NFL Draft Notebook: Peyton Manning scouting report coming out of college
By John Blair
- A player who has been turning heads in Tampa Bay is first-round pick Joe Tryon. He has impressed his teammates with his explosiveness off the edge with head coach Bruce Arians saying that Tryon was “whipping a lot of guys asses” and that he is “carving out a real, real nice role for himself.” Despite looking impressive so far though he will likely see limited reps in game action since he is behind two veterans in Jason Pierre-Paul and Shaquil Barrett at outside linebacker.
- A rookie on the offensive side of the ball who continues to impress is New York Jets wide receiver Elijah Moore. Moore was a standout during OTAs and has continued to impress during training camp. While there is no doubt that Corey Davis is the Jets number one receiver the team is already finding ways to feature Moore on plays such as screens and is looking for him to stretch defenses. It will be interesting to see if Moore continues to impress once the regular season starts.
- While Joe Tryon and Elijah Moore have been two rookies who have impressed so far one who hasn’t is Jackson Carman. The Cincinnati Bengals took the former Clemson lineman with the 46th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and were counting on him to be a starter. However, since lining up with the first team in OTAs he has seen most of his time in training camp with the second and third team. Unless he looks outstanding in the rest of preseason he will likely lose the starting right guard spot to Xavier Su’a-Filo.
- It should be interesting to see how the San Francisco 49ers use quarterback Trey Lance this year. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has already stated Lance will see the field this year even if it is just for certain situations. However, if the 49ers struggle or are not in playoff contention it would be a shock if Lance does not take over the starting job.
- Speaking of the San Francisco 49ers, a late-round pick who could see some playing time this year is sixth-round pick Elijah Mitchell. Mitchell will likely be competing with Wayne Gallman for the number three job behind Raheem Mostert and Trey Sermon and has already impressed offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel. McDaniel has stated that they love the power he is running with and his vision as a runner which should be enough to earn him a roster spot.