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Top 10 rookie debuts of the 2022 NFL season: Drake London, Dominique Robinson stand out
Did any rookie get off to a better start than Drake London? Does Derek Stingley Jr. look like a foundational piece for the Texans? The Next Gen Stats analytics team ranks the top rookie debuts of the 2022 NFL season.
www.nfl.com
Rank
5
Dominique Robinson
Edge · Round 5 (No. 174)
Chicago Bears
KEY WEEK 1 METRICS:
- 27 defensive snaps
- 7 tackles (25.9 tackle percentage, which led all players with 20-plus defensive snaps)
- 1.5 sacks (led all rookies)
- 6 defensive stops (tied for most among rookies, with the Jaguars' Devin Lloyd)
- 22.2 percent defensive stop rate (led all players with 20-plus defensive snaps)
- 2 QB pressures on 11 pass rushes (18.2 QB pressure percentage)
WEEK 1 OVERALL SCORE: 70
Robinson's performance didn't just stand out among rookies in Week 1; some of the defensive numbers posted above ranked among the best in the league, period. How did he get it done? Sheer effort went a very long way. Robinson had three hustle stops in Chicago's win over San Francisco, the most by any rookie defensive lineman in a game in the NGS era (since 2016). Robinson's chase-down of a screen pass to Jeff Wilson is a great example of a hustle stop, which is defined as any tackle resulting in a successful play for the defense in which the tackler covered at least 20 yards from snap to tackle.
Rank
7
Jaquan Brisker
S · Round 2 (No. 48)
Chicago Bears
KEY WEEK 1 METRICS:
- 26 coverage snaps, 5 targets as nearest defender, 1 reception, 2 yards, 0 TDs, 39.6 passer rating allowed
- 4 tackles, 2 defensive stops, 1 run stuff
- -54.3 percent catch rate over expected allowed (led all DBs, among those with a minimum of 3 targets)
- -2.4 EPA when targeted
- 100 percent coverage success rate (tied for first among all players)
- 0.1 yards allowed per coverage snap (second among DBs, to D.J. Reed, among those with a minimum of 5 targets)
The Bears' defense was the centerpiece to their win over a 49ers team that reached the NFC Championship Game last season, and Brisker -- classified as a "sleeper" by Next Gen Stats' draft scores in April -- played a major role. As the above metrics show, Brisker was among the NFL's most effective DBs in pass coverage in Week 1. He also made some major plays in the ground game when the Bears needed them most, adding a crucial fumble recovery from Deebo Samuel in the red zone on the 49ers' opening drive, then making a goal-line stop of Jeff Wilson that forced San Francisco, which was leading 7-0 at the time, to settle for a third-quarter field goal.