RANT SPORTS – Good teams are not supposed to rely on rookies to make an impact right away in the NFL.
Trying telling that to 10 teams who appear to be playoff bound because of the play of at least one key rookie. All 10 of these NFL rookies have made an immediate impact which has helped lead to the team’s success.
No you won’t find wide receiver Malik Nabers or tight end Brock Bowers, both having great rookie seasons, on the list. Why? Because the Giants and Raiders have five combined wins. There has been no impact.
Defensive lineman Jared Verse is also having a great rookie season, but the Rams aren’t going anywhere, either. So he didn’t make this list.
Here’s the list of the top NFL rookies:
Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington
Daniels and Washington fell out of first place in the NFC East, but they still appear to be a wild-card team and the QB is one of the main reasons why. He’s completing 68.7 percent of his passes and has 10 touchdowns to just three interceptions for a QB rating of 99.6
Joe Alt, T, Los Angeles
Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh has never hidden his love for the offensive line so it was no surprise he made Alt his first-round pick. The big left tackle has been everything the coach and team hoped he would be.
Zach Frazier, C, Pittsburgh
Frazier, a second-round pick out of West Virginia, has anchored a good Steelers offensive line that has the team ranked eighth best in running the ball and in first place in the AFC North.
Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Arizona
Harrison isn’t putting up monster numbers (33 catches, 499 yards, six TDs), as some expected. He has made an impact on a Cardinals team that leads the NFC West at 6-4. Also of his 33 catches, eight have been for 20 yards, or more ad 24 have gone for a first down.
Kamari Lassiter, CB, Houston
Houston’s first pick (second round), Lassiter has started at corner for eight games and has three interceptions and eight passes broken up for the AFC South’s first-place team.
Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Philadelphia
It didn’t take long for the rookie from Toledo to emerge as the first-place Eagles No. 1 CB. In his last six games, Mitchell has been targeted 20 times and has allowed 10 completions for 87 yards. He has yet to allow a touchdown pass.
Bo Nix, QB, Denver
Nix has really come on for a Broncos team with their sights set on an AFC wild-card spot. He’s complete 65.5 percent of his passes with 14 touchdowns and six interceptions. Four of those six interceptions came in his first two games. And in his last four games he has nine TDs and just one pick.
Roger Rosengarten, T, Baltimore
The Ravens have the top offense in the league, mostly in part to QB Lamar Jackson and RB Derrick Henry. Rosengarten, the team’s second-round pick out of Washington, has started every game at right tackle and has a key role i that success as well.
Evan Williams, S, Green Bay
The Packers played games without quarterback Jordan Love and won. They played without All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander and won. Williams has missed two games and the Packers went 0-2. The fourth-round pick out of Oregon has been a welcome piece to the secondary. In eight games he has an interception, a forced fumble and has allowed a QB rating of 52.3.
Xavier Worthy, WR, Kansas City
The speedy receiver from Texas has been just what the AFC West leading Chiefs needed. He’s caught just 24 passes for 307 yards and four touchdowns, but he’s second on the team in yards and catches and first in touchdowns. He also has two rushing touchdowns.
