NFL Week 4: Rookie Team of the Week

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• Abdul Carter dominates for the Giants: The No. 3 overall pick tallied a gaudy nine pressures in the team’s win.

Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

As we are roughly through a quarter of the NFL season already, several rookies have grown and developed greatly in a short period of time. Here, we’ll highlight the best from Week 4. A reminder that a rookie must have played at least 10 snaps to qualify for this list.

Quarterback: Jaxson Dart, New York Giants – 50.7

Despite leading the Giants to their first win of the season in his starting debut, Jaxson Dart had an uneven performance as a passer. He completed 13 of his 23 pass attempts for just 111 yards and a touchdown, though he never put the ball in harm’s way, registering zero turnover-worthy plays. Dart was much better running the ball, as he ran 12 times for 95 yards and another score en route to a 63.2 PFF rushing grade.

Running Back: Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders – 83.4

After weeks of teasing what could be, we finally saw a breakout performance for last year’s Heisman runner-up, Ashton Jeanty. Against the Chicago Bears, Jeanty ran the ball 21 times for 144 yards and a score. His offensive line is still struggling to give him some lanes to work with, as 129 of those 144 yards came after contact. Jeanty did force nine missed tackles to help alleviate those issues, though. As a receiver, Jeanty caught both of his targets for 17 yards and two scores, breaking a tackle on each in what has thus far been a career day in the NFL for the former sixth overall pick.

Wide Receiver: Jaylin Lane, Washington Commanders – 77.0

The Commanders had a disappointing showing against a Falcons team that was coming off a 30-0 drubbing at the hands of the Panthers, but the rookie fourth rounder out of Virginia Tech was a bright spot. Lane caught three of his four targets for 50 yards. Additionally, Lane’s average depth of target was 21 yards downfield, solidifying himself as a go-to deep threat for this offense.

Wide Receiver: Isaiah Bond, Cleveland Browns – 73.9

After a tumultuous offseason that saw the former Alabama and Texas product go undrafted, Isaiah Bond has had a lot to prove since joining the Browns midway through the preseason. He’s already seen a sizable role in the Browns’ offense, and Week 4 against the Lions was his top performance thus far. On Sunday, Bond caught three passes, two of them contested, for 58 yards and a 72.4 PFF receiving grade.

Wide Receiver: Tetairoa McMillan, Carolina Panthers – 70.6

Despite the Panthers’ 42-13 blowout loss at the hands of the Patriots, McMillan continued to be their most reliable weapon on offense, catching four passes for 62 yards while often lining up against a returning Christian Gonzalez. Through four games, only Detroit’s Isaac TeSlaa has a higher receiving grade than McMillan’s 74.9, and McMillan’s comes on 30 more targets.

Tight End: Elijah Arroyo, Seattle Seahawks – 67.6

A former second rounder out of Miami (FL), Arroyo put up a strong showing in the Seahawks’ thrilling 23-20 win over the Cardinals on Thursday Night Football. Both of his receptions resulted in first downs, as he recorded 44 receiving yards. Arroyo also made an impact as a run blocker, recording a 67.1 grade in that field with a 92.0 grade on pull lead runs.

Tackle: Will Campbell, New England Patriots – 72.9

Will Campbell has been silencing doubters who said his arm length wouldn’t hold up in the NFL by putting together a strong start to his rookie campaign, and Week 4 against the Panthers was no different. In pass protection, Campbell recorded a 77.6 grade, not allowing a single pressure and only losing twice on 22 such snaps. As a run blocker, Campbell generated an 81.9 PFF run-blocking grade on outside zone runs, an area he has struggled with in previous games.

Tackle: Josh Simmons, Kansas City Chiefs – 72.0

The Chiefs finally looked like the Chiefs of years past in Sunday’s blowout win over the Ravens, and rookie tackle Josh Simmons was a big contributor to that success. While he did allow a sack, it came on a long-developing play where he wasn’t beaten right away. Otherwise, Simmons kept Mahomes clean while also registering a solid 69.4 PFF run-blocking grade.

Interior Offensive Line: Connor Colby, San Francisco 49ers – 66.8

Despite not being selected until Pick 251 in this year’s draft, Connor Colby has been a solid contributor very early on for this 49ers offensive line. He struggled in pass protection against the Jaguars, giving up five pressures on 44 pass-blocking snaps. However, he was much better run blocking, recording a 71.9 such grade with six positively-graded blocks.

Interior Offensive Line: Grey Zabel, Seattle Seahawks – 62.4

A regular on these lists, Zabel continued the solid start to his young career and showed that the transition from FCS to NFL opponents isn’t too big for him. He surrendered just two pressures on 33 pass-blocking snaps against the Cardinals for a 66.8 PFF pass-blocking grade.

Interior Offensive Line: Torricelli Simpkins III, New Orleans Saints – 61.3

An undrafted rookie out of South Carolina, Simpkins has quickly worked his way into the Saints’ offensive line rotation and performed well blocking against a tough Buffalo defensive line. He yielded just one pressure on 24 pass-blocking snaps and was solid blocking for the run, registering a 63.5 grade.

Edge Defender: Abdul Carter, New York Giants – 90.2

After showing flashes of why the Giants made him the third pick in the draft, Abdul Carter was a menace against the Chargers. The Penn State product amassed nine pressures and a whopping five quarterback hits on 35 pass-rushing snaps en route to a 92.1 pass-rush grade.

Edge Defender: Jalon Walker, Atlanta Falcons – 86.3

Last week, Walker earned his spot on this list primarily from his prowess in coverage. This week, he was much more well-rounded, posting a 77.1 PFF run-defense grade and 76.7 PFF pass-rush grade. He compiled a 25% pass-rush win rate while also recording a positively graded play on three of his eight run-defense snaps, which included a run stop.

Defensive Interior: Elijah Simmons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 89.9

An undrafted rookie out of Tennessee, Elijah Simmons was one of the lone bright spots on a Buccaneers defense that routinely got gashed by the Eagles in their Week 4 loss. Simmons recorded an 83.3 PFF run-defense grade and had a tackle for loss on just eight run-defense snaps. Three of those eight snaps were positively-graded while also adding a 16.7% pass-rush win rate.

Interior Defender: Jamaree Caldwell, Los Angeles Chargers – 74.4

Despite seemingly nothing going right for the Chargers against the Giants, their third-round selection out of Oregon, Jamaree Caldwell, looked like an integral part of their defensive line rotation — particularly against the run. On 19 run-defense snaps, Caldwell posted a 77.6 PFF run-defense grade, with 36.8% of his snaps receiving a positive grade.

Linebacker: Carson Schwesinger, Cleveland Browns – 78.3

Schwesinger continues to be one of the key cogs in a defense that has performed admirably through four weeks despite the team’s 1-3 record. This week against Detroit was no different, as he was all over the field and performed particularly well in coverage, allowing just one reception for eight yards.

Linebacker: Jihaad Campbell, Philadelphia Eagles – 70.6

I’m starting to wonder if I even need to do any research in determining the top rookie linebackers each week, because Schwesinger and Campbell have earned the top spots every single time. Campbell notches his high grade for a different reason every week, this time with his 89.2 PFF pass-rush grade. He only rushed the passer six times, yet won on four of those reps to induce two pressures.

Cornerback: Nohl Williams, Kansas City Chiefs – 90.3

Back-to-back weeks with Nohl Williams coming out as one of the top rookie corners, this time with a career-high 90.3 overall grade — including 90.7 in coverage. Williams put the clamps down on Baltimore receivers, not allowing a single catch into his coverage while forcing an incompletion and recording a stop.

Cornerback: Jacob Parrish, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 89.7

Parrish has quickly earned himself a big role on this Buccaneers defense and was stellar in Week 4 against the Eagles, only permitting two receptions into his coverage for zero yards. His numbers could’ve been even greater had he been able to hang on to a potential interception where he baited Jalen Hurts into targeting A.J. Brown on a hitch that his teammate also broke on.

Cornerback: Dorian Strong, Buffalo Bills – 86.7

While former first-rounder Maxwell Hairston was the rookie corner the Bills were hoping to count on, his preseason injury has opened the door for sixth-rounder Dorian Strong to pick up the slack. Considering this is his second time in four weeks on this list, he has done just that. In Buffalo’s win over the Saints, Strong recorded an 89.5 PFF coverage grade, allowing just two receptions and four yards into his coverage — both against Alvin Kamara — as he was able to register a stop on each.

Safety: Jonas Sanker, New Orleans Saints – 85.1

Sanker was excellent against a potent Bills passing attack, compiling an 87.6 PFF coverage grade and not giving up a single catch into his coverage. His highlights included picking off Josh Allen on a play where he had to cover almost 20 yards. Sanker added two more forced incompletions in what was an excellent showing for the rookie out of Virginia.

Safety: Xavier Watts, Atlanta Falcons – 76.7

Watts was a notorious ballhawk at Notre Dame, and he showed off those skills in the Falcons’ victory over the Commanders. While he did allow a touchdown into his coverage, he only yielded 12 yards in coverage and recorded an interception for a 76.7 PFF coverage grade.

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