Top 10 Rookies this year in the NFL... (1 Viewer)

[The Real Hipster Doofus]

Had an argument with someone the other day on the subject. I said to me Louis Delmas was one of the 10 best rookies so far this season. He said no way. It got me to thinking what would comprise a top 10 list. Not having the NFL package I don't get all the games so I have to rely on what little I see of players and other's opinions.

This is who I think would be in a top 10 based on what I have seen and heard (not just stats but on how they have played overall). In no particular order...

Michael Oher, T, Baltimore

Brian Cushing, LB, Houston

James Laurinaitis, LB, St. Louis

Clay Matthews, LB, Green Bay

Louis Delmas, S, Detroit

Michael Crabtree, WR, San Fran

Hakeem Nicks, WR, NYG

Knowshown Moreno, RB, Denver

Vontae Davis, CB, Miami

Percy Harvin, WR, Minnesota

Who am I missing that deserves to be on the list? Wells? Britt? As I said I don't get to see nearly enough of other teams to make judgements on everyone, that is why I am asking the question.

 

[trader jake]

WAS DL/LB Brian Orakpo and BUF S Jairus Byrd are probably the most glaring omissions.

On offense IND WR Austin Collie, OAK WR Louis Murphy, and CHI WR Johnnie Knox are worth a mention and on defense cases could be made for SEA LB Aaron Curry or DET LB DeAndre Levy being included in the top 10. DET TE Brandon Pettigrew also looked solid before he got hurt and ARI return guy LaRod Stephens-Howling has been surprising.

 

[Mr. Peterson]

I don't even think Delmas is the best rookie saftey this year. Jairus Byrd is leading the league with 9 INT's.

Austin Collie has more catches and TD's than any other rookie WR.

Brian Orakpo is leading all rookie with 11 sacks and should be considered in the conversation.

 

[trader jake]

I don't even think Delmas is the best rookie saftey this year. Jairus Byrd is leading the league with 9 INT's.

Maybe not but I'd say Delmas is safely in the top 10 for rookies this season. He's been a beast on a very poor defense.

 

[The Real Hipster Doofus]

I don't even think Delmas is the best rookie saftey this year. Jairus Byrd is leading the league with 9 INT's.Austin Collie has more catches and TD's than any other rookie WR.Brian Orakpo is leading all rookie with 11 sacks and should be considered in the conversation.

I knew I was missing some big names. As to Collie, while his numbers are very impressive, I don't consider him as being as good as Nicks, Britt, Crabtree, or Harvin. To me he is a niche player. A very good niche player, but that spot on Indy's offense has been known to produce outrageous stats for very average talents.

 

[The Real Hipster Doofus]

I don't even think Delmas is the best rookie saftey this year. Jairus Byrd is leading the league with 9 INT's.

Maybe not but I'd say Delmas is safely in the top 10 for rookies this season. He's been a beast on a very poor defense.

One of the few bright spots for Lions fans to watch. That is for the 5 games that were not blacked out this season.

 

[steelcityman]

Orakpo is up and down, but looks to be a stud in the near future.

Mark Sanchez has the looks, at times, to be a nice QB.

I would have liked to seen Stafford on his feet throwing to CJohns more, but Detriot is very OL limited. Get Stafford, K Smith, CJohns a decent OL, and things could happen there quickly.

Delmas is darn near a sure starter every week. Nice INT + TD play this week. As long as Det is sad, he will produce.

Mike Wallace with Pits is pretty good, makes big plays, and if he progresses in the offseason, and whenever Hines Ward hangs 'em up, Wallace will be a nice target.

 

[Snotbubbles]

LeSean McCoy is having a nice rookie season.

I believe he set the Eagles record for rushing yards by a rookie.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

In order of selection:

1 Detroit Lions Matthew Stafford Quarterback Georgia

11 Washington Redskins Brian Orakpo Defensive end Texas

12 Denver Broncos Knowshon Moreno Running back Georgia

15 Houston Texans Brian Cushing Outside linebacker USC

22 Minnesota Vikings Percy Harvin Wide receiver Florida

23 Baltimore Ravens (from New England) [R1 trade 9] Michael Oher Offensive tackle Ole Miss

33 Detroit Lions Louis Delmas Safety Western Michigan

42 Buffalo Bills Jairus Byrd Cornerback Oregon

58 New England Patriots Sebastian Vollmer Offensive tackle Houston

140 Chicago Bears (from Seattle via Denver) Johnny Knox Wide receiver Abilene Christian

Other nice players:

9 Green Bay Packers B. J. Raji Defensive tackle Boston College

10 San Francisco 49ers Michael Crabtree Wide receiver Texas Tech

13 Buffalo Bills Aaron Maybin Defensive end Penn State

14 New Orleans Saints Malcolm Jenkins Cornerback Ohio State

19 Philadelphia Eagles (from Tampa Bay via Cleveland)[R1 trade 5] [R1 trade 6] Jeremy Maclin Wide receiver Missouri

20 Detroit Lions (from Dallas) Brandon Pettigrew Tight end Oklahoma State

25 Miami Dolphins Vontae Davis Cornerback Illinois

26 Green Bay Packers (from Baltimore via New England) Clay Matthews Outside linebacker USC

29 New York Giants Hakeem Nicks Wide receiver North Carolina

30 Tennessee Titans Kenny Britt Wide receiver Rutgers

31 Arizona Cardinals Chris Wells Running back Ohio State

35 St. Louis Rams James Laurnatis Linebacker Ohio State

50 Cleveland Browns (from Tampa Bay) Rey Maualuga Linebacker USC

51 St Louis Rams (from Dallas) Phil Loadholt Offensive tackle Oklahoma

53 Philadelphia Eagles LeSean McCoy Running back Pittsburgh

61 Miami Dolphins (from Indianapolis) Sean Smith Cornerback Utah

76 Detroit Lions (from New Orleans via New York Jets) DeAndre Levy Outside linebacker Wisconsin

84 Pittsburgh Steelers (from Chicago through Denver) Mike Wallace Wide receiver Ole Miss

108 Miami Dolphins (from Oakland) Brian Hartline Wide receiver Ohio State

124 Oakland Raiders (from New England) Louis Murphy Wide receiver Florida

179 Cincinnati Bengals Morgan Trent Cornerback Michigan

209 Cincinnati Bengals * Bernard Scott Running back Abilene Christian

232 New England Patriots (from Miami via Jacksonville) Julian Edelman Wide receiver Kent State

233 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (from Baltimore) Sammie Stroughter Wide receiver Oregon State

 

[Hendo]

good listings i am pretty sure a lot of teams are regretting skipping over Oher and Beanie Wells(better talent then Moreno imo) right about now

 

[Andy Dufresne]

good listings i am pretty sure a lot of teams are regretting skipping over Oher and Beanie Wells(better talent then Moreno imo) right about now

I said in another thread that as much as I love harvin (first Vikings jersey I've ever purchased) I think they'd have been better off taking Oher.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

good listings i am pretty sure a lot of teams are regretting skipping over Oher and Beanie Wells(better talent then Moreno imo) right about now

I said in another thread that as much as I love harvin (first Vikings jersey I've ever purchased) I think they'd have been better off taking Oher.

John Harbaugh said that Oher's rash of false start penalties are due to him being too good an athlete - something like he's so good that it looks to the officials that he's jumping when the film shows that he's legal & timing it perfectly Regardless, he's gonna be a good one once he really knows what he's doing. He's been fun to watch grow so far. He's got a nasty streak, doesn't give up on plays until the whistle blows (& sometimes not even then), and is a hell of an athlete for a man that size.

 

[Mr. Peterson]

good listings i am pretty sure a lot of teams are regretting skipping over Oher and Beanie Wells(better talent then Moreno imo) right about now

I said in another thread that as much as I love harvin (first Vikings jersey I've ever purchased) I think they'd have been better off taking Oher.

John Harbaugh said that Oher's rash of false start penalties are due to him being too good an athlete - something like he's so good that it looks to the officials that he's jumping when the film shows that he's legal & timing it perfectly Regardless, he's gonna be a good one once he really knows what he's doing. He's been fun to watch grow so far. He's got a nasty streak, doesn't give up on plays until the whistle blows (& sometimes not even then), and is a hell of an athlete for a man that size.

I keep thinking how much better off the Bills would've been if they drafted Oher instead of Maybin. Maybin can't even get on the field for Buffalo and looks to be a complete bust so far. Oher would've been a solid LT for the Bills and would've made a lot more since after trading Peters away.

 

[kneeshooter]

good listings i am pretty sure a lot of teams are regretting skipping over Oher and Beanie Wells(better talent then Moreno imo) right about now

Too early - look back to this time last year. Where would you have ranked Forte/Slaton/ Mendenhall/Rice? Where would you rank them now? Got to give high end talent like Moreno the chance to succeed. You may be right about Wells and Oher but I think it's too soon to tell for sure if Denver is regretting choosing Moreno where they did.

 

[Riffraff]

I don't even think Delmas is the best rookie saftey this year. Jairus Byrd is leading the league with 9 INT's.Austin Collie has more catches and TD's than any other rookie WR.Brian Orakpo is leading all rookie with 11 sacks and should be considered in the conversation.

I knew I was missing some big names. As to Collie, while his numbers are very impressive, I don't consider him as being as good as Nicks, Britt, Crabtree, or Harvin. To me he is a niche player. A very good niche player, but that spot on Indy's offense has been known to produce outrageous stats for very average talents.

Not saying Collie is a Hall of Famer or anything, but he did lead the NCAA in receiving yards last year (over all those other guys mentioned). He has some pedigree for performing at a high level. He's just not hyped as much since he's "just" a possession receiver.

 

[lyon812]

Orakpo

Cushing

Matthews

Harvin

Oher

Delmas

Nicks

Byrd

Webb

Near miss: Wells.

 

[djcolts]

CB Jerraud Powers needs to be mentioned as a top 10 to 20 rookie. The Colts wouldn't be 14-0 if he didn't play well.

 

[Hendo]

good listings i am pretty sure a lot of teams are regretting skipping over Oher and Beanie Wells(better talent then Moreno imo) right about now

Too early - look back to this time last year. Where would you have ranked Forte/Slaton/ Mendenhall/Rice? Where would you rank them now? Got to give high end talent like Moreno the chance to succeed. You may be right about Wells and Oher but I think it's too soon to tell for sure if Denver is regretting choosing Moreno where they did.

your def right.... but i think even the consensus here would agree Wells has the higher ceiling and looks thus far like a horse a team can ride for 4-5 years. A lot of people from what i heard were scared off by the injury history much like some brought that up on Peterson a few years back(not comparing the two). To me personaly Beanie has looked like the best RB to come out of the draft this year and i would say since James Stewart(excluding Peterson/CJ4.24). The opportunities have not been there but hes done extremely well with his chances and has offered some highlight TD reels showing off his power and speed. Again could be wrong but if the draft was held again today not only do i think Oher would not last past the 3rd overall pick but i think Wells would be the first RB selected on draft day. just my humble opinion however

 

[smackthefirst]

good listings i am pretty sure a lot of teams are regretting skipping over Oher and Beanie Wells(better talent then Moreno imo) right about now

I said in another thread that as much as I love harvin (first Vikings jersey I've ever purchased) I think they'd have been better off taking Oher.

John Harbaugh said that Oher's rash of false start penalties are due to him being too good an athlete - something like he's so good that it looks to the officials that he's jumping when the film shows that he's legal & timing it perfectly Regardless, he's gonna be a good one once he really knows what he's doing. He's been fun to watch grow so far. He's got a nasty streak, doesn't give up on plays until the whistle blows (& sometimes not even then), and is a hell of an athlete for a man that size.

I've gotta agree with you on this one. Even though I'm not a Ravens fan directly, I find myself following them relatively close since they are one of the two "local" teams for me. Having said that, the local media has completely eaten Oher up this season. One thing that hasn't been mentioned is Oher's position. Oher started game 1 of the season at RT since the Ravens already had Jared Gaither at LT. Gaither if you recall, stepped in at LT for the Ravens last year when Ogden retired and Gaither did a great job. In week 3 Gaither was injured in the 2nd quarter and Oher moved to LT. For the rest of that week and for the next 2 weeks Oher played the LT spot and neither he nor the Ravens missed a beat offensively. And Oher was able to do this against NE, Cincy, and Minnesota; who are all above average defenses at worst IMO. It's things like that to go along with everything else you've heard about Oher that makes me think he is not only going to end up one of the steals of this draft, but Oher is going to end up one of the best tackles in the NFL for a long time to come.

 

[Clinton]

I can't speak for the rest of the league, but I can speak for the NFC North... Percy Harvin has been the best rook on special teams and O, and Clay Matthews has been the best rook on D. Matthews has been a stud for The Pack all season long.

 

[CataclysmicThunder]

I can't speak for the rest of the league, but I can speak for the NFC North... Percy Harvin has been the best rook on special teams and O, and Clay Matthews has been the best rook on D. Matthews has been a stud for The Pack all season long.

I concur on both counts. I especially admire Matthews, who has been a relentless pass-rushing terror throughout the season and is a perennial Pro Bowler in the making.

 

[theglorydays]

In order of selection:

1 Detroit Lions Matthew Stafford Quarterback Georgia

11 Washington Redskins Brian Orakpo Defensive end Texas

12 Denver Broncos Knowshon Moreno Running back Georgia

15 Houston Texans Brian Cushing Outside linebacker USC

22 Minnesota Vikings Percy Harvin Wide receiver Florida

23 Baltimore Ravens (from New England) [R1 trade 9] Michael Oher Offensive tackle Ole Miss

33 Detroit Lions Louis Delmas Safety Western Michigan

42 Buffalo Bills Jairus Byrd Cornerback Oregon

58 New England Patriots Sebastian Vollmer Offensive tackle Houston

140 Chicago Bears (from Seattle via Denver) Johnny Knox Wide receiver Abilene Christian

Other nice players:

9 Green Bay Packers B. J. Raji Defensive tackle Boston College

10 San Francisco 49ers Michael Crabtree Wide receiver Texas Tech

13 Buffalo Bills Aaron Maybin Defensive end Penn State

14 New Orleans Saints Malcolm Jenkins Cornerback Ohio State

19 Philadelphia Eagles (from Tampa Bay via Cleveland)[R1 trade 5] [R1 trade 6] Jeremy Maclin Wide receiver Missouri

20 Detroit Lions (from Dallas) Brandon Pettigrew Tight end Oklahoma State

25 Miami Dolphins Vontae Davis Cornerback Illinois

26 Green Bay Packers (from Baltimore via New England) Clay Matthews Outside linebacker USC

29 New York Giants Hakeem Nicks Wide receiver North Carolina

30 Tennessee Titans Kenny Britt Wide receiver Rutgers

31 Arizona Cardinals Chris Wells Running back Ohio State

35 St. Louis Rams James Laurnatis Linebacker Ohio State

50 Cleveland Browns (from Tampa Bay) Rey Maualuga Linebacker USC

51 St Louis Rams (from Dallas) Phil Loadholt Offensive tackle Oklahoma

53 Philadelphia Eagles LeSean McCoy Running back Pittsburgh

61 Miami Dolphins (from Indianapolis) Sean Smith Cornerback Utah

76 Detroit Lions (from New Orleans via New York Jets) DeAndre Levy Outside linebacker Wisconsin

84 Pittsburgh Steelers (from Chicago through Denver) Mike Wallace Wide receiver Ole Miss

108 Miami Dolphins (from Oakland) Brian Hartline Wide receiver Ohio State

124 Oakland Raiders (from New England) Louis Murphy Wide receiver Florida

179 Cincinnati Bengals Morgan Trent Cornerback Michigan

209 Cincinnati Bengals * Bernard Scott Running back Abilene Christian

232 New England Patriots (from Miami via Jacksonville) Julian Edelman Wide receiver Kent State

233 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (from Baltimore) Sammie Stroughter Wide receiver Oregon State

Maybin hasn't done anything this year. He isn't a nice player, he is on his way to bustville. I'm so pissed the Bills drafted this guy. I didn't like him before the draft and he hasn't done a damn thing to prove me wrong. He is very young but i just haven't seen any flashes to tell me that i should give him a few more years.Moreno really hasn't impressed me much either. He doesn't seem like an elite talent to me and he has been average/below average all year long. He has been consistantly outperformed by a career backup coming off of yet another knee injury.

 

[Sheriff66]

Harvin - 49 catches 691 yards 6TDs 14.1 YPC

Wallace - 34 catches 609 yards 5 TDs 17.9 YPC

I'm going to hear the 2 KR TDs arguement, but Wallace is every bit as good if not better than Harvin as a reciver and is not called upon to return kicks, which he can do as well.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

In order of selection:

13 Buffalo Bills Aaron Maybin Defensive end Penn State

Maybin hasn't done anything this year. He isn't a nice player, he is on his way to bustville. I'm so pissed the Bills drafted this guy. I didn't like him before the draft and he hasn't done a damn thing to prove me wrong. He is very young but i just haven't seen any flashes to tell me that i should give him a few more years.

Not sure how he snuck in there. I didn't intend for him to be included.

I thought it was a bad draft pick when it was made and his performance this year has proven that out.

 

[FUBAR]

Harvin - 49 catches 691 yards 6TDs 14.1 YPCWallace - 34 catches 609 yards 5 TDs 17.9 YPCI'm going to hear the 2 KR TDs arguement, but Wallace is every bit as good if not better than Harvin as a reciver and is not called upon to return kicks, which he can do as well.

they're clearly different style players but Wallace has done extremely well, much better than I thought he would and he's a reason I dealt Holmes a few weeks back. The only OL I can attest to being one of the top 10 rookies is Oher, not saying others aren't, but if I ranked them as such it would only be through hearsay. OherCushingMatthewsByrdDelmasBrittHarvinWallaceMaclinSanchezSuccop My rankings look too FF friendly with 4 WRs in there but all 4 have impressed me a lot this year.

 

[Steelfan7]

C Mack of the Browns I believe has been a solid starter all season.

 

[thriftyrocker]

Harvin - 49 catches 691 yards 6TDs 14.1 YPCWallace - 34 catches 609 yards 5 TDs 17.9 YPCI'm going to hear the 2 KR TDs arguement, but Wallace is every bit as good if not better than Harvin as a reciver and is not called upon to return kicks, which he can do as well.

I definitely respect Wallace, but one important differenceYACHarvin: 5.9Wallace: 3.4