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PFF Grades: Iowa offense vs. W. Michigan

On3 imageby:Tom Kakert•09/17/23•

HawkeyeReport

Cade McNamara WM
Cade McNamara played 61 snaps on Saturday. (Photo: Dennis Scheidt)

The Iowa offense got off to a slower than anticipated start on Saturday against Western Michigan. That was at least in terms of putting points on the board. The Hawkeyes were moving the ball, but turnovers proved to be costly along the way in the first half.

But, Iowa pulled away thanks to a 27 point second half for a 41-10 victory over the Broncos. Iowa scored their most points since the 2021 game at Maryland and rolled up 387 yards of total offense, including 254 on the ground.

How did Pro Football Focus grade out the individual performances of the Hawkeyes? Let’s take a look based on the 67 snaps that took place on Saturday.

QUARTERBACK

Cade McNamara – 42.9 overall grade

Deacon Hill – 62.5 overall grade.

McNamara was 7-18 for 93 yards, 2 touchdowns and two picks when kept clean.

When facing pressure he was 1 for 2 for 10 yards.

Not blitzed: 8-13 for 78 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.

Blitzed: 1-6 for 25 yards, 1 touchdown.

Grade Thoughts: McNamara got dinged pretty hard by the grades this week for his two picks. His passing grade from PFF was 38.2 and his overall grade was the lowest among every player on offense.

RUNNING BACK

Leshon Williams: 80.6 overall grade

Terrell Washington: 72.5 overall grade

Hayden Large: 55.1 overall grade

Kamari Moulton: 54.8 overall grade

Max White: 53.4 overall grade

Jaziun Patterson: 52.6 overall grade

Grade Thoughts: Williams grades reflected his performance. He had an 81.9 on his rush grade. He was certainly helped by his 53 yard run on his way to 145 yards rushing. It was a little surprising to see Moulton graded on the lower end, but my guess is the fumble dinged his grade a bit.

TIGHT END

Steven Stillianos: 88.2 overall grade

Addison Ostrenga: 82.8 overall grade

Erick All: 76.7 overall grade

Johnny Pascuzzi: 53.1 overall grade

Luke Lachey: 47.6 overall grade.

Grade Thoughts: Crazy to see Luke Lachey as the lowest graded player this week at the tight end position, particularly since it will likely be his final game this season after an injury on Saturday. But, the good news is two players who will be seeing a whole lot more activity were two of the highest graded players this week. Stillianos was good in the ground game with an 80.0 run block grade. Ostrenga was graded at 82.9 in the passing game.

WIDE RECEIVER

Seth Anderson: 66.2 overall grade

Jarrett Buie: 58.9 overall grade

Diante Vines: 58.6 overall grade

Kaleb Brown: 57.2 overall grade

Nico Ragaini: 52.8 overall grade

Grade Thoughts: Anderson continues his rise and might be a guy who gets even more targets moving forward with Lachey likely out. Vines caught his first career touchdown pass on Saturday. Grades were pretty average for this group this week.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Logan Jones: 84.1 overall grade

Beau Stephens: 80.1 overall grade

Connor Colby: 78.5 overall grade

Nick DeJong: 72.2 overall grade

Tyler Elsbury: 68.0 overall grade

Gennings Dunker: 67.8 overall grade

Dajion Parker: 66.8 overall grade

Mason Richman: 66.0 overall grade

Jeremy Chaplin: 64.6 overall grade

Rusty Feth: 63.9 overall grade

Jack Dotzler: 61.4 overall grade

Grade Thoughts: Here’s some good news, all of the offensive linemen ranked in the Top 18 of the players graded this week from the Iowa offense. Basically no one was down near the bottom, which suggests that strides are being made. Jones with a 78.2 in pass block and an 83.5 in run blocking is really impressive. Good to see Stephens getting back on the field.

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