Every NFL team's most impressive rookie so far

This was an easy one despite the fact the Cardinals have a few rookies making an impact on their roster. Murray has gone through some growing pains, but that’s to be expected, and he’s shown flashes of real brilliance. Over the last five games, he has eight touchdowns and only one interception.

The Falcons are one of the few teams that have been missing their first overall pick pretty much since the start of the regular season. Fortunately for Atlanta, the organization traded up for a second first-rounder and selected McGary, who’s become the team’s starting right tackle. McGary has played every snap since Week 3.

Brown burst onto the scene with four catches for 147 yards and two touchdowns in his NFL debut during Week 1. He hasn’t posted even 90 yards in a game since then, but Brown has still been one of the best rookie receivers through 10 weeks. He has 28 catches for 454 yards and four touchdowns.

It’s too early to call first-round Ed Oliver a bust or even a disappointment, but he lost his starting job after seven games. Coming from a Group 5 school and lacking natural size for an inside defensive lineman, Oliver still has a lot to learn before becoming a star. That’s why we went with Singletary as our choice for the Bills. He has gone through some injuries, but his 6.4 yards per carry average on his 48 attempts jumps off the page.

He played a season-low 11 snaps last Sunday against the Packers, which is a little concerning, but Burns has made an impact both as a starter and reserve player this season. Burns has 16 tackles, including 3.0 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 11 quarterback hits, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery that he returned for a touchdown.

The Bears didn’t have a selection until the third round, but with their first choice, they picked Montgomery. The rookie back has been inconsistent but still one of the better parts of the Bears offense this season. He’s started the last three games and has 466 rushing yards with five touchdowns this season.

Similar to Atlanta, Cincinnati’s top selection, who is also a guard — Jonah Williams — has been out with an injury the entire season. The Bengals really don’t have any other rookies making a significant impact in his absence. Pratt is our pick by default. He has 20 tackles, including 13 solos in nine games, two of which he’s started.

The Browns didn’t have a first-round pick, but still, their best selection in 2019 didn’t come until the fifth round when they chose Wilson at No. 155 overall. He has started every game since Week 3, playing a vast majority of the defensive snaps since then. He has 44 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, two quarterback hits and a sack this season.

Also without a first-round selection, the Cowboys rookie class has underwhelmed because the team didn’t land immediate contributing players in the second or third rounds either. In the fourth, the Cowboys added Pollard to back up Ezekiel Elliott, which he has done effectively. Pollard has 226 rushing yards and a touchdown.

The draft grades the Broncos received on draft weekend haven’t panned out on the field this year in part because of quarterback Drew Lock’s injury, but Risner is a budding star. He’s played every offensive snap this season and fixes at least one of the troubled spots on the Broncos offensive line.

His best game came in Week 1 when he posted six catches for 131 yards and a touchdown. Since then he’s dealt with some drops, but he’s clearly on his way to becoming a valuable part of the Lions offense. Hockenson has 25 catches for 343 yards and two touchdowns.

The Packers added a couple of impactful rookies from the 2019 draft, but Jenkins is our pick as the best one since he’s earned a starting spot. He took over at left guard because of an injury to Lane Taylor and hasn’t missed a snap since Week 3.

First-round pick and offensive tackle Tytus Howard has been up and down, so for the Texans, we went with Johnson. A second-round choice, Johnson is unfortunately dealing with a concussion at the moment and could miss his second straight game Sunday, but he has 27 tackles with five pass defenses in eight games this season.

The Colts didn’t land another hugely impactful rookie as they did twice in 2018, but this was a hard choice among several players performing well. Ya-Sin gets the nod because he’s been the most consistent. He’s started every game since Week 4 and has missed just a handful of snaps since then. Ya-Sin has 34 tackles and two pass defenses this year.

If this list came out three weeks ago, Gardner Minshew would probably be a shoo-in. But he hasn’t performed well in the last few games, and Nick Foles will return to the starting lineup this Sunday. The Jaguars first-round pick hasn’t earned a starting role, but he’s contributed seven sacks in the last seven games.

Fellow second-rounder Juan Thornhill has played well at times as one of the Chiefs starting safeties, but the Kansas City defense is struggling so mightily that we went with Hardman as Kansas City’s top rookie. Hardman has only 21 catches, but he’s leading the league with 20.8 yards per reception and also has five touchdowns.

Tranquill, a fourth-round selection, just started for the first time last Thursday and was terrific, posting 14 tackles. It’s pretty safe to say he’ll probably start again. Tranquill has 34 tackles, 1.0 tackle for loss and one pass defense this season.

The Rams’ top choice in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft, Rapp began the season as a special teams player but has started the last three games and made 27 tackles in those three starts. Rapp has 52 tackles, including 2.0 for loss, and three pass defenses this season.

The only undrafted free agent rookie on our list, Williams was having an incredible season before tearing his right ACL during the first week of November. Christian Wilkins and some of the other Dolphins rookies will have a chance to pass Williams now, but the wideout still made our cut for Miami’s top rookie through 10 weeks. He posted 32 receptions for 428 yards and three touchdowns before his injury.

The Vikings added three impactful rookies to their roster in 2019 but none bigger than Bradbury. He anchors the offensive line blocking for the NFL’s leading rusher, Dalvin Cook, through 10 weeks. Bradbury has missed one snap in Week 1.

Patriots first-round selection N’Keal Harry has spent the first part of the season on IR, so that opened up the opportunity for other rookies to earn this spot. Winovich, the third-round defensive end, with his limited defensive snaps, has posted 10 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, six quarterback hits and 4.5 sacks. Winovich has also played an intricate role on special teams.

The Saints had limited draft capital in 2019, but they still managed to trade up to draft McCoy to fill an immediate need at center. He’s been terrific as a rookie blocking for Drew Brees and Teddy Bridgewater and helping the Saints allow the 10th-fewest sacks per game this season. 

The Giants had three first-round picks, but only one has been a slam dunk through 10 weeks. Lawrence has been the best in the NFL of all the elite defensive linemen from Clemson last year, as he has 26 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, five quarterback hits and 2.5 sacks.

He isn’t where Jets fans want him yet. Williams faces high expectations as the No. 3 overall pick from 2019, but he’s still the best Jets rookie through 10 weeks. He has 19 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, three quarterback hits and 1.5 sacks this year.

The Raiders also had three first-round picks and did better with them than the Giants did with theirs. Jacobs has been the leader of the pack, becoming the Raiders starting running back. He has three 100-yard rushing days and is seventh in the NFL with 811 rushing yards.

The Eagles had only five draft picks in 2019 and spent one of them on a backup quarterback. Tackle Andre Dillard has started the last three games, but over the course of the first 10 weeks Sanders gets our nod for Philadelphia. He has 641 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns this season.

Diontae Johnson has come on strong in recent weeks, but Bush has played well since some early-season struggles. Bush is going to be a centerpiece in the Steelers defense for years to come. He has 74 tackles, five tackles for loss, 1.0 sack and four forced fumbles this season.

This was an easy one, as Bosa is a leading candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year. He entered the starting lineup in Week 3 and since then he has six sacks in seven games. Bosa has 12 tackles for loss, 14 quarterback hits and 7.0 sacks in nine games this season.

Metcalf came into the league as a freakish athlete, but he’s proving to be a great football player as well. He stretches the field and is a great red-zone target. Metcalf is averaging 17.0 yards per catch with 595 receiving yards and five touchdowns this season.

He hasn’t been healthy all season, but White is on his way to becoming an important building block for the Buccaneers defense. He has 41 tackles, including 25 solos, 1.0 tackle for loss, two quarterback hits and 0.5 sack in six games this season.

It’s been an inconsistent year, but Brown has showcased a lot of talent at times, especially with the quarterbacks who are throwing him the ball. Brown has 27 catches for 446 yards and three touchdowns this season.

McLaurin was one of the biggest early surprises for Washington this year, and he remains one of the only bright spots in a terrible season. The 2019 third-round pick has 32 receptions, 497 yards and five touchdowns this year.