Eagles rookie report: Derek Barnett, Rasul Douglas, Mack Hollins make impact vs. Chiefs

Share

The second edition of our weekly rookie report is much more robust, with six first-year players taking the field in the Eagles' 27-20 loss to the Chiefs (see breakdown).

Just like last week, first-round pick Derek Barnett saw the most action. But unlike last week, he wasn't the only rookie to make an impact. CB Rasul Douglas and WR Mack Hollins also did some damage despite the loss.

We look at the most notable plays from Barnett, Douglas, Hollins, DT Elijah Qualls, RB Corey Clement and K Jake Elliott.

1st quarter, 11:31, 3rd-and-4 at PHI 16 - Eagles 0, Chiefs 0
Jim Schwartz, as he did for much of the day, did a great job disguising this look. The Eagles show blitz and Chris Long is standing up like an outside linebacker on the left. Barnett is lined up on the right against former first-overall pick Eric Fisher. Barnett beats Fisher to the end outside, showing off his outstanding bend, but he slips a little coming off the edge. Still, he helps collapse the pocket around Alex Smith who throws an incompletion to Travis Kelce.

1st quarter, 1:29, 2-and-10 at PHI 41 - Eagles 3, Chiefs 3
Rookie running back Kareem Hunt took the ball off tackle to the right while Smith fakes the option. Barnett, unblocked on the backside, stays disciplined on the option fake and keeps contain on Smith. Once he recognizes that Hunt has the ball, he busts it down the line to hold Hunt to a two-yard gain. For the second week in a row, Barnett makes a Brandon Graham-esque play (see Roob's 10 observations).

1st quarter, 0:43, 3-and-8 at PHI 39 - Eagles 3, Chiefs 3
On the very next play, Barnett nearly records his first NFL sack. Nigel Bradham shows blitz and comes right up the gut at Smith. Barnett again beats Fisher to the outside. As Smith is flushed out of the pocket by Bradham, Barnett gets a hand on Smith's foot but is unable to bring down the Chiefs' quarterback. 

2nd quarter, 9:27, 2nd-and-6 at KC 34 - Eagles 3, Chiefs 3
A rookie other than Barnett saw action and made an impact play. Douglas was inserted into the lineup when Jaylen Watkins, who surprisingly started outside at corner, left the game with a hamstring injury. On his first snap, Douglas is lined up against the super dangerous Tyreek Hill (Uh oh). But Douglas held his own and then some. The Chiefs run a quick hitch to Hill and Douglas reads the play and tackles Hill immediately after the catch (see report card). This aggressive kind of play is what Schwartz loves and what the Eagles saw out of Douglas at West Virginia.

2nd quarter, 6:36, 2nd-and-11 at KC 41 - Eagles 3, Chiefs 3
On this play, Mychal Kendricks comes on a delayed blitz on the right side. Barnett, lined up on that side, beats Fisher yet again. That allows Kendricks to come in untouched and take Smith down. Again, like Graham, Barnett may not always have gaudy sack numbers, but he'll certainly affect plays.

3rd quarter, 7:42, 1-and-10 at PHI 37 - Chiefs 6, Eagles 3
Yet another rookie making a play. Hollins is lined up on the outside to the right in a three-wide set. Wentz looks left and then comes back to the right to hit Hollins for an 11-yard gain. Hollins ran an excellent hitch route and beats All-Pro corner Marcus Peters. Hollins' speed and size make him such a tough cover.

This play was part of a big touchdown drive. Hollins then made a nice, special teams tackle on the ensuing kickoff.

4th quarter, 14:17, 2-and-5 at KC 38 - Chiefs 13, Eagles 10
All of the sudden it became the Mack Hollins show. Lined up in the slot this time, Hollins actually slips coming off the line of scrimmage. Hollins recovers nicely and finishes his out route. Wentz then hits him along the sideline for a 13-yard gain. It's another excellent route by Hollins, who made an eight-yard grab on the very next play.

4th quarter, 11:14, 3-and-4 at KC 40 - Chiefs 13, Eagles 13
Had the Eagles won this game, this would've been a huge turning point. The Eagles had just tied the game. With a chance to make Kansas City go three-and-out, Douglas comes up big. Lined up in the slot against Albert Wilson, Douglas gets a decent jam on Wilson, but Wilson breaks away enough on a slant for Smith to attempt a throw to him. Douglas is right on Wilson's hip and is able to get a hand on the football. If Douglas doesn't deflect the pass, Wilson might've been running for awhile. 

Analysis
For as much flak as the Eagles' draft class took before and after Week 1, the rookies made a pretty big impact against a very good team. 

Barnett couldn't quite get home, but he's shown the elite bend and relentless pursuit that made him such an attractive pick at No. 14. He was able to beat a decent left tackle in most of their matchups. It's worth noting that pass rushers have historically struggled to record big sack numbers in their rookie season, but that doesn't mean Barnett can't be a difference maker. 

Douglas was probably the guy that impressed me most. Playing against the likes of the speedy Hill and WR Chris Conley, this seemed like a tough week for Douglas' debut. But Douglas acquitted himself just fine. He wasn't beaten over the top and made a few aggressive plays on the ball. A fine debut.

When the Eagles drafted Hollins, the experts lauded his special teams' prowess. While his ability there has shown, he proved today that that's not the sole reason the team took him in the fourth round. Hollins finished with three catches on three targets for 32 yards. If he continues to polish off his route running, look out.

I didn't want to get too in depth about a rookie kicker, but it's worth mentioning that Elliott went 2 of 3 in his first NFL game. He missed a chip shot at the end of the first half after he was iced by Andy Reid but recovered nicely in nailing a 40-yarder right down the middle in the fourth quarter.

Contact Us