Monday Morning Digest: Rookies Rock in Their Preseason Debuts

The first preseason games are typically snooze-fests. But a host of outstanding rookies kept things lively this weekend with stellar debuts. Digest is here to catch you up on all the action, including: 

• DeShone Kizer, Mitchell Trubisky and Deshaun Watson stating their cases as Week 1 starters.

• Leonard Fournette, Christian McCaffery and other first-round rookies giving fans reasons to buy jerseys.

• A pair of trades that have the Bills ready to compete for the Super Bowl. In 2019.

• An in-depth look at the Steelers receiving corps that could keep you from making the fantasy mistake of not drafting Antonio Brown, or drafting anyone else.

And much, much more!

The Future Starts Now for the Bears, Browns and Texans

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It's far too early to declare a winner in the Bears, Browns or Texans quarterback competitions.

Wait, no it isn't. Enough with the rock-bottom placeholder journeyman. Start the rookies!

Mitchell Trubisky, DeShone Kizer and Deshaun Watson were various flavors of impressive in their rookie debuts. None of them deserve a Hall of Fame bust just yet (we'll break them down in a little more detail in the next slide), but each proved that he can call a play, field a snap and deliver an accurate forward pass against live competition without experiencing a panic attack.

That's more than can be said about the "experienced veterans" who started over the three rookies:

• Tom Savage's game plan for the Texans appeared to be to stand motionless in the pocket and wait for the Panthers starters to sack him. Savage's numbers (9-of-11 for 69 yards) were inflated by some later-drive self-esteem therapy: swing passes against Panthers backups.

• Mike Glennon completed 2-of-8 passes for 20 yards and a pick-six. As is his habit, Glennon got the yips and flung the ball into coverage the moment the pocket looked like it might eventually collapse. The Bears may still hope that he develops into 2014 Glennon, who would get the yips and throw 10 yards out of bounds.

• Osweiler-Kessler Overdrive combined to go 11-of-24 for 89 yards for the Browns, a sparkling 3.7 yards per pass attempt. Brock Osweiler's highlight was a 10-yard scramble, which is kind of like all those Rams games in the Jeff Fisher era when their highlight was a Johnny Hekker punt.

At least Savage and Cody Kessler are roster incumbents who work cheap. The Bears and Browns paid to haul away other teams' mistakes in Glennon and Osweiler, whose only credentials as quarterbacks are that they are tall, square-jawed and can throw harder than the offensive coordinator.

It's different with a journeyman like Josh McCown, who a) looked good in his Jets debut; and b) has some real-life experience to offer young quarterbacks from his decades of NFL wandering. What on earth is Trubisky supposed to learn from watching Glennon flick the ejector switch at the first sign of turbulence?

Rock-bottom journeymen exist to reassure coaches that they are covered if the rookie shows up for camp in a stretch limo full of bikini babes and looks up from surfing Instagram at his first team meeting to ask what Cover 2 means. Once the rookies prove they are in shape, dialed in and can identify a free safety, Glennon-Savage-Kessweiler types are just a waste of first-team reps.

Trubisky, Watson and Kizer all surpassed the baseline professionalism requirements, from the start of camp through their encouraging debuts. It's time to stop wasting time and name them the starters.

Rooke Quarterback Spotlight

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Here's some analysis of the preseason debuts of DeShone Kizer, Mitchell Trubisky, Deshaun Watson and some other rookies less likely to be in the huddle on Opening Day. They are listed in order of impressiveness.

Mitchell Trubisky (18-of-25, 166 yards, 1 TD) was as good as a rookie quarterback in a preseason opener can hope to be. He displayed poise, accuracy and athleticism, plus a pretty clear sense that he knew what he was doing. Trubisky, a one-year starter in college, will get better by doing, not watching.

“Poise" was the watchword for Deshaun Watson (15-of-25, 179 yards). Watson proved that he could call plays and make adjustments at the line and showed how creative he can be when everything breaks down. However, he also threw a few passes that landed in the nether realm between two possible intended receivers.

DeShone Kizer (11-of-18, 184 yards, 1 TD) outperformed Watson on the highlight reel, delivering some exceptional downfield darts. But Kizer stares down his intended receiver and pump fakes once or twice before throwing. If he does that against Steelers starting defenders in a real game, he will throw 10 interceptions. It was still a fine debut for a team with terrible alternatives.

Patrick Mahomes (7-of-9, 49 yards, 1 TD) entered the weekend as the third quarterback behind Alex Smith (that makes sense) and Tyler Bray (are you kidding?). Mahomes threw mostly swings and screens: the "get your feet wet" game plan for a rookie quarterback. His touchdown was vintage Mahomes: a throw across his body into the crowded middle of the field that somehow wasn't intercepted. Mahomes needs work but has officially been promoted past Bray, who threw a derp interception and generally makes Tom Savage look like Matt Ryan.

Joshua Dobbs (8-of-15, 100 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT) started for the Steelers and looked like Joshua Dobbs: He threw a few passes directly to defenders, then reset his targeting computer right before halftime to lead a hero drive. Dobbs is only at his best in an absolute crisis; luckily, that is the only kind of situation where the Steelers will need him.

Nathan Peterman (13-of-25, 112 yards, 1 TD) was under center throughout most of the second half for the Bills and looked like a rookie quarterback who plays pretty well in the second half of the first preseason game. That put him one step above Davis Webb (8-of-16, 67 yards), who completed one 19-yard pass in the fourth quarter and netted 3.2 yards per pass on his other 15 throws.

First-Round Rookie Standout Spotlight

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Quarterbacks weren't the only rookies shining in Week 1. Here are some other top draft picks who impressed in their debuts.

• Derek Barnett recorded two sacks for the Eagles, reforming fan expectations from "oh no, another Marcus Smith" to "oh yeah, the next Reggie White." (Note: For Eagles fans, there is nothing in between.)

• Taco Charlton blew through the Rams line for a near safety in what may have been the only true highlight of that Saturday night football travesty. On the downside, he may have been the only Cowboys defender not to force a Rams fumble.

• Leonard Fournette churned out 31 yards and a touchdown on nine carries and said after the game that he was surprised that NFL action was "slower" than he expected, per James Palmer of NFL.com. "Like, yeah, me too, brah," Blake Bortles replied, according to unreliable sources. "High-five, Rook!" But Fournette had already left the Jaguars locker room.

• Myles Garrett recorded just one tackle but flew all over the field, making his presence felt. With the Browns' luck, we'll be repeating that same sentence over and over until December.

• Christian McCaffrey rushed for 33 yards on seven carries, most of them vanilla running plays that didn't showcase McCaffrey's open-field chops. Can't wait for Panthers coordinator Mike Shula to start using McCaffrey in creative ways. That's going to happen, right? Right? Please?

• Solomon Thomas flushed a quarterback from the pocket, met a ball-carrier in the backfield for a tackle and hustled downfield to make a play after several teammates failed to corral reserve Chiefs tight end Orson Charles. No snarky finish here: We have to get used to saying nice things about the 49ers once in a while.

• T.J. Watt recorded two sacks for the Steelers, blowing past Giants left tackle Erick Flowers for one of them. Watt is no doubt eager to face an NFL-caliber left tackle.

Team Spotlight: Buffalo Bills

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Preseason Story So Far

The Bills followed an uneventful preseason debut (a 17-10 loss to the Vikings) with a pair of daring, roster-shaking trades. Gone are receiver Sammy Watkins and cornerback Ronald Darby. The new arrivals: ex-Eagles receiver Jordan Matthews, former Rams cornerback E.J. Gaines and some additions to the Bills' impressive arsenal of future draft picks.

Stories to Watch

Culture and Future: The Watkins/Darby trades represent a culture shakeup, with new Bills braintrust Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane exchanging pure talent for reliability, fiscal maneuverability and some tasty draft picks.

Watkins was super-talented vaporware. Darby was exceptional as a 2015 rookie who backslid under Rex Ryan's "go get 'em boys" approach to player development. The newcomers cannot match the pure skill of the departed but are max-effort players who can generally stay on the field, and the Bills avoided a looming contract decision with the oft-injured Watkins.  

Receiving Questions: Matthews is a capable slot receiver and passable No. 2 who was miscast as the Eagles' go-to guy. New arrival Anquan Boldin has little left to offer but short-pass savvy. The rest of the Bills receiver depth chart is a castoff collection: Corey Brown, Brandon Tate, Rod Streater, etc. Unless rookie Zay Jones develops quickly, Tyrod Taylor faces another season of running for his life while getting criticized for not finding the hypothetical "open" receivers. That was all going to happen as soon as Watkins got injured again anyway, just without Matthews.

Mini-Moneyball: Darby's sudden departure echoes Josh Norman's Panthers exit last year. Look for Beane, like mentor Dave Gettleman, to invest resources in the trenches and seek affordable solutions in the secondary. The Bills now have two picks each in the first, second and third rounds next year, which should allow Beane and McDermott to build a roster in their own image. Or the Panthers image. Which may be the same thing.

Bottom Line

Stockpiling draft picks for the post-Tom Brady future makes as much sense as any other strategy the AFC East also-rans have attempted in the last decade. It's better to rebuild aggressively—something Beane swears the Bills are not doing, but c'mon—than to plop Jay Cutler in the huddle and play make-believe contender like the Dolphins, or to do whatever the heck the Jets are doing. That said, this may not be a fun year for the Bills, particularly on offense.

Player Spotlight: Steelers Receiving Corps

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Camp Story So Far

The NFL released Martavis Bryant from double-deluxe super-secret probation late last week, meaning he is allowed to practice with the team and join Antonio Brown's crowded supporting cast. Bryant, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Eli Rogers, Sammie Coates and others are battling for Brown's crumbs in the Steelers passing game and for the right to be your darling fantasy "sleeper" selection.

Latest News

• Bryant spent the days before his conditional reinstatement jogging and catching passes from coaching-intern types on the field next to the Steelers' formal practices. He appears to be in great shape, and if he listened really hard he could probably hear what coaches were telling his teammates. Coates (PUP list, knee) kept Bryant company and is starting to look ready to return.

• Rookie Smith-Schuster looks comfortable in the offense, catching lots of underneath passes in drills and displaying some open-field quickness. But Smith-Schuster suffered a concussion in the preseason opener.

• Rogers has carried his start-of-camp "hard hat" motif into practices (he wears one during walk-throughs) and looks good working in the slot and fielding punts. That's right: Antonio Brown may finally be freed from punt-return chores. Cobi Hamilton looked fantastic practicing with the second string and made some great catches in the preseason opener. Veteran speedster and special-teams leader Darrius Heyward-Bey, on the other hand, dropped several passes in this week's practices.

• Note to deep sleeper lovers and Jets fans scanning other team's future waivers for hope: Second-year receiver Canaan Severin has had a great camp since overcoming an early-summer sickle-cell trait episode. Severin is 6'2" with speed and quickness and looks like he knows what he is doing.

• As for Brown, the Steelers should lock him in an autograph booth during practice so Ben Roethlisberger is forced to throw to the others. It's hard to evaluate young receivers when Brown is open in the end zone on every single rep.
     

Bottom Line

After Brown, the Steelers will have a receiving corps that should be great on the field but miserable for fantasy owners. Bryant should quickly bounce back to form but will have receptions leeched off by Smith-Schuster, who will yield long passes to Bryant, with Rogers siphoning off enough production to be a hassle and some of the others getting open when the defense is suffering Brown anxiety.

The Steelers, of course, don't care about your fantasy team, and "too many weapons" will be a good problem for them. 

Team Spotlight: Philadelphia Eagles

Mike Roemer/Associated Press

Camp Story So Far

Things have been so quiet in South Philly that you could hear the micro-scrutiny of everything Carson Wentz does, from the mechanics of his delivery to his hand placement when tying his cleats. But a Friday trade that sent Jordan Matthews (plus a draft pick) to the Bills for Ronald Darby broke the silence. Now, Eagles observers who fretted that their receiver corps was too loaded and their secondary too thin are fretting that their secondary is too loaded and their receiver corps too thin.

Stories to Watch

Wentz's Development: There's way too much going on here to cover in a slide. The bullet-point version: He's much improved, better than the snarky GIF-spammers on Twitter think he is, but still not as good as overcome-with-emotion North Dakotans think he will be.

Receivers Reshuffled: Matthews was popular in the locker room but limited on the field; the reinvigoration of 2015 first-rounder Nelson Agholor and the emergence of rookie Mack Hollins (who caught a touchdown from Wentz in the preseason opener) rendered Matthews redundant on the receiver depth chart. Alshon Jeffery is expected to be the go-to guy, but he has mixed some brilliant OTA sessions with long stretches of missed practices due to a bum shoulder. Eagles fans hope the injury is no biggie, but Bears fans keep nodding and shooting them knowing glances.

Balancing the Defense: Darby and Patrick Robinson should give the Eagles the credible cornerback tandem they lacked last year. "Credible" should be good enough with outstanding safeties Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod providing deep support and an upgraded pass rush (including new arrivals Chris Long, Timmy Jernigan and Derek Barnett) expected to give opposing quarterbacks about 0.4 seconds to get rid of the ball.

Bottom Line

The Eagles made significant upgrades on both sides of the ball in the offseason. They shouldn't be the same team that last year subsisted on Wentz-to-Matthews dink-and-dunks and special teams touchdowns before losing because of cornerback scorchings or fourth-quarter fumbles.

Too much change is almost always bad for the Eagles (see the 2011 Dream Team or Chip Kelly's reign of personnel madness), but the current Eagles look very solid on paper, the practice field and—give or take some blunders—on the film of the preseason opener.

Preseason Believe It or Not

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Preseason results can be misleading, but they are the only results we have right now. Let's examine some teams and units that surprised us this weekend and determine whether what happened was a harbinger of things to come or just mid-August nonsense.

Rams, Cowboys combine for nine fumbles.

During the telecast, Marshall Faulk repeatedly blamed the inability of either team to hold on to the ball on a lack of contact during practices. With due respect to Faulk, there is no excuse for nine fumbles if the two teams spent training camp having pillow fights. The Cowboys will be fine when the regulars start playing. The Rams can use the fumbles to figure out who the regulars will be.

Jets starters look decent.

The gloom and doom surrounding the Jets may have gotten out of control; I think I saw one expert predict them to go negative-3 and 19. They're a terrible team, but not a historically terrible one. As for Christian Hackenberg: He looked fine if you expect nothing else from a second-year quarterback except quick outs against soft coverage and screen passes on 3rd-and-21.

Raiders secondary looks terrible.

Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton moved the ball easily against Oakland, and Sean Smith picked up a pair of penalties. The Raiders need to get rookie Gareon Conley on the field and find some team to offer them a Brock Osweiler-like trade-in-your-clunker deal for Smith. Don't be surprised if the Raiders find themselves in some early-season shootouts.

Falcons special teams are a mess.

With so many youngsters getting tryouts, you cannot read too much into preseason special teams performances...

Chiefs special teams look awesome.

...unless Dave Toub is coaching the special teams. The Chiefs won't block two kicks per game this year, but they may get six or seven this season.

Colts generally look like many of the players are stepping on a football field for the first time in their lives.

Chuck Pagano must really miss having Jeff Fisher in the NFL to make his coaching look capable by comparison.

News Digest

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A quick rundown of some of the NFL news that crossed the wire this week.

Cam Newton may miss the remainder of the preseason with a shoulder injury.

Newton threw to teammates Sunday for the first time since July, per Bryan Strickland of Panthers.com, so it's not all bad news. Still, there's a "hold my beer" joke to be made about Newton and Andrew Luck's dueling shoulder injury pessimism as the season approaches. We should hold the joke until we are certain both of them are medically cleared to hold a beer.

Bears sign kicker Roberto Aguayo, who was released Saturday by the Buccaneers (h/t Field Yates of ESPN).

Question: A kicker attempts a 43-yard field goal that would travel at an angle 24 degrees from dead center on a still Tampa afternoon. The Soldier Field wind is blowing at 33 miles per hour with a heading of 335 degrees from dead center. What is the resultant vector? Answer: Connor Barth wins kicker competition.

Jaguars release tackle Branden Albert.

Albert spent the early part of the week trapped in limbo/Tom Coughlin's doghouse/Jaguars Jail for his retirement-unretirement routine. Albert just wants to play football and be paid like an overcompensated Jaguars veteran acquisition without actually having to play for the Jaguars. Don't we all?

Devonta Freeman signs five-year, $41 million contract extension.

Top running backs all sign the same basic contract, adjusted with annual cost-of-living increments. The only way Le'Veon Bell could ever break the cycle is a) become a free agent and b) sign with the Jaguars.

Calvin Johnson has been asked to make a comeback.

He's heard good things about signing with the Jaguars and then re-retiring.

NFL plans to hire 24 full-time referees.

No truth to the rumor that only full-timers will be authorized to call pass interference against Richard Sherman.

NFL mulling plans to shorten the preseason and/or revise marijuana policies.

Boy, the league sure is progressive all of a sudden. It must be planning to replace revenue sharing in the collective bargaining agreement with a "Need a penny/leave a penny" jar.

Preseason Heroes Digest

Mike McCarn/Associated Press

You know them (barely), you love them (sort of), you can't imagine early August without them: They are Preseason Heroes, the dreamers and randos who deliver exciting Week 1 exhibition highlights before disappearing onto practice squads and CFL rosters. Let's take a moment to salute them before they fall back into obscurity.

Ricky Ali'ifua and Kevin Pierre-Louis, Chiefs

Undrafted rookie defensive lineman Ali'ifua blocked a field goal against the 49ers. Former Seahawks special teams ace Pierre-Louis (who will probably make the roster as a special teams ace) blocked a punt. The team that eventually names Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub their head coach will win seven straight Super Bowls.

C.J. Board, Ravens

Caught a 36-yard pass from someone named Josh Woodrum. The Ravens should steer clear of offensive players whose names sound like "bored."

Damiere Byrd, Panthers

Caught two touchdowns from Joe Webb. Byrd could crack the Panthers roster, meaning his cute "flappy wings" hand gesture of a touchdown celebration may soon be expanded by Cam Newton into a three-minute interpretive dance.

Keelan Cole, Jaguars                                                                                            

Caught a 97-yard touchdown against the Patriots. To be fair, he was covered by Cyrus Jones, one of those draft mistakes the Patriots regularly make as a sacrifice to appease the football gods.

Corey Grant, Jaguars

Rushed for 120 yards against the Patriots, including a 79-yard run. Folks, I am pretty sure that Bill Belichick was either teaching his backups a lesson or just messing with the Jaguars' minds.

LaTroy Lewis, Raiders

Recorded two sacks against the Cardinals. An undrafted rookie, Lewis had zero camp buzz entering the game. Then again, there are about 50 young linebackers trying to impress Jack Del Rio, so it takes a lot to stand out. Sacking a quarterback twice should help, even if that quarterback is Blaine Gabbert. 

Taquan Mizzell, Ravens

Led the Ravens in rushing against the Redskins. Even the Ravens injury plague is unlikely to be enough to help the undrafted Mizzell climb the depth chart. Good thing: If Snoop Dogg ever met Mizzell, he'd have no idea what to call him.

Damore'ea Stringfellow, Dolphins

Scored a 99-yard touchdown against the Falcons, which may make him hard to cut loose. Get it? Cut loose? String-fellow? Sigh. Let's go to the next slide.

The Last Word

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

Marshawn Lynch sat during the national anthem before the Raiders-Cardinals preseason game Saturday night. Michael Bennett also sat during the anthem in Sunday night's Seahawks-Chargers game.

Word out of Raiders headquarters, according to NFL.com, is that it was just Marshawn being Marshawn. But Bennett is an outspoken social activist. So it's safe to assume that we haven't heard the last of this particular story. Lynch is about to enter the maelstrom which consumed Colin Kaepernick. The national anthem remains the NFL's cultural battlefield.

At least in the NFL, the battle is symbolic, peaceful and relegated to the sideline. Elsewhere, "battlefield" has become all too literal.

The violence instigated white nationalists against counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, left millions of Americans wanting to light candles, join hands in the streets, cry, pray, scream into the internet ether or do just about anything else to express what is best described as fear for our nation's very soul. This is a time to do more—or less—than mouth old platitudes about freedom and liberty. If "sitting during the national Anthem is disrespectful" becomes the biggest takeaway from this weekend, it only compounds that fear.

This is a football column, so a football player should have the last word. Lynch, of course, typically speaks through his actions.

Bennett, on the other hand, is never at a loss for words.

"My father's in the military. I love hot dogs like any other American," he told reporters. "I love football like any other American. But I don't love segregation. I don't love riots or oppression.

"I just want to see people have the equality that they deserve. And I want to be able to use this platform to continuously push the message of that."

You can read Bennett's full statement here in Eric D. Williams' report for ESPN. It is simple, eloquent and powerful. It conveys a message we should all be eager to embrace.

But it's probably not going to be as easy as that.