Rookie’s Rock

Rookies always enter the league with immense pressure.

 

No one wants to be a bust. We often hear all too much about high round picks never hitting the mark, but sometimes they exceed the pressure and their expectations. Rookies have often had historic seasons in the NFL and have always turned heads when they do so. Every rookie going into the NFL is an underdog, adjusting to the speed and higher levels of play in the NFL is incredibly difficult for any college player going into their first season, but some have managed to exceed all expectations and absolutely dominate in their first few seasons. Let’s take a look at just a few of these rookie’s seasons.

Gale Sayers

 

Sayers put up some absolutely ridiculous numbers as a rookie. He was perhaps the most dominant triple threat rookie the NFL has ever seen and was ahead of his time as a player. He is as true an athlete the NFL has ever seen, he rushed for 867 yards and 14 touchdowns, caught 29 passes for 507 yards and 6 touchdowns and had a return touchdown to boot. He set two massive records as a rookie, 22 touchdowns and 2272 all-purpose yards. Sayers was a truly revolutionary player for his time and has gone down in history as not only a Chicago bears great, but also as one of the best NFL players of all time and on top of all this, turned in the best rookie season of all time.

Lawrence Taylor

 

LT is the most feared and intimidating player of all time. Quarterbacks knew they were in for a handful when Taylor was drafted by the Giants with the second pick, but they had no idea what was coming. His 9.5 sacks and several quarterback hits and pressures netted him both Defensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors, and he was the first ever to do so. Taylor didn’t stop there, he continued to terrorize quarterbacks the rest of his career seemingly without breaking a sweat, being the first and only defensive player to win MVP.

Cam Newton

 

Supercam came into the league in 2011 as the number one pick. As the number one pick and reigning Heisman Trophy winner, Cam came into the league with a tremendous amount of confidence, but also a huge amount of pressure. When looking at his stats, it was clear that he overcame his almost overwhelming expectations. His nature as a dual-threat quarterback shone through as he piled on 706 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns (a record), on top of his already impressive 4051 yards and 21 touchdowns through the air. Cam’s efforts weren’t ignored as he went on to win Offensive Rookie of the Year for the 2011 season. He is now the NFL’s all-time leader in QB rushing touchdowns and of the most beloved players in the league.

Eric Dickerson

 

In Dickerson’s first year in the league, he not only put up insane numbers for a rookie but for any running back ever. He was drafted 2nd overall by the Los Angeles Rams in 1983 and had a lot of pressure on him heading into his first year as a Pro. Donning the famous Sports Goggles, Dickerson toasted almost every defense in the NFL rushing for 1808 yards and 18 touchdowns, both are NFL records for Rookies. His single-season performance is probably in the argument for a top 10 season for any running back of all time and Dickerson continued to dominate for the entire span of his career.