The 2010 NFL regular season has come to an end and its time to start evaluating team performances. While other team oriented sites will take a look at the overall performance of a team we focus on evaluating the rookies. This season showed that the 2010 NFL Draft class has some star potential but may lack in overall depth. We had the pleasure of watching some later round and undrafted players make an impact as well as top of the draft players live up to expectations. While making my way to my decision of Offensive Rookie of the Year I mainly focused on the following 4 candidates: Sam Bradford, LeGarrette Blount, Mike Williams, and Maurkice Pouncey. I had some thoughts about including Rob Gronkowski to that list but his impact didn’t quite match up with the rest of the list. Keep reading to find out who is this year’s NFL Mock’s Offensive Rookie of the Year!
I am going to do a quick run down of my top 4 and the thinking that went into my decision. Feel free to disagree or add your thoughts and opinions. The breakdown is in reverse order of my final standings meaning the last name is our Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Maurkice Pouncey- With Pouncey the first thing I considered is how tough it is to play the center position. As a rookie, Pouncey was the leader on this offensive line handling all the line calls and shifts in blocking. The next thing I took into consideration was the fact that the Steelers offensive line suffered several key injuries and yet they still were able to establish a running game. Pouncey was one of the few that remained healthy while opening holes for Mendenhall. Ultimately, Pouncey had a very good rookie season but in this touchdown loving world it is going to be hard for an offensive lineman to get a significant award.
Mike Williams- Williams has enjoyed one of the best wide receiver rookie seasons in recent memory. He was the top and lone threat on a surprising Tampa Bay team. The most telling stat for Williams is his 11 touchdown receptions; showing that the has the ability to get points on the board. Heading into the 2010 draft many people felt that Williams was a high risk/high reward player and his in-season DUI arrest highlighted some of the risks.
LeGarrette Blount- The Buccaneers struck gold with to risky additions; both Williams and Blount had character concerns but they were able to overcome and contribute. I cannot imagine the numbers Blount would have put up if he would have received more carries. Blount didn’t get more than 10 carries until week 7 yet he was ranked #17 among the league rushing leaders.
Sam Bradford (Offensive ROY Winner)- While others have put together impressive seasons none have matched what Bradford was able to accomplish. The #1 overall pick started every game and put the Rams in contention for a division title. He was able to complete 60% of his passes for 3,512 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. What was more impressive was the fact that Bradford was successful without a real stand out weapon. I have said all year that the future is bright for this Rams football team and its all thanks to Sam Bradford.
So there you have it folks, Bradford to me was very impressive and had a great rookie season. Lets see some feedback and thoughts on the selection!
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I am a huge sports fan. My teams are the Chicago Bears, Cubs, and Bulls. I am a Penn State college football fan and Kentucky college basketball fan. I am a big follower of the NFL Draft.
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mike williams was a 4th round draft pick who led all rookies with 11 touchdowns and 60+ catches.
blount was an undrafted rookie free agent who didn’t get 10+ carries a game until week 7, yet he led all rookies in rushing and rushing TD’s.
and you pick sam bradford, the 1st overall pick…are you kidding me
To be fair, Steve…
Sam Bradford also stepped in to the hardest position in football with quite possibly one of the worst supporting casts at wide receiver and brought a terrible team within one game of the playoffs. You seem to have left out that “minor” detail.
bradford was playing in the NFC west. easily the worst division in the nfl. i don’t think anybody would disagree that the seahawks or rams don’t really deserve to make the playoffs with a 7-9 record.
in the 1 game bradford needed to step up against the seahawks, he choked.
bradford played all year with 2 potential bro bowl tackles in jason smith and roger saffold.
he also has steven jackson running the ball, who is a yearly pro bowl runner.
williams and blount were picked by a 3-13 team and passed over by many who didn’t see them doing much at this level. a 4th round receiver, 13 chosen ahead and an undrafted free agent in blount.
they are a big reason why the bucs are at 10-6 and hence more valuable to their team. that’s why i think they should win ahead of bradford.
bradford was picked at number 1 for a reason, heisman trophy winner and viewed as a franchise qb. he did something a lot of people expected. play well.
williams and blount played well above what they were expected to be able to.
you make a good argument… thanks for the feedback!
Saffold nor smith are bro bowl or pro bowl tackles. SJax was playing hurt most of the year and playing behind two of the worst guards in the game. There is a reason sam has the most completions and attempts in a season of all rookies. He had absolutely no weapons all year and he still accomplished an amazing feat.
It’s rookie of the year not most surprising rookie..as I stated both were in consideration
when is the actual AP announcement? cant find it anywhere?
Bradford’s 18 td’s are impressive but with 15 int’s it doesn’t make a good td/int ratio for a qb I have to go with Mike Williams, most td’s by a rookie receiver since Randy Moss and he didn’t exactly have Tom Brady throwing to him.
Moss didn’t have brady throwing to him either. But Freeman is a great quarterback. Most underrated QB in the NFL
Gotta go with Bradford. Aside from having excellent stats for a rookie QB, he took a 1-15 team with receivers that college coaches might bench and made it a playoff contender. Williams and Blount had good seasons, but neither made the impact that Bradford did. Easy choice.
I agree with Bradford being the ROY winner. He accomplished an amazing feat by making the Rams a playoff contender in his rookie season. In the Seahawks game he didn’t “choke”, yes he made a mistake by throwing an interception, but that wasnt the only fault made by the team as a whole. The offense didn’t help by dropping passes and the defense didn’t perform to the best of their ability. I think Sam did an amazing job in his first NFL season especially coming off a college season in which he didn’t play much due to his shoulder injury. Yes he did throw 15 interceptions, but it’s understandable for a rookie. I think his touchdown to interception ratio will tip towards his favor as he get progresses in his career. I think he will fulfill all the expectations that were placed on him after winning the Heisman trophy and being the number 1 pick in the draft. He has been my favorite player since he was a Sophomore at Oklahoma and I’m excited to see hom return the Rams to their former glory.