Latest News on Former LSU Football Stars Entering Year Two in NFL
The first to second year jump in any professional sport is what more times than not can set a path for athletes in their career. Entering the 2021 season with a more traditional offseason should benefit the 14 draft picks who were selected in the 2020 NFL Draft.
With OTA's winding down and organizations preparing for training camp at the end of the month, here's an update on the offseason progress of a number of former LSU players from the class.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire (RB)
Edwards-Helaire had an up and down rookie season for the Kansas City Chiefs as a hip and ankle injury suffered against the New Orleans Saints lingered all the way through the Super Bowl. In meeting with reporters this week, Edwards-Helaire said the primary focus for him has been getting back to 100%, which he's done.
Now with training camp around the corner, the Chiefs are trying to find ways for Edwards-Helaire to be more involved with the passing game.
“Talking to Coach Reid and also Pat [Mahomes], there are things that we’re implementing to get the ball to the back and just spread it out more,” said Edwards-Helaire. “That was one of the [reasons] why I chose to work on my hands and just be more of a threat."
Justin Jefferson (WR)
Jefferson was without a doubt the most impressive rookie of the 2020 draft class as he came in second in Rookie of the Year voting after breaking an NFL record for rookie receiving yards with 1,400 for the Minnesorta Vikings.
Most recently, Jefferson was ranked as the No. 8 player in the NFL under age 25 by Pro Football Focus and the Vikings return the three headed monster of Dalvin Cook, Adam Thielan and Jefferson for another year. Another offseason of improvement and Jefferson could quickly propel himself into the upper echelon of NFL wide receivers.
“Any time you’re breaking rookie records held by Randy Moss, you are doing something pretty well. Jefferson wasn’t just the best-graded rookie receiver in the NFL last season; his 90.5 PFF receiving grade was better than any other wideout other than Davante Adams. Jefferson generated 2.66 yards per route run, again second only to Adams.“
Patrick Queen (LB)
There were times last season where the NFL game was too fast for Queen. Because of the whacky offseason due to COVID-19, Queen said it was difficult at the jump because he came in out of shape and took about a month to really get into playing shape.
Along the way, he was learning the Ravens system and would overthink things from time to time, putting him out of position and leading to an up and down rookie year. This offseason he's really focused on the mental side of the game and schemes Baltimore is asking of him, leading to tremendous offseason success.
"Now, it’s just simplifying everything," Queen said. "I really can’t wait for the season to start, so everybody could see how much work I’ve put in to be better.”
Grant Delpit (S)
Delpit has been working himself back from a torn achilles suffered before his rookie season began. After a long road of rehab after surgery, Delpit is confident he'll be ready for the first week of training camp.
During his time at LSU, Delpit established himself as one of the special playmakers in the country, combining for 199 tackles, 17.5 tackles for a loss, seven sacks, eight interceptions and 24 pass deflections. Now, he's just hoping that his injury history is behind him and he can start making an impact for a team that has Super Bowl aspirations this season.
“It’s been a lot (of work)‚’’ Delpit told Cleveland.com. “This injury is like nothing I’ve had before. I’ve done a lot to come back and rehab. I’m on the back end of my rehab, and just trying to get rid of the annoying pain.’'
