26 NFL teams held rookie minicamps over the past week, giving coaches a first chance to evaluate their teams’ newest players. These minicamps are non-padded and non-contact, so there is only so much that a player can put on tape for his coaches. It does at least give coaching staffs the chance to sort out how their new players fit and how they’ll best be used. Importantly, they provide teams the opportunity to begin orienting rookies into the team’s schemes and give them a quick head start on getting in shape for OTAs.
Kelly’s Heroes: Who’s really standing out at NFL rookie minicamps?
26 NFL teams held rookie minicamps over the past week, giving coaches a first chance to evaluate their teams’ newest players. Danny Kelly goes beyond the talking points for a look at which players really made an impression.
Rob Foldy
While reports out of the first camp are almost always overwhelmingly positive, there are still a couple players that stand out above the rest for each team. I took a quick trip around the league to collect a few.
Jacksonville Jaguars - WR Allen Robinson, CB Rashaad Reynolds
The Jags took USC receiver Marqise Lee at No. 39 when he surprisingly fell out of the first round, but Jacksonville may have gotten an even bigger steal at No. 61 with the selection of Penn State receiver Allen Robinson. According to Alfie Crow of Big Cat Country, Robinson was one of the standouts at Jacksonville's minicamp, highlighted by a sprawling, diving catch on Saturday.
Robinson possesses an intriguing combination of size and speed at 6'2, 220 pounds. He developed as an incredibly productive and reliable receiving option his final two seasons at Penn State. He'll contribute immediately for Jacksonville and give them a new size dynamic in their receiving corps, a group that is steadily improving in talent. Joining Cecil Shorts, Ace Sanders, and Lee, he'll be a go-up-and-get-it threat downfield and in the redzone, and has surprising yards-after-catch running ability.
On the other side of the ball, undrafted free agent cornerback Rashaad Reynolds stood out to fans and reporters, which is much less surprising than the fact that Reynolds ended up going undrafted. At 5’9, 189 pounds, the Oregon State product’s size evidently caused some concern to teams, but the versatile inside-outside cornerback could become another steal for Jacksonville. Reynolds will mostly likely get his first shot in the slot, an important job with the proliferation of three- and four-receiver sets in the NFL.
Green Bay Packers - WR Davante Adams, TE Colt Lyerla
After selecting safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft, the Packers went offense in the second round, grabbing prolific Fresno State pass catcher Davante Adams. As Jason Hirschhorn of Acme Packing Company told me, he's already making a lot of noise in Packers camp even after arriving late due to his school schedule. Adams' skill set would likely work in any NFL offense, but the prospect of pairing his superb box-out and jump-ball skills with a fearless and absurdly accurate Aaron Rodgers makes this one of the more intriguing picks of the Draft's first two days.
Not even a pick like Adams could overshadow the Packers’ decision to try out and eventually sign tight end Colt Lyerla. He was once thought to be a first-round talent, but fell off of teams’ radars when he abruptly quit at Oregon and accumulated a series of troubling off-field incidents. Despite his amazing talent, Lyerla went undrafted and even went unsigned as a UDFA, only to earn a tryout spot in Green Bay. He’s apparently made an impression there in Green Bay, whose coaching staff and front office decided to give him a shot. It’ll be something to watch as the offseason goes on.
Atlanta Falcons - OT Jake Matthews, OLB/DE Tyler Starr
Offensive tackle Jake Matthews settled in for Atlanta and generated some positive buzz. Seventh-round pick Tyler Starr surprised everyone watching minicamp. Starr "has been rushing out of a four-point stance, flashing quality athleticism and really impressing the coaching staff so far," David Choate of The Falcoholic tells me.
Starr is a throwback, sporting party rock hair and a punch-you-in-the-mouth persona. He didn’t get much attention this spring coming out of small-school South Dakota despite playing well in the Shrine Game. He plays fast, shows quickness upfield as a rusher, and has the ability to run in coverage on tight ends. It remains to be seen if he can carve out a role with the Falcons, but Starr has an intriguing skill set and was very productive in college.
Tyler Starr, via Getty Images
As you might expect, the Jets' first-round pick, former Louisville safety Calvin Pryor, has been the talk of minicamp there. "He was good, very impressive," said Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan. "I've been really impressed with him mentally. That's all we've really had, but mentally, sharp. He's into it."
"Rex is talking about him making calls out there as a rookie, which is unheard of [with Ryan]. He normally has 10-plus-year-vets making his incredibly complex defensive calls out there," Scott Salmon of Gang Green Nation told me.
“Smart, instinctive and is on top of it,” says Ryan. “It’s rare that it comes easy, and you can see it in there. The way he communicates, just everything. He has really been everything that we’ve wanted and then some. Really been impressed with him. I think he’d be probably the No. 1 guy that jumps out at me (from rookie mini camp so far).”
Pryor faces some competition at the safety spot with Dawan Landry and Antonio Allen, but figures to see the field quite a bit in his rookie campaign.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - WR Mike Evans, LB Nate Askew
You can’t talk about Buccaneers’ camp without bringing up an incredible one-handed catch by top pick Mike Evans, according to Sander Phillipse of Bucs Nation. Evans wowed everyone in attendance by almost casually reaching up with his 35-inch arms to snag an errant throw, just reinforcing Tampa Bay’s decision to select him with the No. 7 overall pick of the draft.
Past Evans, Phillipse pointed to UDFA linebacker Nate Askew as a player that has been generating some buzz at One Bucs Place. Sander explains that Askew is an “undersized, speedy guy who played receiver until two years ago; he’s still learning the position, but has talent.” Head coach Lovie Smith echoed this, noting that “he’s big, strong, fast, but he’s green. He came in at [Texas] A&M as a receiver and now having to make that move he has potential, but potential is scary sometimes. He has a long ways to go, but it will be fun watching him.”
Vikings - QB Teddy Bridgewater, WR Kain Colter, WR Erik Lora
The noise coming out of Vikings minicamp is rightly centered around their new signal-caller. Bridgewater impressed coaches enough that he’s earned the right to take some first-team reps when the club reports for OTAs.
“[Bridgewater] is throwing the ball good,” Zimmer told the Star Tribune. “I think he’s got a good presence, a good command of the way he’s taking things. It was good for him to be out here with the veteran quarterbacks a little bit last week for a few days.”
A pair of undrafted free agent receivers have generated a little buzz in Vikings camp, Arif Hasan of The Daily Norseman told me.
Colter made headlines as part of the Northwestern unionization effort. He’s now looking to catch on to an NFL team as an undrafted quarterback making the switch to receiver. Colter certainly has the physical ability as a runner -- he rushed for 2,180 yards and 28 touchdowns in his career -- and has big, strong hands that translate well to his new position. He also projects as an option in the return game, further strengthening his cause.
As for Lora, he was an absurdly productive receiver at Eastern Illinois, teamed up with Jimmy Garoppolo. He snagged an FCS-record 136 receptions in 2012 (for 1,664 yards and 12 TDs) and followed that up with 123 catches in 2013 (for 1,544 and 19 TDs). He's likely an inside slot receiver at the NFL level but projects as "a quarterback's best friend" type of option underneath, if he can manage to snag a spot on the roster.
Seattle Seahawks - DT/DE Cassius Marsh, WR Kevin Norwood
Paul Richardson made some noise on his first day by catching a deep touchdown pass up the sideline, but after getting nicked up on a collision, he sat out the final two days. Consequently, the two players fans heard most about out of the Seahawks' minicamp were Cassius Marsh, a defensive end/defensive tackle prospect out of UCLA, and Kevin Norwood, a receiver out of Alabama.
Marsh was brought in by the team to act as an understudy to the versatile Michael Bennett, and they lined him up this past weekend at several spots along the defensive line. Marsh uses his hands very well, per reports, shooting them out to latch on and control opponents. His snap-timing and quick first step allow him to shoot into the backfield. The pads aren't on yet, but the team apparently really liked what they saw from the fourth-round pick.
Another one of Seattle’s three fourth-round picks was steady possession receiver Kevin Norwood. The Crimson Tide receiver was A.J. McCarron’s go-to player when the pocket broke down this past year, and the Seahawks place a heavy priority on that with Russell Wilson’s style of play. When a couple of Seahawk receivers got nicked up and had to sit out this weekend, Norwood took advantage and got a ton of reps. According to reports, he caught everything thrown his way, and looked exactly as advertised.
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