Cyclones show out in Week One of NFL action

Hello everyone and welcome to a new series of articles here on WRNL. I’ll be briefly recapping our former Cyclones’ weekly performances in the NFL for this season. I’ve been really excited to see so many of our guys get opportunities at the next level and figured this would be a good way to keep track of how our guys are doing. There were plenty of good performances from Cyclones in their week one games, so let’s take a look!

Thursday

David Montgomery - Detroit Lions Running Back

David led the Lions in rushing getting the bulk of the carries on Thursday night. 21 carries for 74 yards and the game-winning 8-yard touchdown run. There weren’t any runs that Montgomery really broke loose on, but he was a steady chunk runner and did enough to keep the Chiefs honest. Look for that to be more of how the Lions utilize him moving forward.

Sunday

Kene Nwangwu - Minnesota Vikings Running Back

Kene was placed on Injured Reserve about 2 weeks ago with an undisclosed injury.

Anthony Johnson Jr. - Green Bay Packers Safety

Anthony was inactive on Sunday.

Xavier Hutchinson - Houston Texans Wide Receiver

X didn’t play a whole heck of a lot on Sunday for the Texans (7 offensive snaps), but he did manage to haul in his lone target, a 9-yard reception. There wasn’t a guarantee that Hutchinson would even make the 53-man roster in Houston, so to see him already on the field and making a play is a good sign.

Charlie Kolar - Baltimore Ravens Tight End

Much like Hutchinson, it was a pretty quiet afternoon for Charlie, which was a little unfortunate given Ravens starting tight end Mark Andrews was out for the day. Charlie was only targeted once, but didn’t make the reception. Hopefully we see more from him, but given that Isaiah Likely (who played the majority of snaps on Sunday at TE) didn’t fare much better, it could’ve just been an unfortunate weekend to play tight end.

Jake Hummel - Los Angeles Rams Linebacker

Jake didn’t take a snap on defense for the Rams, but he did play 20 special teams snaps and recorded a tackle. It’s no doubt that the coaching staff likes Hummel in this system, and given the hype surrounding his pick-6 in the preseason, how could they not? It’ll be a process for Jake to make the field, but he’s well on his way.

Brock Purdy - San Francisco 49ers Quarterback

Mr. Relevant picked up the 2023 season exactly where he left off his magical rookie season. He led the 49ers to a 30-7 road win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, throwing for 220 yards on 19 of 29 throwing the ball. He also found receiver Brandon Aiyuk in the end zone twice, becoming the first QB in NFL history to win his first 6 regular season starts while throwing 2 or more touchdowns in each. The lone sore spot on Purdy’s game were the pair of fumbles (lost 1) forced by defensive player of the year candidate T.J. Watt. Watt picked on the Niners’ right tackle all game, but the good news for Purdy is that there likely won’t be anyone as good as Watt coming after him the rest of they year.

Monday

Will McDonald - New York Jets Defensive End

Will didn’t get the most time on the field on Monday night, but he did make some plays when he was able to. A solo tackle in 13 defensive snaps and he also found the end zone after a Josh Allen fumble early in the second quarter. Unfortunately for Will, the play was blown dead to do forward progress being stopped, which isn’t reviewable, so the Jets couldn’t challenge the play. The good news is that Will was in the right place at the right time, so as long as he’s going to be on the field, good things will happen for the Jets’ defense.

Allen Lazard - New York Jets Wide Receiver

Lazard had a solid start to his 2023 campaign, getting a fresh start with the Jets. He was targeted 4 times (second to Garrett Wilson’s 5) and hauled in a pair of catches, both going for 20+ yards. The 46 was the most on the team and 2nd most on the night (2nd to Diggs for Buffalo). He and Garrett Wilson will be a great wide receiver duo, though his stock may have decreased a bit with the news that Aaron Rodgers will miss the season with a torn Achilles.

Breece Hall - New York Jets Running Back

Speaking of solid starts, Breece Hall put on quite the show in his first game back from a torn ACL. Hall’s first 3 touches all went for 20+ yards and he ended the night with 10 carries for 127 yards. He also tacked on a 20-yard reception in the game. Hall was questionable going into the night, so it’s no surprise he only got 11 touches total, but he certainly made the most of them. I expect Breece to continue to grow in his usage this year, and he’ll be needed given that little bit extra with the Rodgers news.