NFL Rookie Report Card: Highlighting the First Four FCS Players Taken in 2022 Draft

The four “small-school” stars all logged at least one start while experiencing differing degrees of success during their rookie seasons in the National Football League.

Author:
Ralph Ventre
Publish date:
Jan 13, 2023 8:10 AM EST

The 2022 NFL Draft Class featured four early-round selections of NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) players.

After landing in the Top 60 at last spring’s draft, Troy Andersen (Montana State), Trevor Penning (Northern Iowa), Cole Strange (Chattanooga) and Christian Watson (North Dakota State) all made it onto an NFL field this fall.

Below are the highlights of their first seasons as professionals.

LB Troy Andersen (Atlanta Falcons), Montana State

Andersen made the most of his rookie season in Atlanta, appearing in all 17 games and eventually capturing a full-time starting role.

The former Montana State quarterback-turned-linebacker, who went to the Atlanta Falcons with the No. 58 overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, made 69 combined tackles during his first professional season.

Andersen made his first career start in place of an injured Mykal Walker during a Week 6 win over the NFC West champion San Francisco 49ers. The second-round draft pick returned to the starting lineup in Week 15 and remained there for the rest of the regular season.

Andersen was credited with at least four stops in each of the season’s last seven games.

OL Trevor Penning (New Orleans Saints), Northern Iowa

Penning, the first FCS player selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, spent much of his rookie season on the rehabilitation circuit. The former UNI bookend suffered a foot injury in New Orleans’ preseason finale and eventually landed on the injured reserve list before taking a regular season snap.

Penning, who went to the Saints with the No. 19 overall selection last spring, missed New Orleans’ first 11 games before debuting in Week 12 against San Francisco. After playing six snaps against the 49ers, the 6-foot-7 left tackle saw his opportunities increase as the season progressed. After five straight appearances, Penning made his first NFL start at left tackle against Carolina in Week 18.

“It’s a lot of technique stuff that I was working on, getting better at that,” Penning told Saints.com ahead of his Week 18 start.

Unfortunately, Penning appears headed back to the rehabilitation circuit this offseason. In the regular season finale, he reportedly suffered a Lisfranc injury that requires surgery.

OL Cole Strange (New England Patriots), Chattanooga

Strange received mixed reviews for his rookie season performance, but the Patriots’ first-round pick showed plenty of durability at the NFL level. Despite a couple of in-game “benchings,” the 6-foot-5 interior lineman started every one of New England’s 17 regular season games at left guard.

“I came in, I feel like I maybe struggled a little bit at first, but I improved as the year went on,” Strange said during a media scrum on locker cleanout day.

The Patriots surprised a sect of draftniks by selecting Strange at No. 29 in the First Round of the 2022 NFL Draft, but the former UTC star proved he could handle a NFL workload. He was only one of two offensive players to start every week for New England this year.

“It’s really cool to be able to say I played in the NFL, played in all 17 games, started in all 17. But the season didn’t go as we wanted, so it’s not a great feeling in any way,” said Strange.

WR Christian Watson (Green Bay Packers), North Dakota State

After a forgettable first half of the regular season that was marred by injuries and dropped passes, Watson erupted for eight touchdowns over a four-game stretch that began in Week 10.

The former North Dakota State receiver, who went to the Packers with the second pick of the 2022 NFL Draft Second Round (No. 34 overall), gained no more than 34 yards receiving in any of the season’s first nine games before a breakout against Dallas. In a 31-28 triumph over the Cowboys, Watson totaled four receptions for 107 yards and three touchdowns.

The big-play threat accounted for a four-week scoring streak and three 100-yard receiving games during the regular season’s second half. He finished his rookie campaign with 611 receiving yards on 41 catches (14.9 avg.) and nine total touchdowns (7 receiving, 2 rushing).

“He gave us a legitimate home run threat. I think that was on full display last night,” said Packers’ head coach Matt LaFleur after Watson made five receptions, including a key 45-yarder, during the regular season finale against Detroit.