NFL Week 17 Rookie Rankings: Surveying Rookie Class Post-Week 16

Heading into Week 17 of the NFL’s regular season, no major individual award race has a closer contest than the Defensive Rookie of the Year award, with two outstanding candidates topping off this week’s Bleacher Report NFL Rookie Rankings.

St. Louis Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald has been dominant for most of the season, but he left the door to the trophy open for his competition by having an underwhelming performance against the New York Giants in Week 16.

With a dominant showing against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Oakland Raiders outside linebacker Khalil Mack typhooned through that door and made it clear that voters will have a tough decision between at least two candidates in choosing the best first-year player of the year on that side of the ball.

The Offensive Rookie of the Year competition seems to have a clear-cut winner at this point—it will be a big surprise if that honor is not bestowed upon Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.—but two offensive rookies, both offensive linemen, stand ahead of him in these rookie rankings because of how consistently well they have played in all 15 games this year.

The following standings are based upon the cumulative production of all rookies, taking into account each player’s entire body of work from Week 1 of the regular season through Week 16. Both positive and negative performances, as well as the amount of playing time each first-year player has received, have been considered in determining where each NFL newcomer stacks up.

Note: All players included in the Rookie Rankings were eligible for the 2014 NFL draft. First-year players who spent time on preseason rosters in previous years, such as Washington Redskins punter Tress Way, are not considered to be rookies.

Top 50 Overall

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After recording a sack in five consecutive games, Aaron Donald had a much quieter effort against the New York Giants on Sunday, as he finished the day without being credited with any tackles. Nonetheless, he was one of three rookies named to this year's Pro Bowl roster, which the NFL announced on Tuesday, and is still ranked No. 1 among all defensive tackles in the league by Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Khalil Mack was not among the rookies selected to this year's Pro Bowl, but he probably should have been. Coming off a Week 16 game in which he had one sack, three total quarterback hits, eight total quarterback pressures, a batted pass and five total tackles, he is graded higher by PFF than any defensive player in the league not named J.J. Watt.

Another notable rookie snub from the all-star selections was Cleveland Browns left guard Joel Bitonio. He had one of his worst games of the season against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, giving up a sack for the first time this year, according to PFF, but the site still ranks him as the NFL's second-best interior lineman.

The other star guard of the rookie class, Dallas Cowboys right guard Zack Martin, was selected for the Pro Bowl. It's not a big surprise that he got in over Bitonio—Martin is part of a Cowboys offensive line that is arguably the NFL's best, while Bitonio's work for the 7-8 Browns has been overlooked by many outside of Cleveland—and although Martin too had a subpar individual performance in Week 16 against the Indianapolis Colts, he was deserving of the recognition for his season as a whole.

Rounding out the rookie class of Pro Bowlers, and the top five of this week's Rookie Rankings, is Baltimore Ravens linebacker C.J. Mosley. Seventh in the NFL with 126 total tackles, he has been a playmaker all over the field for his team's defense in his rookie year.

Top 50 Rankings

Rank	Player	Pos.	Team	Pick	LW	Moving
1	Aaron Donald	DT	Rams	1.13	1	Same
2	Khalil Mack	OLB	Raiders	1.5	5	Up
3	Joel Bitonio	LG	Browns	2.3	2	Down
4	Zack Martin	RG	Cowboys	1.16	3	Down
5	C.J. Mosley	ILB	Ravens	1.17	4	Down
6	Odell Beckham Jr.	WR	Giants	1.12	7	Up
7	Corey Linsley	C	Packers	5.21	6	Down
8	Jeremy Hill	RB	Bengals	2.23	12	Up
9	Mike Evans	WR	Buccaneers	1.7	9	Same
10	Kelvin Benjamin	WR	Panthers	1.28	10	Same
11	Anthony Barr	OLB	Vikings	1.9	8	Down
12	Ha Ha Clinton-Dix	FS	Packers	1.21	11	Down
13	E.J. Gaines	CB	Rams	6.12	13	Same
14	Deone Bucannon	SS	Cardinals	1.27	14	Same
15	Chris Borland	ILB	49ers	3.13	16	Up
16	Preston Brown	OLB	Bills	3.9	17	Up
17	Brandon Linder	RG	Jaguars	3.29	18	Up
18	Teddy Bridgewater	QB	Vikings	1.32	24	Up
19	Sammy Watkins	WR	Bills	1.4	22	Up
20	Jarvis Landry	WR	Dolphins	2.31	19	Down
21	Ja'Wuan James	LT	Dolphins	1.19	20	Down
22	Telvin Smith	OLB	Jaguars	5.4	30	Up
23	Avery Williamson	ILB	Titans	5.11	21	Down
24	Aaron Lynch	OLB	49ers	5.10	23	Down
25	Jack Mewhort	LG	Colts	2.27	31	Up
26	Bradley Roby	CB	Broncos	1.31	25	Down
27	Justin Ellis	NT	Raiders	4.7	27	Same
28	Chandler Catanzaro	K	Cardinals	N/A	28	Same
29	Cody Parkey	K	Eagles	N/A	15	Down
30	Kyle Fuller	CB	Bears	1.14	29	Down
31	Seantrel Henderson	RT	Bills	7.22	26	Down
32	Derek Carr	QB	Raiders	2.4	34	Up
33	Jordan Matthews	WR	Eagles	2.10	32	Down
34	Christian Kirksey	ILB	Browns	3.7	33	Down
35	Bryan Stork	C	Patriots	4.5	35	Same
36	Bashaud Breeland	CB	Redskins	4.2	38	Up
37	Russell Bodine	C	Bengals	4.11	36	Down
38	Anthony Hitchens	OLB	Cowboys	4.19	44	Up
39	Devon Kennard	OLB	Giants	5.34	37	Down
40	Blake Bortles	QB	Jaguars	1.3	41	Up
41	Gabe Jackson	LG	Raiders	3.17	42	Up
42	Weston Richburg	LG	Giants	2.11	43	Up
43	John Brown	WR	Cardinals	3.27	47	Up
44	Cairo Santos	K	Chiefs	N/A	46	Up
45	Phillip Gaines	CB	Chiefs	3.23	39	Down
46	Tre Mason	RB	Rams	3.11	49	Up
47	Allen Hurns	WR	Jaguars	N/A	40	Down
48	Jake Matthews	LT	Falcons	1.6	NR	Up
49	Trent Murphy	OLB	Redskins	2.15	45	Down
50	Timmy Jernigan	DE	Ravens	2.16	50	Same

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Brandin Cooks, ranked No. 48 overall last week, has been out for the season since Week 11 with a broken thumb and fell out of the top 50 this week. 

Quarterbacks

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Quarterback Rankings

Rank	Player	Pos.	Team	Pick	LW
1	Teddy Bridgewater	QB	Vikings	1.32	1
2	Derek Carr	QB	Raiders	2.4	2
3	Blake Bortles	QB	Jaguars	1.3	3
4	Zach Mettenberger	QB	Titans	6.2	4
5	Johnny Manziel	QB	Browns	1.22	5

Now 11 starts into his career, Teddy Bridgewater is starting to establish himself as the Minnesota Vikings' franchise quarterback. While his team lost, 37-35, on Sunday to the Miami Dolphins, Bridgewater had another strong performance, completing 19 of 26 passing attempts for 259 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception.

Bridgewater, who has completed more than 70 percent of his passes in each of his last four starts and has thrown 13 touchdowns compared to eight interceptions over his last nine games, has the best quarterback rating among qualifying rookie starters (84.9).

The Oakland Raiders have won three of their last five games after starting the year 0-10, and a big reason for that has been the continued development of Derek Carr. He only completed 50 percent of his passes against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, but he threw for 214 yards and two touchdowns while going a third consecutive game without an interception.

Blake Bortles hasn't had the same degree of improvement this year as either Bridgewater or Carr, but he was good enough for the Jacksonville Jaguars to win over the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night. He only completed 50 percent of his passes in the victory and threw for only 115 yards, but he tossed no interceptions for just his second time this year while also showing his athleticism with 50 rushing yards on five carries.

Johnny Manziel's second start of his rookie season will be his last. The Cleveland Browns first-round pick suffered a hamstring injury against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday and is out for Week 17, according to ESPN.com's Jeremy Fowler. The enigmatic Texas A&M product completed just 18 of 35 passing attempts for 175 yards, with zero touchdowns and two interceptions, in his first year.

With Manziel sidelined, the Browns are going with an undrafted rookie, Connor Shaw, as their starter against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, according to Tom Reed of The Plain Dealer.

Another rookie who was expected to start this week, Logan Thomas of the Arizona Cardinals, will not get that opportunity as Cardinals coach Bruce Arians changed his mind mid-week and decided that Ryan Lindley will start Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, according to azcentral's Kent Somers.

Running Backs

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Running Back Rankings

Rank	Player	Pos.	Team	Pick	LW
1	Jeremy Hill	RB	Bengals	2.23	1
2	Tre Mason	RB	Rams	3.11	2
3	Isaiah Crowell	RB	Browns	N/A	3
4	Andre Williams	RB	Giants	4.13	NR
5	Branden Oliver	RB	Chargers	N/A	5

 

By far the NFL's leading rusher over the past two weeks, Jeremy Hill became the first (and will likely be the only) rookie running back to run for 1,000 yards this year, as his 147 yards on 22 carries against the Denver Broncos on Monday night brought the Cincinnati Bengals second-round pick's season totals to 1,024 rushing yards on 199 attempts.

Hill's performance Monday had one bad lowlight, a lost fumble inside the red zone. He has had issues with ball security as a rookie with five fumbles (two lost). That said, he has become the Bengals' clear-cut feature back while showing impressive big-play ability, including on an 85-yard touchdown run Monday, for a 238-pound runner.

Second among rookies with 737 rushing yards, Tre Mason had a strong performance against the New York Giants on Sunday. He led the St. Louis Rams with 13 carries for 76 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown, while he also caught a pass for seven yards.

On the other side in that same game, Andre Williams showed his ability to be a workhorse. The fourth-round pick, who leads all rookies in rushing attempts, worked his way to 110 yards on 26 carries. Williams is averaging less than 3.4 yards per carry this season, but he has shown to be reliable between the tackles and durable enough to handle a heavy workload.

Isaiah Crowell, who ranks fourth among rookies in rushing yards, ran 16 times for 55 yards against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. Branden Oliver, who ranks fourth among rookie running backs in yards from scrimmage, had 53 rushing yards on 13 attempts and three receptions for 28 yards in the San Diego Chargers' overtime win over the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night.

Wide Receivers

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Wide Receiver Rankings

Rank	Player	Pos.	Team	Pick	LW
1	Odell Beckham Jr.	WR	Giants	1.12	1
2	Mike Evans	WR	Buccaneers	1.7	2
3	Kelvin Benjamin	WR	Panthers	1.28	3
4	Sammy Watkins	WR	Bills	1.4	5
5	Jarvis Landry	WR	Dolphins	2.31	4
6	Jordan Matthews	WR	Eagles	2.10	6
7	John Brown	WR	Cardinals	3.27	8
8	Allen Hurns	WR	Jaguars	N/A	7
9	Brandin Cooks	WR	Saints	1.20	9
10	Martavis Bryant	WR	Steelers	4.18	10

 

Odell Beckham Jr.'s sensational second half of the 2014 season continued to be spectacular in Week 16, as he caught eight passes for 148 yards, highlighted by 80- and nine-yard touchdowns, in the New York Giants' win over the Rams. 

In the past eight weeks alone, Beckham has caught 69 passes for 1,014 yards and eight touchdowns. He has had at least 90 receiving yards in each game, which puts him one game shy of tying Michael Irvin's rookie record for the most consecutive games with 90 or more receiving yards.

No other rookie wide receiver's season can compare to Beckham's at this point. But it's not as though the other first-round picks have been big disappointments; Mike Evans, Kelvin Benjamin and Sammy Watkins have each eclipsed 60 receptions and 900 receiving yards for the year.

The production of top-seven picks Evans and Watkins has been beset by their teams' poor quarterback play, but both have still made plenty of plays over the course of the year. Evans caught four passes for 49 yards against the Green Bay Packers in Week 16, while Watkins had three receptions for 75 yards, highlighted by a 42-yard touchdown snag, against the Oakland Raiders.

Benjamin had five receptions for 47 yards, including another impressively acrobatic catch, against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

Miami Dolphins rookie Jarvis Landry moved down a spot in this week's rankings. While he caught eight passes against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, he only gained 31 yards on those snags. He also fumbled twice, bringing his season total to seven, the most among all non-quarterbacks in the NFL.

Tight Ends

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Tight End Rankings

Rank	Player	Pos.	Team	Pick	LW
1	Jace Amaro	TE	Jets	2.17	1
2	Austin Seferian-Jenkins	TE	Buccaneers	2.6	2
3	Eric Ebron	TE	Lions	1.10	3
4	Crockett Gillmore	TE	Ravens	3.35	4
5	Richard Rodgers	TE	Packers	3.34	5

 

The rookie tight end class continued to be uninspiring in Week 16, as just three first-year players at the position caught passes, and none had more than two receptions or 13 receiving yards.

Richard Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers had two receptions for 13 yards. C.J. Fiedorowicz of the Houston Texans had two catches for 12 yards, and Crockett Gillmore of the Baltimore Ravens had one nine-yard grab. Only Fiedorowicz, who had just two total receptions prior to Week 16, scored a touchdown, as he beat fellow rookie C.J. Mosley for a five-yard score in the Texans' win over the Baltimore Ravens.

Even though he has only caught three total passes since October, Jace Amaro of the New York Jets still leads all rookie tight ends this year with 35 receptions and 311 receiving yards.

Eric Ebron's streak of five consecutive games with a catch came to an end Sunday, as he was not targeted once in the Detroit Lions' win over the Chicago Bears. Lions coach Jim Caldwell did praise Ebron for his blocking this week, according to Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press.

Despite now being out for the year with a back injury, Tampa Bay's Austin Seferian-Jenkins still leads all rookie tight ends in snaps played this year, per Pro Football Focus. He has had as good of a season as any of the others in his class.

Offensive Tackles

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Offensive Tackle Rankings

Rank	Player	Pos.	Team	Pick	LW
1	Ja'Wuan James	LT	Dolphins	1.19	1
2	Seantrel Henderson	RT	Bills	7.22	2
3	Jake Matthews	LT	Falcons	1.6	3
4	Taylor Lewan	LT	Titans	1.11	4
5	Greg Robinson	LT	Rams	1.2	5

 

Offensive tackle is one of the toughest positions to succeed at as a rookie, and this year's class has epitomized that. All of the above players have mixed impressive performances with games in which they have looked overwhelmed.

The latter has been the case more often than the former since Ja'Wuan James moved to left tackle for the Miami Dolphins in Week 10, after Branden Albert went down with a season-ending injury. James' shaky play continued Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, as he allowed six quarterback pressures and struggled with run blocking, according to Pro Football Focus.

Tasked with lining up against the aforementioned Khalil Mack this week, Seantrel Henderson was visibly outperformed by his opposing rookie. Henderson was beaten for seven quarterback pressures, including sacks by both Mack and Oakland Raiders defensive end Justin Tuck, in the Buffalo Bills' loss on Sunday.

Jake Matthews still has PFF's worst overall grade of any offensive tackle in the NFL, but that's not indicative of his improvement in recent weeks. He has played the best of any rookie offensive tackle down the stretch and is starting to look like the player the Atlanta Falcons expected him to be when they drafted him at No. 6 overall.

Greg Robinson, selected four picks before Matthews by the St. Louis Rams, has put his outstanding physical tools on display, but he remains raw and has experienced many struggles in his first year. He gave up three quarterback pressures and was flagged for three penalties in Sunday's loss to the New York Giants.

Offensive Guards

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Offensive Guard Rankings

Rank	Player	Pos.	Team	Pick	LW
1	Joel Bitonio	LG	Browns	2.3	1
2	Zack Martin	RG	Cowboys	1.16	2
3	Brandon Linder	RG	Jaguars	3.29	3
4	Jack Mewhort	LG	Colts	2.27	4
5	Gabe Jackson	LG	Raiders	3.17	5
6	Weston Richburg	LG	Giants	2.11	6

 

The best rookie guards in Week 16 weren't the usual suspects. While Joel Bitonio, Zack Martin and Brandon Linder are all ranked among the top nine players in the position in the NFL by Pro Football Focus, the site gave all three of them negative grades for their play this past week.

Perhaps the most impressive outing of the week for a rookie guard came from Weston Richburg of the New York Giants. Tasked with going up against a talented St. Louis Rams defensive line featuring Michael Brockers and aforementioned rookie Aaron Donald, Richburg helped keep Donald out of his usual place in the backfield while allowing just one quarterback hurry.

Gabe Jackson was beaten for a sack in the Oakland Raiders' win over the Buffalo Bills, according to PFF, but he had one of his best games of the year as a run-blocker. Against arguably the NFL's best defensive line, Jackson utilized his 6'3", 336-pound frame to generate power and open holes in the middle.

Indianapolis Colts left guard Jack Mewhort had a solid Sunday, despite his team's blowout loss to the Dallas Cowboys. He received a grade of 0.4 from PFF for his play and allowed two quarterback hurries.

A more impressive performance, however, came from his former Ohio State teammate, Andrew Norwell. An undrafted rookie who has been surprisingly good for the Carolina Panthers at left guard, Norwell allowed no quarterback pressures against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, per PFF.

Centers

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Center Rankings

Rank	Player	Pos.	Team	Pick	LW
1	Corey Linsley	C	Packers	5.21	1
2	Bryan Stork	C	Patriots	4.5	2
3	Russell Bodine	C	Bengals	4.11	3
4	Luke Bowanko	C	Jaguars	6.29	4
5	Chris Watt	C	Chargers	3.25	5

Another rookie who could be considered a Pro Bowl snub, Corey Linsley has been one of the NFL's best centers this year. He has been especially great as a run-blocker, but he had an uncharacteristically poor performance in that capacity against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. He received a minus-3.4 grade from Pro Football Focus for the game as a result.

Bryan Stork has been a solidifying presence in the middle of the New England Patriots' offensive line this year, but he allowed his first sack of the season Sunday when he had his hands full with a talented New York Jets defensive line.

Russell Bodine, who along with Linsley is one of two rookie centers to start all 15 of their teams' games this year, has had some strong efforts along with some bad games. He has received negative grades from PFF for nine of his 15 starts.

The best rookie center in Week 16, according to PFF's grades, was Luke Bowanko of the Jacksonville Jaguars. He did not allow a single quarterback pressure and was a strong run-blocker up the middle in the Jaguars' Thursday night win over the Tennessee Titans.

Chris Watt has been one of the steadier rookie centers since taking over the San Diego Chargers' starting job in Week 12, but he was carted to the locker room with an ankle injury early in Saturday night's win over the San Francisco 49ers.

Defensive Ends

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Defensive End Rankings

Rank	Player	Pos.	Team	Pick	LW
1	Timmy Jernigan	DE	Ravens	2.16	1
2	Zach Kerr	DE/NT	Colts	N/A	2
3	Kony Ealy	DE	Panthers	2.28	4
4	Stephon Tuitt	DE	Steelers	2.14	5
5	Dominique Easley	DE	Patriots	1.29	3

The most productive rookie playing a defensive end role, especially in recent weeks, Timmy Jernigan had four total tackles and two quarterback hits in his second start for the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday against the Houston Texans.

Zach Kerr played 26 snaps for the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys, according to Pro Football Focus, but the rotational defensive end was not officially credited with any tackles on the stat sheet.

Kony Ealy remains one-dimensional as a rookie for the Carolina Panthers, but he's started to blossom as a pass-rusher in recent weeks. He has recorded a sack in each of his past two games.

In his third consecutive start for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Stephon Tuitt recorded three tackles, including a sack, and had three additional quarterback hurries, per PFF, against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

Dominique Easley showed flashes of his playmaking ability as a rookie, but it was evident he never fully returned to 100 percent in his recovery from a torn ACL suffered last October. The New England Patriots placed him on injured reserve last week.

Defensive Tackles

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Defensive Tackle Rankings

Rank	Player	Pos.	Team	Pick	LW
1	Aaron Donald	DT	Rams	1.13	1
2	Justin Ellis	NT	Raiders	4.8	2
3	Ego Ferguson	DT	Bears	2.19	4
4	Shamar Stephen	DT	Vikings	7.5	5
5	Ra'Shede Hageman	DT	Falcons	2.5	NR

 

It was a quiet week for the rookie class of defensive tackles. While Aaron Donald, Justin Ellis, Ego Ferguson and Shamar Stephen all saw significant playing time in Week 16, none of them were credited with any tackles this week.

Each of them had at least one pressure on the quarterback, according to Pro Football Focus; Stephen had three. 

The most productive rookie defensive tackle this week, despite playing only 11 snaps, was Atlanta Falcons second-round pick Ra'Shede Hageman. In his short time in the game, he recorded three total tackles, including a sack, and had an additional quarterback hurry, according to PFF.

Hageman hasn't seen a large chunk of playing time in any game this year, but he's an explosive athlete who has proved he can be disruptive in short spurts. 

Displaced from the top five this week was Will Sutton, a teammate of Ferguson on the Chicago Bears, who did not play in Week 16 due to an illness and has had little production in recent weeks.

Linebackers

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Linebacker Rankings

Rank	Player	Pos.	Team	Pick	LW
1	Khalil Mack	OLB	Raiders	1.5	2
2	C.J. Mosley	ILB	Ravens	1.17	1
3	Anthony Barr	OLB	Vikings	1.9	3
4	Chris Borland	ILB	49ers	3.13	4
5	Preston Brown	OLB	Bills	3.9	5
6	Telvin Smith	ILB	Jaguars	5.4	8
7	Avery Williamson	ILB	Titans	5.11	6
8	Aaron Lynch	OLB	49ers	5.10	7
9	Christian Kirksey	ILB	Browns	3.7	9
10	Anthony Hitchens	OLB	Cowboys	4.19	NR

While Khalil Mack was dominant in Week 16, C.J. Mosley had an up-and-down performance for the Baltimore Ravens in their loss to the Houston Texans. While he recorded six tackles, he was responsible for allowing five receptions for 45 yards, including a five-yard touchdown to rookie tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz, according to Pro Football Focus.

Mosley has had a good debut season—and his Pro Bowl recognition is well-deserved—but his play hasn't been as great in recent weeks as it was earlier in the year. If any linebacker is going to win Defensive Rookie of the Year, it should be Mack.

Anthony Barr and Chris Borland had a shot to factor into the Defensive Rookie of the Year award race with as well as each of them played, but both are out for the season due to injuries.

Two spectacular performances from the rookie linebacker crop this week, in addition to Mack's, came from Telvin Smith and Anthony Hitchens. 

Smith recorded a season-high 15 total tackles, including one for loss, in the Jacksonville Jaguars' win over the Tennessee Titans on Thursday Night Football. Hitchens had eight total tackles and two passes defensed, including one interception, in the Dallas Cowboys' win over the Indianapolis Colts.

Cornerbacks

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Cornerback Rankings

Rank	Player	Pos.	Team	Pick	LW
1	E.J. Gaines	CB	Rams	6.12	1
2	Bradley Roby	CB	Broncos	1.31	2
3	Kyle Fuller	CB	Bears	1.14	3
4	Bashaud Breeland	CB	Redskins	4.2	4
5	Phillip Gaines	CB	Chiefs	3.23	5

 

The steadiest rookie cornerback in coverage over the duration of the season, St. Louis Rams sixth-round pick E.J. Gaines recorded three tackles and one pass defensed Sunday before he was forced out of the game against the New York Giants with a concussion after taking a hit from his own teammate, T.J. McDonald. Gaines allowed three receptions for 20 yards on five targets, according to Pro Football Focus.

One of the biggest plays of the week by any player, let alone a rookie, was made by Bashaud Breeland on Saturday night. His interception of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Mark Sanchez, in the final two minutes of a tied game, set the Washington Redskins up to drive for a game-winning field goal and pull off an upset victory.

Breeland allowed five receptions for 66 yards on seven targets, according to PFF, but he had five total tackles, including one for loss.

For the second time this year, Kyle Fuller drew the tough assignment of going man-to-man with Detroit Lions superstar wide receiver Calvin Johnson. The Chicago Bears first-round pick played better this time around than he did on Thanksgiving, recording three tackles and two passes defensed, but he still gave up six receptions and 103 yards to Megatron.

Denver Broncos cornerback Bradley Roby recorded two tackles and was not targeted once in 38 snaps against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night, per PFF.

Safeties

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Safety Rankings

Rank	Player	Pos.	Team	Pick	LW
1	Ha Ha Clinton-Dix	FS	Packers	1.21	1
2	Deone Bucannon	SS	Cardinals	1.27	2
3	Calvin Pryor	SS/FS	Jets	1.18	3
4	Tre Boston	FS	Panthers	4.28	4
5	Pierre Warren	FS	Saints	N/A	5

 

It was a fairly quiet week for the top safeties in the rookie class. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Deone Bucannon each had four tackles, but neither had to make a big impact in coverage, though Clinton-Dix helped Sam Shields break up one deep pass intended for Mike Evans.

Calvin Pryor moved back to free safety for the New York Jets on Sunday, with Jaiquawn Jarrett sidelined by a shoulder injury, and he played an active role for the Jets defense. Pryor was in on nine total tackles in Sunday's loss while allowing only two receptions for six yards in coverage, though one was a three-yard touchdown by New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, according to Pro Football Focus.

The most impactful game by a rookie safety this week came from Brock Vereen of the Chicago Bears, who received a start against the Detroit Lions and recorded five tackles and an interception. That's not quite enough for him to displace Pierre Warren from the top five of the rankings, however, as Warren had two interceptions in a start against Vereen's Bears in Week 15.

Specialists

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Specialist Rankings

Rank	Player	Pos.	Team	Pick	LW
1	Chandler Catanzaro	K	Cardinals	N/A	2
2	Cody Parkey	K	Eagles	N/A	1
3	Cairo Santos	K	Chiefs	N/A	3
4	Pat O'Donnell	P	Bears	6.15	4

Chandler Catanzaro, Cody Parkey and Cairo Santos have each made all but four of their field-goal attempts this year, and each has one game in which he has missed two kicks.

Parkey's game came this week, and it couldn't have happened at a worse time. His two misses, from 34 and 46 yards out, proved costly in the Philadelphia Eagles' loss to the Washington Redskins, which eliminated the Eagles from the playoffs.

Catanzaro made field goals from 27 and 32 yards out in the Arizona Cardinals' loss to the Seattle Seahawks, while Santos went 4-of-4, with makes from 35, 23, 43 and 23 yards, in the Kansas City Chiefs' loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Pat O'Donnell, who ranks 29th in the NFL with a punting average of 43.7 yards per punt, downed just one of his six punts inside the 20-yard line in the Chicago Bears' loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

Dan Hope is an NFL/NFL Draft Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.

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