Week seven of the 2023 National Football League regular season is now complete. Here are the top five performances by rookies on winning teams.
5) Jake Bobo
The undrafted wide receiver from UCLA had the best game of his NFL career on Sunday. The native of North Andover, Massachusetts caught four passes for 61 yards and a touchdown in a 20-10 Seahawks win over the Atlanta Falcons. The touchdown catch was for 18 yards from Geno Smith, and put the Seahawks up 14-10 at the time. Bobo did an outstanding job to drag his foot in bounds to secure the catch.
4) Jaxon Smith-Njigba
There was another Seahawks wide receiver who made a significant contribution in Seattle’s 10 point win. Jaxon Smith-Njigba of Nacogdoches, Texas, who was Seattle’s first round pick, 20th overall, out of Ohio State, had four catches for 63 yards and one touchdown. The touchdown catch was for 28 yards from Geno Smith, came with four minutes and 47 seconds left in the first quarter, and gave the Seahawks a 7-0 lead at the time.
3) Chad Ryland
The rookie kicker from Lebanon, Pennsylvania made three field goals in the 29-25 Patriots’s upset win over the Buffalo Bills. The field goals were from 30, 24 and 49 yards. Ryland, who was the Patriots’s fourth round pick, 112th overall, from the University of Maryland, also made two converts.
2) Tyson Bagent
Without Justin Fields on Sunday, the Chicago Bears were underdogs against the Las Vegas Raiders. However, Tyson Bagent of Martinsberg, West Virginia stepped up and performed admirably as his replacement. Bagent, who like Bobo, was undrafted. He played his college football at Shepherd University, where he had a remarkable 159 touchdown passes over five years. On Sunday, Bagent completed 21 of 29 passes for 162 yards and one touchdown, along with three rushes for 24 rushing yards in a 30-12 Bears win.
1) Jordan Addison
The native of Frederick, Maryland was simply spectacular in prime time on Monday night in a 22-17 Minnesota Vikings upset win over the San Francisco 49ers. Addison, a product out of the University of Southern California, who was the first round pick, 23rd overall, in the 2023 NFL Draft, had seven catches for 123 receiving yards and two touchdowns. The touchdowns were of 20 yards and 60 yards from Kirk Cousins in the first half. As Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson is out with a hamstring injury, expect Addison to be Minnesota’s top wide receiver in the meantime.
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