From Baker Mayfield at the top of the first round to Lamar Jackson

at the bottom https://www.brownsfanshop.com/Damarious-Randall-Jersey , rookie quarterbacks had an impact, one way or another, in their NFL debuts.And don’t forget some of the players, at some of the other positions, in between.The betting favorite for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year is New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley, taken No. 2 behind Cleveland’s Mayfield in the draft this past spring.The first-year player with the biggest impact on the standings has been Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James , the No. 17 pick and a strong contender for top defensive rookie honors for a team assured of making the playoffs for the first time since 2013 — and still in the running for the best record in the AFC going into the final weekend.Even though Mayfield and the Browns were eliminated from playoff contention with two games left, the impact of the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner from Oklahoma was profound. Think of what it says that the Browns stayed in the postseason chase coming off an 0-16 season, and despite a midseason coaching change.Not to mention, Mayfield was backing up Tyrod Taylor when the season began, before his knack for winning games gave the Browns little choice but to promote him.“The amount of work that he puts in does not shock us that he also takes it to the ballgame because he works extremely hard to have an overall understanding of every aspect of the game,” said interim coach Gregg Williams, who took over when Hue Jackson was fired halfway through the season. “That does not come easy.”The Ravens selected Lamar Jackson with the 32nd pick of the first round, figuring he was a backup at best behind 10-year starter Joe Flacco. Since a hip injury that sidelined Flacco in early November, Baltimore is 4-1 with Jackson leading a run-first attack that has kept the Ravens alive as they try to end a three-year playoff drought. A victory against the Browns on Sunday gives Baltimore the AFC North title.Flacco was ready to return last week, but coach John Harbaugh stuck with Jackson over the 2013 Super Bowl MVP.“He’s the reincarnation of Michael Vick,” Tampa Bay defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said. “He’s a lot faster than you think on the field. When you see him in person, he can really run. He’s going to be good for a long time.”Sam Darnold (third overall to the New York Jets), Josh Allen (seventh to Buffalo) and Josh Rosen (10th to Arizona) have had pretty much typical rookie quarterback years — more struggles than successes. But all three have offered glimpses that they can lead their respective franchises for years.Darnold strained his foot at Miami on Nov. 4, a game in which he threw four interceptions. In the three outings before he was sidelined, the 21-year-old quarterback completed just 47 percent of his passes — 52 of 110 — for 558 yards and two touchdowns with a whopping seven INTs.After missing three games, he has six TDs and one pick, attributing the turnaround to getting a chance to watch and learn from Josh McCown. But the Jets lost the past two.“Sometimes you’re going to go out there and play well and win. Sometimes you’re going to play well and lose Darren Fells Jersey ,” Darnold said. “The NFL is a tough league. I found that out really quick.”Allen also was much better after returning from a right elbow injury that kept him out four games. On the open-ended question of who had emerged as the leader of the Buffalo offense, coach Sean McDermott chose Allen, citing how he responded coming off the injury.“You become the leader by earning the respect of your teammates,” McDermott said. “He was willing to do that early on. He didn’t try to jump out in front when he hadn’t earned it.”Allen has proven to be a productive runner for Buffalo.Rosen’s completion percentage is near the bottom among starting quarterbacks, but coach Steve Wilks says the Cardinals still covet Rosen as the quarterback of the future. He showed enough early for Arizona to waive Sam Bradford, who started the first three games.Barkley has several rookie records for the Giants: first with 1,000 yards rushing (third in the NFL with 1,198 with a game to go)’ most touchdowns (10); and most 100-yard rushing games (6). The downside for the Giants was a 1-7 start that turned Barkley’s season mostly into a stat chase. The former Penn State standout made an impression.“I just know that you give him a couple of touches, he’s going to make something big happen out of those couple of touches,” receiver Sterling Shepard said. “You got to give him the ball and he can make magic happen.”James and Dallas linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, two of the stronger betting choices for Defensive Rookie of the Year, were chosen two spots apart in the draft. James leads the Chargers with 99 tackles, according to SportRadar, and is tied for the team lead with three interceptions.Vander Esch, taken 19th, has the Cowboys‘ rookie record for tackles, according to the coaches’ count. The former eight-man high school player and Boise State walk-on also played a big role in helping the Dallas defense remain the team’s strength despite two stretches without longtime standout linebacker Sean Lee.“Just embracing and enjoying my time here,” Vander Esch said. “It’s an awesome atmosphere, kind of like back in Boise but just intensified that much more. You have to soak it all in, but then again you have to go out and compete and show them you deserve to be here.” INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — This year’s class of quarterback prospects isn’t as sexy as last year’s group led by Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold. Nor does it feature the tantalizing talents of next year’s headliners: Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert and Jake Fromm.There are a few passers who merit first-round consideration, but what teams will see an abundance of at the NFL scouting combine this week are the players who will make their living chasing, corralling and clobbering quarterbacks.“To me T. J. Carrie Color Rush Jersey , it’s all about big guys,” NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said. “Premier talent and depth at the defensive line position, inside, outside, it’s outstanding. And it carries deep into the draft.”It’s not only the rush, but the push.Defensive ends led by Ohio State’s Nick Bosa and Clemson’s Clelin Ferrell are prized pass rushers, but nowadays players such as Clemson D-tackles Christian Wilkins and Dexter Lawrence are just as highly valued for their interior pressure.“I think we’re getting to the point in this league where we’ve become such a pass-first league that you take those guys wherever you can get them,” said Mike Mayock , who parlayed a 14-year run as the NFL Network’s draft guru into the Oakland Raiders‘ general manager’s job.Mayock said he’s spoken to just about every top quarterback in the NFL since 2004 and he’s asked them all the same question: What bothers you the most?“And almost every top-flight quarterback says, ‘immediate pressure up the middle,'” Mayock said.“It disturbs sight lines, forces you to readjust your feet. So, I think we’re at the point now where people are throwing the ball so much that you’ve got to find a way to affect it regardless.”Broncos new coach Vic Fangio concurred, saying it’s no longer enough to have two great pass rushers such as Denver’s duo of Von Miller and Bradley Chubb.“You want four guys that the quarterback can feel caving in on him,” Fangio said. “And that’s critical in the pass rush. And that’s an area that we need to improve in.”There’s plenty of those players in Indianapolis for interviews, physicals and testing this week.Despite the down year for QBs, there’s still plenty of intrigue at the position thanks to Kyler Murray, who followed Mayfield from the state of Texas to Oklahoma, won the Heisman Trophy like Mayfield did, and is now following the Cleveland Browns‘ starting QB to the NFL after spurning the Oakland Athletics.“He’s a guy that, once again, people are going say is small and too short, but the kid knows how to win https://www.brownsfanshop.com ,” Mayfield said. “When it comes down to it, that’s the most important thing.”After committing to football over baseball, the biggest questions surrounding Murray this week aren’t about ability — “Kyler can make every single throw,” Jeremiah insisted — but his height and weight.So his weigh-in Thursday will garner as much interest as anything else this week.Is he really under 5-foot-10? Has he really bulked up to 206?Murray, Dwayne Haskins, Drew Lock, Daniel Jones and Ryan Finley all project as a solution to somebody’s quarterback quandary despite the relative weakness of this year’s QB class.The scouting combine always seems to come on the heels of another Super Bowl parade for New England. As usual, Bill Belichick isn’t among the coaches and general managers who will meet with the media, so football’s focus moves on to other topics:BROWN’S TOWN:Where will Antonio Brown play next season? Don’t count out Pittsburgh. Or, for that matter, Baltimore, Cincinnati or Cleveland. Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said he’d prefer to keep one of the league’s top playmakers in Pittsburgh. If he does trade Brown, he’d rather deal him out of the AFC North.But …“If a team comes through with the best compensation, we have to balance that out: OK, we’re going to play him twice a year, but we’re going to get the best compensation,” Colbert said.RAIDERS PLANSDon’t expect the Raiders to use one of their three first-round picks on a quarterback after Mayock’s high praise of Derek Carr on Wednesday.“I think it’s really difficult to improve over a franchise quarterback like the one we have in our building right now,” Mayock said.ELWAY’S QB CAROUSELFor the first time in four years, Broncos GM John Elway attends the combine knowing who his quarterback will be. He has a trade in place with Baltimore for Joe Flacco once the league year begins March 13.Just like last year, when the Chiefs had a deal pending that would send Alex Smith to Washington, the Broncos and Ravens are barred by NFL rules from discussing the matter, making for an awkward situation as both teams dance around their franchise’s biggest offseason story line.