As Chuba Hubbard and Tommy Tremble—drafted together in the 2021 class—have shown, it’s a bond that can help carry a rookie class off the field through the trials and tribulations of that first year in the league, but also pay dividends on the field. Idzik is already seeing it happen.
“All those guys really are helping each other out, too, which is really cool to see out of a rookie class. Whether it’s the running backs, jumping in their room and then helping each other out, the tight ends and receivers working together,” said Idzik. “As we incorporate them with the full team… how do they mesh with the full group? They’ve done a great job so far.”
And as they return next week for training camp, with the rookie class coming in a day early, they will continue to have each other as they navigate yet another new time.
“You keep feeding them a little bit more, every day, and you see, OK, is there going to be a rookie wall here,” continued Idzik.
“These guys are preparing to avoid that rookie wall altogether, and I think they’re doing that together, which is a lot of fun to see, a little bit of camaraderie between the rookie class.”