Asante Samuel Jr. wins Pepsi Rookie of the Week

Just two weeks into the 2021 NFL season, the Chargers’ second-round rookie out of Florida State is already making a name for himself. Following his performance against the Cowboys this past Sunday, Asante Samuel Jr. was voted the Pepsi Rookie of the week after posting a pair of pass breakups and his first regular season interception of his career.

So far this season, Samuel has totaled eight tackles, two pass breakups, and and the aforementioned pick. He’s currently Pro Football Focus’ fifth-highest graded rookie corner at 70.5 while also leading all rookies with a 46.3 passer rating allowed. Lastly, he’s currently behind only Jalen Ramsey in terms of passer rating allowed when targeted thus far into the season.

With an early injury to Chris Harris prior to week two, Samuel was tasked with limiting the explosive duo of Cowboys receivers in Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb. He and Michael Davis combined to limit them to 105 total receiving yards and kept them completely out of the end zone.

It’s been a phenomenal start for Samuel in the NFL and he deserves what he’s gotten and more up to this point. Congrats to him and hopefully he’s got another solid performance in his bag for this week against Kansas City.