NFL Rookie Of The Year Candidates Officially Announced

The NFL Rookie of the Year candidates have been officially announced by National Football League executives, and they are five players with bright futures, according to NFL.com.

Amari Cooper, Todd Gurley, Tyler Lockett, Marcus Peters and Jameis Winston will all be vying for votes to see who will be the next to be an NFL Rookie of the Year award winner.

Not only is Jameis Winston the best rookie quarterback in the history of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he is also one of the best rookie quarterbacks in the history of the entire NFL, too.

Jameis Winston now owns the record for most passing yards and touchdown passes ever by a rookie Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, which makes him worthy of being a top pick.

When it comes to NFL history, Jameis Winston has the third most passing yards by a rookie quarterback and fourth most passing touchdowns by a first year starter in the league.

While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers do not have a head coach after surprisingly firing Lovie Smith this week, they know that they have a franchise quarterback for the next several years.

The St. Louis Rams can sleep a bit easier at nights because they know that they have a franchise running back in Todd Gurley, who was a big time college star for the Georgia Bulldogs.

At 6’1″, 231 pounds, Todd Gurley provides the St. Louis Rams with a bruising ground game, which means that they do not have to rely on Nick Foles or whoever starts at quarterback.

It will not take very long before Todd Gurley replaces Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings as the best running back in the entire NFL, especially since Peterson is getting older.

St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher has long preferred a bruising rushing attack and a suffocating defense, and both of those are now in place, so he can work on the passing game.

Chicago Bears legend Gale Sayers was the only NFL rookie to ever have at least five touchdowns, punt return touchdown and kick return touchdown. Sayers now has elite company.

Tyler Lockett went from being a Kansas State Wildcats star to being a versatile special teams weapon for the Seattle Seahawks, a contending team that is now even more dangerous.

In addition to everything that he contributes on special teams, Tyler Lockett also provides Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson with another valuable weapon on offense.

It’s not very often that a shutdown corner back shows up at your door steps, but that is exactly what the Kansas City Chiefs got when they drafted Marcus Peters in the first round.

It is also not very often that a rookie comes into the NFL and leads the league in interceptions, which is what Marcus Peters has done with the Kansas City Chiefs this season.

NFL quarterbacks are now aware of Marcus Peters, which means that there is a very good chance that one side of the field for the Kansas City Chiefs defense will be locked down now.

For years, the Oakland Raiders have had trouble establishing a passing a game, but those days are behind them now because Derek Carr has Amari Cooper as his primary wide receiver.

Combined with veteran Michael Crabtree, the prolific combination of Derek Carr and Amari Cooper are going to help the Oakland Raiders contend for an NFL Playoffs spot next season.

Now that the offense is solid, the Oakland Raiders can focus their off season efforts on building a dominant defense with All-Pro hybrid Khalil Mack as the unstoppable centerpiece.

The battle for NFL Rookie of the Year has been intense throughout the season, and all of these guys are worthy of winning the honor.

[Featured Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images]