As an Iowa Hawkeyes fan, I was able to watch AJ throughout his entire collegiate career and now through his rookie NFL season.
There are parallels. AJ was a rare recruit for the Hawkeyes. He was the type of player that, had his father not been a former Hawkeye, he likely would have been playing at a school with a higher probability of winning a championship.
Still, when he came to Iowa, despite obvious NFL-level talents, he rarely saw the field in his first season. They brought him along more slowly, starting with 3rd-and-long scenarios and working out from there.
To his credit, there was never a peep from AJ about the long process and he improved every single season.
This year, we saw a lot of the same process with AJ. He was only on the field for very specific situations and the coaches started to trust him a bit more later in the year.
This off-season is so important for him. I hope the parallel continues and that both body and mind make another improvement - just as we saw from his freshman to sophomore years in college. I am an absolute homer, true, but I’m confidently betting on AJ getting better.