EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Two touchdowns in his NFL debut hasn’t exactly made Detroit Lions wide receiver Kenny Golladay a household name. Not all of the New York Giants' locker room was aware of who he is and what he’s done. After all, it's only been one game.
In that game, Golladay made some noise. He had four catches for 69 yards and two touchdowns in the Lions’ season-opening victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
Still, not everybody knew the name.
“Kenny who?” Giants All-Pro safety Landon Collins said when asked what he knew about Golladay.
Their receiver, Detroit, rookie. Two touchdowns.
“No. 19? Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Collins said.
At this point of his career, Golladay is still a number rather than a name. It's going to take more than a pair of big plays to become a recognizable figure.
"He got a little speed on him," Collins said, "but other than that, I mean...”
Collins and the rest of the NFL may soon learn. Golladay had an eye-opening summer with the Lions after being a third-round pick this year out of Northern Illinois. He had a productive preseason (including when he caught a pair of touchdown passes in Detroit’s opener) and an impressive regular-season opener.
It’s not all that different from what he did in college, when Golladay had 160 receptions for 2,285 yards and 18 touchdowns in his two seasons at Northern Illinois. As a result, he was the 96th overall selection in the draft.
Here is the scouting report on Kenny Golladay from Giants players:
CB Eli Apple
“I played against him in college. He’s a tall receiver. Physical at the line of scrimmage and somebody who can go up and get the ball.”
“I heard about him a little bit during the preseason with him making some plays. As far as college, I had no idea about him. Very impressive. He’s 6-3, 6-4, runs very well. Strong with his hands. I think for years to come he’s going to be a tough guy to deal with.”
Based off college:
CB Eli Apple (who played Golladay while at Ohio State)
"I thought he was one of the best receivers in the class this year. He was.”
S Darian Thompson (who played Golladay while at Boise State)
"He’s an explosive playmaker. Actually had a chance to play against him in Boise, in our last bowl game. He was a good receiver. Really good receiver. We had to game plan against him then, just like we do now. Great ball skills. Great body size."
Based off the opener:
S Landon Collins
“He did an excellent job against the Cardinals' defense. That was surprising. Deep threat kind of guy. Don’t see him catch intermediate routes and making cuts and stuff like that. See him running digs, deep post routes and catching those deep balls. That is what I see from them."
CB Eli Apple
“Really good. He was going up and getting the ball. He made a couple really big plays at the end of the game to help them win. He had two or three touchdowns, too. He can ball.”
S Darian Thompson
“He had a good game. Caught a touchdown. He’s a playmaker. He’s always been that way. We’re looking forward to that matchup.”