It wasn’t long before New York Giants fans witnessed what could’ve been a legitimate steal of a draft pick in Ryan Connelly. Last year, the then-rookie linebacker out of Wisconsin didn’t earn a great deal of recognition ahead of the regular season. Nonetheless, he raised the eyebrows of fans once the 16-game slate began.
By Week 4, the young player had already racked up 20 combined tackles, two tackles for loss, one quarterback hit, one sack, two picks, and two pass breakups. Keeping those per-game averages the entire year would’ve provided him with 80 total tackles, four sacks, and eight picks, a truly solid season for a first-year player.