OFFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Brian Thomas Jr. - WR / JAX
The injury to starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence was supposed to take a bite out of the production of the Jaguars first round pick, in theory. Think again. In the five games Lawrence has been on the sideline, Thomas has caught 36 passes for 417 yards and four touchdowns. This is the sign of a big time NFL receiver and do not allow the fact he was the fourth receiver taken cloud your vision. Here is the final blurb from my final scouting report on him last spring: “Thomas can be a true number one”.
He stayed red hot in week 16, finishing second in the NFL with nine catches and fourth league wide with 132 yards. He scored his fourth touchdown in as many weeks on a 62-yarder. He now leads the NFL with five 55+ yard touchdowns and is the first rookie to pass the 1,000 yard mark.
DEFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Marist Liufau – LB / DAL
The injury to breakout star DeMarvion Overshown has been tough to swallow for Dallas. He was morphing into the leader of that defense and a true playmaker. Where one door closes, another opens. Liufau has been lights out the past two weeks with spurts of quality tape prior to. He took things to another level against Tampa Bay Sunday night.
Liufau helped control the inside running game, finishing with five tackles. His length and power helped him control blockers and clog up the running lanes. Liufau broke up a pass, forced a fumble for the second straight week, and pressured Baker Mayfield four times in the second half alone. The upset victory over the first play Bucs was came largely from unexpected heroes like Liufau, a guy that can impact the game all three downs in all three phases.
QB
Jayden Daniels / WAS (Round 1)
5 Touchdowns in a come from behind victory.
Honorable Mention: Caleb Williams (CHI)
RB
Bucky Irving / TB (Round 4)
Led rookies in total yards and broken tackles yet again.
Honorable Mention: Tyrone Tracy / NYG
WR
Brian Thomas / JAX (Round 1)
Broke 100 yards for the second straight week and leads all rookies with 1,088 yards on the year
Honorable Mention: Ladd McConkey / LAC
TE
Brock Bowers / LV (Round 1)
Finished with double digit catches for the fourth time this year and is the only TE league wide with over 100 receptions this season
Honorable Mention: AJ Barner (SEA)
OT
Roger Rosengarten / BAL (Round 2)
2nd straight week – another clean, sackless performance this time against PIT
Honorable Mention: Brandon Coleman (WAS)
OG/OC
Cooper Beebe / DAL (Round 3)
Had one of the toughest matchups in the league week 16 – helped keep Cooper Rush clean up middle en route to upset win
Honorable Mention: Graham Barton (TB)
ED
Jared Verse / LAR (Round 1)
4 pressures but continues to be a big time presence against run – 5 tackles and a TFL – 5th in 3 weeks
Honorable Mention: Chop Robinson (MIA)
DT
Michael Hall Jr. / CLE (Round 2)
First career sack and had 2 run stuffs inside their own 5-yard line on consecutive fourth quarter plays
Honorable Mention: Maason Smith (JAX)
LB
Marist Liufau / DAL (Round 3)
Production found all over the stat sheet
Honorable Mention:
CB
Kamari Lassiter / HOU (Round 2)
Allowed just 50% of passes to be completed and had 2 pass break ups
Honorable Mention:
S
Cooper DeJean / PHI (Round 2)
4 tackles and a forced fumble
Honorable Mention: