This was the first week of the 2021 season where there were more deserving candidates than the Rookie Power Rankings list allowed. It was difficult leaving off Jets offensive guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, but others stepped up across the NFL. In addition to the players who made the list, there are a few others who are trending up: Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman and Broncos edge rusher Jonathon Cooper.
We will be tracking rookie performers each week of the season and identifying those who stood out. These rankings are not based on statistical performance but rather overall play. Without further ado, the cumulative regular season rookie rankings as we head into Week 10:
Week 10 Rookie Rankings
| 1 | 
Creed Humphrey
Kansas City Chiefs C
|
| Humphrey was sensational against the Packers. He does such a good job of dropping anchor and mitigating pressure on Patrick Mahomes. | |
| 2 | 
Rashawn Slater
Los Angeles Chargers OT
|
| Slater's hands were getting really wide in this game, but any time the Chargers needed a big play, they ran behind the rookie from Northwestern. Philadelphia was not able to apply any pressure off his side. | |
| 3 | 
Ja'Marr Chase
Cincinnati Bengals WR
|
| Chase finished with six receptions for 49 yards, but he had 13 targets. Both of Joe Burrow's interceptions were targeting Chase. The LSU product was responsible for a few drops, Browns defenders made a few nice plays in coverage and he had a 32 yard reception brought back on a hold. It was a forgettable day for Chase and the Bengals. | |
| 4 | 
Kyle Pitts
Atlanta Falcons TE
|
| On the first play of the game, Pitts speeds past his defender down the left sideline with nothing but green grass in front of him. Matt Ryan locks onto Pitts, throws and it was...dropped. Pitts made a few big catches but four catches for 137 yards and one touchdown would've looked a lot more impressive than three receptions for 62 yards. | |
| 5 | 
Mac Jones
New England Patriots QB
|
| Jones is a system quarterback and that is not meant in the tongue in cheek criticism. New England's process isn't about any one individual player. There are some games in which Jones may be asked to push the ball downfield. There are some games in which the team might run 39 times compared to his 18 pass attempts. Sunday's win over Carolina falls into the latter category and Jones has bought in. He's also carried Tom Brady's torch for high success rate on short yardage QB sneaks. | |
| 6 | 
Nate Hobbs
Las Vegas Raiders CB
|
| Hobbs continues to show high activity on defense. In addition to his effectiveness over the slot and versatility to play on the boundary, he showed a burst off the snap to sack Daniel Jones. | |
| 7 | 
Trey Smith
Kansas City Chiefs OG
|
| I believe I counted one pressure credited to Smith in this one. Alongside fellow rookie Creed Humphrey, Smith has been awesome. You saw his ability to move and target defenders in space in addition to his anchor between the tackles. | |
| 8 | 
Pat Freiermuth
Pittsburgh Steelers TE
|
| Freiermuth is not flashy like Kyle Pitts but he has sure hands and did a very nice job blocking in space for Pittsburgh's run game. He added two touchdowns to his stat sheet in Monday night's win over Chicago. | |
| 9 | 
Greg Newsome II
Cleveland Browns CB
|
| There was a lot of praise for Denzel Ward this week -- rightfully so -- but Newsome was fantastic once again. Ja'Marr Chase did him some favors dropping a few passes but the Northwestern rookie also deflected a few balls. He was probably responsible for only three receptions for less than 30 yards. | |
| 10 | 
DeVonta Smith
Philadelphia Eagles WR
|
| Smith had a few deep connections with Jalen Hurts, including an effort touchdown late. He finished with five receptions for 116 yards. | |
| 11 | 
Jaylen Waddle
Miami Dolphins WR
|
| Waddle is a high-volume pass catcher to this point in his career, but Sunday showed more of his potential. The Alabama product had some crossers creating yards after the catch and continues to show an ability to sit in the soft part of a zone. | |
| 12 | 
Micah Parsons
Dallas Cowboys OLB
|
| I like Parsons the edge rusher a lot more than Parsons the linebacker. Dallas was effective in how they used him this weekend. He finished with 2.5 sacks and is now 0.5 sacks behind Azeez Ojulari for the most by a rookie. | |
| 13 | 
Elijah Mitchell
San Francisco 49ers RB
|
| Mitchell has four 100+ rushing yard games in the six that he has played. Sunday against Arizona was not one of them, but he made more of an impact through the air. San Francisco was behind big early and that was not conducive to establishing the run. | |
| 14 | 
Javonte Williams
Denver Broncos RB
|
| Williams was breaking tackles left and right against Dallas' defense. He has been a good pass catcher and pass protector but fans started to see his capabilities with more touches in this game. He finished with the first 100+ rushing yard game of his career. | |
| 15 | 
Rondale Moore
Arizona Cardinals WR
|
| The tape has been better than the production since Week 2 for Moore but, at some point, those results will have to reappear to stay on this list. Several other rookies are stating strong cases to be included and the list has gotten more competitive each week. | |
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