#ProTops: Week 1 of the 2022 NFL Preseason
Five former Hilltoppers will be on national TV to open the first full week of preseason games.
The NFL is back!
Well, kind of.
After last week’s Hall of Fame Game served as an opening bite to the appetizer course that is the new three-week preseason schedule, this week will be an entire jalapeno popper, of sorts, as every team takes the field.
While the intrigue isn’t necessarily there for your favorite team, unless you’re really into the “who is going to be our third guard,” if you’re a fan of a school like WKU, the preseason may be the only time some former Hilltoppers get meaningful snaps this year.
At the start of the preseason, we count 11 former Hilltoppers on NFL rosters. Here’s your ProTops outlook for the first full week of preseason action.
George Fant, New York Jets (Fri. at Philadelphia Eagles, 6:30 p.m.)
It was unlikely Fant was going to see much time this week anyway, with starters/established veterans rarely playing the first week anyway, but with some injury concerns regarding his left knee, he’ll most likely be kept out partially due to health concerns as well.
Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams (Sat. at Los Angeles Chargers, 9 p.m.)
Higbee is hoping for a clean bill of health all season, after a knee injury kept him out of the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI victory back in February. Much like Fant, it’s likely injury concerns keep him out of a game he probably wasn’t going to play much in anyway.
Joel Iyiegbuniwe, Seattle Seahawks (Sat. at Pittsburgh Steelers, 6 p.m., NFL Network)
Iggy has a new home, in the Pacific Northwest, though not a lot has been made of his training camp so far.
With the exception, that is, of him getting lost in the middle here of this 40-yard touchdown.
Almost exclusively a special teams player in Chicago, Iggy will hopefully be able to play his way into the Seahawks linebacking corps.
Devon Key, Kansas City Chiefs (Sat. at Chicago Bears, 12 p.m., NFL Network)
Key was maybe the story out of Chiefs camp last year and was seen as a lock to make the Chiefs 53-man roster. All that hype ended in him not seeing the field in 2021.
While Chad Henne isn’t Patrick Mahomes, he’s still an NFL quarterback and Key read him like a book on this pick.
Forrest Lamp, New Orleans Saints (Sat. at Houston Texans, 7 p.m.)
His second year in New Orleans, Lamp is hoping to make a case for more playing time, appearing in just one game for the Saints a season ago.
I’ll be honest, I haven’t heard a peep out of their training camp about him, but here’s to hoping that chances with a strong preseason.
DeAngelo Malone, Atlanta Falcons (Fri. at Detroit Lions, 5 p.m., NFL Network)
While not the camp stud Key was last year, or a couple of offensive rookies we’ll talk about soon have been, Malone is having a strong camp with his hometown Falcons and shouldn’t have to struggle to make what might be one of, if not the, worst team in the league.
Jordan Meredith, Las Vegas Raiders (Sun. vs. Minnesota Vikings, 3:25 p.m., NFL Network)
It was a wild offseason for Meredith, who was released on July 20 by Vegas but was then quickly resigned. His efforts were handsomely rewarded, as he earned the top PFF game grade by a member of the Raiders’ offense in last week’s Hall of Fame Game win over Jacksonville.
Jerreth Sterns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Sat. vs. Miami Dolphins, 6:30 p.m.)
Tampa has one of the deepest receiving corps in the league, but not without a couple of injured players among them and if Sterns plays against other teams the way he’s played in camp, he could make the roster come mid-September. While a lot of the Bucs’ camp has been focused on the health of Chris Godwin and the signing of Juilo Jones (both of which will be Week 1 health question marks), Sterns is turning some heads and getting some glowing reviews.
Mike White, New York Jets (Fri. at Philadelphia Eagles, 6:30 p.m.)
The Mike White disrespect tour continues, as he’ll be QB3 entering the first week of the preseason (which, if I had to assume, would mean he’ll play most, if not all, of the second half). More important than any good news regarding White coming out of camp, there is no bad/negative news coming out of Jets camp for #5. As long as that’s the case, he’ll be in fine shape to be Wilson’s backup.
Deon Yelder, Arizona Cardinals (Fri. at Cincinnati Bengals, 6:30 p.m.)
After singing with four teams last calendar year (50 internet dollars to whoever can name those teams, without looking them up), Yelder has been under contract with the Cardinals since January of this year.
That’s the good news. The bad: He isn’t making much noise out of Cardinals camp.
Bailey Zappe, New England Patriots (Thurs. vs. New York Giants, 6 p.m., NFL Network)
In my now over decade of covering Western Kentucky, I cannot remember a player who has had a more glowing preseason, really in any sport. An entire article could be dedicated to all of the glowing reports coming out of Foxboro for college football’s all-time leading passer.
Beat reports are gushing over him, Bill Belichick is giving him first-team reps and on multiple occasions, he has “outperformed” against first-rounder Mac Jones.
The Towel Rack will be holding it’s first ever Twitter Spaces Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT, where we’ll preview Zappe’s NFL Debut. To join us, click here.