Right now, everyone thinks their team’s Round 1 pick will be a Rookie of the Year candidate at the end of the season. Really though, some rookies simply find themselves in more advantageous situations than others based on the roster makeup of their respective new team.So, which first-round picks from the 2020 are truly in “instant impact” situations?Based on talent, fit, and situation, these are the five biggest instant impact rookies from this draft cla s. I’ve left out . Too obvious. The same goes for , , and Jeffrey Okudah. , LB, At LSU, Queen was ” Alex Stalock Jersey kept clean” often, meaning the Tigers defensive line did a marvelous job eating blockers to allow the linebackers to roam free and make impact plays close to (or behind) the line of scrimmage. That’s exactly what LSU’s defensive scheme asks of its trench players. And it helped Queen ama s 85 tackles, 12 tackles for lo s, and three sacks. Not that the LSU defensive line was the only reason Queen produced in a major way, but given the freedom he had at the second level, he played with zero hesitation, read his keys, and attacked.Actually, for a 6-foot, 229-pound linebacker, Queen is authoritative when offensive linemen do get to the second level, holding his own as a block-shedder. Yet his lack of size alone makes it nearly impo sible for him to always quickly dispatch a block from someone significantly larger than him.Given all that, Queen landed in an exquisite situation in Baltimore. The Ravens defensive line two gaps often, which, just like LSU, eases some of the block-defeating responsibilities for the linebackers. And Baltimore has some up front — , , and . Plus, they drafted defensive tackles in the third round and in Round 5. What’s even better for Queen — the Ravens used another third-round pick on hammer of a linebacker , who’s 6-3 and 247 pounds and was frequently used as the defender to take on lead-blockers Erik Haula Jersey at Ohio State because of his sturdy frame.Queen is ultra-twitchy and has the athletic gifts to run with some running backs in coverage or make plays while sinking in zone. He’s going to flourish as a rookie.Laviska Shenault, WR, Even entering a somewhat crowded receiver room with D.J. Chark, , and , Shenault is primed for a big rookie season in Jacksonville, because the strength of his game perfectly blends with main tendency. For as much as Minshew liked to work the back-shoulder game with Chark and Conley last season, most of his attempts were in the quick game underneath. The 2019 rookie averaged 7.5 Intended Air Yards per Next Gen Stats, which tied for the 10th-lowest figure among 38 qualifying quarterbacks. For more context, per Pro Football Focus, 68% of Minshew’s pa ses were either behind the line of scrimmage or up to nine yards beyond it. Presuming he’s the starter at the outset of the 2020 season for the Jaguars, the team’s offense will need a wideout who can create after the catch.That’s where Shenault thrives. According to , Shenault forced 44 mi sed tackles over the past two years, the highest total of any receiver in the 2020 cla s, and he accomplished that in just 20 total games.At 6-1 and 227 pounds, he has a compact frame similar to and , and his low center of Charlie Coyle Jersey gravity boosts his ability to absorb contact and continue forward. And for as pleasantly surprising as Chark and Conley were in 2019, they owned the two highest average depth of targets on the team (11.7 and 14.5 yards respectively) on throws from Minshew among the pa s catchers with at least 30 targets. They’re primarily outside vertical route tree receivers in Jacksonville, which will give way to Shenault working short routes as a slot complement with Dede Westbrook.Willie Gay, LB, Gay was a role-player in 2018 and appeared in just five contests in his final year at Mi si sippi State. So he’s somewhat of an enigma.But the opportunity in front of him is glorious in Kansas City’s (previously) speed-deprived linebacker group, and he has the natural talent to burst onto the scene almost immediately as a rookie. At 6-1 and 243 pounds with 4.46 speed, Gay is cannonball on the field, and he flashed outstanding ability in coverage during his time at Mi si sippi State, even if we didn’t see him for a long duration. He defended a pa s and snagged two interceptions in 2018 in part-time duty and housed an interception on one of the seven targets thrown into his coverage area in 2019. (4.74) and (4.77) do not have strangleholds on their starting gigs, and neither have the speed or coverage talents to run with tight ends or running backs down the field. Gay has both. And the Chiefs defense is bound to see plenty of pa s attempts from its opponents given the dynamic nature of the club’s offense. Last year, Kansas City faced the 10th-most pa s attempts in all of football during the regular season (582) and allowed the third-highest amount of receptions to tight ends (96), per Pro Football Devan Dubnyk Jersey Reference.Sure, they won the last season, but Gay is precisely the type of the linebacker the Chiefs desperately need. , RB, Even with –a big and talented back in his own right — technically in front of him on the depth chart for the time being, Taylor landed in a luxurious situation with the Colts.Indianapolis finished 12th in yards per carry in 2019 — 4.5 — and had the same finish in , an advanced metric that a signs responsibility to an offensive line for rushing gains. The Colts have one of the best overall lines in the league and return all five starters from a season ago. Taylor was my . He truly checked all the boxes. Vision, contact balance, dynamic cutting ability all in a 5-10, 226 frame with 4.39 speed. Goodne s. Per PFF, Taylor forced a whopping 87 mi sed tackles in 2019, the third-best total among any back in college football with at least 100 carries. He also averaged 3.93 yards contact in his final season at Wisconsin. Basically, Taylor is a boulder of a back running behind a rock-solid offensive line, and he po se ses serious breakaway speed. For as much as I liked Mack when he came into the league in 2017 out of USF, Taylor is bound to erupt early as a rookie and ultimately take over starting duties in Indianapolis. , DL, Kinlaw immediately steps into the vacancy left by being traded to the Colts this March and finds himself in a phenomenal situation to succeed instantly in the NFL.The 6-5, 324-pound interior defensive lineman with nearly 35-inch arms has and on the edges and next to him. Can’t forget about 2017 No. 3 overall selection Nino Niederreiter Jersey on San Francisco’s defensive line either. And while Kinlaw’s pa s-rushing toolbox isn’t as loaded as Buckner’s was when he entered the league out of Oregon in 2016, he’s larger and plays with more point-of-attack power. And with the studs around him, Kinlaw is unlikely to see many double teams throughout his rookie season.Diving into the 49ers scheme, last year, San Francisco rushed with four 78% of the time, the third-highest rate in the NFL. And Kinl
