National Football League

NFL All-Rookie Team: Phenoms Jayden Daniels, Brock Bowers headline our squad

Published Jan. 8, 2025 10:45 a.m. ET

What better way to wrap up a season of weekly Rookie Reports than with an All-Rookie Team, highlighting the very best of this season's first-year players at every position. We're picking 11 each on offense and defense, plus special teams, with runners-up as well.

QUARTERBACK: Jayden Daniels, Commanders

Close call here, but Daniels, the No. 2 overall pick out of LSU, has been a star all season, leading Washington to a 12-5 record after the team finished 4-13 last season. His 25 touchdowns against only nine interceptions was impressive, but you can add in 891 rushing yards and six more scores on the ground. He's one of just three rookies to make the Pro Bowl, and how he won games this year was perhaps the best — a Hail Mary touchdown to beat the Bears, a touchdown with 0:06 left to beat the Eagles and a touchdown in overtime to beat the Falcons.

RUNNER-UP: Bo Nix, Broncos

RUNNING BACK: Bucky Irving, Bucs

The fourth-round pick from Oregon emerged in the second half of the season, sparking the Bucs as they won six of their last seven games to take the NFC South for a fourth year in a row. He rushed for 1,122 yards and eight touchdowns overall, and his average of 5.4 yards per carry is among the best ever for a rookie with 200-plus carries.

RUNNER-UP: Tyrone Tracy Jr., Giants

RECEIVERS: Brian Thomas Jr., Jaguars; Malik Nabers, Giants; Ladd McConkey, Chargers

All three finished with more than 1,000 receiving yards. Thomas led all rookies with 10 receiving touchdowns, Nabers caught 109 passes and set the rookie record with 170 targets. McConkey, the ninth receiver taken in the 2024 draft, set the Chargers rookie record with 1,149 yards to go with seven touchdowns.

RUNNERS-UP: Marvin Harrison Jr., Cardinals; Jalen McMillan, Bucs; Xavier Worthy, Chiefs

TIGHT END: Brock Bowers, Raiders

Just the best rookie tight end season in NFL history, with 112 catches for 1,194 yards and five touchdowns, the yardage breaking a Mike Ditka rookie record that had stood since 1961. And Bowers did all this despite catching passes from three bad quarterbacks on a Raiders team that didn't have much else to cheer for. He earned Pro Bowl honors and should get a first-team All-Pro nod as well.

Brock Bowers on record-setting season: 'It's been everything and more'

RUNNER-UP: AJ Barner, Seahawks

OFFENSIVE LINE: LT Olu Fashanu, Jets; LG Jackson Powers-Johnson, Raiders; C Graham Barton, Bucs; RG Dominick Puni, 49ers; RT Joe Alt, Chargers

Nine offensive linemen went in the first round, but there wasn't a Pro Bowl nod in the group, and some of the best linemen were later picks like Puni, a third-round pick from Kansas. We wanted to keep the line positionally authentic, but there are better right tackles than left tackles, and very few left guards at all — Powers-Johnson spent the second half of his rookie year at center. Barton and Pittsburgh's Zach Frazier were two of the best linemen in this class, period.

RUNNERS-UP: LT Amarius Mims, Bengals; LG Layden Robinson, Patriots; C Zach Frazier, Steelers; RG Mason McCormick, Steelers; RT Roger Rosengarten, Ravens

EDGE: Jared Verse, Rams; Chop Robinson, Dolphins

There were no defensive players in the top 14 picks of the 2024 draft, but Verse led the way. He's the lone defensive rookie in the Pro Bowl, and his 55 pressures were the fourth-most among all players. Penn State product Robinson started slowly but had all six of his sacks in the final 10 weeks of the season after going 21st overall, two spots after Florida State's Verse.

RUNNERS-UP: Laiatu Latu, Colts; Jonah Elliss, Broncos

INTERIOR DEFENSIVE LINE: Braden Fiske, Rams; T'Vondre Sweat, Titans

Fiske led all rookies with eight sacks and paired with FSU teammate Verse to lead a deep and talented Rams rookie class. Sweat turned heads rumbling 30 yards after a fumble recovery, but the second-rounder from Texas was active all season for Tennessee, finishing with 51 tackles.

RUNNERS-UP: Byron Murphy, Seahawks; Jer'Zhan Newton, Commanders

LINEBACKERS: Edgerrin Cooper, Packers; Payton Wilson, Steelers

Another second-round gem out of Texas A&M, Cooper might have had the best all-around season for a defensive rookie: 87 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and an interception. Wilson, a third-rounder from NC State, started only four games but also did a bit of everything, with 78 tackles, a forced fumble and two recoveries, and an interception.

RUNNERS-UP: Tyrice Knight, Seahawks; Trevin Wallace, Panthers

CORNERBACKS: Tarheeb Still, Chargers, Quinyon Mitchell, Eagles

Still was one of the best late-round gems in this class, a fifth-round pick from Maryland who started 12 games and picked off four passes on one of the best defenses in the NFL. Mitchell, the first corner taken, at No. 22 out of Toledo, was part of a revamped secondary that made the Eagles one of the most improved defenses in the league. He played 91.2% of Philadelphia's defensive snaps, the highest rate of any defensive rookie.

RUNNERS-UP: Nate Wiggins, Ravens; Kamari Lassiter, Texans

SLOT CORNER: Cooper DeJean, Eagles

Another key to the Eagles' defensive turnaround, DeJean had 51 tackles after being elevated to a starting role in midseason, and he also moonlighted as a dangerous punt returner. We really had three solid rookie nickels to choose from, so we'll give a shout-out here to the Steelers' Beanie Bishop Jr., who had four interceptions and deserved consideration as well.

Cooper DeJean turned heads in Week 13 with his textbook tackle of 247-pound Ravens running back Derrick Henry. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)

RUNNER-UP: Tykee Smith, Bucs

SAFETIES: Evan Williams, Packers; Calen Bullock, Texans

More late-round finds, as Williams was a fourth-round pick from Oregon, and Bullock was a third-rounder from USC and both were among the most productive rookie defensive backs. Williams was Pro Football Focus' No. 23 safety, and Bullock had five interceptions to lead all rookies as part of a young Texans secondary.

RUNNERS-UP: Malik Mustapha, 49ers; Tyler Nubin, Giants

KICKER: Cam Little, Jaguars

Little, a sixth-round pick out of Arkansas, had one of the most accurate rookie kicking seasons ever, going 27-for-29 for a 93% success rate on field goals. That included a 5-for-6 mark on kicks 50 and longer, including a 59-yarder. His touchback rate of 84% was the highest in the NFL as well.

RUNNER-UP: Joshua Karty, Rams

PUNTER: Ryan Rehkow, Bengals

A rare undrafted rookie on the team, Rehkow was cut by the Chiefs in preseason and averaged 49.1 yards per punt, good enough to rank sixth in net punting at 43.3. One of his punts went 80 yards, the second-longest in the NFL all season.

RUNNER-UP: Tory Taylor, Bears

RETURNER: Brandon Codrington, Bills

Buffalo gave up a 2026 pick swap in preseason to acquire the undrafted rookie from North Carolina Central, and he stayed busy on punt and kickoff duty, with more than 300 yards in returns on each. His 53-yard kickoff return was one of the first big returns of the season, and he played a little defense as well, totaling nine tackles.

RUNNER-UP: Malik Washington, Dolphins

Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

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