NFL Analysis

9/10/24

8 min read

Top 5 Week 1 Performances from 2024 NFL Rookies

By James Foster

NFL Analyst
Los Angeles Chargers offensive tackle Joe Alt (76) defends against Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) and defensive tackle Christian Wilkins (94) in the first half at SoFi Stadium. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images.

80 rookies played at least 20 snaps in Week 1, and most experienced typical growing pains in their first NFL action. However, several players made great first impressions and immediately passed the eye test.

Honorable mentions

HB Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

G Layden Robinson, New England Patriots

WR Keon Coleman, Buffalo Bills

WR Xavier Worthy, Kansas City Chiefs

C Cooper Beebe, Dallas Cowboys

T Taliese Fuaga, New Orleans Saints

EDGE Marshawn Kneeland, Dallas Cowboys

Top NFL Week 1 Rookie Performances

WR BRIAN THOMAS JR., Jacksonville Jaguars

Brian Thomas Jr. was the most impressive rookie receiver last Sunday, catching all four of his targets for 47 yards and a touchdown. By EPA per route, Thomas Jr. had the most efficient Week 1 debut of any rookie WR since 2013 (as far back as the EPA data is available).

He caught a red zone touchdown on a beautiful throw from Trevor Lawrence. Watching this live, I reflexively assumed Thomas Jr. stepped out of bounds, and this would go down as yet another big-time throw in the red zone that Lawrence’s receiver couldn’t convert. But times are changing in Jacksonville (they found a new way to lose this time):

He showed improved route running polish on this 7-stop from the second quarter. Thomas Jr. bends his route outside to threaten Kendall Fuller’s blind spot, then sits down inside the numbers for an easy completion:

He also drew a defensive pass interference that doesn’t get recorded as a target in the game log. He shakes Jalen Ramsey at the line of scrimmage, gets him leaning back on his heels, and bursts out of his release.

He’s fast enough to stack Ramsey by just running in a straight line, but the head fake 10 yards into his route causes Ramsey to tap the breaks on his recovery and extends the separation:

CB Quinyon Mitchell, Philadelphia Eagles

Quinyon Mitchell was Philadelphia’s first Round 1 cornerback selection since Lito Sheppard in 2002 and Howie Roseman’s first ever. His Week 1 tape shows why Roseman was willing to make an exception.

Mitchell was one of the best cornerback prospects I’ve ever evaluated defending routes from off-coverage, which makes him an excellent scheme fit for Vic Fangio’s defense.

The Eagles only played man coverage on eight of Mitchell’s 36 coverage snaps, so his exposure was relatively limited. Still, he showed the instincts and movement skills that made him the first defensive back selected in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Based on my charting, Mitchell was targeted nine times and allowed five catches for 86 yards. However, he recorded two pass breakups and generally played tight single coverage.

His first target was a go-route to Christian Watson. As one of the few corners who could match Watson’s speed, Mitchell kept up with him step-for-step and avoided getting stacked. There was some hand-fighting at the catch point, but Mitchell made an effort to turn and locate the football, which deterred the ref from throwing a flag:

Early in the third quarter, he gave up a 12-yard reception to Romeo Doubs. The Eagles were in Cover 3, so Mitchell was in a side turn playing the deep third.

When Doubs broke outside, Mitchell responded with a speed turn, but he was late to react, and the turn allowed enough separation for the Packers to convert:

Two drives later, Green Bay targeted him again with an out-route vs. Cover 3, but Mitchell switched his technique to cover the route more effectively. Instead of making a 180-degree turn, he planted his left foot, re-centered his hips with the receiver, and drove on the ball.

Jordan Love placed this throw too far inside, but Mitchell’s hip fluidity, burst, and ball tracking allowed him to make the play:

He had another pass breakup from Cover 3 on a sail concept. Sail aims to flood one side of the field with a vertical, intermediate-out, and flat route.

He initially ran with the clearout seam from Dontayvion Wicks, which caused Musgrave to appear open on the deep-out. But Mitchell kept his eyes on Jordan Love and broke when he began his wind-up:

He wasn’t perfect in coverage, but the good far outweighed the bad. Mitchell gave up a nine-yard glance route to Romeo Doubs and missed the tackle:

He lost track of Jayden Reed running a crossing route into his deep third zone:

And he was late to connect to an out-and-up on Green Bay’s final drive:

These issues are easily fixable, and Eagles fans should be very encouraged by Mitchell’s debut.

T JOE ALT, Los Angeles Chargers

Joe Alt’s Week 1 matchup with Maxx Crosby had all the makings of a rookie baptism, but Alt delivered a nearly perfect performance. In 11 pass-blocking snaps vs. Crosby, he didn’t allow a single pressure.

He did lose a rep in the first quarter, failing to protect the edge against Crosby’s double-swipe. This is an example of a pass-blocking loss that doesn’t actually result in pressure since it didn’t affect the quarterback:

For the rest of the game, Alt played with precise hands and light feet and completely neutralized Maxx Crosby. He took smooth pass sets and used forceful outside hand strikes to set a wide pocket vs. Crosby’s speed rush:

Alt was totally unaffected by his speed-to-power:

He also did a great job recovering and mirroring this inside counter to protect the B-gap:

His run-blocking tape was mostly uneventful, aside from this block on the front side of stretch zone:

Alt looks like a future All-Pro and might already be a Pro Bowl-caliber tackle as a rookie. The Chargers are set up to protect Justin Herbert for the next decade.

DL T'VONDRE SWEAT, Tennessee Titans

Like most nose tackles, T’Vondre Sweat didn’t stuff the stat sheet, but his presence was absolutely felt in Week 1. He was immovable at the point of attack, and despite not recording a tackle, he strengthened Tennessee’s run defense by clogging gaps and keeping linebackers clean. Chicago averaged -0.17 EPA and 3.8 yards per attempt on designed runs, per TruMedia.

This play is an example of Sweat making an impact that doesn’t appear in the box score. He immediately discarded the down block from the LG, cut off D’Andre Swift in the backfield, and funneled him to Roger McCreary:

His quickness and technical savvy as a pass rusher translated immediately. I don’t expect him to rack up a high sack total, as he lacks the closing speed to finish his quick wins. But getting into the backfield early will flush the quarterback out of the pocket and into contain rushers.

On this play, he beat Teven Jenkins with a club swim and forced Caleb Williams to make a difficult throw on the run:

Here, he overwhelmed Jenkins with his bull rush, preventing Williams from stepping into this throw to a wide-open Keenan Allen:

As someone who was significantly lower on Sweat than where he was taken, I’m already planning my apology tour.

EDGE JARED VERSE, Los Angeles Rams

Rams edge rusher Jared Verse led rookie defenders with six pressures and a sack. Some of those were “lower quality” pursuit pressures, but he had several wins that displayed his skill as a pass rusher.

On the second play of the game, he steamrolled Taylor Decker with a bull rush. Decker is known for not having a great anchor, but flattening a nine-year veteran on your first NFL pass-rushing snap is impressive:

Here, he used a speed-chop to defeat Taylor Decker’s outside hand and clear a path around the corner. He finished with a rip move and flattened Jared Goff for the sack:

Later in the game, he faked the speed-chop (by far his most common move) and abruptly transitioned to power:

He also made an impact in the run game with four tackles and two stops. Here, he swam over the slice block from the tight end and closed in on David Montgomery for a short gain:

Verse’s power gives him a go-to method of pushing the pocket and applying pressure, and I think he has enough of a speed-rushing move set to keep tackles honest.

James Foster

NFL Analyst

James Foster is an NFL writer who creates film-based analysis of NFL players and teams. He previously worked for A to Z Sports.

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