How South Dakotans in the NFL fared, Week 3
It’s early, but the Philadelphia Eagles look like one of the NFL’s best teams.
They’re 3-0, having outscored their opponents 86-50, gained over 400 yards of offense in all three games, while quarterback Jalen Hurts looks like an early MVP candidate.
Hurts’ emergence has been at least a little surprising, as he looked fairly unimpressive as a rookie and was only slightly better last year as the Eagles missed the playoffs. But Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert has been in Hurts’ corner since the former Alabama and Oklahoma star arrived as a second-round draft pick. They developed a rapport when both had yet to move into the starting lineup full time, and that rapport has continued as they both have developed into stars.
Goedert caught his first touchdown pass of the season in Sunday’s win over Washington, and while he’s currently the team’s third-leading receiver, the emergence of wide receivers AJ Brown and Davonte Smith could eventually lead to more opportunities for the former Jackrabbit.
Here are this week’s numbers on Goedert and the rest of South Dakota’s NFL alumni.
Jack Cochrane, LB, Kansas City Chiefs (USD)
The USD Coyote alum made his NFL debut in the Chiefs’ win over the Colts, seeing action on 19 snaps on special teams. He did not record any statistics. Cochrane had been signed off the Kansas City practice squad the previous week but was on the active roster for the first time against Indianapolis.
Matt Farniok, OL, Dallas Cowboys (Washington High School)
Made his second straight start at guard for the Cowboys on Monday night and rotated with Jason Peters.
Dennis Gardeck, LB, Arizona Cardinals (USF)
Played 14 snaps on defense and 21 on special teams, notching three tackles in the Cardinals’ 20-12 loss to the Rams.
Dallas Goedert, TE, Philadelphia Eagles (Britton-Hecla High School, SDSU)
Got the start and was targeted four times, catching three passes for 26 yards and a touchdown in the Eagles’ 24-8 win over Washington.
CJ Ham, FB, Minnesota Vikings (Augustana)
Got the start and was on the field for several key plays in the Vikings’ 28-24 comeback win over the Lions at US Bank Stadium. Ham had a 12-yard catch for a first down in the first half where he made a nifty move to break a tackle, and blocked well to help Dalvin Cook rush for a season-high 96 yards.
Finished with two catches for 15 yards and also played 16 snaps on special teams.
Trey Pipkins, OL, Los Angeles Chargers (USF)
Was in the starting lineup again despite leaving last week’s game with an injury, and played all 61 offensive plays for the Chargers in their loss to Jacksonville.
Riley Reiff, OL, Chicago Bears (Parkston High School)
Was used as an extra blocker on one offensive play and also saw action four times on special teams in the Bears’ win over Houston.
Christian Rozeboom, LB, Los Angeles Rams (SDSU)
Played 21 snaps – all on special teams – and had a tackle in the Rams win over Arizona.
Pierre Strong, RB, New England Patriots (SDSU)
Was active for the second straight week but saw the field for just two plays, both on special teams. Did not record any statistics.
Derrek Tuszka, LB, Tennessee Titans (Warner High School)
Was activated for the first time for Tennessee and got the start at edge linebacker, playing 16 snaps on defense and 17 on special teams, recording two tackles.
However, he was waived on Monday.
On practice squads
Kameron Cline, Colts (USD)
Don Gardner, Bucs (SDSU)
Cade Johnson, Seahawks (SDSU)
Chris Oladokun, Chiefs (SDSU)
Chris Streveler, Jets (USD)
Injured
Tom Compton, Broncos (USD)
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: NFL: How South Dakotans fared in National Football League this week
