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Only five weeks remain in the 2024 NFL season, and as the season unfolds, the Rookie of the Year race is only getting more muddled. At the outset, the perception was that the NFL Rookie of the Year race would ultimately boil down to Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels. Williams and Daniels were the first two players selected in the 2024 NFL Draft, and there was very little resistance to each of them being named a Week 1 starter.
However, as the season has progressed, both Williams and Daniels have had their ups and downs, and a handful of other young, budding stars have proven to be worthy of Rookie of the Year consideration, including the star tight end who tops ClutchPoints' Rookie of the Year power rankings at the start of December.
1. Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
The Rookie of the Year is generally a quarterback's award to lose, and in all likelihood, it will be either Jayden Daniels or Bo Nix who wins it this year, but I'm here to tell you that just because Daniels and/or Nix will lead their teams to the postseason, it doesn't mean that they should automatically get the nod over Raiders tight end Brock Bowers, who may end up shattering numerous notable rookie records.
As thing stand right now, Brock Bowers is on pace to break Puka Nacua's single season rookie record for receptions, set last year when Nacua finished as the Rookie of the Year runner up to CJ Stroud. Bowers is also on pace to break the rookie record for receiving yards by a tight end set by Mike Ditka 63 years ago.
Let me repeat that. 63 years ago.
The Kennedy Assassination, the moon landing, Woodstock, Watergate, the Vietnam War and Beatlemania would all happen after Ditka established this mark.
Sorry, but if you break a major record set 63 years earlier, you deserve some serious award love, especially when against your contemporaries, you're leading the league in receptions (84) and 4th in the league in receiving yards (884).
2. Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders
Thanks to a sensational first month of the half of the season in which the Commanders looked like one of the best offenses in the league, Jayden Daniels maintains a slim edge over Bo Nix as the betting favorite to win Rookie of the Year, but as the Commanders have hit something of a skid while Denver strengthens their grip on a Wild Card berth in the AFC, the gap has certainly narrowed.
Assuming that Washington can hold onto a Wild Card berth of their own, Daniels will likely be crowned Rookie of the Year at season's end, even if the numbers that he, Nix and Caleb Williams are putting up are closer to even than anyone realizes.
3. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
Bo Nix's is 8-5 as the Broncos starting quarterback, and those five losses have come to five Playoff teams. Against everyone else, Nix and the Broncos have handled their business, and the rookie quarterback has 16 total touchdowns to just 2 interceptions. With a two-game lead over Indianapolis for the last Wild Card spot in the AFC, it's looking more likely by the week that Nix will lead Denver to their first postseason appearance since Peyton Manning was quarterbacking the team.
4. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
If it weren't for a six-game losing streak which had very little to do with the play of Caleb Williams, it's possible that the top overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft would top the Rookie of the Year power rankings as well. In the midst of a coaching debacle which resulted in both the head coach and offensive coordinator being fired midseason, Williams has been better than anyone on the outside will give him credit for.
If it weren't for the play of Williams, these heart-breaking losses that the Bears have suffered to four playoff teams — Washington, Green Bay, Minnesota and Detroit — wouldn't have been close. But time after time, Williams has delivered, putting Chicago in position to win games they had really no business winning.
And don't forget, despite coming into the season as the quarterback that most analysts were concerned with being turnover prone, Williams just set the rookie record for most consecutive pass attempts without an interception.
5. Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Bucky Irving leads all rookie running backs in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns and receptions, and he's doing so for a Buccaneers offense that is, A) Short-handed, B) One of the most productive units in the league, and C) Relying more and more on their rookie running back throughout the season.
Since the NFL went to a 7-round draft format in 1994, only two players have won the Offensive Rookie of the Year as a 4th round pick or later: Broncos running back Mike Anderson and Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. Irving likely won't get there, but since he's out-rushed the five running backs selected in front of him in the 2024 NFL Draft — 732 yards to 685 yards — he deserves recognition.
