We’re nearly halfway through the NFL season, so it’s the perfect time to take a look at the 2024 draft class and evaluate which rookies are already standing out. Several of the players here on our midseason All-Rookie squad aren’t just performing well relative to their age and experience—they’re already some of the better players in the league. Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels is the clear early star of this class and is a legitimate MVP candidate through eight weeks, but players like Chargers offensive tackle Joe Alt, Rams edge rusher Jared Verse, Titans defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat, Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr., and Raiders tight end Brock Bowers have already shown that they can compete at a high level and may contribute to changing the trajectory of the franchises that drafted them in April.
Now, on to the list.
Quarterback: Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders
I can’t recall a rookie quarterback, not even C.J. Stroud, who quieted most of his predraft critiques as quickly as Jayden Daniels. In just eight games, Daniels has shown a poise in the pocket and a response to pressure that wasn’t always evident in his college career at both Arizona State and Louisiana State, and he’s been almost solely responsible for Washington’s 6-2 record to open this NFL season. His speed and change-of-direction skills make him a nightmare for pass rushers, and he’s becoming nearly impossible to blitz. Daniels leads the rookie quarterback class in passer rating and yards per attempt, and he’s avoided negative plays like sacks and turnovers in a way his peers haven’t. Washington’s offensive scheme and Kliff Kingsbury’s play calling has put Daniels in the best position to maximize his unique play style, and while his early success has not been based on ruthless efficiency in the dropback passing game, he’s on pace for putting together one of the most productive rookie campaigns we’ve ever seen.
Honorable mentions: Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears; Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
Wide Receiver: Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars; Malik Nabers, New York Giants; Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals
If it weren’t so obvious that Daniels is on pace to win Offensive Rookie of the Year, I think Thomas would have the next best case. He leads all rookie pass catchers in receiving yards and is tied for the lead in touchdowns, and he has often looked like the only receiver on his team with any juice—despite playing with several experienced (and expensive) teammates. Thomas has the best top-end speed of any receiver in his class, and he’s quickly learned the route tree to fully operate in Jacksonville’s offense. The Jaguars are already moving him around the field to create mismatches. Still, the biggest development in his game has been his ability to pick up yards after the catch, and he’s turned several routine receptions into long gains.
Nabers, too, has quickly become the best player in New York’s offense. Nabers has more targets than any rookie (and is second among all receivers), and he’s third in his class in receiving yards. The Giants’ Week 4 game against the Cowboys encapsulated the way the Giants have come to rely on him through the first half of his season. He finished that game with 15 targets and likely would have had 20 had he not left the game with a concussion. Nabers is shifty, plays the ball in the air at a high level, and he can play inside or out.
Finally, this was essentially a coin flip between Harrison and Buffalo’s Keon Coleman for the third spot. Both players have run hot and cold in the first half of the season, and neither has emerged yet as his team’s true WR1. In both cases, their respective offenses aren’t frequently asking them to beat tight coverage on the perimeter, and that’s allowing both to blossom within the scheme. While there’s been nothing wrong with either player’s production (with a combined eight touchdowns and 807 receiving yards between them), I think we’ll see major breakouts in the second half of the season from both players.
Honorable mention: Keon Coleman, Buffalo Bills
Tight End: Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
There isn’t much competition here for Bowers, and the gap between him and his draft classmates only stands to widen now that the Raiders have traded away receiver Davante Adams, making Bowers the no. 1 option on his team. Bowers is second in targets among all rookie pass catchers, and he’s within arm’s reach of the lead in receiving yards. The Raiders are lining up Bowers in the slot and out on the perimeter, and he’s created more yards after the catch than any rookie.
It’s almost like he was the best offensive playmaker in the 2024 draft and should have been taken in the top 10. It seems too many teams were overly concerned about positional value and taking a tight end that high. So Las Vegas fell backwards into not just an instant star, but a player that is already tracking toward being among the best players at his position while still on his rookie contract.
Honorable mention: Erick All, Cincinnati Bengals
Running Back: Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It was tough to pick a running back for this All-Rookie squad because there haven’t been many standout performances through the first half of the season, let alone any rookies who are operating as their team’s lead back. So Irving’s total production earned him this spot. He’s second among all rookies in total yards from scrimmage and is likely to receive more touches with receivers Chris Godwin and Mike Evans out. Irving’s best plays to this point have come most often on gadget runs, things like jet sweeps and misdirection plays, but he has legitimate burst to get to the edge and complements veteran teammate Rachaad White. He lacks the top-end speed necessary to be a game-breaking back, but his versatile skill set will make him valuable for a long time.
Honorable mention: Tyrone Tracy Jr., New York Giants
Offensive Tackle: Joe Alt, Los Angeles Chargers; Amarius Mims, Cincinnati Bengals
Offensive Guard: Dominick Puni, San Francisco 49ers; Mason McCormick, Pittsburgh Steelers
Center: Graham Barton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
This has been a great year for young starters along the offensive line. Alt all but solidified his spot on this list the moment the Chargers’ Week 1 game against Las Vegas ended, after he totally erased Maxx Crosby. Mims has been ahead of his developmental curve at tackle and should be a foundational piece in Cincinnati as it moves into a new era. I’d argue that Puni is already on track to be San Francisco’s best interior lineman, while McCormick has been solid up front for the Steelers. Barton has been an instant plus starter at center in Tampa Bay. The future of the position will be in good hands if this group stays healthy and continues to develop.
Honorable mentions: Tyler Guyton, Dallas Cowboys; JC Latham, Tennessee Titans; Cooper Beebe, Dallas Cowboys; Jackson Powers-Johnson, Las Vegas Raiders
Defensive Tackle: T’Vondre Sweat, Tennessee Titans; Braden Fiske, Los Angeles Rams
Sweat has already become one of the 10 most valuable interior defensive linemen in the NFL, though his individual greatness is being lost in Tennessee’s overall struggles. When Sweat is on the field for the Titans, their 66.7 percent success rate against the run would tie the Ravens and Chargers at fourth-best in the NFL. Sweat has yet to exert the same pocket-pushing dominance as a pass rusher as he did at the University of Texas, but he’s giving the Titans defense plenty of value—especially as a second-round pick.
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Fiske and rookie teammate Jared Verse (more on him in a minute) are both ahead of the curve as productive players on the Rams’ defensive front. The Rams have their issues stopping the run, and Fiske isn’t necessarily the kind of player who is an immediate fix for those problems because of his relatively smaller size (he’s “just” 291 pounds) and style, but he does already have two tackles for loss and a sack, and his 21 total pressures are second only to Verse among all rookie defenders.
Honorable mention: Byron Murphy II, Seattle Seahawks
Edge: Jared Verse, Los Angeles Rams; Laiatu Latu, Indianapolis Colts
Verse is proof that searching for a prospect with a refined pass-rushing skill set is not nearly as important as simply taking swings in the draft on abnormally fast and strong players. Verse isn’t winning his matchups with meticulous hand fighting or the kinds of moves you see players working on in the offseason; he just understands how to convert his speed into power, and he rushes the passer with impressive effort. Verse is tied for the lead among rookies in sacks and is first in total pressures through eight weeks, and his motor is just as present when he’s asked to set the edge against the run. He’s not quite as good as Houston’s Will Anderson Jr. was by the end of last season, but Verse is clearly establishing that he’s going to be one of the league’s better young pass rushers.
This praise for Verse should not come as a slight to Latu in any way, because I’m greatly impressed by the repertoire of pass-rush moves Latu has shown for the Colts—especially given his smaller size. Latu hasn’t been as consistently productive as Verse snap-to-snap. I consider a 12-percent pressure rate as a baseline for quality production, and he’s fallen below that (he’s at 9.9 percent), but he has a knack for winning his matchups with finesse in a way that’s impressive for a rookie.
Honorable mention: Jonah Elliss, Denver Broncos
Linebacker: Payton Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers; Edgerrin Cooper, Green Bay Packers
As a linebacker snob, it pains me to see young players struggle at the position, especially over the past half decade. Of this rookie class of inside backers, Wilson and Cooper have been the most productive (and the two who’ve played the most, frankly), but you can still see the direct connection between their unrefined feel for the pro game and their lack of production as run defenders. Wilson is a phenomenal athlete and proved as much at the NFL scouting combine, but he hasn’t shown he’s able to consistently play with the physicality and pace that are necessary at this level. Cooper has had similar challenges in Green Bay, but I’d argue that the Packers have been able to work around some of his limitations by lining him up on the edge or sending him as a blitzer. In Pittsburgh, Wilson spends basically all his time off the ball. In time, their football IQs will catch up to their athletic traits and they’ll be more impactful, but they are not there quite yet.
Honorable mentions: Trevin Wallace, Carolina Panthers; Junior Colson, Los Angeles Chargers
Cornerback: Quinyon Mitchell, Philadelphia Eagles; Kamari Lassiter, Houston Texans; Beanie Bishop, Pittsburgh Steelers
Philadelphia made plenty of mistakes last offseason, leaving some major holes in an already top-heavy roster, but through eight weeks of the season it’s clear that general manager Howie Roseman nailed his first few picks of the 2024 draft, particularly defensive backs Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, whom the Eagles selected in the first and second rounds, respectively. Mitchell has seen a lot of action; he’s been targeted more than any rookie corner according to Next Gen Stats, but he’s handling the difficult responsibility of being in Vic Fangio’s defensive scheme well and has had multiple opportunities to force turnovers that he hasn’t quite capitalized on. You can see his quick-twitch ability and aggressive play style on tape, and as he learns more about the game from Fangio I’m optimistic that it will lead to even more production when it comes to interceptions.
Lassiter meets every archetype of a physical and fearless no. 2 corner, and fits perfectly in DeMeco Ryans’s scheme opposite Derek Stingley Jr., the team’s top corner. Lassiter’s technique is still a little raw, but he’s been great at disrupting receivers at the line of scrimmage and breaking up passes when he’s targeted. If Lassiter can turn his deflections into interceptions, it changes his trajectory from a good complementary player into a great one without any qualifiers.
Honorable mentions: Cooper DeJean, Philadelphia Eagles; Terrion Arnold, Detroit Lions; Nate Wiggins, Baltimore Ravens.
Safety: Calen Bullock, Houston Texans; Malik Mustapha, San Francisco 49ers
Bullock and Mustapha couldn’t be more different from each other in terms of play style. You might remember Mustapha landing on the wrong end of a Patrick Mahomes highlight this season, but in general he’s been a punisher in the run game for San Francisco and is proving to be strong as a tackler on the perimeter of the defense. Mustapha has performed so well in the absence of safety Talanoa Hufanga that it’s fair to wonder how San Francisco will manage the distribution of snaps and roles when Hufanga returns from injury. Mustapha has had just one interception this year and hasn’t been productive on the ball while in coverage (and that’s been missing in his game since he was at Wake Forest), but I think he can transition into being a slot player and be even more effective when playing closer to the line of scrimmage.
Bullock is more of a prototypical free safety. You won’t see him lighting up a receiver or running back, but if a quarterback leaves the ball hanging in the air long enough, Bullock has a knack for coming down with an interception, and that’s a skill he’s had going back to his time at USC. Bullock already has three picks this season, and his coverage skills seem to improve every week. Best of all for Houston, he was one of the youngest prospects in his draft class (he just turned 21 in April), so his developmental trajectory is as good as any rookie defender, if not better.
Honorable mention: Tyler Nubin, New York Giants
