Some players just get lucky.
That was the case for Ezekiel Elliott when he was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 2016. He was slotted behind the best offensive line in football and plugged into an offense tailor made for his running style. He took the NFL by storm, leading the league in rushing with 1,631 yards and 15 touchdowns.
That isn't the case for all rookies.
Looking at Ohio State's 2019 draft class, there are three players in particular who appear set to make a big impact right out of the gate.
Nick Bosa
It's a shame we didn't see Nick Bosa's final full season as a collegiate player, because in his first three games in 2018, he was absolutely dominant. In what equated to three halves of football, Bosa tallied four total sacks, the same number Rashan Gary registered in a full season of work.
Now back and finally healthy, Bosa takes his elite pass-rushing skills to the next level, and he'll be working on an absolutely loaded defensive line. The unit now boasts four first-round selections in Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner, Solomon Thomas, and now Bosa, and it's not hard to see the 49ers' strategy coming to life.
"We want to become a dominant force there," San Francisco general manager John Lynch said, according to the 49ers' official website. "We think that's very important."
Parris Campbell
The Indianapolis offense looked stuck in mud as the team suffered through Andrew Luck's nagging injuries, and there was uncertainty about whether the franchise quarterback could return to an elite level of play.
All of those fears were vanquished a season ago as Luck came back strong, throwing for 4,593 yards and 39 touchdowns, which ranked second in the league.
The Colts drafted Campbell to slot next to T.Y. Hilton, who's eclipsed 1,000 yards receiving in all but one of the last six seasons (he finished with 966 yards in 2017). Campbell will have a lot of openings with opposing defenses honing in on Hilton.
Dre'Mont Jones
It's the opinion of this writer that Dre'Mont Jones was criminally underrated in this year's draft and that Denver got an absolute steal in the third round.
There were few players in the country who generated better or more consistent interior pressure than Jones last year. He finished the season with 13 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks, but his play-to-play disruption was his most impressive attribute.
The Broncos now have that presence on the interior of its line to pair with pass-rushing aces in Von Miller and Bradley Chubb.
