The consensus entering the 2026 NFL Draft was that the class was light on top-end, elite talent — but incredibly deep when it came to finding reliable starters. Now we’re at the midpoint of the season it’s time to check in and see how the rooks are progressing.

Broadly speaking, we’ve seen an incredible depth of defensive talent come out from the 2026 class, but the offensive side is a lot trickier to pin down. The Raiders are taking a slow, measured approach to elevating Fernando Mendoza to starter at quarterback; the season has been objectively horrible for Jeremiyah Love in Arizona, and the top receivers are struggling inside mediocre offenses to really drive the point home.

Today we look at the best rookies from the season so far, and who has the inside track for the end of season awards.

The race for offensive rookie of the year has come down to three receivers, and Denzel Boston is in the driver’s seat. The 39th pick has been incredible for the Browns in spite of having horrible quarterbacks feeding him the ball, and he’s within earshot of the same numbers that 2025 OROY Tetairoa McMillan put up a year ago. Here are their comparative stats over the first nine games of their career:

Tetairoa McMillan (2025): 41 receptions, 558 yards (13.6 YPC), 2 TD
Denzel Boston (2026): 32 receptions, 507 yards (15.8 YPC), 3 TD

It’s wild that this might be the second straight year we have seen an Offensive Rookie of the Year receiver who was underrated in the draft process. Boston does a phenomenal job using his frame to high-point the ball and fight through contact, but like McMillan, his route running and separation were vastly underrated during the pre-draft process. Right now he’s the offensive steal of the draft, and should win the OROY unless something dramatic happens.

The Titans are still a work in progress, and it’s unclear if Cam Ward will ever become “the guy” at quarterback — but at least Tate is looking like the correct pick. Tate has 413 receiving yards, including 18 receptions for a first down through seven games and five starts. That’s fairly astonishing when you consider that Ward only has 1,483 passing yards on the season — meaning that Tate has accounted for over a quarter of all air yards, despite missing two games.

While the skills are definitely there, ball security is something the rookie needs to work on. Tate has fumbled three times this season after the catch, and while they haven’t been back-breaking plays, this is an area where he could improve. That won’t affect his rookie of the year chances, but there is some ground to be made up in order to pass Boston, and the Titans’ passing game isn’t doing him any favors.

It’s a testament to how bad the Browns’ QB room is that they have two of the top offensive rookies, and yet Cleveland ranks 29th in scoring and 20th in passing yards.

Concepcion is a receiver made for a good quarterback to leverage. That’s been the biggest knock against him so far. Right now he has 437 receiving yards and 1 TD — but it should be so much more based on how open he’s getting, as well as his unreal ability to carve up zone coverage.

The numbers are very good, and Concepcion is picking up steam this season, but as less of a big-play receiver it’s trickier to get noticed in comparison to his teammate. Mark my words though: When the Browns find a real QB he will elevate to become their best offensive weapon.

Arvell Reese is exactly who we thought he was, and that’s a very good thing for the New York Giants. A do-everything defensive Swiss army knife, Reese has been the biggest x-factor on a Giants defense that is extremely scary, albeit still a work in progress.

The rookie has stuffed the stat sheet in almost every area. He has 49 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 32 run stops, 1 forced fumble, and 1 interception. If you need anything on defense, Reese is going to give you it. It feels like we’re not just witnessing the best rookie defender of 2026, but potentially the best defensive player to enter the league since Myles Garrett — that’s how good Arvell Reese has been.

Home run pick, and he’s going to run away with the DROY this year.

The Jets got clowned on a little when they took David Bailey with the No. 2 overall pick and left Reese on the board, but he’s been phenomenal for them. Sure, he might not have the same all-around game as the Giants’ linebacker, but with 7.5 sacks so far this season he’s emerged as the primary pass rusher on the team.

Bailey has been great at both generating pressures and sealing the edge against runs. He’s trending as a Top 20 EDGE in the NFL this season in both areas, which is phenomenal for a rookie to achieve. In any normal season he would be the runaway favorite to win the end of season award, but as it stands he might need to eclipse 15.0 sacks to get noticed or hope that Reese falls off at the top.

Despite recent headlines when Trey McBride tried to stunt on Caleb Downs, the Cowboys’ rookie safety has been really, really good this season. He ranks highly among all NFL safeties in pressures and run stops, while also being one of the most reliable solo tacklers at the position.

There are some weaknesses to his game, most notably diagnosing and interrupting pass plays — but we knew that was an area he needed to work on during the draft process. Overall Dallas got a very good player who will anchor the defense for years to come, but it’s a very hard sell on end of year awards when it comes to defensive backs — largely because they don’t stuff the stat sheet in a way that attracts voters.

It’s been incredibly easy to ignore the Dolphins this season. In fact, it’s better for your health if you ignore this team — even if you’re a die-hard fan. One bright spot has been 2nd round pick Jacob Rodriguez, who is proving to be every bit the tackling machine in the NFL that he was in college.

With 79 total tackles this season, Rodriguez is on pace for 168 combined when the dust settles. He’s even shown glimpses of pass-rushing chops from the middle of the field, adding a handful of pressures for good measure — which wasn’t really in his skill set.

The Dolphins have been desperate to get that Zach Taylor-esque leader in the middle of the field for some time now, and they’ve got their guy. He won’t do a lot that’s eye-popping, but that’s also a good thing, because like a true old-school middle linebacker it’s best if they do their job and get quiet stops, rather than hearing their name while making big plays, and giving them up in equal measure.