Welcome to the NFL: Tales of pro debuts & advice to rookie self

Lock’s 12,193 career yards at Missouri ranked second in SEC history when the Broncos drafted him in 2019. But he was still nervous when he made his first career start in Week 13 of his rookie year. He got the call against the Los Angeles Chargers and went on to throw two touchdowns to Courtland Sutton in the first quarter en route to a 23-20 victory.

“Cotton mouth that first drive. Man, I was just excited, definitely nervous, definitely nervous, but it was fun. My first touchdown was to Courland Sutton in the back right end zone of the tunnel we come out of. Shoot, Philip Rivers, that was the coolest part. I can’t believe like the stat sheet that day is going to be ‘Drew Lock, starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos’ and ‘Philip Rivers, starting quarterback for the Chargers.’ That was super cool. I’ll definitely never forget it, going over to my family at the end of the game. My now-wife was there. We were three or four months into dating at the time. It was a special day. I did have a ‘Welcome to the NFL’ moment thanks to Denzel Perryman, who was a linebacker on that team. We were running just a little [play] where we have a guy run and sit where he is and wrap around. And he faked me. He took the grab, backpedaled, flipped his hips, went and got underneath the in-cut behind it. It was like, ‘All right, I can’t get away with that anymore. I used to be able to.’ I was playing against savvy vets.”

Advice to rookie self: “Cut it loose. Don’t think too much. Just let it ride, man. You’re going to make it. You’re going to hang around. Just cut it loose. Don’t second-guess anything.”

There’s no way anyone could have known what was coming when the undrafted rookie began last season on the practice squad – not even him. But the third-stringer from New Jersey was thrust into making his NFL debut when Tyrod Taylor went down against the Jets. DeVito completed two of seven passes that day and rushed for 12 yards on four carries, including a six-yard run for the Giants’ only touchdown in an overtime loss to the Jets.

“I remember terrible weather. I remember the touchdown. Really just the environment, it didn’t feel real at the time. I don’t know if it had to do with the weather or the way the game was going, things just felt like they were in a haze. It didn’t hit me until after. It was like, ‘You just played a real NFL game.’ Then obviously more came from it after. I wished we would have come out with a win there. When you get thrown into that role, you’re expected to go in there and play with no hiccups. So the backup role is a pretty tough one. You really have no idea. At the beginning of the year, I was on practice squad. I had no idea I was eventually going to be playing and starting in games that happen that season. But you’ve got to be ready for anything.”

Advice to rookie self: “My No. 1 life rule is don’t panic. Just stay calm through it all. All the training that you’ve done, all the studying, it will take care of itself. Just go out, play, enjoy it, and have fun.”

The second-round pick made his debut in the wild win at Tennessee that kicked off the Daboll era in 2022. Instead of playing for overtime, the first-time head coach kept the offense on the field for a two-point conversion, which Jones executed with an underhand pass to Saquon Barkley with 1:06 left in regulation. But Robinson had to watch it from the sideline.

“Mine is good and bad. My first game, I’m playing closer to my home in Kentucky. My first catch, I get hurt, MCL sprain and I was done for the game. I do remember Shep catching a big bomb and going crazy on the sideline. Going for two at the end, I remember the play call we called, I’m standing next to Tyrod and I was like, ‘Oh no, this is not good that we just called this play.’ Then we shoveled it to Say and Saquon did what he did. Then I said, ‘Sometimes it’s not about the play call; it’s about who you’re calling it for.’ But seriously, that was definitely a memory of mine from that game. Getting the dub and I got hurt. That was about it.”

Advice to rookie self: “This league is brutal. You never know what may happen. Take care of your body. At that time, I was a fresh 21-year-old.”

The California native and Stanford product made his debut for the Colts in Los Angeles against the Chargers, who won in overtime.

“At their home but it was home for me back in Orange County. It was fun. I had a bunch of my family there, and it was thrilling just to be out there, playing Philip Rivers, playing big-time guys like Austin Ekeler, it was just a very exciting time for me. My first live energy. Watching the film, I’m a lot better football player now than I was then, but it was fun. It’s an adjustment, especially for linebackers. Speed of the game is pretty normal, but the size of the offensive linemen is probably the biggest adjustment. It’s an acclimation period.”

Advice to rookie self: “Maybe condition a little bit more so you’re in shape and you don’t get caught tired.”

Undrafted out of Iowa, Kreiter was cut at the end of training camp in each of his first two years by the Cowboys. The third time was the charm. The defending champion Broncos gave him a chance in 2016, and Kreiter made his debut in the Super Bowl 50 rematch against the Panthers in Week 1.

“Other than maybe the [Giants’] playoff game in Minnesota [two years ago], that was the loudest stadium environment I have been in. I missed Peyton Manning by a year, but he walked out with the Super Bowl trophy. It was the year after the Broncos won, and it was a rematch against the Panthers. Graham [Gano] was actually on the team, so it was the first time I met him. So Peyton walked out with the trophy, he handed it to John Elway on the field, and that was a moment where I was like, ‘Whoa, I’m here. This is different than preseason.’ At that point in my career, I was at a point where if I was done with football, I was OK with it. It was literally just go play the best as I can. If it doesn’t work out, I was going to go teach high school science, raise a family, and be happy with it. Luckily, and I’ve said it, without getting cut the two times before that, I don’t know if I was ready to play in the NFL. I had my ‘Welcome to the NFL’ moment later that year when we played the Texans and they used their front seven on defense for punt rush. I remember we broke the huddle, I look to my right, the right A-gap was J.J. Watt. The left A-gap was Jadeveon Clowney. Hey, if we can get through this game OK, I think we’ll be all right.”

Advice to rookie self: “Just enjoy it. I had football taken away from me twice before I actually got to play in a regular-season game. I learned that lesson the hard way. But remind yourself it’s a game. [Punter] Jamie [Gillan] and I spend time playing catch pre-game three hours before the game like we’re little kids. Just remind ourselves it’s a game because at the end of the day, this is a job and a super important job that we all take seriously, but we’re playing a game that we’ve loved since we were kids. It’s a good reminder of hey, this is stressful, it’s important, but it’s also a game you really love. Don’t forget that.”

The longest-tenured NFL player currently on the roster, Gano was perfect in his debut on Dec. 13, 2019, when he made two field goals and four extra points for Washington in a 34-13 victory over the Oakland Raiders.

“My favorite kicker as a kid, being a Florida State fan, was Sebastian Janikowski. I was kicking against him that day. I had met him when I was in college. It was pretty cool, pretty neat. I had always heard that the Raiders fans were crazy and it was more of a fun atmosphere than anything. I had a great time. The first field goal was from 46 yards, and I was so pumped up to hit that. It was a long year bouncing from Florida State to Baltimore to the UFL then to Washington. It was an exciting memory. I’m definitely blessed to be able to get that chance and get my career started. I had a tackle that day too on kickoff. I don’t know if they gave me credit for it or not, but it was a fun game. I definitely celebrated too hard on the first field goal, but it was a lifelong dream come true.”

Advice to rookie self: “Take it in. The first few years I didn’t really take a second each game to kind of enjoy the moment and look around and just realize I’m very blessed to get to be able to play a sport for a living. That’s something my wife reminded me of as the years went on. She’s like, ‘Make sure you take your time to take it in.’ So I try to do that every game. Just look around and realize how fortunate I am to still be playing.”