How did Oklahoma’s Rookies Perform in NFL Preseason Week 1?

Former Oklahoma edge rusher R Mason Thomas showed Kansas City Chiefs fans why they should be excited about his potential during his NFL preseason debut on Saturday.

Thomas, who the Chiefs selected in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft, finished Kansas City’s 20-12 loss to the Los Angeles Rams with two assisted tackles, a quarterback hit and a pass breakup.

In the first half, Thomas pressured Rams quarterback Stetson Bennett and forced him to throw before he wanted to. That resulted in a pass breakup that safety Jaden Hicks made in the end zone and forced a fourth down.

Right before halftime, the Rams had the ball near midfield and had one last chance for a hail mary. But Thomas quickly burst through the line and got in the face of quarterback Ty Simpson to force an incompletion.

R Mason Thomas called halftime pic.twitter.com/Lm8JyqJ2jd
— 📽️ Red Tribe Cinema (@ClayWendler) August 15, 2026

As a second-round pick, Thomas is a sure thing to make Kansas City’s 53-man roster. But Saturday’s performance showed that he could immediately compete for first-team reps.

Rookie defensive tackle Gracen Halton also had himself a day in the San Francisco 49ers’ 19-13 loss to the Tennessee Titans.

Halton finished his first professional exhibition with four total tackles, two solo tackles and a tackle for loss. The defensive tackle also recorded a sack, but that was waived off, due to a defensive penalty elsewhere on the play.

The 49ers selected Halton in the fourth round of the 2026 NFL Draft, just one selection after former OU offensive lineman Febechi Nwaiwu, who played his first professional game for the Houston Texans on Thursday.

Nwaiwu’s Texans squad struggled against the Los Angeles Chargers and lost 27-7, but the former Sooner held his own, logging a 75.5 Pro Football Focus (PFF) pass-blocking grade. He allowed only one quarterback pressure.

Safety Robert Spears-Jennings and linebacker Kendal Daniels were two other Sooner defenders selected later in the 2026 draft, and both of them flashed their potential.

Spears-Jennings was one of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ top defensive players in their win over the Green Bay Packers, as he logged three solo tackles, one of which went for a loss.

Daniels registered three assisted tackles, 0.5 sacks and a quarterback hit, even though his Atlanta Falcons lost 27-7 against the Denver Broncos.

Offensively, wide receiver Deion Burks and tight end Jaren Kanak were both picked in the seventh and final round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

Burks played for the majority of the Indianapolis Colts’ offensive plays in the second half, though he finished with just one catch for nine yards. Kanak also appeared for the Titans, but he suffered a season-ending pectoral injury in the contest, per Titans coach Robert Saleh.

One-year Sooners Marvin Jones Jr. and Jaydn Ott went undrafted in 2026, but both of them appeared in Week 1 of the preseason.

Jones, a defensive end who now plays for the Seattle Seahawks, made two tackles — one of which was a solo stop — in the team’s 17-7 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Jones played at OU in 2025 after previous stops at Georgia and Florida State.

Ott, who ran for only 68 yards during the 2025 season at Oklahoma, caught two passes for 40 yards in the Chiefs’ preseason opener. Vying to make Kansas City’s 53-man roster, Ott is once again playing for former OU running backs coach DeMarco Murray, who joined the franchise’s staff in January.

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