Sometimes, it takes an injury to set up an impressive rookie performance, as the Giants‘ Tyrone Tracy Jr. and the Dolphins‘ Jaylen Wright showed last weekend.
Tracy, pressed into a larger role with Devin Singletary out, stepped up in a big way, rushing for 129 yards on 18 carries in the Giants’ upset at Seattle. The fifth-round pick from Iowa and Purdue had totaled 29 yards on 12 carries in the first four weeks, but he played a key role in New York’s road win. Tracy was primarily a receiver at Iowa and had totaled just 231 rushing yards before shining for the Boilermakers last year with 716 yards and eight touchdowns. His performance on Sunday may not make Giants fans forget about Saquon Barkley any time soon, but it’s a nice impact in a win for a low-round pick.
Wright’s strong showing came in a much-needed Dolphins win over New England. With De’Von Achane sidelined with a concussion, the fourth-round pick from Tennessee rushed for 86 yards on 13 carries, outpacing Raheem Mostert. Wright had 42 of those yards on the fourth-quarter drive that gave Miami the lead, and that doesn’t include a 35-yard run that was wiped out by a holding penalty. With the Dolphins on their third quarterback, getting an impact from the run game is a must if they hope to stay competitive in games.
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The rookie class’ leading rusher is still Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, who has already rushed for 300 yards. But the top rookie running back so far is Tampa Bay’s Bucky Irving, a fourth-round pick from Oregon who has rushed for 247 yards. His average of 5.6 yards per carry ranks sixth among players with 40-plus carries on the year.
Caleb Williams in uncharted territory for Bears
Sunday was a big step forward for Bears rookie Caleb Williams, who became the first Chicago rookie to throw for 300-plus yards with at least two touchdowns and no interceptions. If it seems surprising no Bears rookie had ever done that, there are nine other NFL franchises that still have never had such a game — the Bucs, Dolphins, Lions, Packers, Raiders, Ravens, Saints, Seahawks and Vikings.
Who had the most such games as a rookie in NFL history? The Chargers’ Justin Herbert had five his rookie year, and the Texans’ C.J. Stroud and the Giants’ Daniel Jones had four each as rookies.
[Read more: How Bears QB Caleb Williams has ‘learned and caught up to speed in the NFL’]
Rare rookie trifecta of quarterback wins
All three of the NFL’s starting rookie quarterbacks — Williams, Daniels and the Broncos‘ Bo Nix — all won this past weekend, a rare occurrence given the tough road most rookie quarterbacks face. The record in the Super Bowl era is four rookies winning on the same weekend, which happened in 2018. Three of those four are prominent starters now in the Bills‘ Josh Allen, the Bucs‘ Baker Mayfield and the Vikings‘ Sam Darnold; the fourth was Arizona’s Josh Rosen.
Williams, Daniels and Nix have already combined for 10 wins in their first five weeks. You might see that reported as the second-most in NFL history, but it’s really the most. The record of 13 was set in 1987, and that window included a player’s strike which led to replacement players and a large number of quarterbacks listed as rookies without that major asterisk.
Jaguars‘ Brian Thomas Jr. leads receiver class
An 85-yard touchdown will certainly help the average, and Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr. is coming off his best game as a pro, going for 122 yards in the Jaguars’ shootout win over the Colts. Thomas has 22 catches on the season, and of the 34 NFL players with that many receptions, he has the best yards per catch at 18.0. With the Giants’ Malik Nabers missing a game due to injury, Thomas moved into the rookie lead with 397 receiving yards, emerging as a clear WR1 for the Jaguars. Thomas’ three touchdown catches are one behind the Cardinals‘ Marvin Harrison Jr. for the rookie lead.
One rookie with an even higher average is the Bills‘ Keon Coleman, who has averaged 19.4 yards on his nine catches, including a 49-yard touchdown in Sunday’s loss to the Texans.
Finally, rookie impact for Carolina
The Panthers didn’t have a first-round pick in April, but having the worst record in the NFL last season should open a door to rookie impact, and Carolina didn’t have much in the first month of the season. Receiver Xavier Legette, their top pick, has 13 catches for 151 yards and one touchdown, running back Jonathon Brooks hasn’t played yet as he recovers from injury, and tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders has just 41 yards on eight catches.
But Sunday brought an impressive first start for linebacker Trevin Wallace, a third-round pick from Kentucky. With starters Shaq Thompson and Josey Jewell out with injury, Wallace had 15 tackles in Carolina’s loss to the Bears. That’s the most by any rookie in a game this season — and significantly more than the three tackles he’d totaled before Sunday.
One particularly promising series for Wallace came in the second quarter, when it was still a one-score game and the Bears were driving. Wallace made a run stop on third-and-2, and then did the same on fourth-and-1, stopping Roschon Johnson for a turnover on downs. Carolina’s offense fumbled the ball back three plays later, but Wallace is setting himself up to play a prominent role, even when the starters are healthy again at linebacker.
Bad hold, good season for Bengals‘ Ryan Rehkow
Bengals rookie Ryan Rehkow punter made headlines for the wrong reasons Sunday, with a botched hold on a missed field goal in overtime, leading to a loss to the Ravens. But make no mistake, the undrafted rookie from BYU has had an impressive start to his rookie season, leading all NFL punters by a wide margin with a 55.6-yard average and a 49.2-yard net average. Each is more than three yards better than the closest competition.
Rehkow was initially signed by the Chiefs but cut in June, and he won the Bengals’ job in training camp. His averages are strong, but on Sunday, he also had four of five punts downed inside the Baltimore 20-yard line, including one at the 2.
Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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