Eddie Lacy surprised everyone by rushing for over 1000 yards as a rookie for the Packers. Now he will be looked at as the Packers’ workhorse back.
The 2013 NFL Draft class had its shares of successes and failure. Many of the offensive lineman that were so highly touted did not pan out immediately – two of the top four OLs selected ended on injured reserve and one of them has been suspended for part of 2014. Meanwhile, the running backs – none of whom were drafted in the 1st round for the first time in decades – were extremely successful.
Now the 2013 class is a year older and the expectations are higher with the so-called “rookie wall” a thing of the past. This list will look at which players had the best 2013 and can be expected to do even better as NFL sophomores in 2014:
Honorable Mention
Kiko Alonso, LB, Buffalo Bills – Perhaps the 3rd best rookie of the 2013 NFL season. Alonso played all defensive snaps for the Bills, recorded over 150 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 INTs and a forced fumble. He narrowly lost to Sheldon Richardson for rookie of the year and might have been even better in 2014. However a torn ACL suffered in June landed him on injured reserve for the 2014 season. He will have to redshirt his second season and wait until 2015 to re-emerge.
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