NFL Rookie Rankings: Top Performers from 2024 Preseason Week 1 (2024)

Welcome to the start of Bleacher Report's newest feature, where the NFL's rookies will be ranked each week to see who the league's top first-year performers really are.

With the first week of preseason in the books, it's the perfect time to get excited about each team's recent draft picks. No one should go overboard, of course. After all, it's still preseason.

But positivity isn't a bad thing. Young players stacking good performances, even in limited settings, is exactly what they want to do. Week 1 of preseason serves as the first building block to set a solid foundation upon facing live NFL competition for the very first time.

In a class dominated by quarterbacks—with a draft-record six going among the initial 12 selections—it comes as no surprise that multiple signal-callers impressed, though one stood out more than the rest.

The following 10 rookies comprise the initial rankings that will be updated throughout the entirety of the preseason to see which draft selection looks best prepared for when the games really matter.

Numerous rookies across the league deserve some attention based on how they performed during the first week of preseason action.

The following names are those who were under consideration for this initial Top 10 but didn't quite crack the list:

QB Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders: Daniels played in only one series, but the Heisman Trophy winner went two-of-three passing with a 42-yard strike to Dyami Brown.

RB Jaylen Wright, Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins continue to add speed and playmakers to their backfield. Wright looked explosive and elusive with an average of 5.5 yards per carry.

WR Jermaine Burton, Cincinnati Bengals: Burton did his damage in the second half (82 yards) yet looks like a possibility to be the Bengals' slot receiver if given the chance.

OT Olu Fashanu, New York Jets: Fashanu was billed as the class' best pure pass blocker and looked the part. He's going to get reps at right tackle for the first time this week.

C Zach Frazier, Pittsburgh Steelers: While Nate Herbig had some issues snapping as Pittsburgh's first-team center, Frazier looked like a natural after replacing the veteran.

Edge Jonah Ellis, Denver Broncos: Denver's third-round draft pick created multiple pressures against the Indianapolis Colts, including one that caused an interception.

LB Payton Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers: The reigning Butkus Award winner began his NFL career with a tackle for loss, then led everyone in his preseason contest with seven total tackles.

CB Rico Payton, New Orleans Saints: The undrafted free agent out of Pittsburg State showed he belongs with three defended passes and excellent coverage. He'll need to build on the performance with a roster spot on the line.

The best part about preseason action tends to be when unassuming stars emerge, particularly those who went undrafted before showing they can play in the NFL.

An unserious groan went out during the Kansas City Chiefs' initial preseason offering, because they seemed to have found yet another offensive weapon in running back Carson Steele.

Steele didn't hear his name called during this year's draft despite rushing for 2,403 yards and 20 touchdowns the last two seasons between his stops with the Ball State Cardinals and UCLA Bruins.

However, the 6'0", 228-pound back immediately caught everyone's attention with his first professional carry. Steele rumbled 20 yards through the Jacksonville Jaguars defense.

Steele also muscled his way to a one-yard touchdown run.

The 21-year-old prospect didn't test well during the predraft process. But he can add a specific power/short-yardage element to a Chiefs backfield that already includes Isiah Pacheco, Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Deneric Prince.

Don't let an NFL team's unofficial depth chart fool you. As an example, the Washington Commanders list rookie Ben Sinnott as their TE3 behind Zach Ertz and John Bates.

General manager Adam Peters drafted Sinnott in the second round for a reason. He's a tremendous athlete who can provide a safety blanket for his quarterbacks.

"I've been impressed by Ben," head coach Dan Quinn told reporters last week. "I thought he would be excellent in the run game. I thought that would be one of his marks that he would really hit and be good in that spot, and he has been. What I've been most impressed by is his ability on some contested catches."

Sinnott caught three passes for 57 yards against the New York Jets. To Quinn's point, the tight end's 44-yard breakout was an easy seam route with a free release but required the rookie to make the grab with a safety bearing down on him. The tight end forced a missed tackle.

While Ertz is a well-established veteran, Sinnott can grow into an excellent weapon for Kliff Kingsbury's passing attack.

Stat-sheet scouting can be so misleading. Case in point, Indianapolis Colts edge-defender Laiatu Latu registered one tackle during Sunday's contest against the Denver Broncos. Yet his impact was felt throughout the game.

Latu worked with the Colts' first-team defense in sub-packages and as a base end with the second unit. The Broncos knew exactly when this year's highest drafted defender was on the field and reacted accordingly.

Denver decided to chip Latu during his first professional snap, which shows an immediate level of respect.

"Hell yeah [I was surprised]," Latu told reporters. "That was a little wake-up call, I guess."

More importantly, this year's 15th overall draft pick consistently got the better of his matchups off the edge. He applied pressure again and again, even though the Broncos mostly got the ball out quickly.

Last season, the Colts finished top-five in sacks. Yet Gus Bradley's unit didn't feature a true pass-rusher capable of regularly winning one-on-one opportunities. Latu can. It started to show during his first appearance.

A season ago, the Los Angeles Rams found lightning in a bottle with the fifth-round selection of Puka Nacua, who shattered multiple rookie receiving records. Could it strike twice?

The Rams drafted Texas' Jordan Whittington in this year's sixth round.

In Whittington's five seasons with the Longhorns program, he never served as the offense's primary target. He was a consistent target, though his NFL pathway looked to be on special teams.

Maybe there's more to him as a receiver than initially believed. Whittington caught six passes for 74 yards in his professional debut.

"He's just a mature rookie … " head coach Sean McVay told reporters. "He's a grown man and he played like a grown man with the ball in his hands. Did a great job without it. I just really like him, he's gonna be a factor for us and I thought today was a good start for him."

Nacua and Cooper Kupp are stars, but their injury histories shouldn't be overlooked. Whittington could easily find himself as the Rams' third or fourth receiver as the year progresses.

The San Francisco 49ers needed a boost to their offensive interior and drafted Dominick Puni in this year's third round. Puni already looks like a Day 2 steal, as he makes a strong case to be the Niners' starting right guard for Week 1.

Ironically, Puni never played right guard at the collegiate level. He started at left guard, right tackle and left tackle during his stints with the Central Missouri Mules and Kansas Jayhawks. Now, he's in the NFL and going unnoticed during his first preseason action—which is a positive for an offensive lineman.

"I didn't get mad at him for anything, so that usually means that you played pretty good," 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters.

What can the 49ers expect if Puni does win the job?

"Overall, Puni is a strapping, powerfully built prospect with an impressive blend of girth, body control and pad level that unlocks jolting, sudden power on contact," B/R's Brandon Thorn wrote in his scouting report. "He boasts the steer and sustain skills to compete and win a starting guard job within his first contract."

When an NFL prospect is described as raw prior to the draft, it does not mean he's incapable of creating an impact early in his career.

The Chicago Bears spent their fifth-round pick on Austin Booker despite the edge-defender only starting one game for the Kansas Jayhawks before being a surprise early entrant to the 2024 NFL draft.

Booker's ability was never in question, though. He's a 6'5", 240-pound pass-rusher with long limbs and explosive athletic traits. During Saturday's contest against the Buffalo Bills, all of it came together. Booker's length, leverage and relentlessness led to 2.5 sacks, two tackles for loss and three quarterback hits.

"It was a great feeling, a rush of energy and I can't wait to do it again," Booker told reporters. "I've just got to watch the film to see how [I] can improve. There's always stuff I could have done better. I probably could have had two more sacks."

The first-year pass-rusher will eventually need to show he can be as effective as top blockers. But early returns are extremely promising.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have featured the NFL's worst rushing attack for two straight seasons. It's not a coincidence that former Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen played in only one game during that stretch.

Jensen suffered what ultimately became a career-ending knee injury during the summer of 2022. The Bucs lost their tone-setter.

With this year's 26th overall pick, Tampa Bay chose the class' top center prospect in Duke's Graham Barton. Granted, Barton played left tackle for the Blue Devils over the last three seasons. But he began his collegiate career playing over the ball.

The transition back to center isn't automatic. As such, the Buccaneers have moved forward with Robert Hainsey as the initial snapper. The fourth-year veteran even opened Saturday's contest against the Cincinnati Bengals as the starting center. But Barton's play upon replacing Hainsey indicates any need to hold him off any longer isn't necessary.

The rookie was a bull in the middle of the line of scrimmage. He uprooted, moved and finished defenders. He looked like the missing piece the Buccaneers desperately needed.

Bo Nix may have been the last quarterback drafted among this year's six first-round signal-callers, but he could have as big of an instant impact as any of his classmates.

His preseason debut didn't dissuade this possibility, either.

Jarrett Stidham opened as the Broncos' starting quarterback against the Indianapolis Colts and played the first two series. Don't expect that to last too long.

Nix took over for the next five drives and led the team Denver to 20 points. This year's 12th overall selection completed 15-of-21 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown. More importantly, the rookie mostly got the ball out quickly, accurately and within the rhythm of the offense.

The effort wasn't perfect, particularly the start of Nix's initial drive. However, the overall performance showed how he can win within Sean Payton's system. He simply needs to be an extension of what he was with the Oregon Ducks.

Considering Nix is the most experienced starter to ever come out of the collegiate ranks, this dog-and-pony show of a competition needs to end, with the rookie getting all of the reps as part of the first-team offense.

This year's cornerback class didn't come off the board quite as early as projected, but those teams that lucked into top talents in the latter portions of the first round should be quite happy, especially the Baltimore Ravens.

Baltimore chose Clemson's Nate Wiggins with this year's 30th overall pick. Wiggins provided a sparkling preseason debut.

The 20-year-old rookie registered a tackle for loss, defended three passes and scored a 90.2 coverage grade against the Philadelphia Eagles, according to Pro Football Focus. He allowed only one reception for eight yards.

Unfortunately, Wiggins' fantastic start was tempered by the fact he dinged his shoulder in the third quarter.

"Wiggins is not a serious injury," head coach John Harbaugh told reporters on Sunday.

The first-year cornerback is expected to be in the lineup for the start of the regular season, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Though his standing on this list will quickly dip considering he isn't likely to see any more preseason action.

How does it feel, Chicago Bears faithful? How does it feel knowing the team has a true mega-talent behind center for the first time in franchise history?

The excitement for Caleb Williams during his first preseason contest was palpable.

When he rolled to his right and ripped a 25-yard throw to tight end Cole Kmet while being chased, everyone saw exactly what separated Williams from the other five first-round quarterbacks in his draft class and why he went No. 1 overall.

One throw doesn't lead to Williams' standing in these initial rankings, though. It's an understanding that today's game is built around premier playmaking quarterbacks.

Professional football has evolved to where a squad's offensive leader must be able to create outside of structure, play off-platform and make something happen when nothing seems available. These instincts are what separate the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Matthew Stafford from the others.

Williams worked within the scheme in multiple instances and created during others. He would have completed his first six passes had it not been for two drops (not including a bad decision saved by defensive pass interference).

It's the preseason. Everyone knows not to go too crazy over what happens in these contests. Still, no one can deny that Williams' created significant buzz during his first professional outing.