Chris Nelson's 2008 Midseason All-Rookie Team: Defense

Here's my All-Rookie Team for defense:

Defensive Ends

Chris Long (Rams), Kendall Langford (Dolphins)

Honorable mentions: Trevor Scott (Raiders), Jason Jones (Titans)

Not a whole lot of production here, as Long leads all rookies with four sacks. Meanwhile, Langford has been a big contributor to Miami's very good run defense this season.

Defensive Tackles

Marcus Harrison (Bears), Eric Foster (Colts)

Honorable mentions: Pat Sims (Bengals), Sedrick Ellis (Saints)

Harrison leads all rookie defensive tackles with two sacks, while Foster has earned his way into the Colts' rotation and is second among rookies at his position in tackles (21).

Outside Linebackers

Keith Rivers (Bengals), Alex Hall (Browns)

Honorable mentions: Bryan Kehl (Giants), Gary Guyton (Patriots)

Despite being out for the season with a broken jaw, Rivers still leads all rookie outside linebackers with 37 tackles. He also added a forced fumble, an interception, and two pass deflections on the season. Meanwhile, Hall leads all rookie linebackers with three sacks.

Inside Linebacker

Jerod Mayo

Honorable mention: Curtis Lofton

Mayo leads all NFL rookies with 59 tackles and has been a consistently productive starter for the Patriots. Lofton comes in second in tackles with 47 and has also added a sack and a forced fumble on the season.

Cornerbacks

Aqib Talib (Buccaneers), Brandon Flowers (Chiefs)

Honorable mentions: Brandon Carr (Chiefs), Tracy Porter (Saints)

Despite starting only one of his eight games played, Talib leads NFL rookie in pass deflections (nine) and interceptions (three). Meanwhile, Flowers is second in both categories (eight deflections, two interceptions), including one returned for a score.

Safeties

Kenny Phillips (Giants), Chris Horton (Redskins)

Honorable mention: Tyrell Johnson (Vikings)

Horton has been outstanding this season, racking up a rookie-best 42 tackles in addition to a sack, a fumble recovery, three interceptions, and eight pass deflections on his way to NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month honors for September.

Meanwhile, the hard-hitting Phillips has played well as expected, recording 35 tackles (second among rookie safeties), one interception, and three pass deflections.

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Chris Nelson is a journalism major at Georgia State University. He operates his own Miami Dolphins blog which can be found here.