We should have 3 draft classes ready to break out this year

We're in a position to be able to benefit from sudden breakout contributions from three different draft classes, plus whatever our rookies bring.

The 2013 draft picks took a while to develop, but it looks like C-Mike is poised for a breakout year, and Simon will finally have an opportunity with no excuses (I sure hope Sherman is at least halfway right about Simon). I'm not holding out any hope for Jordan Hill (only because I think he is our sixth best DT), but it is now or never for him (and the rest of this class). We already know what to expect from Luke Willson, and it shouldn't be much more or less than what he has already given us.

From the 2014 class, I expect Britt to capably play Center (based on one preseason game) and Richardson to finally put together a good season. He legitimately looks like a good WR right now. I think one of either Pinkins or Marsh wins the SAM role over Mike Morgan (personally hoping for Pinkins due to his superior coverage skills).

From 2015, Tyler Lockett is ready to be a Pro Bowl receiver. Frank Clark should get an increased role, as Pete has indicated, and that should give us a damn good DE rotation. Glowinski is also going to be a starter and hopefully an upgrade at the position.

So by my count, that is eight players from the 2013 thru 2015 classes that are poised for much bigger contributions than we've gotten from them. Even if only a few break out and play at a high level, that will improve the team from last year.

Good thread! Let's not forget about the breakout rookies in the 2016 class.

Ifedi and Reed overcame rookie mistakes to fit in well as starters. Both are impressive physical specimens with bright futures on this team. They will add physicality and toughness as they gain more experience.

Vannett had a couple nice blocks and a couple sweet catches. He's looking to seize that role as Wilson's safety valve, a la Zach Miller.

Odhiambo and Hunt both had a few mistakes, but overall looked like solid backups. Odhiambo was good at both tackle and guard on the left side, while playing terribly at RT. Hunt was not as explosive as Britt, who set the bar really high, and he had a low snap, but he looked in command of the line calls and was solid in pass pro. I would put Hunt ahead of Lewis, and Odhiambo ahead of Poole, Evans, or last year's Alvin Bailey.

Collins had a couple nice runs and one terrible stumble in the backfield, so it's too early to evaluate him. It will be interesting to see if Procise can overcome injuries to contribute this year.

I really hope our RB and WR depth can get healthy quickly because until that happens I don't really know how well we can evaluate the 2nd and 3rd string offenses accurately.

It's just one game but it wasn't a very good game for finding breakouts. Vannett looked pretty nice in a small sample size. C-Mike did great. The starting OL did a nice job, particularly at the guard spots. Lane isn't a breakout player but I thought he had an excellent game.

hawknation2016":29lmbks3 said:

Let's not forget about the breakout rookies in the 2016 class.

Click to expand...

I haven't forgotten about them, but I'm trying to temper my expectations for rookies. Everyone is optimistic about their rookie draft class, so it doesn't mean much to say we expect breakouts from them. With that said, I think Ifedi will have the biggest rookie impact. I was high on Reed, but I haven't heard much about him in camp and the run D was getting gashed on the first series with him on the field. I know it's just one preseason game, but he's showed nothing so far.

I'm hoping Jefferson or Bryant provide some much-needed interior pass rush, but I can't honestly say I expect that from their during their rookie years. The rest of this class should provide solid depth but probably won't play a lot. Prosise, Collins, and Vannett should see the field some, but we aren't relying on them to be big contributors.

Here was PFF's breakdown on Reed's first game:

"Defensive tackle Jarran Reed, a second-round rookie out of Alabama, also had a solid game, grading positively as a run-defender and a pass-rusher, as well as snuffing out a screen pass."
https://www.profootballfocus.com/pro-sea-kc-grades/

PFF has a lot of weaknesses, but they are usually pretty good at evaluating offensive and defensive linemen.

I need to see our actual DL before I can make a judgement.

Right now, the pass rush is horrifically, if not hilariously bad.

And I still saw KC running on us, even against the 1s. If I am going to have 2 guys in there with literally zero pass rush, just a total liability against the pass, they better be able to stop the rush (even though half the NFL is close to throwing it over half the time anyway).

The LBs didn't look great. The secondary looked iffy. But it is game 1.

So hopefully this is more a function of the pieces being a bit rusty.

Reed and Clark did some nice things yesterday. Clark was only playing RDE with the nickel defense, but he was getting into the backfield quite a bit. I thought Rubin and Wagner played poorly with the first team and probably were not even trying. Rubin was playing way too high and Wagner was taking horrible angles to the ball carrier.

Marsh and Robinson weren't generating much pressure and looked a step slow to me. Bryant and Jefferson didn't standout much. Morgan looked fine at SLB. KPL was good against the run and screens, but was burned a couple times in coverage. I think KPL is better suited on the strongside, allowing him to move forward more and attack.

Marsh had plenty of pressures, not adjusting the line to create match ups and being pretty Vanilla as well as I look at how they hold up, we should see better progression next week as they now have a bit of measuring stick of themselves, not working as a cohesive unit and not being able to read each other due to the mixing of a lot of players does cost a half step on many plays due to over thinking and reading before reacting.