With the NFL season nearing its end, questions begin to arise about the league’s rookies of the year. This year’s NFL season has been a historic one, and not for some of the reasons you may think. First of all, injuries have easily been the biggest story of the year. Whether it’s been torn ACLs, blown achilles’, concussions etc. this season has been marked by its endless injuries. There have also been numerous trades revolving around some of the league’s biggest wide receiver names.
It started with Davante Adams leaving the Las Vegas Raiders to join his old quarterback Aaron Rodgers on the New York Jets. Only hours after Amari Cooper was traded to the Buffalo Bills from the Cleveland Browns to help give Josh Allen some more offensive weapons. DeAndre Hopkins to the Kansas City Chiefs and Diontae Johnson to the Baltimore Ravens occurred just weeks later, capping off the big wide receiver trades. The last marking of this season, and undoubtedly the most significant, has been the performances of the rookies. On both sides of the ball in every position, rookies have taken this league by storm. Whether it’s Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders or Cooper DeJean of the Philadelphia Eagles, this young generation of NFL stars is one to pay attention to in the upcoming seasons.
Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix are the two big names that stand out when it comes to the offensive award. Both quarterbacks have led their teams to incredibly unexpected 8-5 records giving both the Commanders and Broncos great chances to make the playoffs. While their passing stats are similar, Nix holds the slight advantage with about 20 more yards and 2 more touchdowns. On the other hand, Daniels exceeds Nix on the rushing side of the ball with over 300 more yards and 2 more touchdowns.
Another huge name to consider is Brock Bowers who has solidified himself as an undoubtable top 10 tight end in the NFL solely after 13 games. His stats have been off the charts with nearly 900 yards and 4 touchdowns while also leading the league in total receptions with 84. Caleb Williams and Drake Maye are two other quarterbacks who make a very strong case for themselves to win the award as well. Williams is currently just under 3,000 total scrimmage yards with 14 total touchdowns while Maye has a little over 2,000 scrimmage yards and 12 touchdowns in almost half the amount of games. Wide receivers Ladd McConkey, Malik Nabers, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Brian Thomas Jr. have also all been excellent making this race for the OROY an exciting one.
On the defensive side of the ball, the current race is a battle of only two teams. Jared Verse and Braden Fiske of the Los Angeles Rams have completely rebuilded the Rams defensive lines into one of the best in the league. The Philadelphia Eagles on the other hand have cornerbacks, Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell who have made this Philly secondary a young and stellar one. The Eagles currently have a 10-2 record, the second best in the NFC and have a huge case for the number one seed in this conference. The Rams are only 6-6 and struggling to find a playoff spot with the season closing. With team success being a major role in the DROY award, it will be very intriguing to see if the league awards the players with slightly better stats in Verse and Fiske, or if they turn to the young corners in Mitchell and DeJean who have led this Eagles secondary all year and have been winning with ease.
