NFL All-Rookie team 2023/24:

The regular season has come to a close and after 17 games, it’s time to talk about what players were able to show in their first years as pros. Therefore, I put together my annual NFL All-Rookie team, consisting of a starting lineup on offense and defense, along with six “key backups”.

Just like the All-Pro teams this year, I decided to add a 12th spot to offense and defense, along with the classic four special-teamers. However, I took a little more freedom with that, since only two rookie fullbacks saw extended run (Cowboys’ Hunter Luepke and Saints’ Adam Prentice) and I thought there were more deserving players along the defensive front than an additional slot defender since I already went with nickel personnel.

Let’s get into it:

Offense:

QB C.J. Stroud, Texans

RB Bijan Robinson, Falcons

FLEX Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions

WR Puka Nacua, Rams

WR Zay Flowers, Ravens

WR Jordan Addison, Vikings

TE Sam LaPorta, Lions

LT Paris Johnson Jr., Cardinals

LG Steve Avila, Rams

C Joe Tippman, Jets

RG O’Cyrus Torrence, Bills

RT Broderick Jones, Steelers

It’s rare that one rookie quarterback stands this far above the rest, especially considering all four guys drafted inside the top-40 started at least four games and three others did so as well. However, while the Colts’ Anthony Richardson was off to a dazzling start, Stroud never really looked like a rookie all season long.

He missed two games due to a concussion, but among quarterbacks who started at least half the season, he ended up leading the NFL with 273.9 passing yards per game, he finished third with 66 completions of 20+ yards and posted 26 total touchdowns compared to only five interceptions.

More importantly, he and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik turned an offense that finished dead-last between 2021 and ’22 combined in EPA per play into a slightly above-average unit, with a top-10 mark in dropback EPA. Stroud led three game-winning drives and the Texans went from a three-win squad to a 10-win division champ.

For my flex spot, I went with the second running back drafted within the top 12, pairing up Bijan Robinson with Jahmyr Gibbs. I put the former in the more traditional running back slot, since Gibbs was brought along slower, although he improved throughout the season as his touches started to pile up.

Bijan was locked into an offense that disappointed with their usage of their top-end skill-position talent (which ultimately got their head coach fired), but you could feel – and see in the numbers – the downgrade every time some other back for Atlanta got the ball. Still, he was able to rack up 1463 yards and eight touchdowns from scrimmage, averaging 4.6 yards per carry and 8.4 yards per catch. Meanwhile, Gibbs with 38 less touches (234), still put up 1261 scrimmage yards and reached the end-zone 11 times.

His receiving total could easily be higher, if Detroit utilized him more down the field in that regard, but unlike popular belief, he was able to show – especially in David Montgomery’s absence – how effective a decision-maker and runner he is between the tackles, averaging 5.1 yards per carry, with 2.3 of those coming AFTER contact.

Of course, De’Von Achane is a really strong alternate, setting a league-record with 7.8(!) yards per carry, just under total 1000 yards and 11 TDs. And it really hurt me to not even be able to put the Titans’ Tyjae Spears on as a key backup (152 touches, 838 yards and three TDs).

As for the four pass-catchers listed, Nacua obviously highlights the group, after setting new rookie records in catches (105) and receiving yards (1468), with six touchdowns scored and nearly another 100 yards on the ground, as Sean McVay’s new version of Robert Woods. You saw him take a lot of those fly sweeps, be a valuable asset as insert-blocker in the run game and pick apart zone coverage when Cooper Kupp was out.

However, he also showcased the ability to line up outside and win one-on-ones with consistency. With that being said, in no way should this take away from the spectacular debut campaign Sam LaPorta had. He finished top-five among all tight-ends in catches (86) and yards (889), while leading the position with ten touchdowns.

The Lions targeted him on some shot plays and he broke a tackle more than every ten receptions, but most importantly he’s been a chain-mover, with 58 combined first downs and TDs (first among TEs). For the two other WR slots, I went with the latter two of four consecutive names selected in first round. Flowers was used on quite designated touches, particularly in the screen game, which explains his average depth of target of just 8.4 yards.

Yet, he was able to average more than five yards after the catch, he converted 59.7% of catches into first downs or touchdowns and he had four grabs for 40+ yards, plus a 37-yard rushing TD. Addison was deployed more traditionally, being brought along slowly initially but then stepping up in the absence of Justin Jefferson. On 108 targets, he hauled in 70 of those for 911 yards and ten TDs, including 15 plays of 20+ yards, and while Vikings QBs became a little too aggressive chucking it to him at times, he only dropped three opportunities.

As we transition to the offensive line, I had a tough time settling on a tackle duo, since you could absolutely argue for the Bears’ Darnell Wright here, but while Paris Johnson Jr. and Broderick Jones both started at right tackle for their respective NFL teams as well, they excelled on the blindside in college and in particular the first of those two was cross-trained – and performed better at LT – during his time at Ohio State.

Pro Football Focus did charge him with eight sacks, but that was on 1060 total snaps for a team that was largely trailing and he was only penalized six times for 60 yards. Meanwhile, Jones barely played in five of the first seven games, but across basically 12 starts, he was charged with exactly half as many sacks, penalties and yards as his counterpart.

Moving on to guard, I had to flip over O’Cyrus Torrence to the right side – where he dominated at Louisiana and Florida – as his presence was clearly felt for a Bills team that relied less on Josh Allen’s legs, yet was tied for the NFL’s second-highest rushing success rate (45.7%) and had their first 1000-yard rusher since 2017. Torrence also allowed them to maintain pocket integrity more regularly and gave up just two sacks.

Avila was a pro-ready lineman himself coming out of TCU, which is indicated by just two sacks and penalties responsible for (15 yards) each. Him working double-teams with his fellow linemen in a more vertically-oriented run scheme was key to Kyren Williams’ league-leading 95.3 yards on the ground per game.

As for the center spot, there were far less attractive options, but I ultimately settled on Tippman, who had some bright moments for an otherwise heavily struggling Jets front-five. Across just over 800 snaps, he was charged with three sacks and just 30 yards off penalties (eight flags thrown).

Key backups: QB Aidan O'Connell (Raiders), RB De'Von Achance (Dolphins), WR Rashee Rice (Chiefs), TE Dalton Kincaid (Bills), OT Darnell Wright (Bears) & IOL Sidy Sow (Patriots)

Defense:

EDGE Will Anderson Jr.

IDL Jalen Carter

IDL Kobie Turner

EDGE Byron Young

LB Ivan Pace Jr.

LB Jack Campbell

FLEX Tuli Tuipulotu

CB Devon Witherspoon

CB Joey Porter Jr.

NB Christian Izien

SAF Brian Branch

SAF Ji'Ayir Brown

This rookie defensive line is as strong as I can remember in several years. While we may not quite have a statistical outlier like Micah Parsons or one of the Bosa brothers, the collection is outstanding and when you dive into the advanced metrics, it looks like we have some long-time impact players.

First up, we’ve got the third overall pick Will Anderson Jr., who based on his seven sacks may not seem like he’s yet lived up to the status of what they traded to move up for him, but he also racked up ten tackles for loss as a chase player, he set firm edges from those wide alignments and according to ESPN’s metrics, only the aforementioned Parsons and Myles Garrett put up a better pass-rush win rate (26%) across the league.

The other highly-regarded top-ten pick on this front was Jalen Carter, who ended up only playing 51% of defensive snaps due to the talent Philadelphia has up front, but his disruptive ability was on display all season long. Along with his six sacks and eight TFLs, he put up the sixth-highest pass-rush win rate (16%) among interior D-linemen and returned a fumble for a touchdown.

And then we’ve got two Rams rookies, who have established themselves as difference-makers alongside Aaron Donald. Despite “only” weighing in at 290 pounds, Kobie Turner has been effective at the nose, as L.A. ranks just outside the top-ten in rushing success rate defensively (37.5%).

individually has collected eight TFLs, nine sacks and 16 more QB hits, thanks to his quickness to cause problems along the interior. Meanwhile, Byron Young came up one sack short of his teammate’s total, but he matched him in TFLs and had three more hits on the QB.

His explosion off the ball and ability to win the corner stood out right away, he’s improved his ability to set the edge in the run game compared to his Tennessee tape and he’s forced a couple of fumbles. The only name I hated leaving off altogether was the Saints’ Bryan Bresee.

This was a very underwhelming rookie linebacker group, to where I settled on the only first-round pick at the position and an undrafted free agent, who I predicted back in May already would be a significant contributor in the perfect defensive system for him. I actually voted for Pace to make the Pro Bowl a little less than a month ago, because of how beautifully he fit with Brian Flores in Minnesota.

In particular, he was an elite blitzer in college and it translated to the pros, collecting 2.5 sacks and nine more QB hits on 72 rush opportunities. He also cracked triple-digit tackles and was surprisingly effective in coverage, holding opponents to a passer rating of 75.9 when targeting him and being involved in three takeaways.

Meanwhile, there were more up-and-downs throughout the season for Campbell with the division-rival Lions, but he also was stressed a lot by their opponents attacking that second level. He did however only miss 6.9% of his attempted tackles and created seven negative plays, including a big sack in week 18.

I’ll throw in my “FLEX” choice Tuli Tuipulotu here, who came out of USC as an oversized EDGE prospect, who moved inside and was also utilized as an off-ball rusher at times – and that’s very much how the Chargers deployed him, particularly until being pressed into starting action for the injured Joey Bosa following week six. His production sort of came in bunches and when the Chargers were mostly trailing during their five-week losing streak to close out the season, it certainly stagnated, but he did manage to put up 16.5 combined sacks and QB hits, eight TFLs and a couple of strips.

For the two outside corner spots, I went with guys from fairly similar defensive systems, when you look at coverage deployment. While we saw a lot more quarters from the Seahawks compared to heavy one-man for the Steelers on early downs, there was a lot of stress put on Witherspoon and Porter. Spoon ended up as one of three first-round defenders with a PFF grade above 80 (at 84.1), outshining teammate and last year’s Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate Tariq Woolen.

Unfortunately, we saw him in the slot for less than the half season, because I thought that’s where he could really impact games, indicated by three sacks and eight TFLs to his name, and opponents were able to attack this Seattle defense in different ways. Yet, across 78 targets, he allowed only 430 yards, had a pick and 16 more pass break-ups, while setting the tone with some big hits out in the flats.

On the other side, Porter Jr. was able to make an impact on the Steelers even quicker than his dad, who ended up as a four-time All-Pro. The young corner allowed just under half of targets his way to be completed (30 of 61) for 449 yards and only one touchdown compared to his one INT and ten PBUs, for a passer rating of 72.4. He also only missed three of his 46 attempted tackles all year.

I might’ve cheated a little bit with safety, since both Christian Izien and Brian Branch basically were slot defenders exclusively in their first seasons, but the latter did play safety – along with basically every other responsibility in Nick Saban’s secondary – early on during his time at Alabama.

Izien was one of the names I discussed as an impact undrafted free agent shortly after the draft, since I really enjoyed his brand of football and I saw an opening for the starting nickel spot in Tampa Bay. He ended up snatching that job and playing 64% of the Bucs’ defensive snaps. While he may not have massive ball-production (two INTs and PBUs each), he was never charged with more than 50 receiving yards in a game and missed less than 10% of his attempted tackles.

Branch excelled in a single-high safety-heavy Lions defense right off the bat, coming up with what turned out to be the game-winning pick-six at Kansas City off the hands of a receiver in the season-opener. He added two more interceptions and 13 PBUs, surrendering a solid 6.6 yards per target.

Whether it was in the run or screen game, his aggressiveness to create negative plays turned into seven TFLs, while he secured several key tackles short of the sticks when Detroit was in zone coverage or he fell off his initial assignment, only missing six of 80 attempted stops. Ji’Ayir Brown is the one “traditional” safety of the bunch, jumping in for the injured Talanoa Hufanga.

He had only played 30 defensive snaps coming into San Francisco’s tenth game – along with a lot of special teams work – but then was on the field for 100% of those in five of the next six weeks. While he allowed two explosive plays in coverage across those 5.5 starts, he defended six passes, including breaking up a fourth-down ball into the end-zone for Mike Evans in man before coming up with a pick on a deflected pass to close out the Bucs game, along with securing another INT on a semi-jump ball against Seattle’s D.K. Metcalf.

Key backups: EDGE B.J. Ojulari (Cardinals), IDL Keeanu Benton (Steelers), LB Marte Mapu (Patriots), CB Deonte Banks (Giants), SAF Sydney Brown (Eagles) & DB Jordan Battle (Bengals)

Special teams:

K Jake Moody, 49ers

P Bryce Baringer, Patriots

RS Marvin Mims, Broncos

ST Chamarri Conner, Chiefs

The clear choice for kicker here would’ve been the Cowboys’ Brandon Aubrey, who hadn’t missed a field goal attempt until week 18, when he had one blocked and doinked another chip-shot. Since he spent two years in the USFL prior however, he isn’t officially counted as a rookie by the NFL. The alternate here is Jake Moody – the only kicker drafted on day two this past April. He did miss that potential game-winner from 41 yards away in the rain at Cleveland, but altogether converted 84.0% of his field-goal attempts and missed just one of his 61 PATs.

At punter, you could make a case for the Rams’ Ethan Evans, whose gross punter average is 2.3 yards higher than the one of Baringer, but the Patriots sixth-round pick overall averaged 2.4 yards more per net punt (40.8), has a lower touchback rate (8.2%), a significantly lower return average allowed (4.5 yards). He also led the NFL with 38(!) of his 98 punts ending inside the opposing 20, forcing the other team to drive the length of the field.

You could make a strong argument for Marvin Mims being the top return specialists across the entire league for 2023. Among players with double-digit attempts on punts and kickoffs, he ranks number one (16.4 yards per punt return) and number four respectively (26.5 yards per kick return), having scored a touchdown at Miami. His only blunder was that fumble kick and then fumble on the same play against the Patriots.

Finally, I’m not going to act like I watched every single rookie individually on special teams but I do have a good feel for the guys who popped on tape, flying down the field when covering kicks, and making some key blocks in the return game. Conner is one of them.

Three rookies had eight tackles on special teams (Tre Tomlinson, Jerrick Reed and Anthony Kendall) compared to seven for the Chiefs sixth-rounder. However, not only was his presence more apparent across the five units he was part of, but he also had the biggest role on defense, with an interception and just one of 37 attempted tackles total missed.

If you enjoyed this NFL breakdown, please consider heading over to the original article.