NFL Rookies Set to Take Off After the Season's Quarter-Mark

With a quarter of the 2014 season now in the history books, some rookies have already proven their worth early on in what’s usually a very difficult transition into the NFL. As such, it’s reasonable to assume these players will continue to have some degree of success for the remainder of the season.

With that said, the quarter-mark in the NFL season can often be a turning point for rookies who are just beginning to acclimate to the speed and added challenges of the NFL. A great example of this would be San Diego WR Keenan Allen. Allen didn’t really take off until Week 4 of the regular season last year.

This slideshow highlights the rookies who’ve been relatively quiet so far and are set to take off after the season’s quarter-mark.

Aaron Donald, DT, St. Louis Rams

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Per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Aaron Donald is the only positive overall grade on defense, and he holds the second-place score in run stop percentage among defensive tackles. 

After three games and a bye week, the dynamic rookie has only played in 83 snaps and has done more than enough in that sample size to demand more of a featured role on that defense. 

So far, veteran Kendall Langford and second-year DT Michael Brockers have received the lion's share of available playing time, but it's time to unleash the beast in St. Louis. 

Per PFF, Donald, the 13th overall pick in this year's draft, is the highest-graded player on the defense after three games, and it's not even close.

Donald is an incredibly quick and savvy playmaker with a knack for penetrating the opponent’s backfield. His college production at Pittsburgh was insane for an interior lineman and is already starting to bleed into his professional career.

Trai Turner, OG, Carolina Panthers

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Generally speaking, offensive linemen require a few years of mental and physical maturation before they can really dominate in the trenches.

Of all the positions in football, full-grown man strength is most applicable upfront on both sides of the ball. Young guys fresh out of college are still growing into their bodies and need to fill out and add the power more commonly found in a guy about 28-30 years old.

Trai Turner turned 21 years old in June after opting to forgo the final two years of eligibility at LSU to enter the 2014 NFL draft after his redshirt sophomore season. This tells you just how special this kid is in seeing him force playing time at such an early stage in his development.

After four games, Turner has been rotating in and out with veteran guard Fernando Velasco and has consistently outplayed him during that time.

Turner’s LSU tape was perhaps one of the most impressive I’ve seen from a guard in three years. His energy, effort and ability to move with a combination of power and strength showed everything you could want at the position.

Simply put, Turner is a complete player who possesses every positive trait of a guard you could want. He was drafted in the third round which I believe will eventually prove to be a steal.

Kareem Martin, DL, Arizona Cardinals

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This rookie may have only seen action in 46 defensive plays in the first quarter of the season (per Pro Football Focus), but he’s done well in that time, and the Arizona Cardinals' defensive line could use some help with Darnell Dockett being lost for the season with a torn ACL, per ESPN.com.

Veteran free-agent pickup Tommy Kelly has seen the bulk of the action in Dockett’s absence, but this playing-time ratio should shift to a more balanced rotation as the season wears on.

Kareem Martin is too physically gifted to waste away on the bench. How gifted is he? According to my ranking system that grades the combined physical tools of a prospect entering the draft, he ranked 14th out of more than 600 possible prospects graded over the course of three years—even ahead of some guy named Jadeveon Clowney.

Arizona returns from their bye week having to face perhaps the most loaded team in the NFL. This should be a tough test for the overachieving Cardinals who have yet to lose a game.

Dri Archer, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

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Dri Archer flashed a lot of excitement and promise during the preseason but has been quieted in the regular season as he recovers from an ankle injury that kept him sidelined for much of the season thus far.

To date, Archer has one carry for four yards and a single catch for one yard. Last week was his first action since hurting the ankle.

His speed as a change-of-pace and utility weapon could provide this offense with tons of splash plays that will keep defenses on their toes. No matter who the Pittsburgh Steelers play against, Archer will always be the fastest player on the field.

At the NFL Scouting Combine he ran a 4.26-second 40-yard dash, nearly breaking the record.  

Archer was taken in the third round of the draft with the 97th pick.

Given his diminutive size (5’8”, 173 lbs), Archer will never be a featured back carrying a heavy load, but he can provide momentum and big plays to this offense for years to come.

Blake Bortles, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars

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The future in Jacksonville is underway as the third overall pick in this year’s draft prepares to make his second career start as a Jaguar.

The task will not be an easy one by any means as Blake Bortles goes toe-to-toe with longtime defensive guru Dick LeBeau.

In his media conference, Coach LeBeau had this to say about the rookie:

"

I think the sky is the limit for this guy. He’s a creator. There was a play in the game last week where the protection completely broke down, and he was actually rolling into an unblocked player. He did something that very few people can do. He made the guy miss.

He didn’t even know he was there until the last second, reversed his field, got away and then threw a perfect 35-yard pass. You only have to see that one play like that to recognize that the guy has tremendous talent. He just has a feel for the position and he’s going to be an excellent player.

"

For the season Bortles is completing 70.5 percent of his passes—third in the league behind Austin Davis of the St. Louis Rams (72.3 percent) and Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints (71.4 percent).

Bortles is an exciting young QB who will have a bunch of young targets to throw to. The Jags should eventually turn into one of the more exciting offenses in the league, even if this week proves to be an error-filled learning opportunity for the rookie.

The interesting element to this upcoming game is that Bortles has been compared so often to Ben Roethlisberger. Come Sunday, we can watch both QBs square off to give us the illusion of switching back and forth between the past and the future.

Bishop Sankey, RB, Tennessee Titans

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As many reservations as I have about Bishop Sankey’s game film, his athletic measurables happen to be a major strength for him. This, combined with increased opportunities on the horizon, makes Sankey a rookie primed to break out as the season’s second quarter commences.

Speaking of his athletic measurables, in that formula mentioned earlier that ranks physical tools, Sankey is ranked second on that list, which includes prospects from the last three draft classes combined.

A promising stat worth mentioning is his 5.9 yards per carry in the last two games and 5.1 for the season. As a result, head coach Ken Whisenhunt is starting to take notice.

“You will see (more reps for Sankey). That's coming," Whisenhunt said on 104.5 FM WGFX Nashville (via John Glennon of The Tennessean).

Something to consider with his average is that Sankey has yet to have a run beyond 20 yards. That means his impressive average is reflecting a consistency in his style that has more value plays than splash plays.  

Sankey was the 54th player chosen in this year’s draft, and it looks like from here on out, the starting running back job will be his to lose in Tennessee.

Telvin Smith, LB, Jacksonville Jaguars

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As of right now, 15 Jaguars defensive players have more playing time than rookie LB Telvin Smith (per Pro Football Focus). But when it comes to stops (defined by PFF as a solo tackle that constitutes an offensive failure), Smith is seventh on the team after four games.

Smith is an undersized LB drafted in the fifth round who plays much bigger than he looks. His physical style of play and relentless mentality served him well while at Florida State. In addition to his aggressive nature, I had him pegged as one of the best coverage linebackers in this draft class.

So far he’s still figuring out how to position himself for big plays in the passing game, but he has certainly flashed those dynamic coverage abilities.  

Last week against the Chargers was possibly Smith’s worst performance, but overall he has played extremely well for a rookie.

His next task will be to stop the lethal running game of the Pittsburgh Steelers led by second-year RB Le'Veon Bell. This could be an active day for Smith.

Ryan Riddle is a former NFL player and currently writes for Bleacher Report.

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