This might be true every year, but it feels especially true in 2024: You cannot tell the story of the NFL season without the rookie class. The Commanders would not be in the divisional round without Jayden Daniels, and the Eagles might not be there without Cooper DeJean or Quinyon Mitchell.

To size up all of this season’s standout rookies, I made my first- and second-team NFL All-Rookie picks. I named one first-team player and one second-team player at 22 different positions. But before we dive in, a few important notes:

1. Playing time doesn’t matter … but also it does. As a general rule, good rookies earn playing time, and guys who were on the field for much of the season should be rewarded. Snap count can serve as a proxy for quality rookie performance. But it can also serve as a proxy for having a pretty bad team, too. If I said the name “DJ Glaze,” (which is a cool name, by the way), how many NFL fans would be able to correctly place the third-round rookie who started every game at right tackle for the Raiders? He was solid and deserves a mention, but it’s always worth remembering that some rookies look far better simply because they got so many more reps than their contemporaries, who catch up in later seasons.

I tried to make my rankings independent of total snap counts, but inevitably, the more snaps a player took, the more likely it was he was producing good film by the end of the season. It creeps in.

2. It was an amazing year for rookie offensive linemen, quarterbacks and cornerbacks. If you asked me for three positions that always need an infusion of young talent, I would have listed offensive line (where the league has long lamented poor development at the college ranks), cornerback (where skill tails off fast, so younger bodies are always needed) and quarterback (because we always need good QBs). That is exactly where the 2024 draft class ended up strongest. Therefore, I couldn’t get extremely deserving players such as Bo Nix, Beaux Limmer (two Bo/Beauxs!), Cooper Beebe, Cam Hart, Tarheeb Still or Olu Fashanu any accolades. This will go down as an extremely impactful class in recent history because of the talent pool at critical positions.

Let’s dive in, starting at QB and going position by position.

Jump to a position:
QB | RB | WR | TE | OL
Edge | DT | LB | CB | S

Quarterback

2024 stats: 3,568 passing yards, 25 TDs, 9 INTs; 891 rushing yards, 6 TDs
Drafted: Round 1, No. 2

As I wrote in December, Drake Maye was the most impressive rookie quarterback given what he did in such a bad situation. But that’s just by a hair over Daniels, who also has excellent film and dramatically outproduced Maye, so I’ll happily give him the first-team nod.

Daniels was an immediate force multiplier for every player on the Washington offense. He was impossibly clutch and cool-headed for a rookie and showed more maturity in avoiding hits and working through progressions than I expected. Daniels has been absolute nails on fourth downs this season, saving a Commanders offense that doesn’t create a ton of explosives by keeping the sticks moving in key spots. He has a 92% conversion rate on fourth-down dropbacks in a league that averages 53%. Daniels has an MVP ceiling — if he can stay healthy over the course of his career. I’d love to see him put on another 10 pounds this offseason.

It was very difficult to exclude Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, who improved over the course of the season and looks like a long-term starter. While Nix outproduced Maye in raw stats, it is worth noting that Maye was better by success rate and first down/touchdown rate, indicating a high level of efficiency — despite getting pressured on 37.3% of his dropbacks compared to Nix’s 28.0%. Nix ripped off more explosive plays, but given his superior pass protection and receiving corps, that is not surprising. Both look like franchise guys, but Maye did it in a much worse environment and gets the second-team spot.

Second team: Drake Maye, New England Patriots

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Bruschi: Jayden Daniels is the best rookie QB I have seen

Tedy Bruschi and Rex Ryan discuss how Commanders rookie QB Jayden Daniels is defying all the odds.

Running back

2024 stats: 1,122 rushing yards on 207 attempts, 392 receiving yards, 8 total TDs
Drafted: Round 4, No. 125

Irving is the only rookie running back in NFL history who rushed for more than 1,100 yards on under 210 attempts. The fourth-round pick slowly and surely chipped his way out of a timeshare with Rachaad White and proved to be a better runner and pass catcher than the incumbent.

Only 31 rookie running backs have ever totaled 1,500-plus scrimmage yards, as Irving did, and the list of qualifiers is extremely encouraging. Most recently before Irving: Najee Harris (2021), Saquon Barkley (2018), Kareem Hunt (2017), Alvin Kamara (2017), Ezekiel Elliott (2016), Doug Martin (2012), Alfred Morris (2012) and Matt Forte (2008). Steve Slaton, Adrian Peterson, Clinton Portis and LaDainian Tomlinson did it in the 2000s as well.

Irving is a little undersized (5-foot-9, 195 pounds), so his long-term usage and sustainability is in question. But this was one of the most productive rookie running back seasons we’ve seen in the past few years, and behind that excellent Buccaneers offensive line, I don’t expect his production to tail off in 2025.

Second team: Tyrone Tracy Jr., New York Giants

Wide receiver

2024 stats: 87 receptions, 1,282 receiving yards, 10 TDs
Drafted: Round 1, No. 23

The player who long felt like the addendum to the big three of the 2024 rookie wide receiver class is no longer — Thomas has been better than Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze. Long, ridiculously fast and excellent at tracking the football through contact, Thomas is a walking big play, coming either on a deep target or with a huge run after the catch. Thomas’ 22.15 mph top speed on this touchdown against the Colts in Week 5, per NFL Next Gen Stats, was the fastest time for any ball carrier this season not named KaVontae Turpin (and remember, Turpin is a 153-pound former track star, while Thomas is 205 pounds).

Thomas ended the season with 2.61 yards per route run on a lame-duck offense splitting time between Trevor Lawrence and Mac Jones at quarterback. Only five rookies have had better debut seasons: A.J. Brown, Justin Jefferson, Odell Beckham Jr., Puka Nacua and Ja’Marr Chase. That’s pretty good company if you ask me.

Second team: Jalen Coker, Carolina Panthers

2024 stats: 82 receptions, 1,149 receiving yards, 7 TDs
Drafted: Round 2, No. 34

You know how Thomas had the sixth-best rookie wide receiver season this century? Well, McConkey had the seventh. McConkey averaged 2.57 yards per route run this season, just 0.04 yards behind Thomas. While Thomas has the more traditional big-play game, McConkey matched him in explosiveness, uncovering and producing in the intermediate areas of the field. He averaged 10.4 yards per target to Thomas’ 9.7, and his 14 yards per reception compared well to Thomas’ 14.7. This is a big-play receiver with legit speed.

McConkey will still always be best on breaking routes as a consistent stick mover from the slot. A whopping 46.8% of his targets went for a first down or touchdown this season, which is easily best among rookies. I’ll be interested to see if the Chargers continue using him heavily in the slot and add to their outside positions this offseason, or if they start using him in more of a hybrid role. Either way, he can handle it.

Second team: Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals

2024 stats: 109 receptions, 1,204 receiving yards, 7 TDs
Drafted: Round 1, No. 6

With even semi-competent quarterback play, Nabers could have put up similar numbers to McConkey and Thomas. But by the same token, some of the most impressive Nabers games came when he took on a ton of volume in the passing game. It’s hard to accrue that many hits and consistently uncover when the defense believes you’re the first, second and third option, yet Nabers got it done. He had six games this season with at least 13 targets, more such games than any other receiver.

I was most impressed with Nabers’ spectacular catch ability up against the sideline and hope that the Giants offense can find a quarterback who can deliver more catchable vertical balls his way. But if he’s relegated into the same role next season — with its heavy dose of underneath targets and YAC opportunities — he’ll still shine as an angle breaker and easy separator.

Second team: Jalen McMillan, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tight end

2024 stats: 112 receptions, 1,194 receiving yards, 5 TDs
Drafted: Round 1, No. 13

What more is there to say about Bowers? The first-team All Pro would be my vote for Offensive Rookie of the Year. He set multiple records, including most receptions for a rookie (tight end or otherwise) and the most receiving yards for a rookie tight end in a single season. That latter figure broke a record by Mike Ditka that had been standing since 1961. Do you know how hard it is for a passing or receiving record to still be alive from the ’60s? What an achievement for Bowers.

Watching Bowers is not at all like watching Rob Gronkowski, in the sense that Gronk was a miniature offensive tackle and Bowers is a supersized wide receiver. But they both produce the same experience for the viewer: It takes about five, maybe 10 plays to figure out they’re mismatch nightmares with no easy coverage solution. Bowers just moves differently.

It will be interesting to see how the new Raiders coaching staff forms around him. It’s harder to build a passing game through a tight end than you might think, and Bowers clearly warrants that level of treatment. This is the first tight end to enter the league since Travis Kelce‘s era of dominance began that truly made me think: “All right, this guy’s got next.”

Second team: AJ Barner, Seattle Seahawks (an All-Film team award winner!)

Left tackle

2024 stats: 17 starts, 84.0% pass block win rate, 74.1% run block win rate
Drafted: Round 1, No. 14

Sorting out the first- and second-team left tackles was a heartbreaking endeavor. Fuaga, JC Latham (Titans) and Olu Fashanu (Jets) all delivered on or exceeded their draft billing as blindside protectors. Having to rank them is impossible and unfair, and Jets and Titans fans can be justifiably upset with me.

With that said, I found myself most impressed by Fuaga, who I thought would take more rookie lumps transitioning from the right side to the left and pass-setting against NFL pass rushers. Fuaga still has a wart or two in pass protection, but he more than makes up for it with dominant power in the running game and the strength to recover when he loses early in his reps. The future is bright at left tackle in New Orleans.

On the second team, I gave the nod to Latham over Fashanu simply for time played — Latham had more than triple the snaps — but Fashanu looked excellent on the blindside and should start there next season.

Second team: JC Latham, Tennessee Titans

Left guard

2024 stats: 14 starts, 93.6% pass block win rate, 73.2% run block win rate
Drafted: Round 2, No. 44

It was a weird season for rookie left guards in the sense that two players took more than 200 snaps at the position: Powers-Johnson, who split his time almost 50-50 between left guard and center, and Layden Robinson (Patriots), who split his time almost 50-50 between left and right guard.

Powers-Johnson was as billed: a squat, powerful run blocker with interior versatility and some pass protection issues. His ability to start at either center or left guard will give the Raiders future flexibility in how they build around him, and his quality of play clears the bar of rookie contract starter.

I promise, if you squint and just watch Robinson in that mess of a Patriots offensive line, he actually had several nice reps! He’ll be a starting guard for the team in 2025.

Second team: Layden Robinson, New England Patriots

Center

2024 stats: 15 starts, 94.7% pass block win rate, 72.2% run block win rate
Drafted: Round 2, No. 51

I’m tempted to swap out Frazier for Graham Barton (Bucs), who dramatically improved over the course of the season and is on an excellent trajectory. But Frazier was steadier this season and gets the nod. Frazier is exactly what teams want at the pivot. He identifies defenses well, looks for work in pass protection and has quick hands and feet.

Frazier is also a relentless finisher and a high-effort player, which is a prerequisite for playing offensive line in Pittsburgh and a great sign for his future as the leader of that line. He had more successful reps against the Ravens’ nasty defensive tackle room than any other center this season.

Second team: Graham Barton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Right guard

2024 stats: 17 starts, 94.2% pass block win rate, 73.4% run block win rate
Drafted: Round 3, No. 86

What a rookie season it was for Puni. The third-rounder kicked inside from tackle to guard with the Niners, and most expected it would take some time before Puni would challenge for a starting job. Instead, he won the right guard job outright in camp and became the best interior offensive lineman for the 49ers. Puni’s experience at tackle showed up in pass protection, where he won early and often against the best defensive tackles. If he continues to improve as a run blocker — and he was plenty good this season — he’ll vault into the conversation of the top guards in the league.

Second team: Mason McCormick, Pittsburgh Steelers

Right tackle

2024 stats: 16 starts, 94.3% pass block win rate, 77.6% run block win rate
Drafted: Round 1, No. 5

The best compliment you can give a rookie tackle is that you forgot all about him, and that’s the case with Alt. He was so quietly dominant shutting down pass rushers that any unknowing film watcher would never guess he was a rookie who had flipped sides. Alt is exactly what the Chargers hoped when they drafted him: smooth, long, physical, technically sound, quick, smart and explosive. He checks every single box a team would expect from a franchise tackle. Also, when Rashawn Slater went down right before Week 18, he slipped right back to the left side and looked like he’d been there all season.

The second team at right tackle is a bit more of an interesting debate. I gave the nod to Roger Rosengarten (Ravens), who improved over the course of the season — but do not sleep on DJ Glaze, the Raiders’ third-rounder who is quickly leaping from raw prospect to definite starter.

Second team: Roger Rosengarten, Baltimore Ravens

Edge rusher

2024 stats: 26 tackles, 6.0 sacks, 3 pass breakups
Drafted: Round 1, No. 21

Robinson has had such a cool, underappreciated season. He was the eighth-fastest edge rusher off the ball, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, with an average get off of 0.76 seconds, and leveraged that wicked first step into a 17.2% pressure rate — sixth among all edge rushers with at least 200 pass rushes and first among rookies, including Jared Verse.

Robinson had a low sack rate given his pressure rate and get off, but that’s to be expected for a young speed racer off the edge. In college football, players just need to win the race to the corner, and they’ll get the quarterback down; in the NFL, it’s much tougher. Robinson was never a high sack guy in college, so technical steps are still needed to become a strong finisher in the pocket, but the base of an elite pass rusher is already there.

Second team: Jonah Elliss, Denver Broncos

2024 stats: 66 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles
Drafted: Round 1, No. 19

Verse may have the most laugh-out-loud dominant reps of a rookie pass rusher since Micah Parsons, bowling over quality left tackles or slicing through gaps for fourth-down tackles for loss. He’s the definition of a splash player, and his immediate impact on a thin Rams’ defensive line was a huge part of their postseason push.

The pass rush wins get the most highlight treatment, but Verse’s strength as a run defender is what allowed him to succeed as a three-down player. NFL Next Gen Stats credited Verse with 50 run stops on the season — those are tackles that produce negative EPA for the offense — and the company he’s with atop that list is highly encouraging: Andrew Van Ginkel, Jonathan Greenard, T.J. Watt and Brian Burns. Those are some of the best run-defending edges who still churn out double-digit sack seasons. Verse has a bright future.

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Jared Verse returns fumble 57 yards for Rams TD

Sam Darnold gets sacked and fumbles, leading to Jared Verse picking up the ball and returning it 57 yards for a touchdown.

Second team: Laiatu Latu, Indianapolis Colts

Interior defensive linemen

2024 stats: 51 tackles, 1.0 sacks, 1 forced fumble
Drafted: Round 2, No. 38

If you had asked me for my rosiest projection on Sweat’s rookie season, I don’t think I could have gotten here. At 360 pounds, he consistently played over 50% of the defensive snaps, and while he was occasionally flagged in the fourth quarter of long games, it wasn’t any more or less than an average defensive tackle.

He was a perfect pairing with franchise defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, as he punished teams that made Simmons the focal point of their pass protection and running schemes, and Sweat consistently won when he was doubled. While it will never be the featured strength of his game, he flashed more pass-rush arsenal than I could have dreamed. Sweat clearly has a ceiling beyond that of a Jordan Davis or Michael Pierce; he might be a Vita Vea.

Second team: Braden Fiske, Los Angeles Rams

2024 stats: 36 tackles, 0.5 sacks, 2 tackles for loss
Drafted: Round 1, No. 16

Many lists would have Fiske over Murphy for general impact, as Fiske is a splashy player who had 7 TFLs and 6.0 sacks. But I saw teams go after Fiske in the running game with plenty of success. Murphy battled hamstring and back injuries this season, but when he was healthy, he was tearing up opposing offensive lines. Compare their respective win rates, too. Fiske posted a 9.5% in pass rush and 35.2% against the run; 8.1% pass and 32.4% run for Murphy. The difference between them isn’t nearly what the box score stats would imply.

I thought Murphy was especially impressive against the run, and with his existing polish as a quick winner in the passing game, it’s not hard to see the picture of a quality three-down player. He was drinking through a fire hose in Mike Macdonald’s defense and was asked to play a big variety of techniques and alignments. I thought he handled it with aplomb, and I would not be surprised if he has a Nnamdi Madubuike-esque leap in his second year in this defense.

Also in this conversation for me was Jer’Zhan Newton, the Commanders second-rounder who I thought had a similar season to Fiske. He was a high-risk, high-reward penetration player asked to disrupt at all costs.

Second team: Jer’Zhan Newton, Washington Commanders

Linebacker

2024 stats: 77 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception
Drafted: Round 2, No. 45

What a revelation Cooper was down the stretch. In the first six weeks, he saw the field mostly as a sub-package passing-downs player. He started to flash midseason as an early-down option before losing a few games to a hamstring injury. In the final four weeks of the season, he led all linebackers in run stops (tackles that are negative EPA for the offense) and was one of only two linebackers to total at least eight stuffs (tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage).

Cooper took 100% of the snaps in a game for the first time this season in the wild-card loss to the Eagles. He was once again extremely productive near the line of scrimmage while still taking away routes in zone coverage. This is perhaps the biggest transformation of a rookie on either side of the ball this season. The arrow is pointed way up.

Second team: Tyrice Knight, Seattle Seahawks

2024 stats: 66 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 pass breakups
Drafted: Undrafted

Another year, another UDFA hit for the Rams. Speights was tossed into the starting lineup in Week 8 after Troy Reeder hit injured reserve with a hamstring injury, and neither Speights nor the Rams have looked back. Speights plays with his hair on fire and is one of the Rams’ most reliable tacklers — something that was a big problem pre-Speights but has progressed as the entire defense has embraced an increased physicality.

His explosiveness downhill has cast fellow linebacker Christian Rozeboom into a run-and-chase role that better suits his skill set, too.

Second team: Payton Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers

Cornerback

2024 stats: 50 tackles, 0.5 sacks, 5 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble, 3 fumble recoveries
Drafted: Round 2, No. 40

While he will not win Defensive Rookie of the Year, I would argue DeJean is simply the best defensive player on this list. The nickel defender in a Vic Fangio defense has historically been a seasoned veteran with tons of experience at different spots like Kareem Jackson or Jalen Ramsey. For DeJean to simply slide right into the role and create impact plays at the line of scrimmage, downfield in coverage and everywhere in between, is one of the most preposterous storylines of the season.

DeJean is quick as a wink, a highly reliable tackler in space and an excellent communicator who immediately took control of the Eagles’ defensive checks after recovering from a preseason hamstring injury. There aren’t 10 slot defenders in the league I would take right now over DeJean.

Second team: Mike Sainristil, Washington Commanders (No, he didn’t play over the slot this season, but he needs to be mentioned on this list because he played very well.)

2024 stats: 46 tackles, 0.5 sacks, 10 pass breakups, 1 dropped interception
Drafted: Round 1, No. 22

Giving up a few big plays at the end of the season and no regular-season interceptions has Mitchell a little behind other rookie corners by the data, but the film doesn’t lie. Pole to pole, he was the best outside corner in the rookie class.

Where most rookie corners are frantic, aggressive, uncertain and jumpy, Mitchell is smooth, quiet, patient and savvy. He is strong in man coverage from both press and off alignments, but his best reps are in zone coverage, where he gets attached to routes late in the down and slams passing windows shut to create sack opportunities for his defensive line.

Get the young man on a Jugs machine and the splashy stats will come.

Second team: Nate Wiggins, Baltimore Ravens

2024 stats: 58 tackles, 7 pass breakups, 3 interceptions
Drafted: Round 2, No. 42

I cycled through many names for this spot — Sainristil, Wiggins, Tarheeb Still and Cam Hart (Chargers), Renardo Green (49ers) — before I watched that Chargers-Texans wild-card game, which shut the door on the whole conversation.

Perfectly cast for the DeMeco Ryans defense, Lassiter is unbelievably physical against the run, can suffocate routes at the line of scrimmage and wins the football in the air against much larger receivers. Among corners with at least 200 coverage snaps, only Marshon Lattimore allowed a lower completion percentage over expectation than Lassiter did (NFL Next Gen Stats). He plays with a short memory, which is critical for such a physical play style, and a playmaker’s instinct. You couldn’t build a better running mate for Derek Stingley Jr.

Second team: Tarheeb Still, Los Angeles Chargers (or whoever you think should be here — there are so many guys)

Safety

2024 stats: 51 tackles, 5 pass breakups, 5 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery
Drafted: Round 3, No. 78

From Week 1, Bullock leaped off the film for the Texans. (He was on our Week 4 All-Film team.) The young man can absolutely fly, and Ryans couldn’t have employed his brand of defense this season without Bullock as their center-field safety with true sideline-to-sideline range. He also showed good ball skills with his interception production. There are only a few true free safeties left in the league, and Bullock is already one of them.

It was extremely hard to leave 49ers safety Malik Mustapha off this list, but someone had to get cut out of the three great rookie safeties this season. Mustapha plays like a bat out of hell and is a joy to watch.

Second team: Malik Mustapha, San Francisco 49ers

2024 stats: 47 tackles, 3 pass breakups, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble
Drafted: Round 4, No. 111

Williams largely slipped under the radar as fellow rookie safety Javon Bullard was drafted two rounds ahead of him, but he was an immediate boost once he got his hands on a starting gig. A quick-footed box safety with a good nose for misdirection, Williams proved to be an extremely sure tackler in space with quality stopping power and enough coverage chops to be trusted alone in man coverage. Impact safeties either dominate in the deep middle or make plays at or near the line of scrimmage — he has checked the latter box.

Second team: Kamren Kinchens, Los Angeles Rams