Ten weeks into the NFL season and here are the top rookies after Week 10.
Devon Witherspoon, Seahawks, CB
When you think Seattle Seahawks you immediately think “Legion of Boom” from the Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas years. With those players all retired now, there’s a new group looking to continue that trend of elite defensive back play in the Pacific Northwest. Witherspoon, the former Illinois standout, has looked the part since training camp, and thus far this season he looks eerily reminiscent of Sherman, a former All-Pro.
Playing alongside another talented corner in Tariq Woolen and safeties Julian Love and Jamal Adams, Witherspoon has flourished. In fact, he’s been so good that many weeks Witherspoon is lined against the opposing team’s best. Spoon is one of 16 players to be targeted at least 50 times this season, and he also has the lowest yards-per-target-attempt at (5.4) in the league. In a Week 4 24-3 win over the New York Giants, Witherspoon became the first rookie since Niners star Nick Bosa to record an interception and two sacks in a game.
“I never thought he wouldn’t play like this,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said of his prized rookie after that game. “This is why we took him.”
C.J Stroud, Texans, QB
The dynamic rookie QB of the surprising 5-4 Texans continues to do things weekly that no one could’ve imagined in his rookie season. The latest was out-dueling Cincinnati Bengals signal-caller Joe Burrow and beating him in his backyard. Each week the former Ohio State star has risen to the occasion and given his team a chance to win.
Thus far this season he broke the rookie single game passing yards mark with 470 yards and five touchdowns in a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In Sunday’s 30-27 walk-off win over the Bengals, Stroud led an offensive unit that became the first to have a 350-yard passer, 150-yard rusher and 150-yard receiver since the 1998 Peyton Manning-led Indianapolis Colts did so.
Texans first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans knows he has a good one at QB and told the media so in his postgame interview following Sunday’s win.
“The thing about C.J. is it’s the calm in the chaos,” Ryans said. “He doesn’t waiver. He’s confident that he’s going to make plays, and the moment isn’t too big for him.
Stroud’s 16 touchdowns and just two interceptions after nine weeks speak volumes to that statement.
Jalen Carter, Eagles, DL
Each time Carter steps on the field his impact is felt, and that’s no different than what he did at Georgia. The dominant and very versatile defensive lineman gives the Eagles’ already vaunted pass rush another component because of the push he gives from the interior as a pass rusher. Carter is the highest-graded rookie interior lineman thus far this season, and his grade ranks higher than future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald’s rookie season of 2014.
Eagles defensive coordinator Sean Dasai calls Carter “a sponge.”
Puka Nacua, Rams, WR
Nacua burst onto the scene with All-Pro and former Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp sidelined to begin the season. The former Stanford Cardinal wideout was the team’s primary target the first four weeks of the season, and he ate weekly. The first four weeks of the season he had 39 receptions for 501 yards. Since the return of Kupp, Nacua’s production has dipped a bit, but he’s still got 25 receptions for 326 and two touchdowns.
For the season he’s got 64 receptions for 827 yards. He’s been such a find that he made Van Jefferson expendable, as the Rams moved on from the former second-round pick earlier this season.
Byron Young, Rams, OLB
With the loss of pass rusher Leonard Floyd in free agency, head coach Sean McVay was searching for someone to step in. That’s where Young, the talented rookie from Tennessee, has filled in nicely. The speedy edge rusher has tallied five sacks, the most of any rookie. His 37 pressures also lead all rookies, but it’s his ability to play the run that’s been so surprising. Having forced two fumbles in the past two weeks, Young is starting to show the playmaking ability he often displayed in Knoxville.
