Surveying the Rookie Class, Post-Week 2

NFL Week 3 Rookie Rankings: Surveying Rookie Class, Post-Week 2By Ian Wharton Sep 23, 2015Joe Robbins/Getty Images The second week of the NFL season has concluded, meaning we’re already one-eighth of the way through the 17-week campaign. That’s a miniscule sample to really gather strong conclusions on what 2015 will have in store for this class of rookies. Our weekly rookie rankings have undergone some major changes after our first exposure to the first-year batch of players.Throughout the season, I’ll be tracking which rookies stand out above their peers with weekly rankings of the NFL’s rookie class. Each week, the top five NFL newcomers at each position, and top 50 overall, will be highlighted.Over the course of the season, rankings will be determined based upon which rookies have had the best performance and production for the regular season as a whole. High draft picks won’t be given places on the rankings simply based upon their hype coming into the league—they’ll have to prove on the field that they belong.For this week’s rankings, we take a look at which players performed best in Week 1 and showed they have the talent to survive in the NFL. Consideration has been given to where each rookie stands on his team’s depth chart, but the rankings aim to reflect how each player has performed thus far moreso than what the expectations are.Our Week 1 rankings are now very outdated, as Week featured several eye-popping performances. The volatile nature of the NFL to base these rankings must be considered as well. The players listed in the following slides, nonetheless, are the ones who stood out the most during the first two weeks of football.Top 50 OverallEd Zurga/Associated Press As the season progresses, we will track which players are moving up or down the board after having good or bad games. For this week, the listed movement may be somewhat significant, based on playing time given to each rookie. The few rookies who really stood out will be catapulted higher on the top-50 overall list.There are some high draft picks who have yet to make their presence felt, holding them out of the top-50. Conversely, there are some late-round picks and even undrafted rookies who stood out enough this first week to be among the top first-year players.The ebbs and flows of an NFL rookie season can be as dramatic as any in all of professional sports.Standout Week 2 performers like running back Matt Jones and defensive end Henry Anderson are rising up the big board. Arizona Cardinals’ rookie David Johnson is the biggest surprise after his three touchdowns in the first two weeks. He’s proving to be one of the best pure rookie playmakers in the NFL.Top 50 RankingsQuarterbacksJonathan Bachman/Associated Press The big storyline after Week 1 was how well Tennessee Titans’ quarterback Marcus Mariota played in his debut. His perfect passer rating and four touchdown performance won’t be forgotten in the near future. But his Week 2 play does put a small damper on the excitement about his rookie season.Things did not go smoothly for Mariota in Week 2.The Titans couldn’t protect him against a talented Browns’ defense. Mariota’s completion percentage dipped to 56 percent, and he took seven sacks. Although his blocking was subpar, Mariota did not help the situation when he began to hold the ball too long.He also had four fumbles. This is an area that Mariota struggled at Oregon with, so it’s a considerable weakness for him at this time. Putting the ball in that much danger is why he drops to No. 2 this week.On the other hand, Buccaneers’ quarterback Jameis Winston parlayed a bad first week into a much better performance in Week 2. Winston didn’t have to carry as heavy of a load as he did in his first game, and he responded with an efficient, yet effective game. He finished throwing at a 66 percent clip, with one touchdown and zero interceptions.Each quarterback is bound to have ups and downs throughout the season. Since each has had one strong performance and one poor one, our gap between the two is miniscule. But, since Winston was the hot hand this past week, we’ll give him the nod as the top quarterback for now.Offensive TacklesTom Dahlin/Getty Images The rookie offensive tackle class hasn’t been able to hit their stride yet. There were four rookies starting at right tackle in Week 2, and three left tackles. All played pretty poorly in pass protection, sans one. Minnesota Vikings’ right tackle T.J. Clemmings only allowed one quarterback hurry, per Pro Football Focus.Every other rookie tackle allowed more pressure than what is acceptable. Surprisingly, the newcomer to the top-five is an undrafted free agent for the Washington Redskins. Kendall Lamm was a solid run blocker in his first career start, helping running back Matt Jones dominate the Rams.The rest of the rookies really struggled. Titans’ right tackle Jeremiah Poutasi dropped off our list this week after allowing four sacks on Marcus Mariota. Something must change for these rookies, or else we’ll continue to see bad quarterback play across the league.Offensive GuardGeoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports The rookie offensive guards have arguably been the most productive and effective group of any. There are at least five of the seven guards that played in Week 2 that can be considered starter-quality. Considering the lack of depth along offensive lines around the league, the influx of new talent is a positive development.Week 2 was a good showing for the rookie guards. Only two of our top-five this week allowed a sack, Jamil Douglas and Jamon Brown. But each had relatively strong performances outside of that. Each failed to reach the top-three of all guards, but that’s more of a statement about the general strength of the position so far.Lions’ rookie Laken Tomlinson dropped out of the rankings since he did not play last game. The new face was the highest-drafted guard of all in the 2015 draft, Brandon Scherff. Scherff has been a very good run blocker in the first two weeks of the season.SpecialistsGene J. Puskar/Associated Press We only have minor changes in the specialist section this week. The emergence of Tampa Bay kicker Kyle Brindza adds some competition to the mix. But San Francisco 49ers’ punter Bradley Pinion was able to score four touchbacks, keeping him in first place.Miami Dolphins’ kicker Andrew Franks and San Diego Chargers’ kicker Josh Lambo each missed a field goal last week. Since each was well below 50-yards, they’ll have to show they belong in the NFL quickly, or else teams will simply dump them for another option. Kickers that cannot make intermediate field goals consistently do not last long in the NFL.We don’t have an impact return rookie specialist so far. Arizona’s David Johnson would be an option, if he didn’t have a role on offense. But watch out for Dolphins’ kick returner Raheem Mostert. He has the talent to get on this list.For every position....link