Hawkeyes in the NFL: Week 2 Top Performers
The first two weeks of the NFL season have flown by. It seems like just yesterday we were talking about 53-man roster cuts and here we are with two completed weeks of games. Just like that we are back with another week of former Hawkeyes in the NFL. Three new players landed in the top five this week, while a veteran (George Kittle) and a rookie (Tory Taylor) are now two for two. Let’s take a look at the top performances from week two of the NFL.
Honorable Mention Performers
DL Chauncey Golston – 4 tkls, 1 sk vs New Orleans
LB Anthony Nelson – 2 tkls, 3 QBH vs Detroit
DB Geno Stone – 6 tkls vs Kansas City
1. San Francisco TE George Kittle
George Kittle was known as the big play guy last season, easily leading all tight ends in yards per catch. It’s only been two weeks, but Kittle is now near the top of the list in catches. In the 49ers 23-17 loss to the Vikings, Kittle had seven catches for 76 yards and one touchdown. George only had five games with 5+ catches last season, but with injuries to Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffery, he could be in for some more targets. Through two games, Kittle has 11 catches for 116 yards. He currently ranks second-amongst all tight ends in receptions and fourth in receiving yards.
2. Pittsburgh OG James Daniels
The Pittsburgh Steelers are off to a 2-0 start and a guy that has really gotten off to a nice start is former Iowa offensive lineman James Daniels. In this week’s win over the Broncos, Daniels earned an 91.5 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, which ranked third-best amongst all offensive linemen. His 93.2 run blocking grade tied for the second-best in week two.
It’s still very early in the season, but last season, James ranked 177th in the NFL in run blocking (58.6). This season, he is tied for the fifth-best run blocking grade (90.5). Fantastic improvement.
3. Detroit LB Jack Campbell
As a rookie last season, Jack Campbell started 12 games and totaled 95 tackles for a Detroit Lions team that made to the playoffs. The Lions lost to Tampa Bay on Sunday, but Campbell finished tied for the team-lead with six tackles and recorded a pair of tackles for loss. Through two games, Jack has 13 tackles, including three tackles for loss, which puts him just two short of his total from last season (5 tfls).
4. Cincinnati TE Erick All Jr.
I have a feeling that the Bengals may have gotten a steal when they got Erick All with the 115th pick in the NFL Draft. He had a fantastic fall camp with Cincinnati and with Tanner Hudson out against Kansas City, All got his opportunity. Erick finished with four catches for 32 yards, including a 19-yard reception.
5. Chicago P Tory Taylor
Two weeks, two appearances on the top performers list for rookie punter Tory Taylor. Unfortunately, that’s not great news for the Chicago Bears offense. They have only scored ten offensive points through two games. In Sunday night’s loss to the Texans, Taylor booted six punts for 284 yards (47.3 average), including two punts inside the 20-yard line and a long of 57 yards.
There’s no reason not to throw this out here early in the season. The rookie record for most punt yards in a season is 4,779 set by Ryan Stonehouse in 2022. Taylor is currently on track for 4,709 yards, but I don’t think the Bears will be bad enough for him to stay on track, but it’s worth noting.
