Kentucky Rookies were among NFL's Top Young Defenders
How good was Kentucky’s defense in 2020? Two former stars were among the top rookie tacklers in the NFL in 2021, headlining a productive draft class for the Cats.
Week 18 wrapped up Sunday, capping off an exceptional opening campaign for Brandin Echols and Jamin Davis. Even though neither will be in the playoffs, each performed admirably. Davis punctuated his final game as a first-year player with a fourth down tackle for loss to cap off an 8-tackle performance, his third-best game for the Washington Football Team
The first round pick from South Georgia finished his first NFL season with 76 tackles, ranking fifth among all rookies. He also chipped in a sack and three tackles for loss.
Echols might be the most surprising rookie in the entire 2021 draft class. An undersized high school quarterback, he switched to cornerback in junior college to earn a scholarship at Kentucky. An exceptional tackler for the Wildcats, he did not intercept his first pass until his final collegiate game at the Gator Bowl.
Taken by the New York Jets in the sixth round, he started in every game he was healthy enough to play. Echols picked off more passes as an NFL rookie than he did in two seasons at Kentucky, including one ball from Tom Brady that he got signed after the game. Echols had 63 tackles in 2021, 13th among all rookies.
A look at how the rest of Kentucky’s rookies fared in 2021.
Kelvin Joseph
Bossman Fat got a slower start than the rest of the UK rookies. An injury postponed his NFL debut until week 8. Unlike Echols, he did not pick off a pass this season, but Joseph got a couple of starts under his belt and finished the year with 16 tackles, one for loss, and a fumble recovery.
Quinton Bohanna
Nose guard is not a position that accrues a ton of stats. The sixth round selection appeared in 14 games, started in one and played in 25% of the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive snaps. Not too shabby. Bohanna had 10 tackles and one quarterback pressure. The Cowboys will host the 49ers Sunday at 4:30 pm ET in the NFL Wild Card round.
Landon Young
One of three UK players picked in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, he played in the first ten games of the season, primarily on special teams. Unfortunately, his first start at offensive tackle for the New Orleans Saints was his last game of the year. Young suffered a season-ending foot injury in the loss to the Eagles.
Phil Hoskins
A seventh round pick, Hoskins did not appear on the field till later in the season, and he made the most of it. In his first action for the Carolina Panthers, Big Snacc got a big sack on Tua Tagovailoa. In addition to the sack, he recorded four tackles in three games.
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