Four former Tennessee Volunteers who are now rookies in the pros broke through during the NFL Week 8 games of the 2017 season.
While the current Tennessee football team continues to struggle, players from last year’s team are starting to make an impact in the pros. And for many, it all came together during the NFL Week 8 slate of games.
We start with Derek Barnett, the top draft pick from Tennessee. Barnett had slowly been developing, and he then broke through with three sacks in two weeks. He then had another huge game Sunday. Although he only had two tackles, one was a tackle for a loss.
The guy also had two quarterback hurries. Finally, the big play of the game, he blocked a field goal on special teams. So the guy was all over the field and looking more and more like an elite player as the Philadelphia Eagles dominated the San Francisco 49ers.
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Then you have Alvin Kamara. The Adrian Peterson trade guaranteed he’d see more action. And that’s exactly what he’s done.
Against the Chicago Bears, he had eight carries for 28 yards and a touchdown. He then added three receptions for 48 yards as the New Orleans Saints won 20-12. That’s not even his best performance of the year. He continues to thrive in Sean Payton’s system with Drew Brees throwing the ball.
Moving onto the Detroit Lions, they may have lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-15. But Jalen Reeves-Maybin continues to develop and he had a big game on Sunday. Reeves-Maybin had five tackles overall and a tackle for a loss.
Fellow FanSided site Detroitjockcity.com gave Reeves-Maybin the game ball and questioned the coaching decision to not play him as much in the second half.
But while these guys have all been developing, there was finally one breakout player during NFL Week 8. And that player was Josh Malone.
Despite no catches all year, Malone had two catches for 35 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown pass from Andy Dalton to give the Cincinnati Bengals a 17-13 lead over the Indianapolis Colts in the third quarter.
That would be Cincinnati’s last offensive touchdown as they won the game 24-23. So Malone finally got his name out there, and by giving the Bengals a win, perhaps we could expect to see more of him in the future. What is clear is all these guys were NFL Week 8 impact players. And it’s only a matter of time before Joshua Dobbs and Cameron Sutton get in on the action.