Hawkeyes in the NFL: Week Five Top Performers
Week three of the NFL season is complete, with the Detroit Lions picking up a win over the Ravens on Monday Night. 27 former Hawkeyes were on active rosters for week three, while 13 players were in the starting lineup. We take a look at the top four performances from the weekend.
1. Detroit LB Jack Campbell
The Detroit Lions are playing as well as anyone in the NFL right now, and a couple of former Hawkeyes are major contributors to their 4-1 start. On Sunday, in the Lions 37-24 win over the Bengals, third-year linebacker Jack Campbell tallied a team-high 11 tackles, one tackle for loss and a forced fumble. He received a 98.2 game grade from Pro Football Focus, which was the highest rating of any defensive player that played at least 50% of snaps in week five.
On the season, Campbell has tallied 48 tackles, three tackles for loss and has forced two fumbles. He has three games with 10+ tackles and is averaging 9.6 tackles per game, which has him on track for 163.2 tackles this season. His 90.7 season grade by PFF ranks him as the sixth-best defender in the NFL through five weeks.
2. Detroit TE Sam LaPorta
As promised, there’s more from Detroit. On the offensive side of the ball, tight end Sam LaPorta had a productive day against the Bengals, catching five passes for 92 yards and a touchdown. LaPorta had four catches go for 10+ yards, including a 39-yard catch, a 22-yard catch, a 14-yard catch and a 10-yard touchdown reception to put the Lions up 7-0 in the opening quarter. His 92 yards receiving is good for his third-highest total in his career.
On the season, LaPorta has caught 21 passes for 269 yards, 12 first downs and one touchdown this season. With a decent sample of games played, he is averaging 53.8 yards per game and is on track for 914.6 receiving yards this season, which would outpace his rookie season (889 yds).
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3. Tampa Bay LT Tristan Wirfs
Rarely do offensive lineman stand out to the casual viewer on Sunday’s, but left tackle Tristan Wirfs is one of the top lineman in the NFL and is back after missing the first three games of the season due to injury. The former Hawkeye posted an 82.7 game grade in Sunday’s win over the Seahawks, which ranked 8th-best amongst all lineman for week five and third-best for all offensive tackles. He allowed just one quarterback pressure on 39 pass blocking snaps and his 85.4 pass blocking grade ranked 10th-best for the week.
4. Minnesota TE TJ Hockenson
It’s been a bit of a slow start for the former Hawkeye tight end and some of that can be attributed to the fact that the Vikings are playing with a backup quarterback. In Minnesota’s 21-17 win over Cleveland in London on Sunday, TJ Hockenson caught six passes for 38 yards, including a 14-yard reception. It is worth noting that it’s the first time in his entire career that he has had 5+ catches on the same amount of targets.
On the season, Hockenson has caught 19 passes for 153 yards, eight first downs and one touchdown. He is averaging just 30.6 yards per game, putting him on track for 520.2 receiving yards this season, which would be his lowest full season output since his rookie year back in 2019 (367 yds).
