This is an Offensive Skills position team of players that had their share of doubters coming out of college. These players are currently performing at a high level and the sky’s the limit.
QB Josh Allen, BUF
In his 2018 rookie season Josh Allen had a quarterback rating of 67.9 which was 32nd out of 33 qualifying quarterbacks in the league. In 2019 his quarterback rating improved to 85.3 which was good for 24th in the league. So far in 2020 Allen has a 122.9 rating for third best in the league. He has improved all major quarterback stats each season. Though only 2 games into the season, Allen is first in passing yards and passing yards per game. He is second in passing touchdowns and adjusted net yards per pass attempt. Allen is one of twelve quarterbacks that have not thrown an interception this year. In 2019 Josh Allen joined Russell Wilson and DeShaun Watson as the three quarterbacks with the most game winning drives (5). This year Allen is one of ten quarterbacks with a game winning drive. Pro Football Focus currently has Josh Allen ranked ninth this year in the percentage of accurate throws. Allen’s 4.2 yards per rush attempt this season is fifth best among quarterbacks and he is tied with Tom Brady for the most rushing touchdowns (2) by a quarterback this season. so far this year Allen’s bad throw percentage of 5% is sixth best in the league and his on target percentage of 48.8% is 12th best. The Bills are 2-0 and lead the AFC East. Josh Allen has become only the fourth quarterback in league history with 700 or more passing yards, six or more touchdown passes, and zero interceptions in his team’s first two games of the season. In college Allen had only a 56% completion percentage in a weak Mountain West Conference. Pro Football Focus said that in college Allen had a passer rating of 73.4 when under pressure — well below the other top quarterbacks in the class and even the NCAA-wide average of 90. His 15 interceptions in his 2016 college season was fifth most in the NCAA.NFL draft analyst Chad Reuter had Josh Allen as his top boom or bust prospect in the 2018 draft.
RB Gus Edwards, BAL
Including the start of 2020, Gus Edwards has been in the top 5 in the league in rushing yards per attempt each of his three NFL seasons. Following his 2018 rookie season, Pro Football Focus ranked Edwards as the top running back in the rate of rushing attempts tackled for a loss with only a 1.38%. In his three seasons from 2018 up to 2020 Edwards was 23rd followed by 3rd among running backs in percent of rushing attempts that made first down. He currently sits at 7th for 2020. This from an undrafted running back out of Rutgers.
WR Allen Lazard, GNB
In his 2018 rookie season Allen Lazard was in on only one offensive snap and made a reception for 7 yards. In 2019 his quarterback had a passer rating of 115 when Lazard was targeted for 52 targets. That season Lazard ranked 18th in the league among wide receivers in first downs per target at 46% for receivers with more than 25 targets. So far in 2020 Lazard ranks 12th in first downs per target for receivers with more than 3 targets at 66.7% on his 9 targets. His 12 yards per target this season is 13th among wide receivers and his 15.4 yards per reception is 19th. This season Aaron Rodgers has a 153.7 passer rating when targeting Allen Lazard. This after going undrafted in the 2018 draft. Even though he had a 33% team market share of receiving yards his last year of college. That team market share is indicative of long-term starting players based on historical data.
TE Tyler Higbee, LAR
So far this season Tyler Higbee ranks tenth among all players in passer rating when targeted. He has hauled in 8 receptions on 9 targets for 94 yards, six first downs, and three touchdowns. He is tie for the second most receiving touchdowns in the league. In his 2019 season he was graded as the highest Rams player on offense by Pro Football Focus. Higbee is also a good blocker. In 2019 against the Bears he was tasked with blocking Khalil Mack one-on-one a couple of times and held his own. As a fourth round draft pick in 2016 he qualifies for this team.
It is nice to see players that had questionable starts achieve success.
