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NFL 2025 season: Week eight

The 2025 draft class has made a flying start to the NFL season and it’s not just the top-rated rookies that have caught the eye.

After week seven, this year’s rookies have claimed a record number of total yards and touchdowns.

Four have scored at least five touchdowns and registered more than 500 scrimmage yards – rushing and receiving combined.

“This was a draft class that was heavy on offensive and defensive linemen,” said ESPN analyst Matt Miller.

“Maybe we’re not seeing it as much from those position groups, but I think the offensive skill players are absolutely shining right now.”

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected wide receiver Emeka Egbuka with the 19th pick of this year’s NFL Draft and he made an instant impact, scoring two touchdowns on his debut.

Veteran receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin have been struggling with injury, and now Evans is out for the rest of the season, so 23-year-old Egbuka is set to remain the main outlet for Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield.

“Egbuka’s been thrown into the fire a little bit, but everyone at Ohio State said he was a professional wide receiver playing college football,” said Miller.

“As a route runner, he was precise, he was crisp, he was sharp. He was a punt returner so you knew about his toughness and his playmaking ability.

“And getting to know him in the pre-draft process, he was mature. He was a leader at Ohio State, despite never being the number one wide receiver. He never complained, he just showed up and did his job.”

Miller added that rookies like Egbuka and Tyler Warren now come into the NFL better prepared to make the step up.

Warren was the 14th overall pick by the Indianapolis Colts, who are leading the way with a 6-1 record, and Warren has more receiving yards than any other tight end (439).

Running backs Ashton Jeanty (Las Vegas Raiders), Quinshon Judkins (Cleveland Browns) and Cam Skattebo (New York Giants) are also posting big numbers, and the impact of Judkins and Skattebo is most surprising as they were second and fourth-round picks, respectively.

Schecter says that Skattebo and fellow rookie Jaxson Dart have “totally rejuvenated” the Giants since Dart replaced Russell Wilson as their starting quarterback.

“Sometimes it’s about being in the right situation at the right time, and you can see the relationship that Dart and Skattebo have,” she said.

“Skattebo is ferocious, he fights for every single yard, and so much of what Dart brings is belief. His confidence is phenomenal.”

It took a stunning fightback by the Denver Broncos on Sunday to deny Dart a third win from four starts.

“They have something we call swagger,” Miller added. “You feel the energy and they’ve changed how you see that franchise.

“It’s not just what Dart’s doing with his arm, it’s what he’s doing with his legs too.

“A lot of times with rookie quarterbacks, [you ask] is the game too fast for them? Is the game too big for them? It has not been for him.

First overall pick Cam Ward is struggling with the Tennessee Titans, though, and the Jacksonville Jaguars are yet to get the best out of two-way player Travis Hunter, who they drafted second overall.

The Titans are 1-6 and have sacked their head coach, but Miller says the improved form of quarterbacks Caleb Williams and Drake Maye shows “things can turn around really quickly”.

Both were top-three picks last year and had tough rookie seasons, but have led the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots to winning starts this year.

“When you’re drafted as the number one pick, that means they were the NFL’s worst team the year prior, so we knew there were holes on this Tennessee team,” said Miller.

“I think you can see the frustration with the offensive line, not protecting [Ward]. There’s really no run game to speak of and they’re decimated at wide receiver, so this is a complete rebuild. It’s going to take time.

“Let’s see who the next coach is, because that can change everything. I would expect them to have a plan to utilise Cam Ward’s legs as well as his arm, because that’s a feature of his game that just has not been used yet.”

Hunter has been playing as a wide receiver and cornerback for the Jaguars. He has played mostly on offense so far and had his best game yet during Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams at Wembley.

“They’re still trying to figure out what he can handle and where they need him,” said Schecter.

Many star rookies endure a ‘sophomore slump’ in their second year, but equally, many players take a year to adjust before truly fulfilling their potential.

Abdul Carter was the first defensive player drafted this year, with the Giants taking the linebacker third overall.

And although he has registered just 0.5 sacks so far, Schecter feels he will emerge as a game-wrecker – another reason why the future looks bright for ‘Big Blue’.

“I mean, imagine Abdul Carter next year,” she said. “He is going to be a force to be reckoned with.

“I have seen enough fashionistas come in and out of this division,” says new Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche. “You’ve got to win the games, it’s as simple as that.”

The 54-year-old might not class himself as a football fashionista but as coaches place increasing emphasis on set-pieces and ‘going long’ he may find himself in vogue.

Ange Postecoglou lasted just 39 days at Forest after being brought in to win trophies and play more expansive, attacking football having replaced Nuno Espirito Santo on 9 September.

He lost six and drew two of his eight games in charge as the squad struggled to adapt quickly enough to the new manager’s demands.

Soon after Dyche walked down the stairs of the club’s museum in the Trent End as Forest’s third manager of the season, he outlined his philosophy and style, having been criticised at Burnley and Everton.

“I did a podcast with Tony Pulis and Mick McCarthy, Tony’s now being lauded for long throws when before he was getting hammered [as manager of Stoke],” said Dyche, who has signed a deal until the summer of 2027.

“It’s the fashion of football, it changes all the time and I’m not pontificating one way or the other but the bit I like is when you win.

“The Forest fans accepted a different way of working than in the history of this club last season which was very successful. They are more open-minded now.

“The players are aware of it. I took a lot of feedback from the players. They are very proud of what they did last season. That is no problem for me because I agree with them. Now can we mould it slightly differently but keep that winning mentality?

Forest are 18th in the Premier League, winless in all competitions since the opening day and face Porto in the Europa League in Dyche’s first game in charge on Thursday.

It is a contrast after last season’s seventh-placed finish that brought European football back to the City Ground for the first time in 30 years.

Forest have scored just twice from set-pieces this season in the Premier League, with leaders Arsenal doing so eight times in their eight games.

The amount of long throws per game has almost doubled from last season while there is less playing out from the back, with 48% of goal-kicks into the attacking half compared to 40% last season.

“You have seen this season the way stats have changed. I think it’s the first time in 10 years that there have been more longer balls or long passes,” added Dyche.

“Of course, when other teams do it, it’s long passes. When I’ve done it in the past, it’s been long balls. We all know that. I joke about it but you know it’s real.

“We want to play effectively. Because we’ve got to get back to winning. There is no point in me telling you we are going to play like Spain when they won the World Cup. It’s about how many different styles we can find.

Forest have not kept a clean sheet for 20 games, a run stretching back to April and a 1-0 win over Manchester United.

They scored just once under Postecoglou in five Premier League games, conceding 10 goals, and are two points from safety.

A realistic ambition at the start of the season was to win the Europa League and challenge for Europe again but owner Evangelos Marinakis accepts Forest need to stabilise first.

“He’s well aware of the challenges,” said Dyche. “He spoke very openly about the challenge. I don’t think he thinks it’s a gimme just because of last season.

“You know, he’s been around football a long time with Olympiacos and then here. So stability is the first move but that’s not acceptable for the whole run of being Nottingham Forest manager.

“I don’t want that, I don’t want to sit here and go ‘well, that’s okay then’.

“I always say to players don’t accept ‘allrightness’, it doesn’t get you anything. Let’s push for more.

“As a football manager, a football coach and football players you should be wanting more but the first thing is can we just stabilise the situation.

Club captain Ryan Yates insists Forest’s players have to take accountability for their position after Dyche’s arrival.

Fans chanted that Postecoglou would be “sacked in the morning” during their 3-2 Europa League defeat by Midtjylland last month as the atmosphere at the City Ground turned.

They go to Bournemouth in the Premier League on Sunday before welcoming Manchester United on 1 November.

Yates said: “It’s our responsibility as players. We have to take responsibility more than anyone. We haven’t been good enough.

“You can’t pinpoint an individual but we have a new opportunity now and we are really excited to get off to a good start.

“A massive strength of this club is getting that connection between the fans, the players and the manager.