A crowd of reporters around his locker Mike McGlinchey Jersey , Robert Nkemdiche was asked what he learned the first two years in the NFL.

”I learned I was terrible,” he said.

He was joking. Everyone laughed.

But, with a new coaching staff giving the big defensive tackle a clean slate, this is a big season for the former first-round draft pick to prove to the Cardinals that they were right to select him 29th overall out of Mississippi in 2017.

There have been no breakout performances, just a big play here and there – he returned an Eli Manning fumble for a TD last season – and there have been too many mistakes, including way too many offside penalties. In 17 career games, he has 12 tackles, four of them solo, and zero sacks.

He knows it is time to show he’s better than that or risk forever being saddled as a ”draft bust.”

If the mammoth player – 6-foot-4, 296 pounds – harnesses his raw skills and attends to the little things, maybe he’ll even find himself starting up front.

”I try to stay away from the analogies of guys who are busts because everybody has their own projection of how they see guys,” Cardinals first-year head coach Steve Wilks said after Monday’s practice, the team’s first in pads. ”In a short period of time of being around Robert, I think he’s a tremendous player. I think he’s locked in, he’s focused. I think he’s doing well and I think he’s going to be a good player for us this year.”

Nkemdiche won’t call this a make-or-break season, but he has learned a lot about what it takes to succeed in the trenches at the game’s highest level.

”It’s a big step,” he said of this coming season. ”It’s not really technically pressure. It’s just me wanting to be good, me wanting to give back to these guys Jaire Alexander Jersey , and all the guys who put in work for me, and give back to the coaches, people who believe in me and really just resting that case and being the player I know I can be.

”There’s really no pressure, just `come on, take a step forward.”’

Nkemdiche has his quirks, including colorfully braided hair and a nose ring. He likes shopping at Goodwill.

Nkemdiche is not that stereotypical growling monster of a human that people believe play defensive tackle in this violent game. But he wants to be good and insists he is a severe critic of himself.

He blames his two unproductive seasons on injuries and ”some things I could have did better.”

”Just being a more polished player, as in the whole perspective and really just growing as a dude, as a person,” he said. ”It’s cool. Things have slowed down a little bit and it’s fun. I can actually see what’s going on. It’s not like a blur.”

He should take some solace in the case of Arizona teammate D.J. Humphries. The Cardinals drafted the big tackle out of Florida in the first round (24th overall) in 2015 but he didn’t even suit up for a game as a rookie- the Cardinals coaches were convinced he didn’t have the maturity yet to play in the league. But the next season he was the starter at right tackle and eventually was moved to the left side. Injuries limited him to five games last year, but he has evolved into the Cardinals’ best offensive lineman and anchors that unit at left tackle this year.

Wilks has said he doesn’t mind players with a few quirks, that he would ”let Robert be Robert” as long as he continues to work hard to get better. So far, so good.

The coach said after Monday’s workout that he’s encouraged.

”His commitment,” Wilks said. ”He’s trying to do it our way. Change sometimes is hard for everyone and I think he’s embraced that. He meets a lot with coach (Don) Johnson. His energy on the football field is phenomenal and he’s trying to pay attention to details. You just got to make sure he’s consistent and concentrates and doesn’t jump offside. That’s one of the concerns.”

So it’s details, details, details for Nkemdiche, and, most importantly, some production when he’s on the field.

”Do it on Sunday Evander Kane Sharks Jersey ,” he said. ”When it’s game time, show up and play ball. It’s a very simple concept, just go out there and be a dog, be a disruptive force, play every play at extreme capacity.”

And don’t jump offside.

—

鈥?Pharoh Cooper of the Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City’s Tyreek Hill split 10 of the 11 first-place votes in The Associated Press kick returner rankings. The overall tally wasn’t nearly that close.Cooper finished with 102 points, 43 ahead of the Chiefs’ speedy multipurpose man because Hill was left off two ballots and barely made three others on the voting panel that includes Hall of Fame receiver James Lofton and 10 AP pro football writers.Hill’s diminished role 鈥?he is no longer returning kickoffs and isn’t in the top 10 in average yards on punt returns 鈥?was the difference. The second-year player finished fourth with 59 points, also behind a pair of rookies in runner-up Jamal Agnew of Detroit and Dallas’ Ryan Switzer.“For sheer excitement, he’d be No. 1,” wrote AP lead NFL writer Barry Wilner, who is based in New York. “But the Chiefs hardly use him on returns the way they once did. He has only an 8.8-yard average on punt runbacks.”The surprising Rams could be part of the reason Cooper was one of just two returners named on all 11 ballots (Switzer was the other). LA leads the NFC West and at 9-4 has clinched its first winning season since 2003.Cooper, also a second-year man, had one of just three kickoff returns for touchdowns in the NFL going into Week 15, a 103-yarder in a 27-17 win at AFC South-leading Jacksonville. His 28.3-yard average on kickoff returns leads the league, and he has a solid 11.9-yard average on punt returns.“Cooper has been a dynamic presence on special teams for the Rams, returning both kickoffs and punts, and establishing himself as a threat in both cases,” New York-based AP writer Dennis Waszak wrote.“Big plays and a difference-maker,” wrote Lofton. Cooper was first or second on 10 of the 11 ballots.Hill figures to get a few nominations for NFL play of the year 鈥?but it wasn’t on special teams. The 5-foot-10 dynamo stunned the Cowboys with a touchdown on the final play of the first half in a game Kansas City lost.The Chiefs were on their 44 with 2 seconds left before halftime when Hill caught a short pass from Alex Smith with most of the Dallas defense playing near the goal line. With three blockers in front Jaire Alexander Packers Jersey , Hill motored around Orlando Scandrick at the 25, cut behind two blocks from Demarcus Robinson inside the 10 and sidestepped linebacker Anthony Hitchens to finish the stunning TD.“He’s as special a guy as I’ve ever seen in person,” said Jets special teams coordinator Brant Boyer, who worked out Hill before last year’s draft. “There is not a guy with more juice than that guy. He’s a special, special athlete and his burst, his acceleration, his patience, he has it all.”Agnew, a fifth-round pick, is the only player with two returns for touchdowns this season 鈥?both on punts. He got the other first-place vote and had 68 points to Switzer’s 60.“The rookie from San Diego leads the league in punt return average (16.8 yards), longest runback (88 yards) and touchdowns (two), so he’s an easy pick,” Wilner wrote of Agnew. “Besides, with the lack of kickoff returns, guys who field punts should get priority.”Switzer finished a somewhat surprising third considering he hadn’t done much before returning a punt 83 yards for a touchdown two weeks ago. It was a pivotal moment in a win over NFC East rival Washington because it gave quarterback Dak Prescott enough time to get the swelling down on a hand injury and not miss any snaps.Tarik Cohen of Chicago finished fifth with 57 points, and Seattle’s Tyler Lockett was sixth.“Cohen handles both kicks and punts and deserves to make this list on the 61-yard punt return for a TD against San Francisco, much less everything he’s done,” wrote San Francisco-based AP writer Josh Dubow.Lockett was named on the second-most ballots 鈥?10.“He hasn’t scored since his rookie year in 2015 Baker Mayfield Jersey , but his ability to handle both punts and kickoffs among the league’s best is a rare skill,” AP’s Minnesota-based Dave Campbell wrote.Oakland’s Cordarrelle Patterson was seventh, followed by New England’s Dion Lewis, Tennessee’s Adoree’ Jackson and Baltimore’s Michael Campanaro to round out the top 10.EDITOR’S NOTE 鈥?The Associated Press is ranking the top 10 players at a different position every week of the NFL season, based on votes by Pro Football Hall of Famer James Lofton and AP football writers Simmi Buttar, Dave Campbell, Schuyler Dixon, Josh Dubow, Howard Fendrich, Rob Maaddi, Arnie Stapleton, Teresa M. Walker, Dennis Waszak Jr. and Barry Wilner. This feature is sent on Fridays..