The Best Rookie Seasons of Recent Times

But that won’t stop the endless conversations and mock drafts dominating every football fan’s waking hours.

This year, all eyes will be on Lambeau Field as the Tennessee Titans have the privilege of picking the number one player for the 2025 season. Top prospects, like Travis Carter and Abdul Carter, will be eagerly waiting to hear their name called as the first round progresses. Fans will be hoping that their team picks the player that will make their Super Bowl bets in Vegas worthwhile next season.

There is always a huge amount of talent on show at the NFL Draft. Being taken in the first round is never a guarantee of success – for the athlete or the team that picks him. But sometimes everything aligns and a player goes straight from the NCAA to light up the NFL. Here are a few athletes who have seamlessly moved between the two in recent years.

C.J. Stroud

We have deliberately restricted our selection to the last 15 years or so because it would be easy to roll out the likes of Dan Marino, Randy Moss, and Eric Dickerson as examples of athletes who were just born to play in the NFL. But there are plenty of names that still make the grade and C.J. Stroud is one from the very recent past who has immediately felt at home in the biggest league of all.

Stroud would get a mention simply because the Texans were so terrible before he joined. But the numbers of his rookie season also back up a claim to be remembered as one of the best recent first-year athletes. He started 15 games, averaged 8.2 yards an attempt, and made the Texans relevant again. All of that was achieved with a first-year coach as well. C.J. Stroud still has his whole pro career ahead of him.

Patrick Peterson

Sometimes you also have to take into consideration the position played as well when it comes to ranking rookies. Cornerback has to be one of the toughest to master immediately in the NFL but Patrick Peterson looked like he had been ready for pro football his entire life as soon as he stepped on the field in week one in 2011.

Taken fifth overall by the Arizona Cardinals after excelling at LSU, Peterson settled in straight away. He started all 16 games that first year for the Cardinals and worried opposing QBs and offensive coaches from the get-go. He was also a sensation on special teams, leading the league in punt return yards and return touchdowns. After eight Pro Bowl appearances, his NFL career has only just begun to slow down.

Dak Prescott

Although we have already mentioned C.J. Stroud, quarterback is one of the toughest positions to come to the NFL as and even the best college athletes are usually given some time as back-up to hone their craft in the pro game. That was supposed to be the case with Dak Prescott in 2016 but the Cowboys were forced into blooding the rookie early.

Prescott was the third-choice QB for Dallas when he was taken in round four in 2016. But injuries to other players bumped him up a few tiers and when Tony Romo was ruled out in preseason, Prescott suddenly became the starter. He played all 16 games that year, leading the Cowboys to a 13-3 record, still a record for a rookie QB. Although he has taken Dallas to the postseason a number of times since, he has not quite moved up to be a Super Bowl-winning QB - but he proved his worth right from the start.

Justin Herbert

Herbert had already won a Pac-12 championship with the Oregon Ducks before being selected by the Los Angeles Chargers with the sixth overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft. Even with his undoubted talent, the Chargers knew that he needed time to adjust to the pro game, being named the backup to Tyrod Taylor. That status lasted exactly one week as a freak injury to Taylor catapulted Herbert into the big time.

Herbert responded perfectly, passing for over 300 yards including a touchdown, scoring a rushing TD of his own, and only just losing to the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs. The Chargers O-line was hardly the best in the league that year but Herbert still ended up with better numbers than a host of veteran QBs and was ultimately named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Just to show this year’s Draft class that they can make an immediate impact on the NFL, we just have to look at one of the standout players of last season. Not only has Daniels already become one of the best quarterbacks in the league, he instantly transformed the expectations of his team. The Commanders are now one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl next season.

As a dual-threat QB, Daniels had already shown his potential at Arizona State and LSU before he was taken by Washington with the second overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. It is worth noting that last year had a famously QB-heavy first round. The Commanders couldn’t wait, naming Daniels as starting QB for the season and he scored two touchdowns on his debut before recording his first win the week after. He ultimately led the Commanders to the NFC Championship game, the furthest the franchise had gone since winning the Super Bowl in 1991.