NFL Week 16 rookie rankings: Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels lead strong week from quarterbacks

There are now two weeks remaining in the NFL regular season, meaning a year-long grind will come to an end for several rookies across the league. When the college football season ended, those rookies began training for the NFL Scouting Combine, and that led directly into offseason training activities, training camp and then their respective rookie seasons. For that reason, it is even more encouraging to see the rookies who are still surging towards the finale, because it offers a window into the mindset and determination of the player. 

The rookie quarterbacks were particularly effective in Week 16. Here are the top rookie performers from this past week’s games:

Detroit was up 20-0 in the second quarter. The outlook was bleak for the Bears, but Caleb Williams threw them back into it. The rookie out of USC threw for 334 yards and 2 touchdowns, but it was not enough for Chicago to stay in the game. At this point in the season, the objective is more about Williams building confidence and ending the season on a positive note than it is about victories. 

Coming into the season, the narrative out of Denver was that the team did not have anyone opposite Patrick Surtain II. Not only did Riley Moss step up, but so too has Abrams-Draine. He jumped underneath a pass intended for Josh Palmer and logged his first career interception. 

Frazier was credited with two pressures allowed on his 38 pass protection snaps, according to TruMedia. He does a great job of playing with balance and winning with leverage. Pittsburgh had to abandon the run to try and keep pace with Baltimore’s explosive offense, but it averaged 4.9 yards per carry in the run game.

Alt was credited with one pressure last week against the Broncos, according to TruMedia. One thing to keep in mind with Alt is that this is his first season playing right tackle. He had played on the left side at Notre Dame. The first-round pick does a good job of mirroring the defender and meeting them at the high side of their rush. 

Rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey had a nice game as well. 

Barton’s rookie season has been filled with ups and downs, but Week 16 against the Cowboys was a relatively clean affair. He got ragdolled a bit by Osa Odighizuwa on one play, but otherwise played with great balance and did a good job communicating stunts and twists. 

Daniels completed 61.5% of his pass attempts for 258 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions against the Eagles. The first interception was an overthrow up the middle of the field while the second was an act of desperation with three minutes remaining. Washington started slow, but willed itself back into contention on the back of its young quarterback. Daniels added 81 rushing yards and only took one sack. 

Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. did some good things in his starting debut. New England’s Drake Maye and Denver’s Bo Nix were also invaluable in keeping their respective teams in the mix.

Bowers had a 32-yard reception on the first play of the game, but also had a drop that nearly resulted in a defensive touchdown on the second play of the game. He continued to be heavily targeted throughout the contest. Over the course of the game, he was targeted 13 times for 11 receptions and 99 yards. 

His teammates, rookie right tackle DJ Glaze and rookie left guard Jackson Powers-Johnson, had solid games as well. 

Thomas had a 62-yard touchdown reception in which the Raiders secondary simply forgot to cover him. It was a play that required little more than Thomas’ god-given ability. However, it was just a part of his 132-yard receiving day. He leads all rookies in receiving yards on the year with 1,088.

DeJean allowed three receptions for 24 yards on six targets, according to TruMedia. There was a miscommunication issue on one play with the safety, but DeJean did well with a tough assignment, often following Washington’s receivers in motion across the formation. 

It was a good day for young cornerbacks, as Houston’s Kamari Lassiter and Tampa Bay’s Tykee Smith were a few others worth mentioning. 

Kansas City often got Worthy the ball in space and allowed him to make plays post-catch. The presence of DeAndre Hopkins, Hollywood Brown and others in that offense takes a lot of the pressure off him. Worthy racked up seven receptions for 65 yards and a touchdown in the Chiefs’ win over the Texans.