Yesterday, we looked at the most vital rookies on the AFC side of the playoff picture. Key names included Chiefs cornerback L'Jarius Sneed, Bills wideout Gabriel Davis, Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins, and Steelers pass catcher Chase Claypool. There are plenty of vital first-year pros in the NFC playoffs too, and more of them in the trenches.
Let's dive into all the key members in the NFC -- some are central parts of their respective teams, others are crucial role-players who may need to take on more responsibilities in the postseason.
Green Bay Packers
After one of the strangest draft classes from a serious contender in recent memory, it's fitting the most vital rookie in the playoffs for the Packers is an undrafted free agent. Barnes, not picked in the 2020 draft out of UCLA, has become Green Bay's full-time middle linebacker in Mike Pettine's defense.
He's played at least 30 snaps in each of the last four contests and over 50 defensive snaps in both Week 16 and Week 17. At 6-1 and 235 pounds, he's provided the Packers with the athleticism needed to make plays behind Green Bay's heavy defensive line that eats blockers.
Aaron Rodgers can mask plenty of flaws. No doubting that. But the Packers defense was an underrated group all season, and with offenses like the Saints, Rams, Seahawks and Buccaneers in the playoffs, the Packers will likely need quality defensive play all around to reach the Super Bowl.
New Orleans Saints
Ruiz somewhat surprisingly landed in the first round in April, and despite playing center at Michigan, he's locked down the guard spot -- actually left and right guard -- for New Orleans in his rookie campaign. The first-year blocker allowed a rather sizable 25 pressures on 401 pass-blocking snaps during the regular season. Some of his stronger efforts did come in December. However, an offensive line is only as sturdy as its weakest link, and Ruiz has to step up in the postseason. The Bears have one of the better defensive fronts in the NFC, and the Rams are in the playoffs too. We know what they can do on the interior.
Drew Brees finished the regular season with a 111.8 passer rating when kept clean and an 88.5 rating when under pressure. How Ruiz plays will be be a huge determining factor in how far New Orleans goes in this postseason.
Seattle Seahawks
Lewis turned in a quality rookie year -- as a run blocker. In pass protection, he surrendered 28 pressures of Russell Wilson on 633 pass-protection snaps. That's concerning entering a first-round matchup with Aaron Donald, Michael Brockers, Jalen Ramsey and the superstar-driven Rams defense.
The former LSU standout allowed seven pressures on just over 100 pass-blocking snaps against Los Angeles in their two meetings with Donald and Co. during the regular season. Coincidentally, Russell Wilson completed only 60.8% of his throws at 6.85 yards per attempt in those games -- one win, one loss -- and was sacked a ridiculous 11 times.
Watch Lewis -- along with the rest of Seattle's interior blocking group -- in the first round against the Rams. The quality of their play will be vital.
Washington Football Team
Couldn't go with all somewhat unheralded rookies. But I did pick Young for a specific reason beyond the fact he was the second pick in the 2020 draft. Washington hosts the Buccaneers in the first round with Tom Brady and his super-deep receiving corps.
Brady was only pressured 24.4% of the time during the regular season -- the fourth-lowest rate among qualifying quarterbacks. On those plays, the elder statesman threw four touchdowns with five picks en route to a 54.5 quarterback rating. When throwing from a clean pocket right around three-quarters of the time, Brady tossed 36 touchdowns to just seven interceptions and had a 115.1 rating.
Tampa Bay boasts a superstar in the making at right tackle in rookie Tristan Wirfs, who allowed six pressures in his last 217 pass-blocking snaps and has the length, power and athleticism to go toe-to-toe with Young on the outside. At left tackle, veteran Donovan Smith is more susceptible. In short, a monstrous outing from Young against the Buccaneers edge blockers would significantly help Washington's chances to beat Brady's Buccaneers.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The other side of what will be a heavyweight bout in the trenches when Tampa Bay has the football. At the 2020 combine, Young measured in at 6-5 and 264 pounds with arms nearly 34 inches long. Wirfs was 6-5 and 320 with 34-inch arms, and he awed everyone with one of the most athletic pound-for-pound performances we've ever seen from an offensive lineman.
If there's a rookie tackle up to the challenge of the big, strong, athletic and fundamentally sound Young flying around the corner, it's Wirfs. And even when Young rushes from the other side of the line -- where the No. 2 overall pick normally aligns -- the Washington Football Team has another freaky, former first-round selection at edge rusher, Montez Sweat, who actually tied for the team lead in quarterback pressures with 47. Wirfs has been superb this season, but he'll have his work cut out for him in the first round of the playoffs.
Los Angeles Rams
The sixth-round pick out of Ohio State, who had an inauspicious career with the Buckeyes alongside a litany of early draft picks, shocked most of us with three picks and five pass breakups during his debut year in the NFL. Only six Rams defenders played more snaps than Fuller's 708 during the regular season.
Los Angeles utilized Fuller as a box safety on 168 snaps, in the slot on 87 plays, and at free safety on 450 other snaps, so his versatility is clearly important to what the Rams do defensively. Limiting the big-play potential of the Seahawks offense is the No. 1 priority when facing Wilson and DK Metcalf, so the Day 3 rookie will have serious responsibilities in the opening round of the playoffs.
Chicago Bears
I've long been a Mooney fan. Well, ever since I watched his Tulane film in the spring before the 2020 draft. I labeled him a rookie sleeper in July, and I wrote "If you're going to be that small in the NFL, you better be fast, and Mooney is. He ran 4.38 at the combine and had 37-inch vertical. On film, he demonstrated awesome concentration when tracking the football down the field and played bigger than his size because of his leaping talents."
While Allen Robinson and David Montgomery have been the key elements to Chicago's offense this season, Mooney has been the spark it's needed every once in a while. He finished the regular season with just a 10.3 yards-per-grab average, but don't let it fool you, Mooney was featured on a plethora of extension-of-the-run-game screens. The rookie burner had six grabs of 20-plus yards and a pair of at least 50 yards. If Chicago wants to spring an upset of New Orleans in the opening round of the postseason, it's going to need as many big plays as possible, and Mooney has asserted himself as the Bears long-ball specialist.
