Tar Heels in the Pros: Cole Holcomb stands out in first two games

With the first two weeks of the 2019 NFL regular season completed, a few of the younger former Tar Heels have had performances worth noting in the season’s early games.

Linebacker Cole Holcomb has seen plenty of quality action for the Washington Redskins in his rookie season, while quarterback Mitchell Trubisky hasn’t been able to sustain the high level of play he displayed at the end of last season.

Cole Holcomb

The Redskins selected Holcomb in the fifth round of this year’s draft to pair him with veteran linebacker Jonathan Bostic.

Through the first two games of this season, Holcomb has been on the field for 114 of Washington’s 145 defensive snaps.

Despite losing both games, Holcomb has been a solid option for the Redskins' defense. The former second-team All-ACC linebacker has tallied 14 total tackles, nine solo tackles and three tackles for loss in his first two NFL games.

Holcomb’s seven total defensive stops in Washington’s matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles were tied for the most among all defenders in the NFL during the season’s opening weekend.

Holcomb’s promising start to his career certainly hasn’t shrunk the large shoes he has to fill. The last UNC linebacker to be drafted by the Redskins was Chris Hanburger in 1965. Hanburger played all 187 games of his Hall of Fame career with Washington.

Mitch Trubisky

Trubisky’s noticeable improvement from his rookie year to his second season in the NFL seemed to indicate that the young quarterback’s career could be trending upward.

In his second year with the Chicago Bears, Trubisky’s completion percentage, passing yards, passing touchdowns and quarterback rating all rose from his rookie year numbers.

But over the first two games of this season, that upward trend hasn’t continued.

The Bears have posted a 1-1 record with a 10-3 loss to the Green Bay Packers and a 16-14 win over the Denver Broncos. In those games, Trubisky was unable to score a single touchdown, and against the Packers, he threw an interception in the final two minutes of the game.

Trubisky is completing 58.3 percent of his passes, has thrown for 348 yards and has a quarterback rating of just 65 so far this season.

After helping lead the Bears to a 12-4 record in last year’s regular season, the former Tar Heel quarterback threw for 303 yards and a touchdown in a 16-15 loss against the Eagles in a Wild Card game.

It will be interesting to see if Trubisky can rebound from this slow start to his 2019 campaign and return to the strong form that he showed he is capable of going forward.

Mack Hollins

After missing the entire 2018 NFL season due to a surgery to repair a groin injury, Hollins made his return to the field in Philadelphia’s first two games of the 2019 season.

The 2017 fourth round draft pick caught five of his eight targets for 50 yards against the Falcons in a 24-20 loss during Philadelphia's second game of the season.

In Hollins’ rookie season, the wide receiver caught 16 passes for 226 yards and appeared in all 16 regular season games. With the young wideout finally returning from the injured reserve list, the Eagles can see what he is capable of after an entire season off the field to learn and develop.

@McMastersJ

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