The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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80 THE WOLVERINE AUGUST 2019 MICHIGAN IN THE PROS 51.7 percent of his attempts from be- hind the arc. "He started the season looking like a runaway for most improved player," NetsRepublic.com's Will Jackson said in May. "He had the injury and missed a ton of games, but came back and didn't have quite the same rhythm. "He was probably back to being the Nets' best two-way player by the time the playoffs rolled around, though." 7. Kyle Connor, LW Winnipeg Jets (NHL) He set new career highs in several of the game's most important cat- egories in 2018-19, including games played (82), goals (34), assists (32), points (66) and time on the ice per night (19:15). Connor also did some impressive work in six playoff tilts for the Jets, racking up three goals (tied for the team lead) and two assists, and pick- ing up the game-winning tally in overtime of a 2-1 triumph in game four over St. Louis (the Blues won the series 4-2). JetsNation.com gave Connor an "A" for the 2018-19 campaign in their postseason grades. "The future is in Connor 's hands right now," the site wrote in late June. "On the verge of a new con- tract, Connor is heading into next year as one of the most promising players on the team. "He's got the natural gift of goal scoring and has showcased it at ev- ery level. If he can round out the rest of his game and begin to drive the play a bit more, he is going to become a really strong forward for years to come." 8. Brandon Graham, DE Philadelphia Eagles (NFL) He posted 39 tackles, four sacks, two passes defended and a forced fumble in 2018 while starting all 16 regular-season showdowns for the 9-7 and NFC wild card-clinching Ea- gles. Although his official stats were not outstanding, PFF actually tabbed him as the 50th-best player in the NFL in 2018, thanks to an 88.1 over- all grade (which ranked ninth out of 113 edge defenders) and 70 total pressures, which in addition to sacks include QB hurries and hits (fourth). "People don't realize just how good Graham has been for the Eagles over his career, and it is largely be- cause his sack totals just don't scream that he's an elite player," Ben Lin- sey wrote. "Graham might be an ex- ception to the rule, considering that when you look at the last five sea- sons, he has a sack conversion rate of just 10.9 percent on his pressures, third-worst among 26 players with 250 or more pressures over that span. That was even worse in 2018, when he converted just five of his 70 reg- ular-season pressures into sacks (7.1 percent — the worst mark among all players with 35 or more pressures). "He's recorded 50 or more pres- sures in each of the past five seasons so the opportunity should be there to put up more sacks, and the numbers tell you he should." 9. Jabrill Peppers, S Cleveland Browns (NFL) Peppers finished fourth on the Browns with 79 tackles, and also compiling one sack, five passes de- fended, two fumble recoveries and an interception. He was the Browns' return specialist averaging 8.8 yards on 25 punt returns, and 21.5 yards on 19 kickoff runbacks. However, on March 13, Cleveland traded him (along with offensive guard Kevin Zeitler, their first-round pick and second third-round pick) to the New York Giants in exchange for defensive end Olivier Vernon and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. PFF's grades for Peppers showed just how much better he got from 2017 to 2018 — his 77.3 coverage grade was 15.6 points better than his rookie year, while his 77.6 overall grade was a 17.1-point improvement. 10. Dylan Larkin, C Detroit Red Wings (NHL) He was one of the few bright spots on a Red Wings club that stumbled to a 32-40-10 record in 2018-19. Larkin's 32 goals and 73 points were both ca- reer bests, while his 41 assists were the second most he had ever tallied. In her season review of the Red Wing players, Helene St. James of The Detroit Free Press awarded the center with a final grade of A+ for his efforts in 2018-19. "He has emerged as an elite player, a top-notch two-way center who rel- ishes containing top opposing cen- ters as much as he does scoring," she wrote. "He's dangerous every shift, intensely driven to be the best player on the ice game after game. He'll be captain by next season." ❑ Dylan Larkin emerged as an elite, two-way center for the Detroit Red Wings in 2018-19, while posting career highs in both points (73) and goals (32). PHOTO COURTESY DETROIT RED WINGS