Derwin James surpassing the loftiest of expectations as a NFL rookie

Former FSU All-American Derwin James had ridiculous expectations as a Nole and going into the NFL Draft. He’s already surpassing those expectations.

The case of Derwin James is an interesting one to say the least. He was thought to be one of the best players entering the 2018 NFL Draft and definitely one of the top safeties in the country.

Most including myself thought he would be selected at either No. 11 or No. 12 because both Miami and Tampa Bay had a need a the safety position.

However, when he was bypassed by Tampa Bay not once but twice a lot of people were scratching their heads.

Now after just a handful of games both those teams have to be slapping themselves watching what James is doing with the LA Chargers who selected him at No. 17 overall.

Thoughts

Derwin James has taken the NFL by storm the first fives weeks of the season. We saw foreshadowing in the preseason when he intercepted a pass from future NFL Hall of Famer Drew  Brees.

He has 31 tackles, three sacks, an interception and six passes defended through the first five games.

One of the most incredible things is the LA Chargers are using him much like he was used at FSU. James has lined up at several different positions like safety, cornerback, linebacker and defensive end making impactful plays.

He’s already the odds on favorite to win the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award as you can see in the last tweet.

Of course, those odds can change from week to week with his performances but the Chargers have a nice slate of winnable games coming up against mediocre offenses.

Those games should give him more opportunities to put up ridiculous stats and further prove he’s already one of the best players in the game as a rookie.