Each year the NFL gets a new batch of rookies; many through the draft and then many more that are undrafted free agents. There are the big name first round picks such as Cam Newton and Von Miller and then there are the lesser known, late round picks, such as Jermale Hines who is a Safety out Ohio State who was drafted by the Rams in the fifth round. Yes, I had to dig deep to find that name. Each year the NFL draft includes 7 rounds and normally each team gets at least one pick that round, barring any draft pick trades and such. That means there are approximately 224 players drafted each year. Obviously not all of these rookies make the team and many start out on the practice squad, but then we have those that do make the team, end up in the starting lineup at some point that first year and quickly become household names. There have been many notable draft selections in recent years including the #1 pick in 2007 Adrian Peterson who has been a force from day one in the league. On the complete opposite end of the draft board we have Marque Colston, also known as Mr. Irrelevant, who was drafted with the 252nd pick of the 2006 draft by the New Orleans Saints. Colston has been impressive from the get go as well. He quickly become a starter for the Saints and with Drew Brees throwing the ball to him, he has become a regular early round pickup in many fantasy football leagues. There have also been many big draft picks that turned sour very quickly including Maurice Clarett, the third round pick by the Broncos in 2005, who now happens to be a first round pick for most jailhouse football games. Everyone knows about David Carr, the 11th overall pick in the 2002 draft by the Houston Texas. If you’re wondering about his current whereabouts, he is the one leaning over to pick Eli Manning up off the ground after he gets throttled by the Packers this week. This list of draft duds could go on for many pages but that is not why you are here. We are here to break down the 2011 NFL draft and get an idea of who has earned their paychecks so far and who is just hoping to keep their paycheck next week. Let’s start at the top with the first pick this year, Cam Newton. Even the average football fan has most likely heard of the stats that this guy is putting up so far…well all stats not based on wins. Cam, thru 13 weeks, has 239 completions for a total of 3,093 yards. That is good for 7th in the league and is in front of names such as Ben Roethlisberger, Tony Romo, and Matt Ryan. Not too bad for a rookie QB in the NFL, but it his work on the ground that has been most impressive. So far this season, he has carried the ball 86 times for a total of 456 yards. That does not sound too great but when you consider that he is averaging 5.4 yards per carry, you realize how impressive it is for a QB, much less a rookie. You would imagine that for all the running he has done he has probably scored a few touchdowns as well and yes you would be absolutely correct. He has rushed for a whopping 10 TDs so far with is third in the league…out of EVERYONE. The only two people ahead of him in that department are LeSean, “I have four capital letters in my name,” McCoy and Adrian Peterson, no surprise there. With McCoy having already played this week and Peterson out for the game against Denver Sunday, Cam may even catch those two this week. If you’re looking for a rookie QB that has been performing well AND winning then look no further that the red headed Horned Frog leading Cincinnati’s reemergence. Andy Dalton has been the starter from day one for the Bengals, thanks in large part to Carson Palmer waking up and realizing he was still living in Ohio when he could be living in Cali. Dalton has put up a very respectable 2,509 yards passing and has 16 TD passes but more importantly he has his Bengals team at a very impressive 7-4, two losses to Baltimore and Pittsburg both decided by less than one score, and is in the thick of the AFC playoff race. You can not say the same for the Cam’s Panthers team with its 3-8 record. In Cam’s defense, his defense has not played very well and they were very close to knocking off the Packers and several other high profile teams. Did I mention that Dalton was not even the Bengals first pick this season? That honor would go to AJ Green who was taken with the 4th overall pick this season. Green has also been one of those impressive rookie players on the offensive side of the ball this season. He has 44 receptions for 735 yards and nearly 17 yards per catch. He has also converted 6 of those catches into touchdowns for the Bengals.
Now let’s get a bit defensive. The obvious choice for defensive rookie of the year has to be the Broncos OLB Von Miller, taken second overall in this year’s draft. Through 13 weeks, Miller has an outstanding 10.5 sacks which is tied for 4th in the league and only DeMarcus Ware, Jared Allen, and Jason Babin have more sacks. That is some pretty scary company to be in. Miller has also forced 2 fumbles and has helped the Broncos defense become one of the best in the league this year. This monster will be seen in many quarterback’s nightmares for years to come. The 5th overall pick in this year’s draft was Patrick Peterson out of LSU. The Cardinals have been blessed to have this man returning punts for them this year and he has quickly become a force. He averages just over 18 yards per return and has a league leading 4 TD’s. To put that into perspective a little, Devin Hester only has two TDs from punt returns. We can’t look at all the great rookie performances without throwing in some of the high profile picks that have been less than impressive so far. The Lions first round pick Nick Fairley, who dominated quarterbacks at the college level, was supposed to come in and instantly help the Lions defense. Due to injuries, however, he has only played in six games and only has 6 total tackles to his name. We won’t call him a dud yet but he has a lot to prove over the last 5 weeks if he wants to show he was worth the first round selection. Looking further down the draft order we see a couple of quarterbacks that were taken early and have yet to really produce. Blaine Gabbert, the starter for the Jaguars, has failed to get the job done so far and was even benched this past Sunday against the Texas. Colin Kaepernick…don’t know who that is? Taken with the 4th pick in round 2 by the 49ers, Colin has worn a baseball cap on the sideline more than he has worn his own helmet. It is not all his fault. Alex Smith is having a pretty decent year and San Fran only has two losses so it would be ridiculous to think anyone else besides Smith should be starting.
We still have a lot to learn from the 2011 draft class but so far it has been filled with many players destined to be stars and many other players who may soon be bagging groceries at the local 7-11. One thing we do know for sure, with the incredibly reduced rookie payroll, all teams are getting their money's worth from their rookie starters.- Edward Jennings
