NFL: Week 3 Rookie Recap

The third week of the NFL season saw a pair of rookie runners show off their blazing speed and the top QB taken in the draft rebound from an abysmal outing to post another solid start.  We also saw another rookie quarterback make his pro debut and the top tight end taken in the draft score his first career touchdown.

Steve Slaton, Houston – Week three was Slaton’s time to shine as he cruised to 116 yards on 18 carries including his first career touchdown against a stout Tennessee defense.  For the year Slaton has 159 yards and is averaging 5.1 yards per carry.

Felix Jones, Dallas – Continues to use his elite speed to deliver big plays for the Cowboys.  Jones was rather ineffective aside from his 60 yard touchdown run.  Jones compiled a career-high 76 yards on six carries.  For the season he has 148 yards on 18 carries for a whopping 8.2 yards per carry.  Jones has also made a major impact for the Cowboys as a kick returner.  In 3 games he has two returns of 40 or more yards including a 98-yarder for a touchdown against Philadelphia.

Matt Ryan, Atlanta – Ryan rebounded from an abysmal outing against the Buccaneers to post another solid game against the Chiefs completing 12 of 18 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown.  It is tough to gauge just where Ryan is along the developmental process as his two best games have come against two of the worst teams in the league while his only game against a potentially playoff caliber team was not good.  For the year Ryan has completed 53.1% of his passes for 511 yards and two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Matt Forte, Chicago – Forte continues to plug away posting 155 yards of total offense, 89 rushing and 66 receiving, and a touchdown against Tampa Bay.  Forte keeps producing but his yards per carry are steadily declining with each passing week.  As the season progresses and the Bears continue to struggle to establish any kind of a passing game Forte’s numbers may continue to flounder a bit as teams key on him as the lone offensive weapon for Chicago.  For the season Forte has 304 rushing yards, tops amongst all rookie backs and 4th in the league, and 105 receiving yards on 13 catches.  He also has a pair of touchdowns to his credit.

Chris Johnson, Tennessee – Another solid effort for the rookie burner out of East Carolina.  Johnson ran up 74 yards on 16 carries for the Titans.  For the season Johnson’s 276 yards and 5.5 yards per carry rank him 7th in the league and 2nd amongst rookies in both categories.  Johnson also has one touchdown to his credit.

Dustin Keller, New York Jets – Had the best game in his young career on Monday night catching 4 passes for 41 yards and scoring his first career touchdown agains the Chargers.  For the season Keller has caught 5 passes for 60 yards and one score.

Jerod Mayo, New England – The rookie linebacker out of Tennessee recorded a career-high of 12 tackles in the loss to the Dolphins on Sunday.  For the season Mayo’s 25 tackles are a league-high amongst all rookie defenders.

Joe Flacco, Baltimore – It was not pretty but Flacco helped guide the Ravens to their second victory of the season over the hapless Browns.  Flacco completed 13 of 19 passes for 129 yards.  One positive is that he completed 68.4% of his passes which is up from the 51.7% he completed in his first game.  However, the big mark against him in this game was that he threw two interceptions.  For the season Flacco has completed 58.3% of his passes for 258 yards and two interceptions.  He also has one rushing touchdown to his credit.

Jamaal Charles, Kansas City – The rookie runner from Texas posted career-highs with 38 rushing yards and 24 receiving yards.  For the season Charles is averaging a 4.9 yards per carry and is starting to emerge as a viable second option in the Chiefs rushing attack.

Tim Hightower, Arizona – Hightower ran for 23 yards on 5 carries and posted a career-high of 38 receiving yards against the Redskins.  Hightower has emerged as an option out of the backfield in the Cardinals passing attack and as a short yardage back.  For the season Hightower is averaging 11.3 yards per reception and has punched in a pair of touchdowns.

Darren McFadden, Oakland – McFadden was unable to follow up his outstanding performance against Kansas City with another one in Buffalo.  The rookie runner was held to just 42 yards on 14 carries.  For the season his 252 yards rank 3rd amongst rookie backs while his 5.7 yards per carry is tops amongs first year players.  He has also scored a touchdown this season.

John Carlson, Seattle – The league’s most productive rookie tight end to-date caught two passes for 38 yards against the Rams.  For the season he has caught 12 passes for 168 yards.

DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia – Was held in check for the most part by the Steelers defense catching just 5 passes for 40 yards.  His 256 yards and 15.1 average per catch are still tops amongst league rookies.

Eddie Royal, Denver – Royal seems to have gone from the penthouse to the outhouse since the return of Brandon Marshall to the Broncos’ lineup as he has caught just 9 passes for 48 yards since Marshall’s return from a one game suspension.  For the season Royal still leads all rookies with 18 catches and his 194 yards rank second amongst rookie wideouts.  He also has a pair of touchdown catches to his credit.

Jonathan Stewart, Carolina – Stewart never really got going against a strong Minnesota defensive front that decided the Panthers were going to have to beat them throwing the ball.  The Vikings held Stewart to a career-low 15 yards on 7 carries with the lone highlight being the touchdown he scored.  For the season Stewart’s 145 yards rank 6th amongst rookies and his 3 rushing touchdowns are the most amongst all rookie backs.

Ray Rice, Baltimore – Posted a respectable 21 yards on 5 carries in a win against the Browns.  Rice has struggled a bit at times and is averaging just 3.1 yards per carry and has yet to establish himself as a key player in the Ravens offense.

Kevin O’Connell, New England – O’Connell made his NFL debut in a blow out loss to the Dolphins on Sunday.  There is not much to take away from this other than he completed 3 of 4 passes for 25 yards in mop up duty.

Chad Henne, Miami – Took some snaps in mop up duty in the blow out win against New England but did not attempt a pass.