NFL Draft 2011: The 25 Most Explosive Rookie Seasons in NFL History
The 2011 NFL Draft, like any draft class, is sure to have its fair share of players who are able to come in and be difference-makers from day one.
Some, like LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson and Alabama running back Mark Ingram, seem poised to have a significant impact the second they step onto a team's roster, while others, like Auburn quarterback Cam Newton and Clemson defensive end Da'Quan Bowers, will likely take at least a year or two before they're ready to contribute at a high level.
Whether any of these prospects or others are able to put together rookie campaigns for the ages is anything but a known quantity, and may not be for longer than usual because of the impending lockout.
While we wait for next crop of young football talent to establish themselves as the future stars of the NFL, let's have a look at the 25 greatest rookie seasons the league has ever seen.
25. Terrell Suggs
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Terrell Suggs didn't need to have a great season as a rookie to boost his profile as as football player after making an early jump into the NFL Draft following his record-setting 24-sack junior season at Arizona State.
Not that such stopped him from dominating the league anyway. Suggs rewarded the Baltimore Ravens for taking him with the 10th overall pick in the 2003 draft by setting a new franchise record for sacks in a season with 12 as an outside linebacker in Baltimore's 3-4 scheme.
For his efforts, Suggs was named the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year and has since been selected to the Pro Bowl four times in his fear-inducing career.
24. Chris Carr
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Before Chris Carr became Terrell Suggs' teammate with the Ravens, he was putting opposing team's kickoff coverage units to shame with the Oakland Raiders.
During his rookie campaign in 2005, Carr, an undrafted free agent out of Boise State, returned 73 kicks for an NFL rookie-record 1,752 yardsโan average of 24 yards per return.
Remarkably enough, Carr improved on his rookie performance in 2006, racking up 1,762 yards on 69 returns.ย
23. Anquan Boldin
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Before Larry Fitzgerald blew up for the Cardinals, Anquan Boldin was establishing himself as a force to be reckoned with in Arizona.
Boldin was a second-round pick (54th overall) out of Florida State in 2003 NFL Draft, as some teams were turned off by the 6'1", 215-pounder's 4.7 40-yard dash at the Combine that year.
However, Boldin quickly allayed those fears when he racked up 217 receiving yards in his first professional game, setting the NFL record for most receiving yards by a rookie in his first game and tying Billy Sims' record for most yards from scrimmage in a debut.
Boldin finished his rookie season with 101 catches, 1,377 yards and eight touchdowns, earning a trip to the 2004 Pro Bowl and the distinction of being the only first-year player in attendance.
Though he has since moved on to play for the Baltimore Ravens, Boldin and the Cards won't soon forget his remarkable debut in the desert.
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22. Clinton Portis
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Just a year prior to Boldin's bold beginnings in the pro football, Clinton Portis was the name the resonated as the NFL's biggest rookie sensation.
The Denver Broncos nabbed Portis, a junior out of the University of Miami, with the 51st overall pick in the second round, and it didn't take long for head coach Mike Shanahan to figure out that he had a special talent on his hands.
Portis earned a spot in the 2003 Pro Bowl as a rookie and the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award, thanks to the 1,508 yards and 15 touchdowns he picked up on the ground for the Broncos that season, in which he became the youngest player in NFL history to score four touchdowns at 21 years and 105 days.
Portis' career has since taken a turn for the less remarkable now that he's been cut by the Washington Redskins, but no one can take from him that magical 2002-2003 season.
21. Matt Ryan
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Presumably, Matt Ryan's NFL debutโa 62-yard touchdown pass on his first pro passโqualifies as "explosive."
Spectacular as it was, that moment was merely a harbinger of the great things to come for Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons during his rookie season in 2008, in which he threw for 3,440 yards and 16 touchdowns while leading his team to the playoffs.
Of course, big things were to be expected of Ryan, who was the third overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft out of Boston College, but no one could have possibly expected just how big of an impact the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year ended up having on the Falcons franchise from the get-go.
20. Chris Johnson
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Chris Johnson will forever be remembered for his 2,000 yard season in 2009, but it's not as though he came out of nowhere that year.
In 2008, Johnson, then a rookie, rushed for 1,228 yards and nine touchdowns as the Tennessee Titans reached the playoffs by virtue of a 13-3 regular season record.
That performance wasn't quite enough to earn Johnson the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award (that honor went to Matt Ryan), but it was more than enough to get the first-round pick out of East Carolina on a plane to Hawaii for the 2009 Pro Bowl.
19. Kevin Butler
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You may be wondering right about now, "Why in the world is Kevin Butler on this list?!"
And, frankly, you wouldn't be all that remiss for being so shocked. Valuable as kickers may be, it is decidedly difficult to take seriously the true value of such a player's performance, no matter how remarkable.
Unless that kicker is Kevin Butler, who, as a fourth-round pick out of Georgia in the 1985 NFL Draft, led the NFL in scoring with 144 points as a rookie.
Butler nailed all 51 of his point-after tries and 31 of his 37 field goal attempts for the Super Bowl-shufflin' Chicago Bear, thereby making Butler an integral part of a championship team and, furthermore, deserving of a spot on this list.
18. Tim Brown
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Long before Chris Johnson ever made his way onto a football field, Tim Brown was off to a running start to his Hall-of-Fame career.
The then-Los Angeles Raiders selected Brown with the sixth-overall pick in the 1988 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame, and it didn't take long for "Touchdown Timmy" to endear himself to Raider Nation with his stellar play.ย
Sure, Brown's 725 yards and five touchdowns receiving were nice, but they were nothing compared to what he did in the return game for the Raiders, wherein he notched 444 yards on punts and 1,098 yards on kickoffs, highlighted by a 97-yard kick return for a touchdown.
All in all, the former Golden Domer and 1987 Heisman Trophy winner gained 2,317 all-purpose yards as a rookieโan NFL rookie record that stands to this day.
17. Devin Hester
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Devin Hester may not have come close to matching Tim Brown's rookie yardage totals, but second-rounder out of "The U" did plenty to assert himself as a special teams nightmare as a first-year player in 2006.
That season, Hester reached the end zone five times without catching a single pass or managing a single carry.
How, you ask, did he manage that? Well, how about three punt returns and two kick returns taken to the house?
Forget the yardage, Hester set the rookie record for special teams touchdowns by a single player, a distinction that earned him a Pro Bowl berth and a spot on the All-Pro Team in 2006 along with plenty of dropped jaws.
What's more, Hester topped himself in 2007 with SIX special teams touchdowns and, after just five seasons, is already the NFL's all-time leader in returns for touchdowns.
16. Jevon Kearse
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They don't call Jevon Kearse "The Freak" for nothing.
Kearse was the NFL's sack master as a rookie in 1999, accumulating 14.5 quarterback take-downs while earning Pro Bowl, All-Pro and AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Honors.
Oh, and those 14.5 sacks were the most ever by a rookie.
Unfortunately, Kearse, who came out of Florida as the 16th overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft, never quite replicated his first-year success, though anyone would have a tough time replicating his accomplishments, rookie year or no.ย
15. Earl Campbell
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As tremendous as Jevon Kearse was in his debut, he wasn't even the best rookie to ever play for the Titans franchise.
That honor belongs to Earl Campbell, who took the NFL by storm in 1978 when he led the league in rushing with 1,450 yards and 13 touchdowns for the Houston Oilers.
Of course, along with those statistics came the following honors:
1978 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
1978 NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
Selections to the 1978 Pro Bowl and All-Pro teams.
Not that Campbell's spectacular play was totally unexpected. After all, the man known as "The Tyler Rose" was the first overall pick in the 1978 NFL Draft after garnering the 1977 Heisman Trophy as a member of the Texas Longhorns.ย
14. Randy Moss
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Interestingly enough, Randy Moss was last seen sporting a Tennessee Titans jersey, though he has recently expressed a desire to return to the New England Patriots.
Amidst the turmoil of his 2010 season, Moss made a brief return to Minnesota, where his Hall-of-Fame career began in 1998.
Moss slipped down to the Vikings with the 21st overall pick in the 1998 draft due to some off-field concerns, but did anything but disappoint the horned faithful in Minneapolis, piling up 1,313 yards and a rookie-record 17 touchdowns through the air as Daunte Culpepper's go-to guy.
Like so many others on this list, Moss finished the season as the AP's NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro.
13. Ben Roethlisberger
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Say what you want about Ben Roethlisberger as a person, there's still little doubt as to his tremendous ability as an NFL quarterback.
That much was apparent from the moment "Big Ben" took over under center for Bill Cowher's Pittsburgh Steelers. Roethlisberger's statistics might not be all that eye-poppingโ2,621 yards, 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 14 games, 13 as a starterโexcept for one.
He went 13-0 as the Steelers' starter after supplanting the marginally effective Tommy Maddox early in the season, helping Pittsburgh to finish with the best record in the NFL at 15-1.
And while that wasn't quite enough for Roethlisberger and company to win the Super Bowl in 2005โthat distinction was earned by the New England Patriotsโit didn't take long for "Big Ben" to prove his ability as a championship signal-caller, as he guided the Steelers to a victory in Super Bowl XL the very next year.
12. Sam Bradford
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Who would've thought Sam Bradford would have played so well as a rookie for the St. Louis Rams after suffering through a series of shoulder injuries toward the end of his career at Oklahoma?
Okay, so Bradford was the first-overall pick and made more money than Tom Brady in 2010, making his solid playโ3,512 yards and 18 touchdownsโworth the pay for the Rams, who nearly made the playoffs as a result of Bradford's breakout campaign.
This, mind you, with nary a quality receiver to throw to AND while going a rookie-record 169 pass attempts without throwing a pick.
Now, if only the NFL were to allow the players to play this fall, Bradford, the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner and the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year this past season, might make his way onto the list of "Most Explosive Sophomore Seasons."
11. Bob Hayes
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Few late-round picks have shone as bright as rookies as Bob Hayes.
After winning a gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Hayes entered the NFL as a seventh-round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys, who took a flier on a world-class sprinter whose football skills were something of an unknown.
That all changed once Hayes took the field, scooting past defenses and forcing opposing coaches to scheme for a guy who a lightning bolt on the gridiron.
As impressive as Hayes' rookie stats 1,003 yards and 12 touchdowns were, what's makes them even more noteworthy is the fact that he needed only 46 catches to put up those numbers.
Naturally, "Bullet" Bob was elected to the 1965 Pro Bowl and the All-Pro Second Team as a rookie.
10. Peyton Manning
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Unlike Bob Hayes, Peyton Manning was about as close to a known commodity as any team could get out of college when the Indianapolis Colts snagged him out of Tennessee with the No. 1 overall pick of the 1998 NFL Draft.
As one might expect, the sure-fire Hall-of-Famer had a remarkable first season, setting five rookie records while throwing for 3,739 yards and 26 touchdowns.
On the flip side, the Colts finished with a woeful 3-13 record while Peyton led the league in interceptions with 28.
Nonetheless, Manning's remarkable rookie season, at least statistically, earns him a spot on the fringe of the top 10 of this list.
9. Adrian Peterson
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Coming into the 2007 season, everyone knew that Adrian Peterson would be a tremendous running back in the NFL if he could somehow dodge the rash of injuries that plagued him in his time at Oklahoma.
Well, injuries or no, the man known to his fans as "All Day" was spectacular as a rookie, scampering for 1,341 yards and 12 touchdowns, earning him the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award, distinction as a Second Team All-Pro performer and a trip to Honolulu for the Pro Bowl.
His numbers were boosted significantly by two jaw-dropping performances in particularโa 224-yard, three-touchdown day against the Chicago Bears and an NFL-record 296-yard, three-touchdown domination of the San Diego Chargers.
Unfortunately, Peterson's season was interrupted by a right knee injury in mid-November, sidelining him for nearly a month.
Even with that set back, Peterson earned Pro Bowl and Second Team All-Pro honors, along with distinction as the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year thanks to one of the great first campaigns of all time.
8. Edgerrin James
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So what do you do if your team trades away a Pro Bowl-caliber back like Marshall Faulk?
Well, if you're Bill Polian of the Indianapolis Colts, the answer is obvious: you draft another one!
That was certainly the case in 1999, when the Colts selected Edgerrin James out of "The U" with the fourth overall pick, passing on Heisman Trophy winner and spiritual traveler Ricky Williams.
"Edge" rewarded Indy for the high consideration by rushing for a league-best 1,553 yards and 13 touchdowns, catching passes for 586 yards and four touchdowns, and earning the rookie trifecta of AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, a flight to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl and a spot as a First Team All-Pro performer.
7. Gale Sayers
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Long before Edgerrin James and Adrian Peterson were busy tearing up the NFL, Gale Sayers was the talk of the town as a rookie running back for the Chicago Bears.
Sayers did just about everything in his first season and did it all quite well, setting or tying the league's records for touchdowns in a season (22), all-purpose yards (2,272) and touchdowns in a single game (six).
Not surprisingly, "The Kansas City Comet", who turned down an offer to play for the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs, was the unanimous pick for NFL Rookie of the Year and started off his Hall-of-Fame career with Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections in 1965.
6. Barry Sanders
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Though also a native of the state of Kansas, Barry Sanders had yet to be born when Gale Sayers first took the field.
Little did anyone know that the third-overall pick of the 1989 NFL Draft out of Oklahoma State would so quickly assert himself as historically comparable to Sayers.
Sanders didn't waste any time allaying the Detroit Lions' fears about his size, at 5'8" and 200 pounds, as he tore up the turf to the tune of 1,470 yards and 14 touchdowns in 1989. That performance earned him, like so many other 'backs on this list, the rookie trifecta and served as a spectacular kickoff to a brief career during which Sanders never rushed for fewer than 1,000 yards in a season.ย
5. Ronnie Lott
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For whatever reason, rookies tend to stand out more on offense than on defense, though Ronnie Lott would likely beg to differ.
In his first season out of USC, Lott, the eighth overall pick in the 1981 NFL Draft, asserted himself as the starting left corner for the San Francisco 49ers and helped to elevate the team's defense from one of the league's worst units to one of the best around.
That season, Lott intercepted seven passes, three of which he returned for touchdowns, while also racking up 89 tackles and four forced fumbles.
And he was only beaten once for a touchdown.
And the Niners won the Super Bowl that year, with Lott doing for the team back then what Darrelle Revis does for the New York Jets today.
Is it any wonder, then, that Lott was both a Pro Bowler and a First Team All-Pro selection as a rookie?
4. Lawrence Taylor
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Interestingly enough, Ronnie Lott didn't manage to finish his first season as the AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
That distinction belonged to Lawrence Taylor, though it was far from the highest honor he earned as a rookie.
The original "LT" was a force for Bill Parcell's New York Giants, almost singlehandedly transforming the team's defense from the NFL's second-worst in 1980 to the third-best in 1981.
Taylor's unique ability as a pass rusher from the linebacker position not only earned him recognition as the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year; it also helped to change the way defenses use linebackers as all-around disruptive forces.
3. Dick "Night Train" Lane
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No defensive rookie in the history of pro football established himself as a force in the NFL quite as emphatically as Dick Lane.
The name "Night Train" is still somewhat recognizable to football fans, but his accomplishments may remain something of a mystery.
Not that they should be anything but ubiquitous in the collective mind of the football world, considering his 14 interceptions as a rookie in 1952 remain the NFL record for picks in a season.
Perhaps what's most impressive about Lane's record-setting season is the fact that he wasn't even drafted. In fact, he arrived at Los Angeles Rams training camp in 1952 as a 24-year-old disgruntled aircraft factory worker, using his experience as a football player during his time at Scottsbluff Junior College.
Lane used that spectacular rookie season as a springboard to a Hall-of-Fame career, earning himself a reputation as a hard-hitter known for saddling his opponents with the "Night Train Necktie."ย
2. Dan Marino
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Dan Marino could have been the first star of the United States Football League after being the top overall pick by the Los Angeles Express in the league's first draft in 1983.
However, Marino chose instead to take his talents to the NFL and was rewarded as the 27th overall pick by the Miami Dolphins and the folks of South Florida found out in year one just how lucky they were to have nabbed him so late.
Marino spent the first five weeks of the 1983 season as David Woodley's back-up before getting his first start against the Buffalo Bills, from which point his career took off. He finished the season with a passer rating of 96.0, setting a new rookie record, to go along with 2,210 yards and 20 touchdowns passing against only six interceptions.
For this, Marino was chosen as a Second Team All-Pro performer and was elected to start the Pro Bowl, becoming the first rookie ever to do so.
Of course, Marino went on to shatter just about every single-season passing record the very next year during his 1984 NFL MVP season.ย
1. Eric Dickerson
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Like Dan Marino, Eric Dickerson gave some consideration to joining the Los Angeles Express of the USFL out of college, but thought better of it and instead joined the Los Angeles Rams as the No. 2 overall pick in the 1983 NFL Draft.
The catalyst behind Southern Methodist's "Pony Express" attack stayed right on track in the pros, setting rookie records in just about every rushing category, including attempts (390), yards (1,808) and touchdowns (18).
Those numbers catapulted Dickerson to First Team All-Pro and Pro Bowl status as the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, from which point he, like Marino, went on to rewrite the league's record books in his sophomore season.
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