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iowajerms
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Kiper's 2017 NFL All-Rookie team
It was a great year for rookies in the NFL -- at some positions. There were legitimate stars at running back, cornerback and quarterback, if we include Deshaun Watson's shortened season. It was tough to pick standouts at positions like wide receiver and guard, where the highest-ranked players headed into the 2017 draft didn't produce.
So my 2017 All-Rookie team has some first-round picks and others littered throughout from Rounds 2 through 7. Teams got a lot of value on Day 2.
I did a team in the preseason and at midseason, and there are several changes. I'm including again where each player landed on my final top 300 prospects list before the 2017 draft.
Here are the parameters (same as always):
OFFENSE
Quarterback
Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans
Final Big Board rank: 34
Midseason pick: Watson
Preseason pick: DeShone Kizer, Cleveland Browns
How good would Watson's stat line have been if he hadn't torn his ACL in practice in early November? He had 19 touchdown passes in only six starts. That's more than Joe Flacco, Tyrod Taylor and Marcus Mariota had all season. DeShone Kizer, the lone rookie quarterback who started in Week 1, had only 11 touchdown passes to 22 interceptions. Just too many turnovers. Mitchell Trubisky flashed at times for the Bears, but he and Kizer finished in the bottom three in Total QBR. Year 2 is important for both -- Trubisky will have a new coach, while Kizer will likely be battling a first-round pick. I expect Watson to have a huge 2018 season.
Running back
Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs
Final Big Board rank: 82
Midseason pick: Hunt
Preseason pick: Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings
Hunt and the Chiefs had a 1-6 lull in midseason but finished 4-0 to end the season. He had a rushing touchdown in all four of those games, and he's an important cog if Kansas City hopes to beat New England in a potential playoff matchup next weekend. Hunt led the NFL with 1,327 rushing yards and added 53 catches. Cook was my preseason pick to be the Offensive Rookie of the Year, but he tore his ACL in Week 4.
Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints
Final Big Board rank: 88
Midseason pick: Leonard Fournette, Jacksonville Jaguars
Preseason pick: Fournette
How good was Kamara down the stretch? He's my pick for Offensive Rookie of the Year. The Saints have relied on running the ball and playing solid defense, and it's working. Drew Brees is playing efficiently while throwing shorter passes, many of them to his rookie running back. Kamara led the league in yards per carry (6.1) and had 81 catches and 14 total touchdowns. Anybody even remember when Adrian Peterson was in New Orleans? That's because Kamara has been so good (along with Mark Ingram). Fournette had only one 100-yard rushing game in his last five, barely squeaking above the 1,000-yard mark for the season (1,040).
All-purpose back
Christian McCaffrey, Carolina Panthers
Final Big Board rank: 6
Midseason pick: McCaffrey
Preseason pick: McCaffrey
McCaffrey finished the season with 80 catches and seven total touchdowns, though he averaged only 3.7 yards per carry. I expected more from him, but he improved down the stretch. Now Carolina has a chance to go on a postseason run in the wide-open NFC field. Tarik Cohen was in consideration here, too.
Wide receiver
Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
Final Big Board rank: 83
Midseason pick: Kupp
Preseason pick: Kupp
The Rams have had one of the best offenses in the league in Year 1 under Sean McVay, but it's not all Todd Gurley. Kupp has been the primary slot receiver since Day 1, finishing the season with 62 catches for 869 yards and five touchdowns. I said before the year that he was one of the most physically-ready receivers in the draft class, and it has been a strange season for wide receivers taken in the first round -- Corey Davis had 34 catches, Mike Williams had 11 and John Ross had none. None of the three had touchdowns.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh Steelers
Final Big Board rank: 39
Midseason pick: Smith-Schuster
Preseason pick: Zay Jones, Buffalo Bills
Smith-Schuster broke out in Week 8 with a seven-catch, 193-yard performance that included a 97-yard touchdown, and he finished the season with 58 catches and eight touchdowns, including one on a kick return. If you're looking for a potential X factor in the playoffs, Smith-Schuster might be the guy. And remember: He's only 21 years old. That Steelers offense has so much potential. Jones had only 27 catches on 74 targets for the Bills.
Tight end
Evan Engram, New York Giants
Final Big Board rank: 21
Midseason pick: Engram
Preseason pick: O.J. Howard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Engram had a lot more snaps and targets than I thought he would, but that's because the Giants were devastated by injuries to pass-catchers. He had to play. He finished the season with 64 catches and six touchdowns. Engram still has to improve as a blocker, but he's an important part of the Giants' future. Let's see who's throwing him the ball in 2018. Howard and David Njoku combined for 10 touchdown catches, too. It was a solid first year for rookie tight ends.
Offensive line
Ryan Ramczyk, New Orleans Saints
Final Big Board rank: 29
Midseason pick: Ramczyk
Preseason pick: Ramczyk
Sixteen games, 16 starts for Ramczyk. And he moved from left tackle to right tackle once Terron Armstead got healthy.
Cam Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars
Final Big Board rank: 28
Midseason pick: Robinson
Preseason pick: Robinson
Like Ramczyk, Robinson was plugged into the starting left tackle spot early in training camp. The Jaguars' offseason trade for Branden Albert didn't work out. Robinson missed one game, but he was solid protecting Blake Bortles' blind side and clearing holes for Fournette.
Dan Feeney, Los Angeles Chargers
Final Big Board rank: 76
Midseason pick: Garett Bolles, Denver Broncos
Preseason pick: Bolles
Feeney, my No. 3-ranked guard before the draft, made nine starts for the Chargers after Matt Slauson was injured, helping Los Angeles dig out of an 0-4 hole. Forrest Lamp, my top-ranked guard, was ruled out for the season in training camp, so the guard group wasn't especially strong in 2017.
Dion Dawkins, Buffalo Bills
Final Big Board rank: 54
Midseason pick: Dawkins
Preseason pick: Taylor Moton, Carolina Panthers
The second-round pick has impressed down the stretch while filling in for Cordy Glenn at left tackle. I rated Dawkins as a guard, and he was dominant as a tackle at Temple. He has shown a lot in Year 1. Moton played only 62 offensive snaps for the Panthers.
Pat Elflein, Minnesota Vikings
Final Big Board rank: 62
Midseason pick: Elflein
Preseason pick: Elflein
Elflein has been a consistently good presence in the middle of the Vikings' O-line, though a shoulder injury forced him to miss two games, including the final regular-season game. Elflein is battling back to try to make it for Minnesota's divisional-round game.
It was a great year for rookies in the NFL -- at some positions. There were legitimate stars at running back, cornerback and quarterback, if we include Deshaun Watson's shortened season. It was tough to pick standouts at positions like wide receiver and guard, where the highest-ranked players headed into the 2017 draft didn't produce.
So my 2017 All-Rookie team has some first-round picks and others littered throughout from Rounds 2 through 7. Teams got a lot of value on Day 2.
I did a team in the preseason and at midseason, and there are several changes. I'm including again where each player landed on my final top 300 prospects list before the 2017 draft.
Here are the parameters (same as always):
- This is a measure for all games played this season.
- Total snap count matters. Staying on the field is a measure of value.
- Positional value matters, but overall performance and impact on the team matter more.
- Relative value matters. I ask: Would this player be a starter on most teams or on a good team?
OFFENSE
Quarterback
Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans
Final Big Board rank: 34
Midseason pick: Watson
Preseason pick: DeShone Kizer, Cleveland Browns
How good would Watson's stat line have been if he hadn't torn his ACL in practice in early November? He had 19 touchdown passes in only six starts. That's more than Joe Flacco, Tyrod Taylor and Marcus Mariota had all season. DeShone Kizer, the lone rookie quarterback who started in Week 1, had only 11 touchdown passes to 22 interceptions. Just too many turnovers. Mitchell Trubisky flashed at times for the Bears, but he and Kizer finished in the bottom three in Total QBR. Year 2 is important for both -- Trubisky will have a new coach, while Kizer will likely be battling a first-round pick. I expect Watson to have a huge 2018 season.
Running back
Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs
Final Big Board rank: 82
Midseason pick: Hunt
Preseason pick: Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings
Hunt and the Chiefs had a 1-6 lull in midseason but finished 4-0 to end the season. He had a rushing touchdown in all four of those games, and he's an important cog if Kansas City hopes to beat New England in a potential playoff matchup next weekend. Hunt led the NFL with 1,327 rushing yards and added 53 catches. Cook was my preseason pick to be the Offensive Rookie of the Year, but he tore his ACL in Week 4.
Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints
Final Big Board rank: 88
Midseason pick: Leonard Fournette, Jacksonville Jaguars
Preseason pick: Fournette
How good was Kamara down the stretch? He's my pick for Offensive Rookie of the Year. The Saints have relied on running the ball and playing solid defense, and it's working. Drew Brees is playing efficiently while throwing shorter passes, many of them to his rookie running back. Kamara led the league in yards per carry (6.1) and had 81 catches and 14 total touchdowns. Anybody even remember when Adrian Peterson was in New Orleans? That's because Kamara has been so good (along with Mark Ingram). Fournette had only one 100-yard rushing game in his last five, barely squeaking above the 1,000-yard mark for the season (1,040).
All-purpose back
Christian McCaffrey, Carolina Panthers
Final Big Board rank: 6
Midseason pick: McCaffrey
Preseason pick: McCaffrey
McCaffrey finished the season with 80 catches and seven total touchdowns, though he averaged only 3.7 yards per carry. I expected more from him, but he improved down the stretch. Now Carolina has a chance to go on a postseason run in the wide-open NFC field. Tarik Cohen was in consideration here, too.
Wide receiver
Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
Final Big Board rank: 83
Midseason pick: Kupp
Preseason pick: Kupp
The Rams have had one of the best offenses in the league in Year 1 under Sean McVay, but it's not all Todd Gurley. Kupp has been the primary slot receiver since Day 1, finishing the season with 62 catches for 869 yards and five touchdowns. I said before the year that he was one of the most physically-ready receivers in the draft class, and it has been a strange season for wide receivers taken in the first round -- Corey Davis had 34 catches, Mike Williams had 11 and John Ross had none. None of the three had touchdowns.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh Steelers
Final Big Board rank: 39
Midseason pick: Smith-Schuster
Preseason pick: Zay Jones, Buffalo Bills
Smith-Schuster broke out in Week 8 with a seven-catch, 193-yard performance that included a 97-yard touchdown, and he finished the season with 58 catches and eight touchdowns, including one on a kick return. If you're looking for a potential X factor in the playoffs, Smith-Schuster might be the guy. And remember: He's only 21 years old. That Steelers offense has so much potential. Jones had only 27 catches on 74 targets for the Bills.
Tight end
Evan Engram, New York Giants
Final Big Board rank: 21
Midseason pick: Engram
Preseason pick: O.J. Howard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Engram had a lot more snaps and targets than I thought he would, but that's because the Giants were devastated by injuries to pass-catchers. He had to play. He finished the season with 64 catches and six touchdowns. Engram still has to improve as a blocker, but he's an important part of the Giants' future. Let's see who's throwing him the ball in 2018. Howard and David Njoku combined for 10 touchdown catches, too. It was a solid first year for rookie tight ends.
Offensive line
Ryan Ramczyk, New Orleans Saints
Final Big Board rank: 29
Midseason pick: Ramczyk
Preseason pick: Ramczyk
Sixteen games, 16 starts for Ramczyk. And he moved from left tackle to right tackle once Terron Armstead got healthy.
Cam Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars
Final Big Board rank: 28
Midseason pick: Robinson
Preseason pick: Robinson
Like Ramczyk, Robinson was plugged into the starting left tackle spot early in training camp. The Jaguars' offseason trade for Branden Albert didn't work out. Robinson missed one game, but he was solid protecting Blake Bortles' blind side and clearing holes for Fournette.
Dan Feeney, Los Angeles Chargers
Final Big Board rank: 76
Midseason pick: Garett Bolles, Denver Broncos
Preseason pick: Bolles
Feeney, my No. 3-ranked guard before the draft, made nine starts for the Chargers after Matt Slauson was injured, helping Los Angeles dig out of an 0-4 hole. Forrest Lamp, my top-ranked guard, was ruled out for the season in training camp, so the guard group wasn't especially strong in 2017.
Dion Dawkins, Buffalo Bills
Final Big Board rank: 54
Midseason pick: Dawkins
Preseason pick: Taylor Moton, Carolina Panthers
The second-round pick has impressed down the stretch while filling in for Cordy Glenn at left tackle. I rated Dawkins as a guard, and he was dominant as a tackle at Temple. He has shown a lot in Year 1. Moton played only 62 offensive snaps for the Panthers.
Pat Elflein, Minnesota Vikings
Final Big Board rank: 62
Midseason pick: Elflein
Preseason pick: Elflein
Elflein has been a consistently good presence in the middle of the Vikings' O-line, though a shoulder injury forced him to miss two games, including the final regular-season game. Elflein is battling back to try to make it for Minnesota's divisional-round game.