This year's class of hyped-up rookies have been performing up to expectations. First-round picks like wide receiver Amari Cooper and running back Todd Gurley are putting up huge numbers, while Leonard Williams and Marcus Peters are wreaking havoc on the opposite side.
Stefon Diggs, Jordan Hicks and the best NFL rookies nobody’s talking about
Amari Cooper and Todd Gurley are getting all the headlines, but less heralded rookies like Stefon Diggs and Jordan Hicks are shining too.
Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Gurley ranks 12th in the league in rushing yards, despite missing the first two games of the season with an injury. Cooper is hitting his stride with the Oakland Raiders, with 519 yards and three touchdowns, the first receiver with 500-plus yards in his first six games since Anquan Boldin did it back in 2003. Williams is a commanding presence up front for a New York Jets defense that ranks second in the league in yards allowed. Peters leads the Chiefs with three picks -- the same number of interceptions veteran cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Aqib Talib have grabbed this year.
But beyond those big names, beyond the rookies who were expected to perform immediately, there are always a few who take the NFL by storm. This year, is no different and a handful of first-year players are standing out.
No one has ever denied Diggs' talent. In high school, he was a five-star recruit who could have attended any blue-blood college program. But he chose to stay home and go to Maryland, where he never had a quarterback who was on his level. Diggs left after his junior season and was drafted in the fifth round, though many believe he would have gone much sooner in the draft if he hadn't had two seasons cut short due to injuries. The Minnesota Vikings were more than happy to snag Diggs with the No. 146 overall pick. He was the 19th receiver off the board, but among rookies he only trails Cooper in receiving yards.
He was inactive for the Vikings' first three games, but he's come on strong in the last three. He caught six passes for 87 yards against the Denver Broncos' No. 1 defense, and then exploded with seven catches for 129 yards in a win against the Kansas City Chiefs. Against the Detroit Lions in his most recent outing, Diggs caught six passes for 108 yards and his first NFL touchdown.
And it was a beauty.
Diggs quickly took the starting role from Charles Johnson and now plays opposite Mike Wallace, who told reporters that Diggs reminds him of Antonio Brown. With that kind of comparison, there are more jaw-dropping catches from Diggs on the way.
Hicks, a third-round pick by the Philadelphia Eagles, wasn't expected to get much playing time initially. But Kiko Alonso and Mychal Kendricks have dealt with injuries this season, and he wound up starting opposite DeMeco Ryans. Fortunately for the Eagles, he didn't just fill in well, he performed far beyond expectations and it will be difficult keeping him off the field going forward.
Ryans missed the team's most recent game against the Carolina Panthers, but Kendricks returned from injury. Hicks wound up starting the game and was one of only two players to play 100 percent of the team's defensive snaps. Kendricks played in 85 percent of the snaps. Hicks has 43 combined tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, three fumble recoveries, an interception and two pass deflections.
It seems like Hicks is just getting starting, and the Eagles would be crazy to take him out of the lineup when everybody is healthy.
Playing behind Marshawn Lynch means you better make the most out of your limited touches, and Rawls, an undrafted running back out of Central Michigan has certainly done that. He has 65 carries on the season, and with them he's put up 366 yards and a touchdown -- that's an average of 5.3 yards per carry. With Lynch out, Rawls ran for 104 yards with a 6.5 yards per carry average against the Chicago Bears and 169 yards with a 7.3 yards per carry average against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Although Lynch returned after the Bengals game and Rawls only had six carries against the San Francisco 49ers in Seattle's last game, the Seahawks rookie clearly has an NFL future ahead of him. He's not a player who will likely be in the running for rookie of the year, especially with a healthy Lynch back in the fold. But the Seahawks now have a reliable backup to turn to when needed.
Anderson may be more under the radar than the rest of them, and the fact that the Colts are not a good team this season can't help his case. But the third-round pick has earned his way into significant playing time and has looked very good for the Colts. He's coming off the bench more and more, and played in 58 percent of defensive snaps for the Colts in their last game, a loss to the New Orleans Saints.
The Colts aren’t losing games due to Anderson’s play, though. The Stanford product has 27 tackles, a sack, two pass deflections and has been credited with six “stuffs” by ESPN. He tracks the ball well, he stops the run as well as anybody on the team and his playing time should only increase from here on.
* * *
At this point, none of these rookies are household names -- yet. Cooper and Gurley are still getting most of the headlines for the class of 2015. But each week, they’re shining a little brighter, reminding the general managers who drafted them that first-round talent can be found in later rounds.
See More:
