NFL: Rookies That Shined In Week 7

Rookies are beginning to make a name for themselves this year. Who are some of the top rookies from Week 7 of the NFL season?

Bobby Greco | Oct 26, 2021

NFL: Rookies That Shined In Week 7 /

In what was the NFL’s inaugural National Tight End Day, we saw that position, as a whole, dominate this week’s games; it’s weird how fate works out sometimes. However, this was also a week of blowouts, as only two games were truly competitive, which was the first time that happened so far this season. That doesn’t mean it was an uneventful week, though, because there is a lot to unravel. Like what happened to the Chiefs, and are the Bengals for real? We also saw a duel between rookie quarterbacks Mac Jones and Zach Wilson. Jones got the win and looks like he is gaining confidence every week. Though Wilson was injured in the game, Jones seems to be much further along in his development. It wasn’t just quarterbacks taking center stage, and many other rookies had excellent performances. So who were the top dogs this week? Let’s take a look.

Ja’Marr Chase, Wide Receiver, Cincinnati Bengals:

Ja’Marr Chase: 754 receiving yards in his first 7 NFL games

Most in NFL history 👀 pic.twitter.com/aIRbjASHiL
— PFF (@PFF) October 25, 2021

This one goes without saying. Chase is not only proving himself to be the top rookie receiver, but he is also quickly becoming one of the most dangerous receivers in the entire league. He and Burrow have an incredible rapport, and it’s giving the rest of the NFL many headaches. Chase made a very good Ravens defense look just pedestrian as he notched over two hundred yards against them. A big chunk of these yards came on a quick slant that Chase turned into an eighty-yard touchdown, making three defenders completely whiff and cutting back towards the sideline, then taking it to the end zone. That takes elite talent, and body control and Chase made it look easy. As long as he keeps developing throughout the season, Chase has a good chance to be a problem for opposing defenses for a long time.

Kyle Pitts, Tight End, Atlanta Falcons:

It was only a matter before Pitts started displaying how dominant a player he can be and how perfect it happened on National Tight End Day. Pitts followed his first hundred-yard game with a huge performance against the Dolphins Sunday. It seems that being Matt Ryan’s primary target last week in London has grown a good connection between the two. Now that the Atlanta offense is healthy and attention will once again be spread across the offense(especially to Ridley), Pitts should get a lot more opportunities to show off his talent. The Falcons are also a team that always finds themselves either in a shootout where both offenses are dueling or losing and having to keep passing the ball, so Pitts is in a prime position to have a lot more big games.

Patrick Surtain Jr., Cornerback, Denver Broncos:

Patrick Surtain this season:

🔒 211 coverage snaps
🔒 0 completions of 20+ yards allowed pic.twitter.com/k9Z6w9bYxx
— PFF (@PFF) October 26, 2021

This isn’t your typical starring performance, and if you’re only looking at the stat sheet, you will most likely disagree with Surtain getting recognition. However, if you watched Thursday night’s game against the Browns, you would have heard Surtain’s name a lot. Though he finished the game with only two tackles and two pass deflections, he locked down his side of the field. Surtain has the incredible ability to mirror a receiver’s route step for step, and that was fully on display Thursday, especially when covering Odell Beckham. He is just such a sound football player that he can take over a game and zero stats to show it, which is the best sign of having a generational talent at cornerback.

Khalil Herbert, Running Back, Chicago Bears:

#Bears RB Khalil Herbert's carry chart from Week 7:

Still just two carries on the season where he's been stopped behind the LOS. Both in Week 7. pic.twitter.com/yTGqfrywxU
— Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) October 25, 2021

There wasn’t much to like about what the Bears did Sunday, but Khalil Herbert is a bit of a silver lining. Herbert was the only player on the Chicago offense to have any semblance of a good game, and he ended up getting his first hundred-yard rushing performance, one hundred yards exactly, to be precise. He did this on eighteen rush attempts and averaged five point six yards per carry, which was the same number of Justin Fields yards per play (that’s real bad). Herbert has performed so well the past couple of weeks that it’s going to be extremely difficult for Chicago to take him out of the lineup when David Montgomery returns, and Chicago is a team who is in full evaluation mode, so the hot hand is probably going to be the one who gets the touches.