WSU has a handful of Cougars in the NFL this season. Palouse products went 2-3 in the NFL this past weekend. Daiyan Henley had a monster game and put himself in contention for AFC defensive player of the week. Cougar players had an up and down week one in terms of play, this week they fared better especially No.1 pick Cam Ward and two time Super Bowl champion Jaylen Watson who locked down arguably the best receiving duo in the NFL AJ Brown and Devonta Smith of the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Cam Ward

Ward threw his first touchdown in the NFL on a cross-body throw to Elic Ayomanor. Ward was 19-for-33 with 175 passing yards and one touchdown. The Titans’ wide receiving corps helped him out this week with fewer drops than they had in week one. However, they still lost to the Los Angeles Rams, 33-19. Pro Football Focus (PFF) gave Ward a score of 57.4.

Abe Lucas 

Lucas had his hands full this week with star pass rusher T.J. Watt. Lucas had Nick Bosa last week and fared well. The Seahawks were not able to run to the right side of the field due to Watt and his play-wrecking ability. However, Watt only had four tackles and a handful of pressures. For the most part, Lucas held his own. Next week, Lucas will continue his blocking versus Saints star rusher Cam Jordan. PFF gave Lucas a 55.2 grade.

Kyle Williams 

Williams only played five snaps last week. This week, he played 10 snaps, double the amount he had previously. Unfortunately, he was not able to get a reception or a target in the 10 plays. Williams is the fifth-strong receiver on the Patriots, so the chances for him are very limited. Quarterback Drake Maye has made it known during the offseason that he and Williams have built a connection. No PFF grade was available due to the snap count.

Jaylen Watson and Jaden Hicks

Watson and Hicks, who are a pair of Cougars on the Kansas City Chiefs, had decent games. Hicks had one solo tackle and one assisted tackle. Hicks gave up zero catches, which is a great improvement from week 1 when he gave up four catches on six targets. PFF gave Hicks a grade of 41.3. Watson, on the other side, had his best game of the season so far. Watson had two solo tackles and seven assisted tackles. Watson allowed zero catches against him, earning him a 70.9 PFF grade, rating him the highest Chiefs player.

Frankie Luvu 

Luvu had a quiet game with only two assisted tackles. After the game, Luvu said he was disappointed with his performance as well as the Commanders team performance as well. Luvu has not had the start to the season he had hoped for coming off a Pro Bowl-level season. His run defense PFF grade is 74.6, but his pass defense grade is 45.4. His overall grade is a 55.1.

Daiyan Henley 

Once again, Los Angeles Charger linebacker Daiyan Henley was the best Coug in the NFL. Henley picked off Geno Smith on the first play of the game. He also had two other plays where he almost picked the ball off. Henley had seven solo tackles, three assisted tackles, a sack and one interception. Jim Harbaugh needed Henley to step up with Khalil Mack getting hurt and ruled out in the first half. Henley answered and was all over the field being disruptive, including his sack on Smith in the fourth quarter to shut all hope the Raiders had of a comeback. There is no available grade for Henley yet.

Overall, Cougar players had a good week and showed their ability to affect games and bounce back from previous performances. Across the board Cougs are playing on notable winning teams who are seeing value in drafting WSU talent.