Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix headed to Pro Bowl? Drake Maye shows off his wheels

Greg Auman

NFL Reporter

Denver’s Bo Nix and Washington’s Jayden Daniels have both led their teams to 8-5 records as rookies and would have the final wild card in each conference if the 2024 season ended today.

They each have 21 total touchdowns this season, neither has lost a fumble, and their passing yardage is within 23 yards of each other. Nix and Daniels are having exceptional rookie campaigns playing out simultaneously, arguably a step ahead of Chicago’s Caleb Williams.

Daniels remains the favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, and his throwing for three touchdowns Sunday in a rout of the Titans to end a three-game losing streak definitely helps with that. But Nix continues to lead the Broncos to victory as well. He’s thrown for seven touchdown passes against two interceptions in their current three-game winning streak.

If Daniels was ahead in highlight-reel throws — Hail Mary touchdowns will do that — then Nix caught up a bit Sunday, throwing a 93-yard touchdown pass to receiver Marvin Mims. It’s the longest touchdown pass by a rookie quarterback in 26 years, since Detroit’s Charlie Batch threw a 98-yard score to Johnnie Morton in 1998.

Could both Nix and Daniels make the Pro Bowl as rookies? Daniels ranks fourth among QBs (and first in the NFC) in early Pro Bowl voting, while Nix is ninth (fifth in AFC). A few AFC quarterbacks would probably need to politely decline for Nix to make the cut as a replacement choice. Only twice in Pro Bowl history have multiple rookie quarterbacks made it in the same season: Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson and Robert Griffin all made it together in 2012; and Andy Dalton and Cam Newton did so in 2011.

Drake Maye showing off his running ability

Patriots rookie Drake Maye hasn’t had as great a rookie season as some other first-year quarterbacks, but he has showcased an underappreciated aspect of his game. Maye had five carries for 59 yards in New England’s loss to the Colts on Sunday, and for the season, he has rushed for 345 yards. He’s averaging 9.1 yards per carry, which leads the NFL among all players with at least 30 carries. In the past 50 years, the only player in any season to average that much on that many carries was Michael Vick as a rookie in 2001.

Maye doesn’t have many talented options to throw to in New England, so he has yet to pass for 300 yards in a game, but he had a solid showing on Sunday, going 24-for-30 for 238 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

It’s a good illustration of how precociously accurate this year’s rookie quarterbacks are. In NFL history, there are just seven games ever by rookies with 30-plus passes and an 80% completion rate, and four of them have come this year — Maye and Daniels on Sunday and games by Nix and Daniels earlier this season.

More Pro Bowl rookie vote-getters

Pro Bowl rosters are chosen by equal parts of voting from fans, players and coaches, and the early fan results show the quirky nature of that part of the balloting. Raiders tight end Brock Bowers is almost a lock to make the Pro Bowl with his gaudy numbers, but there aren’t many others who are likely to earn a trip to Orlando.

But fan favorites? Lions long snapper Hogan Hatten, an undrafted rookie who played at Idaho, is second in the snapper voting, and Saints punter Matthew Hayball, an undrafted rookie from Australia, ranks fourth in the punter voting despite ranking 30th in the league in punt average. Only nine fullbacks are even on the Pro Bowl ballot, but Chiefs rookie Carson Steele ranks second in that voting, despite declining usage. He played just three snaps in Sunday’s win.

Viral tackle boosts Cooper DeJean

There are many contributors to the Eagles‘ current eight-game win streak, but their surge has coincided with the emergence of rookie corner Cooper DeJean, who was slowed in camp by a hamstring injury and barely played on defense in Philadelphia’s 2-2 start. Since he moved into a starting role, the Eagles haven’t lost, and Sunday saw him grab headlines for a textbook open-field tackle of Ravens running back Derrick Henry.

DeJean has helped on special teams as a punt returner, and while he lacks a splash play to grab more attention, his steady play has been noticed. Pro Football Focus has him now ranked third out of 113 cornerbacks across the league.

Bowers, Nabers challenge NFL rookie target record

Bowers in Las Vegas and receiver Malik Nabers with the Giants have been the No. 1 target for their teams as rookies, so much so that they’re on track to challenge for the most targets ever for a rookie. Nabers, who missed one game due to injury, is at 116, and Bowers is at 113. That puts them on pace to approach the rookie record of 167, set by the Patriots’ Terry Glenn in 1996.

Bowers should have a busy day Sunday, facing a Bucs defense dealing with multiple injuries at safety, nickel and linebacker, and already giving up the fourth-most receiving yards to tight ends this season. Nabers, too, gets to face two of the NFL’s four worst pass defenses in the next two weeks with the Saints and Ravens.

Chargers‘ Still continues to shine

If you hadn’t heard the name this season, you should have Sunday: Chargers rookie corner Tarheeb Still, a fifth-round pick from Maryland, came through with two interceptions in their win over the Falcons, including a 61-yard pick-six off Kirk Cousins in the third quarter. Still and fellow rookie fifth-rounder Cam Hart have been central pieces in Los Angeles’ league-leading defense, and Still stepped up even more with Hart sidelined by injury Sunday.

The only rookies with more interceptions this season are Texans safety Calen Bullock and Rams defensive back Jaylen McCollough, with four each. Across the league, teams have found impact in the defensive secondary from rookies either taken in the later rounds or not at all. Bullock was a third-round pick out of USC, and McCollough went undrafted out of Tennessee.

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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