The 2021 NFL regular season came to a close on Sunday. But before we focus on the postseason, it is time to look back at the top five rookies on winning teams from Week 18.
5) Brock Wright–Detroit Lions
An undrafted tight end out of Notre Dame, Wright caught two passes for 51 yards and one touchdown for the Lions on Sunday in a 37-30 Detroit win over the Green Bay Packers. Wright’s touchdown was a 36-yard catch from Jared Goff to begin the second half. After starting out slow, Detroit finished the year winning three of their last six games.
4) Ihmir Smith-Marsette–Minnesota Vikings
Even though the Minnesota Vikings defense is not very good, there are some positive reasons for optimism on the Minnesota offense. One player who has a significant amount of promise is wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette. The fifth round pick out of Iowa had three catches for 103 yards and one touchdown on Sunday in a 31-17 Vikings win over the Chicago Bears. Smith-Marsette’s receptions were for 40 yards, 44 yards and 19 yards. The Vikings already have an outstanding second-year receiver in Justin Jefferson, and it appears Smith-Marsette has a lot of promise too.
3) Trevor Lawrence–Jacksonville Jaguars
It is safe to say more was expected from the first overall pick in the NFL Draft this year. That said, Lawrence had his best game of the season when it came to quarterback rating on Sunday as he had a rating of 111.8 in an impressive 26-11 upset win over the Indianapolis Colts. With the loss and the Steelers win over the Baltimore Ravens, the Colts were eliminated from the postseason. Lawrence also completed 23 of 32 passes for 223 yards, two touchdowns, and had 17 rushing yards.
2) Amon-Ra St. Brown–Detroit Lions
Another Lions rookie shined on Sunday. Amon-Ra St. Brown caught eight passes for 109 yards and one touchdown for the blue and silver. In the last six weeks of the season, St. Brown had 51 catches for 560 yards and five touchdowns and was truly one of the best wide receivers in football over that time period.
1) Jauan Jennings–San Francisco 49ers
A major reason why the San Francisco 49ers are playoff bound was because of the solid play by their wide receiver, Jauan Jennings on Sunday. The seventh-round pick out of Tennessee caught six passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns as the 49ers defeated the Los Angeles Rams 27-24 in overtime. Jennings’s third quarter touchdown catch actually came from 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel. He then had a 14-yard catch from Jimmy Garoppolo with 26 seconds left in the game to tie the contest at 24.
