Let’s face it. First impressions are essential.
You get a bloody nostril in your first date? Not splendid.
You hit a parked automotive in your driver’s take a look at? Whoops.
You catch one go for 4 yards in your extremely anticipated NFL debut? Massive yikes!
OK, possibly the final instance was a little bit harsh. You may not get that second date, and also you might need to attend to get your driver’s license, however there’s all the time a possibility to erase the reminiscence of 1 dud recreation should you’re an NFL receiver with huge expertise.
Listed below are three gamers who may bounce again in Week 2:
WR Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals
Sure, we all know, one catch for 4 yards. However give it some thought this manner: 4 yards is 12 toes!
Sarcasm apart, it’s far too early to overreact to Harrison’s quiet debut. Quarterback Kyler Murray ended up focusing totally on Trey McBride (9 targets) and Greg Dortch (eight), and James Conner obtained 4 targets out of the backfield.
Harrison was fourth with a trio of targets, and he caught solely a type of passes. However should you dig a little bit deeper, you see that he was on the sector for 55 performs—90.2% of Arizona’s offense. That was greater than McBride (52 snaps, 85.3 p.c), Conner (41 snaps, 67.2 p.c), and Dortch (37 snaps, 60.7 p.c).
The rookie goes to be OK. We expect.
TE Travis Kelce, Kansas Metropolis Chiefs
Haters gonna hate, and so on., however Kelce is aware of to shake it off with regards to Week 1.
In some methods, Kelce was fortunate that the Chiefs went up in opposition to the Baltimore Ravens within the season opener. Many of the tight finish consternation targeted on the opposite aspect of the sector, the place Mark Andrews bought sizzling canine within the stands whereas Isaiah Seemingly caught a whopping 9 passes for 111 yards and a landing.
Andrews is “Seemingly” going through large competitors from his teammate all season. However Kelce is in a distinct scenario in Kansas Metropolis, the place he’s nonetheless the clear alpha at his place.
Have a look at routes run: Kelce was concerned in 48 performs, which represented 88.9 p.c of Kansas Metropolis’s offense. No different pass-catcher was on the sector as a lot as he was. He completed with solely three receptions for 34 yards, however keep affected person. Kelce has large video games on the way in which.
WR Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers
Aiyuk spent many of the preseason watching clips of Jerry Maguire — “Showww Me the Cash!!!” — so it wasn’t an enormous shock that he was quiet in Week 1. He caught two passes for 28 yards from Brock Purdy, who will be a part of him on the way in which to the financial institution quickly.
Aiyuk instructed reporters after the sport that he felt like he was in good condition and that conditioning was not a think about his debut. It is smart, as he had loads of time to work out all offseason, and he merely needed to modify to recreation velocity and make contact with after so little follow.
This week may very well be a possibility for Aiyuk to get his toes again underneath him and the soccer again in his grip. The Minnesota Vikings are skinny at cornerback, and whereas they did a terrific job shutting down Daniel Jones and the New York Giants final week, they’re going to have their palms full with the 49ers’ many weapons. That features Aiyuk, who could be smart to not attempt to lug his duffel bag of money on his receiver routes this week.