Each week we dive into each team’s rookie class and compare how they stack up against each other. (Grades for each player are the overall offensive or defensive grade handed out by PFF.com)
Dallas Cowboys
Tyler Booker (OG)
First Round
Currently out with high ankle sprain.
Grade: 65.0
Donovan Ezeiraku (DE)
Second Round
Washington’s offense is a moving target because Jayden Daniels turns dropbacks into field trips. He’s been sacked 14 times, which is middle of the pack and the Commanders just coughed up three turnovers on Monday night after juggling injuries up front. That’s the kind of environment where a high-motor edge like Ezeiruaku can really shine.
The issue holding Ezeiruaku from having free reign here is Jacory Croskey-Merritt. The Commanders running back gives them a real downhill threat and he’s at 344 yards on 60 carries this year, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. Add Daniels’ 176 rushing yards and that’s a recipe that keep’s Ezeiruaku having to hold his rush lines and set the edge.
If the Cowboys can bottle first down and then produce on second and third down, Ezeiruaku’s high-effort style comes into play. On a defense searching for rhythm, he’s one of the few who consistently tilts reps in the right direction.
Grade: 72.0
Shavon Revel Jr. (CB)
Third Round
Currently on Non-Football injury list (NFI)
Jaydon Blue (RB)
Fifth Round
Blue’s tape has been light so far since taking over from Miles Sanders, and that lack of usage slows a rookie trying to find rhythm. You can see the traits, but the touches have been scattered enough that a couple of two-yard runs and a checkdown tackle short of the sticks end up defining his tape so far.
His issues have been with processing and play strength. On outside zone he’ll occasionally bounce before he’s fully pressed the landmark, shrinking the crease he’s trying to hit. Inside, the feet can get a little busy so defenders arrive square and put his rush attempt into a panic play. He needs to keep stacking clean pass-pro reps so the coaching staff trusts him in the pressure downs. Once he settles in, the hope is the traits will finally meet the touches and the production will look a lot more like the speed.
Grade: 56.4
Shemar James (LB)
Fifth Round
James looks like a linebacker built in a hurry. The areas of development are exactly what you’d expect from a rookie playing fast. He’ll overrun some inside running plays and open the cutback lane, take one step too early on play-action and leave a window behind him, or take poor angles. In coverage, the assignment is mostly fine, but the timing can drift when quarterbacks extend the play.
Grade: 52.6
Ajani Cornelius (OT)
Sixth Round
Inactive
Grade: N/A
Jay Toia (DT)
Seventh Round
So the bad news. Toia had trouble winning the first inch of the rep, which is everything against a run-heavy script. His pad level wasn’t consistent, his hands landed late or outside, and double-teams walked him back at times way too easily for a guy his size. On inside zone runs he chased laterally way too far, opening the lanes that Dowdle happily bent into. Add a couple slow retraces on play-action and a screen where he didn’t feel the release fast enough, and he had a day he wished he could have back.
The good news is when Toia fired low and tight, he posted in textbook fashion and kept his hips under him. You could see his feel for two-gapping with the peek, press, shed, and square to finish. He’s also more nimble in short spaces than he looks going off a few plays.
Grade: 28.6
Phil Mafah (RB)
Seventh Round
Inactive
Grade: N/A
Alijah Clark (CB)
UDFA
Clark has been called up twice in consecutive weeks to help play gunner on special teams. Both weeks he’s made splash plays, getting downfield like a shot and finding the returner early to end the play. With this solid technique and speed it’s very possible we see Clark get the call for the third consecutive week followed by sole decisions on what to do with him on the 53-man roster.
Grade: 80.0 (ST only)
Washington Commanders
Josh Conerly Jr. (OT)
First Round
Conerly looks like what you hope a first-round tackle looks like one month in. He’s talented, teachable, and trending. The mistakes are the fixable kind, the strengths are the sticky kind, and the arrow is pointing up. Give him time and reps, and the Commanders may have a fixture on the line.
The rough parts to his game are textbook for a college left-tackle flipping to the right. He leads the team in both pressures and sacks, but there’s context to that. When Conerly gets a shade wide, inside counters or speed-to-power comes into play and his recovery can lag. Toss in the occasional grabby rescue when his hands drift outside, and you can see he still has to learn some things.
As for his run blocking, that’s also a work in progress. He’s the lowest-graded run blocker among the starting offensive linemen, he is in fact, the lowest-graded run blocker among both Washington’s and Dallas’ offensive linemen.
Grade: 60.4
Trey Amos (CB)
Second Round
Dropped into the league with press-corner length and SEC experience, Amos has settled into the rotation the way you want a rookie to with steady special-teams work, spot duty outside, and a handful of snaps in the nickel when the matchup fits. The first thing that pops on film is the frame with rangy arms, patient feet, and how calmly he gets from line up to in phase with his long strides. When offenses try to bully him with slants and quick outs, he’ll crowd the release and make the receiver finish a contested catch instead of an easy layup.
The rookie problems are there because they’re there for almost every young corner. Double-moves will catch him off-balance, tempo routes can steal half a step and he can get grabby. That’s all coachable and how quickly he corrects within the game will determine what happens in his sophomore season.
Grade: 63.6
Jaylin Lane (WR)
Fourth Round
Lane is the kind of slot receiver who drags coverage with him just by shifting a yard. He’s got the two things you can’t coach, burst off the snap and stop-start balance that makes flat defenders look like they’re on ice. Give him manufactured touches on jet sweeps, bubble screens, and quick-outs and the offense suddenly feels like it found the fast-forward button.
Press corners can easily disrupt his release if they land first. On deep balls, late hands will serve him better than early fights, but he’s too often the first to blink. The blueprint is simple for his development at this stage, keep the route shapes crisp, take the free yards, and let the explosives come instead of forcing it.
Grade: 74.8
Jacory Crosskey-Merritt (RB)
Seventh Round
Washington found a seventh-round thunderbolt and handed him the keys for the RB1 role. Croskey-Merritt runs with a deadly one cut and then he gets north with purpose. When the Commanders are on schedule, he’s even more deadly and inside zone feels heavier, making 2nd-and-6 become 2nd-and-3, then play-action suddenly comes into play. He isn’t a gadget back, he’s the tone-setter who drags safeties a step closer to the line of scrimmage whether they like it or not.
It’s not all highlight reels. He has two fumbles on just 60 carries, so quick math is easy here that says he’s coughing the ball up every 30 rush attempts, that’s not a good start. But the reason Washington keeps feeding him the ball is obvious on tape as his contact balance turns glancing blows into extra yards, hips loose enough to bend the cutback, and just enough receiver polish to punish linebackers who drift.
Grade: 48.4
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