The NFL's Biggest Rookie Gifts of 2015

The NFL receives newly wrapped presents in late April and early May. The NFL draft serves as the league's version of holiday shopping. Like any good bargain shoppers, teams can find true value in unexpected places. 

When it comes to the draft, most expect first- and second-round picks to perform well. These are the expectations placed on those deemed the most talented coming out of the collegiate ranks. Even third-round picks can be thrown into the mix, since the round is included as part of the draft's first two days. 

An old NFL rule of thumb stated that a first-round pick should be expected to contribute in his first year, a second-round pick by his second and a third-round pick by his third. Any contributions from players acquired beyond that point is a bonus. 

There are multiple teams that received holiday bonuses from rookies selected in the fourth round and beyond this year—players who won't simply be contributors, but actual building blocks for the teams' futures. Whenever an organization can find a top player at some point during the third day of the draft, it's truly a gift to the franchise. 

Bleacher Report identified five late-round or undrafted rookies who excelled this season and claim bright futures. 

Just Missed the Cut

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Rookies today continue to make the transition to the NFL ranks faster than ever.

Some are prepared from the day they step into their chosen collegiate programs to become professionals. Others need more time. There are a very few exceptional talents who overcome all obstacles, as their talent simply takes over once an opportunity presents itself. 

Numerous names could be mentioned as late-round picks or undrafted free agents already playing well in their first year. A few need to be mentioned, even if they weren't counted among those who made the biggest impact this season. 

The Arizona Cardinals selected Delaware State defensive tackle Rodney Gunter with the 116th overall pick in the fourth round. Gunter wasn't supposed to start this year, but the addition of Corey Peters didn't work out in the team's favor when he tore an Achilles' during training camp.

Gunter more than adequately filled in at nose tackle this season. He might not be as good as Dan Williams was last season before leaving via free agency, but the rookie hasn't been overwhelmed, either. 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers found an answer at middle linebacker when the team chose LSU's Kwon Alexander in the fourth round. Alexander is an athletic linebacker who operates from sideline to sideline and can also drop deep into the middle third of the field in Lovie Smith's vaunted Cover 2 scheme.

Alexander experienced ups and downs this season—he's currently suspended for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances—but the linebacker is still second on the team with 93 total tackles and nine deflected passes. Alexander and Lavonte David should form a dynamic pair for years. 

The Detroit Lions chose Texas cornerback Quandre Diggs in the sixth round. Many teams didn't feel he presented the type of size (5'9" and 196 pounds) or speed needed to excel at the position. What they didn't take into account is the fact he effortlessly covered the slot during his time in Austin.

Diggs stepped right into the nickel role for Detroit when Josh Wilson suffered a season-ending injury. The rookie cornerback is already considered a premier nickel and one of the league's top cornerbacks, according to Pro Football Focus. 

Unlike the previous three, the Dallas Cowboys struck big with undrafted free agents this year. A prime example is defensive tackle David Irving, who was dismissed from Iowa State's football team. Irving has been a monster at points this season, though.

The 6'7", 272-pound defensive lineman only operates in a rotational role, but he's a consistent disruptive force when he's on the field. However, he's not even the best undrafted free agent on the Cowboys' roster this season (as everyone will see in a bit). 

More examples can be found, but these four fall into the second tier of late-round or undrafted gems from this year's class. 

RB Thomas Rawls, Seattle Seahawks

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The St. Louis Rams' Todd Gurley leads all rookies with 1,023 rushing yards. The Rams organization decided to use the 10th overall pick to select Gurley and make him the first running back off the board. 

The Seattle Seahawks signed Thomas Rawls as an undrafted free agent out of Central Michigan (via transfer from Michigan). Rawls ranks second among rookies with 830 rushing yards. He ranks 10th overall, even though he's out for the rest of the season with a broken ankle. His 5.6 yards per carry also lead the league among players with over 70 attempts. 

Unlike Gurley, Rawls didn't go to an organization building an entire offense around his skill set. 

Rawls impressed during the preseason to the point where the team decided to move on from veterans Robert Turbin and Christine Michael—who promptly returned upon Rawls' injury. 

The rookie runner earned his spot on the roster. 

"I do remember [head coach Pete Carroll] saying, 'It’s not going to be given," Rawls said, via ESPN.com's Sheil Kapadia. "You’re going to earn it. I said, ‘That’s all I ever did in my life, coach.’ I said, ‘I just need an opportunity.’ And that’s what he did. He gave me an opportunity."

That arose when Marshawn Lynch suffered multiple injuries this season. In Beast Mode's absence, Rawls showed he was also a physical downhill runner who could pile up plenty of yards in the Seahawks' system. 

"I have never run out of bounds," Rawls said last month, via Kapadia. "It's just my makeup. It's my whole mentality. I think I would feel less of a person just running out of bounds instead of being physical, showing toughness and [having] a different mentality at the running back position."

In his seven starts this season, Rawls averaged 108 yards per game. He also posted a 209-yard effort in Week 11 against the San Francisco 49ers.  

Of course, Lynch will eventually return from injury and assume his duties as the starting back. He'll likely even go into next season as Seattle's starter, but he'll turn 30 years old next April, which usually signifies the beginning of the end for most great backs. 

Rawls will help form a beastly duo in Seattle's backfield before he eventually takes over full-time for Lynch. 

WR Stefon Diggs, Minnesota Vikings

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In order to get the most out of any young quarterback, a team needs to place talent around its investment at the game's most important position. 

Unfortunately, the Minnesota Vikings haven't done a great job surrounding Teddy Bridgewater with the level of talent needed to maximize the quarterback's value. 

However, the franchise appears to have found at least one consistent threat at wide receiver with its recent fifth-round pick, Maryland wide receiver Stefon Diggs. 

Charles Johnson has been slowed by injuries and never developed into the player most expected this season. Mike Wallace is a one-trick pony. And former first-round pick Cordarrelle Patterson is barely used as a wide receiver anymore. 

Diggs, meanwhile, is a dynamic threat with the ball in his hands. Once considered a potential early-round talent, Maryland's coaching staff never featured Diggs in its offense during his junior year—a regular season which ended when Diggs suffered a lacerated kidney before he returned for the team's bowl game. 

As a result, the former elite recruit only caught 62 passes for 792 yards and five touchdowns in his final year on campus. He could eclipse all of those numbers in his first season with the Vikings. 

"I don't think about that I should have been taken higher (in the draft) or things like that," Diggs said, per TwinCities.com's Chris Tomasson. "I just think that this is the team where I should have ended up, and I'm happy with the situation." 

The rookie wide receiver leads the Vikings or is second on the team in receptions (47), receiving yards (693), yards per receptions (14.7) and receiving touchdowns (four). This comes after being inactive the first three games of the season before the coaching staff actually decided to use him. 

Diggs may not develop into a true No. 1 target for Bridgewater, but he certainly rose to the occasion when called upon this season. At worst, Diggs should serve as a legitimate big-play threat who has the confidence of his quarterback to catch the ball in crucial situations. 

OG La'el Collins, Dallas Cowboys

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La'el Collins' unfortunate draft experience has been well-chronicled. The former first-round talent went completely undrafted due to circumstances outside of his control. Yet he was given an opportunity to pick exactly where he wanted to play after the draft and chose the Dallas Cowboys. 

Seven months later, Collins continues to excel as the Cowboys' starting left guard. 

Each week, Collins' highlights become a regular discussion on social media—really, everyone just giggles at how stupidly talented he is. Sometimes he's seen absolutely annihilating defenders or outrunning an NFL running back while trying to make a block downfield. These are just two examples of the impact Collins brought to the Cowboys' already talented offensive line. 

The lineman isn't entirely satisfied with his play, though, and Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett expects more from him, too, according to Dallas Morning News' Brandon George: 

"

He's had those plays that are very impressive. He has a really good ability to get out in space, block guys and stay on the move and block other guys. We've seen that throughout the year. Not every lineman is capable of doing that, so he's done a good job of that and those are important things to be able to do. He also has to improve on the play by play in the run game, in his pass protection. If you look at him over the course of the season he's improved greatly in those areas and he's maturing as a player.

"

It's always hard to judge how well a lineman is doing on a down-by-down basis without looking at coaches' film, but Collins clearly is one of the league's most talented young blockers. 

With the LSU product now entrenched at guard between left tackle Tyron Smith and center Travis Frederick, the Cowboys own arguably the game's best left side on any offensive line. When right guard Zack Martin is added to the mix, all four of those talented blockers are 25 or younger. 

The league's best offensive line will remain the best for a long time, especially with Collins in the mix. 

DT Grady Jarrett, Atlanta Falcons

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Grady Jarrett isn't a prototypical defensive tackle, but is quickly turning into a valuable part of the Atlanta Falcons defense. 

Jarrett was college football's most disruptive interior defender last year. Instead of becoming a high draft pick, he fell short when it came to the NFL's physical requirements for his position. 

In three years as a starter at Clemson, Jarrett registered 29.5 tackles for loss and 36 quarterback pressures. However, teams generally saw his measurements at this year's NFL combine as a hindrance. Jarrett stands just under 6'1" and weighs 304 pounds with a reach under 33 inches.

"Teams will beat him up over his size, but someone is going to get a good football player with him," an anonymous NFC North scout said via NFL.com's Lance Zierlein before the draft. 

As a result, Jarrett fell to the Falcons in the fifth round, even though he was considered an early-round talent. 

"You can control what you can control," Jarrett said after the draft, per ESPN.com's Vaughn McClure. "What I control is how I do out here. Just trying to be a better player and help this team win. It's all about trying to help this team improve and me making the most out of my situation right now."

Jarrett finally got an opportunity to start in Week 14 when the massive Paul Soliai injured his calf, and he performed well. In fact, his repetitions continued to increase over the last five weeks, and the rookie responded with highly effective play. 

As part of the rotation, Jarrett's production certainly won't draw any attention, but his effectiveness as a penetrating run defender can't be gleaned through simple statistics.

Pro Football Focus graded the Clemson product as the league's best rookie interior defender through the first 14 weeks by a relatively wide margin. The young defensive tackle has been particularly good against the run. Jarrett already registered 15 stops at or behind the line of scrimmage. 

"That’s where I thought his best (work) was, in the run game," head coach Dan Quinn said earlier in the month, via AtlantaFalcons.com's Andrew Hirsh. "I think the use of his hands—he was playing with really great leverage, and when you put those things in combination together, you’re usually going to like the results."

Jarrett might not earn a full-time starter's role in the near future, because Soliai is under contract for the next three seasons. However, the veteran turns 32 years old year next year, and Jarrett should expect a big role within the team's defensive line rotation. 

S Adrian Amos, Chicago Bears

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Mike Brown left the Chicago Bears after the 2008 season and the organization has search for a competent safety ever since. 

The franchise finally appears to have found an answer to its safety issues in this year's fifth-round selection, Adrian Amos. 

Defensive backs coach Ed Donatell gushed about his first-year defensive back in October, via ESPN.com's Jeff Dickerson:

"

Amos has been just so steady and mature beyond his years. He’s been that way 24/7 in everything that he does and in every meeting. He’s very calm. And you can see he was listening to Antrel. You can tell that when Antrel went out there wasn’t as big of a drop off in communication as there might have been. There was some drop off, but Amos is a real student of the game and very composed.

"

Amos is third on the team with 61 total tackles and provides a reliable presence along the back line of the Bears defense. 

Of course, every rookie experiences a few miscues. Few were as obvious as when the Bears gave up a 71-yard touchdown pass to San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Torrey Smith in overtime to lose the Week 13 contest. An obvious miscommunication occurred between the rookie safety and the rest of the secondary, but the play didn't shake his teammates' confidence in Amos. 

"He’s been playing great the whole year," veteran cornerback Tracy Porter said after the game, via the Chicago Tribune's Rich Campbell. "It’s just  [one] mistake. Yeah, it’s a big mistake. But we don’t lose confidence in him."

Amos responded by playing better during the following two weeks. According to Pro Football Focus, the Penn State product is the highest-rated safety in this year's rookie class.  

A safety they can count on is something the Bears have lacked for the past seven years. Amos' game might not stand out, but that's actually a good thing when he's being counted upon as the team's deep safety.