The NFL season kicked off in earnest on Sunday, giving us our first look at most of the rookie class of 2026. Some of said rookies already look box office; Jets EDGE David Bailey harassed the Titans offensive line all day, for example. Others, on the other hand ... well, let's just say it's a good thing the regular season is 17 games long.
It's still far too early to make any proclamations about any of the rookies taken in this spring's draft. Based on one week of evidence, though, a few teams have to start at least asking some uncomfortable questions about how they spent their first-round picks.
WR Carnell Tate, Tennessee Titans
To Titans fans who were hoping against hope that their team's ugly preseason performance wasn't reflective of the quality of this offense under Brian Daboll: I'm truly sorry. Things were downright ugly for Tennessee against the Jets on Sunday, and while QB Cam Ward did him no favors, Carnell Tate once again failed to look like a guy worthy of a top-five pick.
Tate garnered six targets on the day, but he caught four of them for just 38 yards. Again, he's far from the only thing that was wrong with this offense, but he also didn't generate much of any separation down the field — which jives with questions we had about him in the pre-draft process. He doesn't seem to be much of a ceiling-raiser, and that's a tough look given where Tennessee took him.
QB Ty Simpson, Los Angeles Rams
This is unfair to Simpson, who obviously didn't see the field in the Rams' shocking Week 1 clunker against the San Francisco 49ers. But given how flat Los Angeles looked in Australia, and given the questions on the defensive front with Myles Garrett now on IR and Aaron Donald not yet in game shape, it's hard not to wonder whether Les Snead would've been better off acquiring a player who could help a Super Bowl push this year rather than trying to play the two-timeline game.
It's entirely possible that the Rams figure things out, win it all and also have their QB of the future ready to take over for Matthew Stafford. That's a lot of "ifs", though, and right now all the team is left with is a vulnerable defense and an offense that looked its age this week.
DE Rueben Bain Jr., Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It was tough to find anybody who didn't love the Bucs' decision to take Bain Jr. after the former Miami star fell into their laps at No. 15 overall. But he was more or less invisible in Tampa's Week 1 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, failing to get much of any pressure on Joe Burrow while registering just one sack as Cincy rolled to 33 points and 5.6 yards per play.
This is in no way a referendum on Bain Jr.'s future. There's still plenty of time for him to blossom into a game-wrecker at the NFL level. In Week 1, though, those concerns about his arm length loom a little bit larger. O
OT Monroe Freeling, Carolina Panthers
Offense wasn't really the problem for Carolina in Week 1. Bryce Young and Co. put up 37 points and nearly eight yards per play, only for their defense to get completely shredded by Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears.
With such a fine margin for error, though, a few negative plays set Carolina back — and Freeling was responsible for more than his share, including both a sack allowed and a false start on third downs. Freeling was drafted with the knowledge that he was far from a finished product, with just one year of starting experience at Georgia under his belt. There were always going to be bumps in the road; are the Panthers willing to be patient as they try to decide whether to pay Young?
OT Max Iheanachor, Pittsburgh Steelers
This one isn't really Iheanachor's fault; having just picked up the sport in junior college, he was always going to be a long shot to contribute in year one, let alone Week 1, and that was before injuries slowed his first NFL camp. But it was tough to watch Pittsburgh's young offensive line struggle with a mediocre Atlanta Falcons front and not wonder whether the team would've been better off with a more immediate contributor, either at tackle or somewhere else on the offense.
Iheanachor could well develop into a plus starter at a premium position in time. Given how badly Dylan Cook struggled at right tackle, though, is it damning that Iheanachor only played one snap when Troy Fautanu briefly left with an injury? And how will Aaron Rodgers handle the team taking a longer view with his O-line in what is likely his final pro season?
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