, but balance will likely come with time.
Grade: B After a shaky second preseason surge, Cross was terrible against the Cowboys in all but one pass-blocking snap when fellow rookie Sam Williams took advantage of him on a rush that led to a Geno Smith sack. What I’ve noticed with Cross is that his incredibly calm nature during a play — and how that translates into amazing rebounding ability — translated from Mississippi State to the Seahawks. Huge con. Grade: B- Six catches for 53 yards is the opposite of an explosive stat line for such an explosive athlete and receiver, but here we are with Wilson after his first preseason. Now, some of that wasn’t his fault, he didn’t have Zach Wilson for most of his reps. He was sudden and looked fast in the film. Degree:…


title: “Nfl Preseason First Round Rookie Grades Who Stood Out Disappointed Surprised Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-07” author: “Sylvia Barnes”


These grades are for first-round rookies in the 2022 preseason, listed in the order the players were drafted. Before I get started, if a rookie isn’t on the list, it’s either because he didn’t play in his respective team’s opening game or, for a variety of reasons, he wasn’t able to make an impact at all, good or bad. Grade: B- Walker had three tackles in two preseason outings. He shined as a force against the run. The No. 1 overall pick’s length and strength dropped again, often pushing blockers. Was he dominated? No. But it hardly seemed out of place. The pass rush part of his game was expected to get him, and he will.
Grade: B- We haven’t seen much of Hutchinson this preseason, but I’m intrigued by his usage in the exhibition finale against the Steelers, where the former Michigan superstar lined up from the wide nine spot to the inside on three tackles. He had one pressure and came close to recording a sack on a couple of other occasions. Grade A Stingley has been stingy this preseason, allowing just one catch in his target area and showing dynamic explosiveness following receivers in man and zone. He also had a breakaway pass, but showed such tight coverage, his targets were few and far between.
Grade A- Gardner was not targeted throughout the preseason. In other words, Soss was drowning out his shipments all summer. But we only saw him in 23 coverage snaps. All in all, coach Robert Saleh and the entire Jets organization should be more than happy with their first of three Round 1 picks. Grade: B+ Before the scary knee injury that was ultimately deemed not too serious, Thibodeaux looked poised and strong at the point of attack for the Giants, even if he wasn’t generating a ton of snaps. His burst off the ball looked just like it did at Oregon, he handled NFL tackles well and made a splash.
Grade: B- It was an expected preseason from Ekwonu, who, on film at NC State, was a Mack truck for the run game and mostly good but not spectacular in pass protection. That’s exactly how he played in the preseason, although we all know pass pro is more critical than anything else in the NFL. Grade: B- Neal did not play in the final preseason game, but was otherwise solid but not dominant in the other two preseason games. He moves remarkably well for a man of his tall and heavy frame, but balance will likely come with time.
Grade: B After a shaky second preseason surge, Cross was terrible against the Cowboys in all but one pass-blocking snap when fellow rookie Sam Williams took advantage of him on a rush that led to a Geno Smith sack. What I’ve noticed with Cross is that his incredibly calm nature during a play — and how that translates into amazing rebounding ability — translated from Mississippi State to the Seahawks. Huge con. Grade: B- Six catches for 53 yards is the opposite of an explosive stat line for such an explosive athlete and receiver, but here we are with Wilson after his first preseason. Now, some of that wasn’t his fault, he didn’t have Zach Wilson for most of his reps. He was sudden and looked fast in the film. Degree:…


title: “Nfl Preseason First Round Rookie Grades Who Stood Out Disappointed Surprised Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-25” author: “Christopher Ivy”


These grades are for first-round rookies in the 2022 preseason, listed in the order the players were drafted. Before I get started, if a rookie isn’t on the list, it’s either because he didn’t play in his respective team’s opening game or, for a variety of reasons, he wasn’t able to make an impact at all, good or bad. Grade: B- Walker had three tackles in two preseason outings. He shined as a force against the run. The No. 1 overall pick’s length and strength dropped again, often pushing blockers. Was he dominated? No. But it hardly seemed out of place. The pass rush part of his game was expected to get him, and he will.
Grade: B- We haven’t seen much of Hutchinson this preseason, but I’m intrigued by his usage in the exhibition finale against the Steelers, where the former Michigan superstar lined up from the wide nine spot to the inside on three tackles. He had one pressure and came close to recording a sack on a couple of other occasions. Grade A Stingley has been stingy this preseason, allowing just one catch in his target area and showing dynamic explosiveness following receivers in man and zone. He also had a breakaway pass, but showed such tight coverage, his targets were few and far between.
Grade A- Gardner was not targeted throughout the preseason. In other words, Soss was drowning out his shipments all summer. But we only saw him in 23 coverage snaps. All in all, coach Robert Saleh and the entire Jets organization should be more than happy with their first of three Round 1 picks. Grade: B+ Before the scary knee injury that was ultimately deemed not too serious, Thibodeaux looked poised and strong at the point of attack for the Giants, even if he wasn’t generating a ton of snaps. His burst off the ball looked just like it did at Oregon, he handled NFL tackles well and made a splash.
Grade: B- It was an expected preseason from Ekwonu, who, on film at NC State, was a Mack truck for the run game and mostly good but not spectacular in pass protection. That’s exactly how he played in the preseason, although we all know pass pro is more critical than anything else in the NFL. Grade: B- Neal did not play in the final preseason game, but was otherwise solid but not dominant in the other two preseason games. He moves remarkably well for a man of his tall and heavy frame, but balance will likely come with time.
Grade: B After a shaky second preseason surge, Cross was terrible against the Cowboys in all but one pass-blocking snap when fellow rookie Sam Williams took advantage of him on a rush that led to a Geno Smith sack. What I’ve noticed with Cross is that his incredibly calm nature during a play — and how that translates into amazing rebounding ability — translated from Mississippi State to the Seahawks. Huge con. Grade: B- Six catches for 53 yards is the opposite of an explosive stat line for such an explosive athlete and receiver, but here we are with Wilson after his first preseason. Now, some of that wasn’t his fault, he didn’t have Zach Wilson for most of his reps. He was sudden and looked fast in the film. Degree:…


title: “Nfl Preseason First Round Rookie Grades Who Stood Out Disappointed Surprised Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-16” author: “Annie Davis”


These grades are for first-round rookies in the 2022 preseason, listed in the order the players were drafted. Before I get started, if a rookie isn’t on the list, it’s either because he didn’t play in his respective team’s opening game or, for a variety of reasons, he wasn’t able to make an impact at all, good or bad. Grade: B- Walker had three tackles in two preseason outings. He shined as a force against the run. The No. 1 overall pick’s length and strength dropped again, often pushing blockers. Was he dominated? No. But it hardly seemed out of place. The pass rush part of his game was expected to get him, and he will.
Grade: B- We haven’t seen much of Hutchinson this preseason, but I’m intrigued by his usage in the exhibition finale against the Steelers, where the former Michigan superstar lined up from the wide nine spot to the inside on three tackles. He had one pressure and came close to recording a sack on a couple of other occasions. Grade A Stingley has been stingy this preseason, allowing just one catch in his target area and showing dynamic explosiveness following receivers in man and zone. He also had a breakaway pass, but showed such tight coverage, his targets were few and far between.
Grade A- Gardner was not targeted throughout the preseason. In other words, Soss was drowning out his shipments all summer. But we only saw him in 23 coverage snaps. All in all, coach Robert Saleh and the entire Jets organization should be more than happy with their first of three Round 1 picks. Grade: B+ Before the scary knee injury that was ultimately deemed not too serious, Thibodeaux looked poised and strong at the point of attack for the Giants, even if he wasn’t generating a ton of snaps. His burst off the ball looked just like it did at Oregon, he handled NFL tackles well and made a splash.
Grade: B- It was an expected preseason from Ekwonu, who, on film at NC State, was a Mack truck for the run game and mostly good but not spectacular in pass protection. That’s exactly how he played in the preseason, although we all know pass pro is more critical than anything else in the NFL. Grade: B- Neal did not play in the final preseason game, but was otherwise solid but not dominant in the other two preseason games. He moves remarkably well for a man of his tall and heavy frame, but balance will likely come with time.
Grade: B After a shaky second preseason surge, Cross was terrible against the Cowboys in all but one pass-blocking snap when fellow rookie Sam Williams took advantage of him on a rush that led to a Geno Smith sack. What I’ve noticed with Cross is that his incredibly calm nature during a play — and how that translates into amazing rebounding ability — translated from Mississippi State to the Seahawks. Huge con. Grade: B- Six catches for 53 yards is the opposite of an explosive stat line for such an explosive athlete and receiver, but here we are with Wilson after his first preseason. Now, some of that wasn’t his fault, he didn’t have Zach Wilson for most of his reps. He was sudden and looked fast in the film. Degree:…