TCI gives you a comprehensive look at how former Clemson football players performed in the first week of the NFL season…
Kansas City 27, Houston 20
HOU: DeAndre Hopkins—13 tgts, 9 rec, 98 yds, 2 TD, 2PC
Nuk is poised for a breakout campaign in 2015 given his newfound status as the top receiving option for a Houston offense that promises to struggle to move the ball through the air otherwise. He had a slow start, but the Texans spent the second half in full-fledged catch-up mode. As such, Hopkins became a popular man, accounting for 14 of his team’s 20 points in the game.
Buffalo 27, Indianapolis 14
BUF: Sammy Watkins—3 tats
Watkins saw some action, but a nagging hamstring injury has really affected his ability to establish a rapport with new Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor. This situation bears monitoring moving forward because Percy Harvin has a skill set similar to Watkins and had a productive day against Indy.
IND: Dwayne Allen—6 tgts, 3 rec, 17 yds, TD
Andrew Luck had issues moving the ball through the air, and that included the tight end position. Allen was fourth on the team in targets and—as expected by this observer—was the obvious first choice at the position over Coby Fleener, who was only thrown to once in the game.
Green Bay 34, Chicago 26
CHI: Jarvis Jenkins—1 tackle, 1 PBU
Jenkins was largely a space-eater during his time with the Redskins, and an offseason change of scenery should give him more opportunities to make plays. He didn’t fill up the stat sheet, but it also wasn’t an unproductive performance for the veteran D-lineman.
New York Jets 31, Cleveland 10
NYJ: Marcus Gilchrist—6 tackles
Gilchrist has had a phenomenal week. On Wednesday, his first child was born, and he also enjoyed a solid debut with the Jets on Sunday. Gilchrist should see the lion’s share of the snaps at one safety spot for New York and should expect a good bit of production to go along with that.
Arizona 31, New Orleans 19
ARI: Andre Ellington—12 car, 69 yds, TD; 3 tgts, 1 rec, 7 yds; FL
Chandler Catanzaro—1-1 FG, 4-4 XP
Jaron Brown—1 tgt, 1 rec, 8 yds
Clemson West got off to a nice start to the 2015 season, and Ellington was a big part of it. The primary tailback for the Cardinals scored a short touchdown in the second quarter and averaged nearly six yards per carry. He did suffer a knee injury that will cost him two or three weeks of game action. Catanzaro did everything he was supposed to do, knocking down all four extra points from the new longer distance—the ball is now spotted at the 15-yard line in the NFL for all extra points. He also drilled a 43-yard field goal at the end of the third quarter in a tight game. Brown should see a target or two in most games, but he’s behind several players on the depth chart right now.
NO: Stephone Anthony—4 tackles (3 solo), PBU
The Saints weren’t great defensively in this game, but Anthony enjoyed a mostly solid debut. The middle linebacker got a few tackles and was able to get his hands on a pass. He should continue to pile up stats as he gets more comfortable at this level.
Tennessee 42, Tampa Bay 14
TEN: Coty Sensabaugh—INT, TD, PBU
Sensabaugh became one of the most prominent spoilers of the opening weekend of action by intercepting Jameis Winston’s first career pass and taking it 26 yards. He should get plenty of opportunities to do more of that this season as a reliable nickel cornerback for the Titans.
TB: Adam Humphries—4 tgts, 2 rec, 14 yds
For a player who improbably made the 53-man roster after being guaranteed nothing, four targets in the first week of action isn’t bad at all. Humphries was one of four multi-catch receivers for the Buccaneers. He was actually Winston’s first career target on a play that resulted in Sensabaugh’s interception return.
Atlanta 26, Philadelphia 24
ATL: Vic Beasley Jr.—3 tackles
Malliciah Goodman—2 assisted tackles
Grady Jarrett—1 assisted tackle
The Falcons’ trio of Tiger trenchmen made it to the stat sheet, but none of them made any kind of outstanding impact on the game. Goodman and Jarrett should both be quality depth pieces, while Beasley should grow into his edge rusher role as the year progresses.
PHI: Byron Maxwell—9 tackles
In a game that featured some fast-paced offense both ways, Maxwell was a busy man in coverage. The newly signed top cornerback for the Eagles led the Philly defense with his nine solo stops in his debut. Maxwell comes packaged with some expectations in 2015, and he didn’t exactly start out on the right foot courtesy of a dynamite performance from Julio Jones in which Maxwell was largely ineffective in coverage all night.
San Francisco 20, Minnesota 3
SFO: Bradley Pinion—3 punts, 46.7 yds/punt, 2 inside 20
Pinion’s NFL debut went incredibly well. He boomed a trio of punts, including a 52-yarder, and created good field position for his team in each case. The 49ers don’t look really good on offense, so Pinion should be a busy man in 2015.
*Other Active Players: Tavaris Barnes (NO), Chris Clemons (ARI), Kavell Conner (SDG), Chris Hairston (SDG), Antoine McClain (ARI), Tyler Shatley (JAC), Tony Steward (BUF), Brandon Thomas (NO).
*Inactives: Andre Branch (JAC), Kourtnei Brown (TB), C.J. Spiller (NO), Brandon Thompson (CIN), Charlie Whitehurst (TEN).