NFL rookies that make an immediate impact can turn around a team’s fortunes overnight.
And as training camps are underway and preseason games start next month, everyone is watching the latest arrivals from the NFL Draft and wondering who will break through in their first year?
As we get ready with our 2025 NFL odds for Week 1 and all the other bet types, let’s look back at the rookies that have made the biggest impact in their first year as we get amped up for another season…
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Jayden Daniels – Washington Commanders 2024
- Rushing Yards – 891
- Games Won – 14
- Completion Percentage – 69%
Easily the most exciting NFL rookie in years, Commanders’ QB Jayden Daniels played like a veteran from Day 1 in his rookie season.
His legs stole the show as much as his arm did, with 891 yards rushing during the season – a record for rookie QB’s. Daniels also won the most games ever (14) in a rookie season, several of which came from his late-game heroics alone. He did it all with a 69% completion percentage, unheard of for a position where most rookies crack under defensive pressure.
Daniels single-handedly turned around the Washington franchise, taking them from 4 wins the year before to a 14-3 record overnight.
Ezekiel Elliott – Dallas Cowboys 2016
- Rushing Yards – 1,600
Zeke made a big impact in his rookie season in 2016. He led the entire NFL in rushing that year with over 1,600 yards, 300 more than the second-leading running back that season.
He led the Dallas Cowboys to the top seed in the NFC that same season and racked up a Pro Bowl appearance too. Even more impressive, he topped a list of legends who played running back for the Cowboys over their rich history, including Tony Dorsett and Herschel Walker. Zeke broke their rookie touchdown records, their 100-yard rushing games records, and rushing yardage records.
Today Elliott is winding down his career. He left the Cowboys after returning for a season, and he’s looking to add to his stats after a brief period with the LA Chargers’s practice squad.
C.J. Stroud – Houston Texans 2023
- Passing Yards – 4,108
- Touchdowns – 23
The Texans took C.J. Stroud #2 overall in 2023, an he proved himself immediately.
Stroud eclipsed the #1 pick that year, Carolina QB Bryce Young, very early in the season.
Posting amazingly similar numbers to another Texas-based rookie from seven years earlier, Dak Prescott, Stroud threw for over 4,000 yards, 23 touchdowns and just five INT’s. He led the entire NFL – which included iconic quarterbacks like Lamar Jackosn and Josh Allen – in yards passing per game.
Stroud didn’t crack under playoff pressure either, leading the Texans to a Wild Card win that season on his way to the Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
Saquon Barkley – New York Giants 2018
- Receptions – 91
- Rushing Yards – 1,307
Saquon is mostly known for his epic debut season with his new team, the Philadelphia Eagles, but he made a name for himself early in his career with the Giants.
Drafted 2nd overall, Barkley was a threat to run or catch on every snap in 2018. He caught an amazing 91 passes that season, on his way to over 2,000 yards from scrimmage.
The Giants let Barkley go before the 2024 to division rival Philly, in what could be one of the worst moves by a front office in the past decade or two. Barkley won the AP Offensive Player of the Year award and took the Eagles all the way to a Super Bowl win.
Anquan Boldin – Arizona Cardinals 2003
- Receptions – 101
- Receiving Yards – 1,377
The Cardinals picked up Boldin 54th overall in the 2003 NFL Draft, after three other receivers were selected in the first round before him. None of them – Charles Rogers, Andre Johnson, and Bryant Johnson – had anything close to Boldin’s rookie season (or his full NFL career for that matter).
The powerful WR set rookie records in the NFL for receptions (101) and yardage (1,377). Boldin even managed to amass an amazing 217 yards in one game that season. It’s no wonder he was named Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Dak Prescott – Dallas Cowboys 2016
- Passing Yards – 3,667
- Passing Touchdowns – 23
- Rushing Touchdowns – 6
The Dallas Cowboys’ starting QB for the past 8 years didn’t look like he would amount to much when he started his rookie year.
Dak Prescott was only a 4th-round pick in 2016, and the ‘Boys already had Tony Romo playing some All-Pro seasons for them. But Romo had a bobo in the preseason, and Dak barely looked back. He won the Offensive Rookie of the Year on the strength of 23 TD’s vs just four picks, plus 3,667 yards passing and six touchdowns rushing.
Today? Prescott is still the team’s #1 QB, and he secured himself a $240 million contract for another 4 years of calling the shots in Big D.
Justin Jefferson – Minnesota Vikings 2020
- Receiving Yards – 1,400
The lockdown season didn’t slow down Justin Jefferson, as the Vikings’ WR1 racked up the rookie record for receiving yards in a single season (1,400 total) in 2020.
Jefferson proved it was no fluke either; since then he has delivered well over 1,500 yards and 100+ receptions in three different years . As a result, the Vikings just gave him a 4-year, $140 million deal.
Puka Nacua – Los Angeles Rams 2023
- Receiving Yards – 1,486
- Receptions – 105
Jefferson’s rookie record lasted just 3 seasons, however. That’s because Puka Nacua arrived on the scene and picked up 1,486 receiving yards. Nacua also set the rookie record for catches with 105.
While JJ was a high draft pick coming out of high-profile LSU, Nacua was taken only in the fifth round by Rams, coming out of BYU. He went 177th overall, a full 155 picks behind Jefferson’s draft spot a few years earlier.
Adrian Peterson – Minnesota Vikings 2007
- Rushing Yards – 1,341
- Rushing Touchdowns – 12
- Receiving Touchdowns – 1
Offensive Rookie of the Year or Pro Bowl MVP in year 1 of a career is rare for any player, and Adrian Peterson took hime both trophies in 2007.
His rookie year also included an incredible 296 yards rushing in a single game, a new NFL record that still stands today.
Aaron Donald – Los Angeles Rams 2014
- Sacks – 9
- Tackles – 47
It takes a lot more to shine on defense, especially as a rookie. The big numbers all come on offense.
But Aaron Donald, a guaranteed Hall of Famer, is the only defensive player on our list for a reason. His 2014 rookie season was incredible. He took home Defensive Rookie of the Year honors, playing in all 16 games as a starter and picking up 9 sacks and 47 total tackles.
Donald took the team to the 2022 Super Bowl, and it was his pressure on a late 4th down that forced Bengals’ QB Joe Burrow to throw an incomplete pass. The Rams would win the game shortly after, and Donald picked up his only Super Bowl ring.
