Hawkeyes in NFL: Week 7 Top Performers
We are back for another week of Hawkeyes in the NFL. Sunday was National Tight Ends Day in the NFL, so it’s not surprising that three former Iowa tight ends made it into this weeks article. We also have a former linebacker that racked up double digits tackles in his teams win, while a former defensive back took the league lead in interceptions. HawkeyeReport has your Week 7 top performances from former Hawkeyes.
1. TE TJ Hockenson
The fourth Sunday in October is deemed National Tight Ends Day by the NFL, after George Kittle started it up with a quote in a press conference back in 2018. What better way to celebrate it than a Monday night matchup between Kittle and TJ Hockenson.
The Vikings came away with the 22-17 win and Hockenson came away with the performance of the weekend. He finished with a team-high 11 catches on 12 targets for 86 yards, with his longest catch going for 22 yards on a drive that ended up going for a Minnesota touchdown. His catch in the clip below was also on that drive and went for 16 yards on 3rd and 12 deep in their own territory.
On the season, Hockenson is second amongst all tight ends in catches (47), yards (390) and fantasy points (96.0). 11 catches in a game is second-most by a tight end behind Travis Kelce, who had 12 against the Chargers on Sunday. He is on track for 114 catches for 947 yards this season.
2. TE George Kittle and TE Sam LaPorta
As I promised in the intro, there are two more tight ends to talk about, starting with George Kittle, who was on the other end of that Monday night matchup. The 49ers may have lost, but Kittle came away with five catches for 78 yards, including a 28-yard reception on a scoring drive to begin the third quarter. On the season, Kittle has 23 catches for 294 yards and three touchdowns.
Top 10
- 1Breaking
Surprise step down
Utah's Andy Ludwig steps down as OC
- 2
Oklahoma fires OC
Seth Littrell out as offensive coordinator at Oklahoma, per Sooner Scoop
- 3New
SEC fines Vols
SEC punishes Tennessee for field storming
- 4
Texas punished
SEC punishes Texas over trash debacle
- 5Hot
AP Poll
Oregon Ducks take No. 1 spot in latest AP Top 25
Our third tight end is Sam LaPorta. The Lions were blasted by the Ravens 38-6, but LaPorta finished with six catches on seven targets for 52 yards. On the season, Sam is tied for fourth amongst all tight ends with 35 catches and is fourth in yards with 377.
3. LB Josey Jewell
The Broncos have not had a great season to this point, but they did pull off a 19-17 upset win over the Packers on Sunday. Linebacker Josey Jewell finished with a team-high ten tackles and one quarterback hurry in the win. Ten tackles ties for his most in a game since he had 17 against the Ravens in Week 13 last year. On the season, Jewell has 43 tackles and is on track for 122 tackles, which would just beat out last season (119) for a career-high.
4. DB Geno Stone
His Pro Football Focus game grade didn’t look the best on Sunday, but it is hard to argue with the results that Geno Stone is getting this season. In the Ravens win over the Lions, Stone finished with three tackles and picked off his fourth pass of the season, which now puts him alone in first place for the entire league.
On the season, Stone has 27 tkls and three quarterback hurries to go along with his four interceptions. His 85.3 overall grade ranks 7th amongst all defensive backs that have played at least 100 snaps, while his 89.3 coverage grade ranks 3rd best.
