These are the top 10 impact rookies after eight weeks of the NFL season.
10. Jerod Mayo (NE), linebacker
Mayo has stepped right into a depleted Patriot’s defense and has not disappointed. He leads the team with 48 tackles, 38 of them solo tackles.
9. Antoine Cason (SD), cornerback
Cason has emerged as the third cornerback behind Quentin Jammer and Antonio Cromartie. He is fifth on the team with 36 tackles, and has one interception and five pass breakups.
8. Felix Jones (DAL), tailback
Jones started off fast by scoring a touchdown in each of the Cowboy’s first three games. He averages a whopping 8.9 yards a carry. If Jones hadn’t been out the past three weeks with a hamstring injury, I would have him in my top five.
7. Eddie Royal (DEN), wide receiver
Royal has emerged as Jay Cutler’s second favorite target behind Brandon Marshall. He has 39 receptions for 392 yards and two touchdowns. His nine-catch 146-yard performance was his best so far. Opposing defenses have had to really pay attention to Royal since then.
6. Darren McFadden (OAK), running back
Just imagine what he would do if there weren’t three other running backs he was splitting carries with. McFadden leads the team with 341 yards rushing and one touchdown. He’s been bothered by turf toe the past couple of weeks and did not play in this past Sunday’s game.
5. Joe Flacco (BAL), quarterback
While some of you might be scratching your head at this selection, Flacco has led the Ravens to a 4-3 record. The Ravens are only one game behind division-leading Pittsburgh and host the Steelers later in the season. Flacco has improved his game the past couple of weeks and has not turned the ball over. His average quarterback rating the past two weeks is a solid 100.3. If he can continue to limit the interceptions, the Ravens have a shot at making the wildcard, if not winning the division.
Joe Flacco celebrates with teammates after a touchdown. (AP Photo)
4. DeSean Jackson (PHI), wide receiver
Eagles fans came into the season with high hopes for Jackson, but many were skeptical that he could have much of an impact on the offense. Given his lack of size and experience, they figured that he would primarily impact the team as a punt returner. Jackson immediately proved those skeptics wrong by becoming the first Eagles receiver since 1940 to go for 100 yards in each of his first two games. He leads the team with 32 receptions for 505 yards and one touchdown.
3. Matt Forte (CHI), running back
As a Bears fan, I cringed at this pick. I was one of many Bears fans who were thinking, Matt who?? Forte has been better than anyone could have imagined thus far. He has been the featured back since opening week, and while the running production has decreased the past four weeks Forte is a valuable pass-catcher coming out of the backfield. He leads the Bears in receptions, with 29. What I love about Forte is that he doesn’t go down on first-contact (think Cedric Benson). With Forte proving to be such a threat running the ball the first three weeks, defenses have had to respect the play-action pass which has opened up a lot more downfield for Kyle Orton the past few weeks. If Forte can stay healthy and increase the production in the running game, the Bears will win the NFC North.
2. Matt Ryan (ATL), quarterback
Being a rookie quarterback on a bad football team is an unenviable task, but Ryan has adapted to the role impressively, winning four of his first seven games. He has a quarterback rating of 79.7 and a td/int ratio of 7:5. Even Falcons head coach Mike Smith couldn’t have predicted this much success this soon. Ryan has showed great moxie in the pocket and has come up big in clutch situations, such as the pass to Michael Jenkins with one second left to get the Falcons in field goal range to beat the Bears.
1. Chris Johnson (TEN), running back
Not a whole lot of people knew about this guy coming into the season, but they sure know abou
t him now. Johnson is fast. Crazy fast. His clocked 40-yard dash time of 4.24 seconds at the NFL combine is the fastest ever, and that speed translates directly to the field, where he and LenDale White have formed one of the league’s best running tandems. He leads the Titans with 549 yards rushing and averages 5.3 yards-per-carry. Johnson is a big reason why the Titans are 7-0 and the only undefeated team in the league.
Chris Johnson carries the ball in the Titans 34-10 win over the Chiefs. (AP Photo)
5 comments:
I really like Flacco, he's fun to watch and has a big arm. He's just got to get his accuracy down. I think given a couple years, he may be an elite NFL quarterback. He just needs time to adapt to the speed of the professional game.
I like the list, but if you're going to include Felix Jones and McFadden you have to mention Steve Slaton. He's probably been the biggest surprise so far given that he was a late 3rd round pick and he got a bad rap for fumbling problems and lack of size in college.
Slaton was considered but he just missed my top 10.
Maybe that's because the Texans are one of the worst teams in the league.
When I first saw you had Matt Ryan second, I thought you were crazy. I thought he should have been first. Then you reminded me about Johnson. Good call.
Although I wouldn't put Forte up that high. He's scoring, but over his last four games he hasn't rushed for more than 76 yards. I think you should come back to this list toward the end of the season and see where everyone stands.
Forte probably shouldn't be in the top-3, but he's definitely in the top-5 and above McFadden.
I think Mayo's much too low, though. I've watched him a couple times and he reminds me of Urlacher when he was a rookie. And Mayo seems to be really smart, given that he's playing in the Pats defense.
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