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Sunday, July 12, 2015

Top NFL Rookie Seasons?

Top 30 NFL rookies of all time, as listed by the Sporting News. Many list like this claim to be all-time then only go back to the 90's. This list goes way back, which is nice, but outstanding performances back in the 1950's with stats comparable to present day should be ranked higher, not lower.
 
And where would Herschel Walker's rookie seasons (USFL and NFL) rank? The list is titled NFL rookies, but included an AFL player. Evidently AFL stats from the early 60's are more legit that USFL stats from the mid 80's. Herschel's 1986 rookie season with the Cowboys ranks ahead of half the running backs on the list, and his 1983 rookie season with the Generals ranks behind only Gale Sayers' rookie season.
 
Instead of the overall ranking I will group the 30 players by position:
 
01. 1965 2325 tot yd 23 TD Gale Sayers
12. 1983 2212 tot yd 19 TD Eric Dickerson
18. 1999 2139 tot yd 17 TD Edgerrin James
20. 1978 1231 tot yd 13 TD Earl Campbell
21. 1989 1470 tot yd 14 TD Barry Sanders
25. 1957 0942 tot yd 09 TD Jim Brown
NR 1983 2301 tot yd 18 TD Herschel Walker USFL
NR 1986 1574 tot yd 14 TD Herschel Walker NFL
 
05. 2014 91 rec 1305 yd 12 TD Odell Beckham 12 games
06. 1998 64 rec 1313 yd 17 TD Randy Moss
09. 1961 56 rec 1076 yd 12 TD Mike Ditka 14 games
19. 1952 53 rec 1231 yd 13 TD Billy Howton GB 23.2 YPC
22. 1960 72 rec 1473 yd 12 TD Bill Groman AFL
29. 2003 101 rec 1387 yd 8 TD Anquan Boldin 


11. 2012 3200 yd 20 TD 102.4 rate RG3 + 815 rush 7 TD
13. 1983 2210 yd 20 TD 96.0 rate Dan Marino
15. 2004 66.4% comp 98.1 rate Ben Roethlisberger
16. 2012 3118 yd 26 TD 100.0 rate Russell Wilson 489 rush 4 TD 
23. 1969 53.8% comp 9.4 YPA 88.3 rate Greg Cook 
24. 2011 4051 yd 21 TD 84.5 rate Cam Newton
30. 2008 3440 yd 16 TD 87.7 rate Matt Ryan

02. 1952 Dick Night Train Lane Rams
03. 1981 Lawrence Taylor NYG 9.5 sacks
04. 1981 Ronnie Lott SF 
07. 1978 Al Bubba Baker Lions a record 23 sacks
08. 1965 Dick Butkus  
10. 1969 Mean Joe Greene Steelers
14. 1999 Jevon Kearse 14.5 sacks
17. 1964 Paul Krause Redskins 12 interceptions
26. 1957 Jim Parker Colts
27. 2010 Ndamukong Suh Lions 10 sacks
28. 1989 Derrick Thomas KC 10 sacks 
 

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