Ranking NFL Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year candidates at midseason: Who makes top five?

DRAFTED: Round 1, Pick 19

It’s only fitting that Egbuka is the first player listed in this piece, as he’s on pace to post the most eye-catching stat line of any rookie on either side of the ball. Currently ranking top 10 in the league in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns while averaging a robust 16.9 yards per reception, Egbuka is projected to finish this season with 75 catches for 1,279 yards and 11 touchdowns. Not bad for a guy who was widely advertised as a solid slot prospect during the pre-draft process. The latest offering from Ohio State’s receiver factory has deftly operated as the WR1 of Tampa Bay’s injury-riddled receiving corps, lining up out wide on nearly 70 percent of his snaps, per Next Gen Stats. Going up against New England’s stout defense this past Sunday, Egbuka turned a season-high 13 targets into six catches for 115 yards and a touchdown. That’s even more impressive when you consider he was shadowed by Christian Gonzalez for much of the afternoon. A second-team All-Pro last season, Gonzalez has emerged as one of the league’s stickiest cover men, but he admirably conducts himself with a game-recognize-game mentality.

"He's a good receiver -- he got drafted high for a reason," the star cornerback said in the postgame. "They do a real good job, like I said earlier in the week, him and Baker (Mayfield) have gotten into a rhythm very early in the season and they continued it. It's a fun challenge out there -- it was fun."

DRAFTED: Round 1, Pick 14

Could Warren follow in Brock Bowers' footsteps by earning first-team All-Pro honors as a rookie? Veteran Trey McBride might have the inside track on the tight end spot, but Warren is absolutely in the mix. Not only does he currently lead the position in receiving yards -- edging out McBride, 617-603, albeit with one more game under his belt -- but he’s an outrageously fun component of the league’s top offense. Standing 6-foot-6 and 256 pounds, Warren lines up all over the formation as Shane Steichen’s roving playmaker. A bona fide beast with the ball in his hands, the Penn State product leads all tight ends (and ranks fifth in the entire league, per NGS) with 392 yards after the catch. So, with all that laudatory language, what’s holding him back from the No. 1 spot on this list? For starters, only one TE has ever won Offensive Rookie of the Year: Mike Ditka, all the way back in 1961. Furthermore, Indy’s prolific attack has a lot of mouths to feed, with that list topped by RB Jonathan Taylor -- you know, the current front-runner for Offensive Player of the Year? Can the Colts really claim OPOY and OROY? Only one team has ever pulled off that double dip, and it came courtesy of one man: Houston Oilers RB Earl Campbell, who led the league in rushing in his debut season of 1978. Voters could be reticent to reward two players from the same offense, even if it finishes as the league’s best.

DRAFTED: Round 2, Pick 36

Historically, running back has dominated this award, but the position has fallen out of OROY favor of late, with Saquon Barkley as the last winner seven seasons ago. Could that dry spell come to an end with this rookie crop? Omarion Hampton and Cam Skattebo displayed intoxicating ability early, but injuries struck both. Ashton Jeanty has shown the tackle-breaking ability that made him a top-10 pick, but running behind a hurting O-line in Las Vegas, he hasn’t consistently delivered the dynamism that made him must-see TV every Saturday last year. And TreVeyon Henderson’s certainly come on, scoring five touchdowns in his last two games, but I’m not going to be a prisoner of the moment. Instead, I’ll spotlight the back who has done the best job of passing the eye test and producing in Year 1. Judkins missed the first game of the season following a summer arrest (prosecutors ultimately declined to press charges) and prolonged contract negotiations, but since taking the field in Week 2, he’s been exactly what the Browns drafted him to be: a bell-cow replacement for Nick Chubb. The raw rushing numbers -- 140 carries for 561 yards (4.0 ypc) and five touchdowns -- don’t jump off the page, but Judkins is essentially operating as a one-man army on one of the league’s worst offenses. Despite facing the highest percentage of stacked boxes of any qualified rusher -- 42.1 percent of his carries, per NGS -- he’s still on pace to eclipse 1,000 yards. And he could really finish with a flurry: In the last five weeks of the season, Cleveland’s set to face four of the league’s worst run defenses (Tennessee, Chicago, Buffalo and Cincinnati).

DRAFTED: Round 1, Pick 25

Timing is everything in life, and the timing of this ranking is brutal for Dart. Not only did his head coach just get fired, but the young quarterback is grappling with an injury bug that has already ravaged his supporting cast. Knocked out of last Sunday’s game with a concussion, Dart will remain sidelined this Sunday. Worse yet, this isn’t an isolated concern. Dart’s plucky play style is undeniably endearing, but he goes from courageous to reckless far too often. Bottom line: The 22-year-old has taken too many hits and inherently become too familiar with the blue tent. This has cast a pall over one of the most exciting developments in this rookie class. Dart was a first-round pick, yes, but he was not a universally acclaimed golden boy. Many questioned how well he would transition to the NFL -- and how long that process might take. But he jumped into the starting lineup in late September and immediately infused the Giants with the kind of moxie this franchise has lacked for years. The in-structure operation remains a work in progress, but Dart has already showcased immense playmaking ability with his arm (10:3 TD-to-INT ratio) and legs (seven rushing scores). That kind of quarterbacking plays in today’s NFL, but only if that kind of quarterback can stay on the field.

DRAFTED: Round 2, Pick 38

McMillan was picked apart during the pre-draft process, but the Panthers made him a top-10 selection, and now they’re reaping the benefits. With a supersized frame (6-5, 212 pounds) and a silky-smooth game, T-Mac looks like a classic X receiver with true WR1 skills. He can route up corners to create separation or just plain dunk on them in jump-ball situations, and he’s shown the capacity to line up all over the formation. The 22-year-old completely dominates Carolina’s aerial attack with 618 receiving yards, accounting for 17 more yards than the Panthers’ next four most productive pass-catchers combined. The only thing that’s preventing him from reaching a higher slot in this hierarchy is his quarterback. After a promising second half to last season, Bryce Young has regressed in Year 3, failing to reach 200 passing yards in eight of nine games. Over his last three outings, Young has averaged 121.3 passing yards. McMillan can’t produce OROY numbers if his QB’s barely sneaking over the century mark.

DRAFTED: Round 2, Pick 33

When Schwesinger suffered the dreaded high ankle sprain in Cleveland’s last game of October, there was speculation he could be sidelined for 4-6 weeks. He didn’t miss a game. After recovering during the Browns’ bye, the linebacker played every defensive snap last Sunday, racking up a team-high nine tackles (including two for loss) to go with a pair of QB hits and half a sack. Asked on Monday what this says about the rookie, Kevin Stefanski had a theory.

“He has Wolverine blood, I believe, is what it says,” the head coach declared. “The kid’s playing at an extremely high level. For him to come back from that injury and perform like he did, it was incredible to watch.

“Listen, I have not looked around the league at how other guys are playing, that type of thing, but I’d be hard-pressed to believe there’s a defensive player, as a rookie, that’s playing better than him.”

I agree! Schwesinger leads all rookies in tackles (69), is tied for second in TFLs (six) and has peppered the rest of the stat sheet with production. The run-stuffing is superior to the coverage at this point, but he’s a solid pass rusher. It’s just staggering that this dude joined the UCLA team as a walk-on four years ago.

DRAFTED: Round 1, Pick 3

Yes, I expected Carter to have more than half a sack after 10 games in the NFL. No, I don’t think that one statistical shortcoming spoils his entire season. The truth is that he has been disruptive as a pass rusher, easily leading all rookies with 35 QB pressures, per NGS. And when it comes to quick pressures -- those pocket detonations that occur in under 2.5 seconds -- Carter ranks third in the entire league with 21, trailing only Nik Bonitto (28) and Will Anderson Jr. (23). That matches the noticeable juice Carter provides off the edge -- and it portends future sack production. To be fair, Carter’s had multiple sacks wiped away by penalties, but I’m not here to make excuses for the man. I don’t need to, because it only feels like a matter of time before the sack shortage ends. Don’t be surprised if Carter goes on a heater in the second half of the season and makes a serious run at this award.

DRAFTED: Round 1, Pick 15

In spite of everything I just said in defense of Abdul Carter’s résumé, sacks are indeed the coin of the DROY realm. This explains why five of the last six award winners have been edge rushers. And all of a sudden, Atlanta’s first first-round pick is bringing some serious heat off the edge. A groin injury cost Walker two games, but since his return in Week 9, the Falcons have doubled his snaps, and he’s responded with six pressures, three sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. That kind of quarterback carnage catches voters’ attention. As should the significant improvement of Atlanta’s defense, which has greatly benefited from this rookie class, receiving major contributions from multiple draft picks. I strongly considered placing ballhawking safety Xavier Watts on this list, but with Walker suddenly vaulting to the top of the rookie sack charts with four on the season, he’s the Falcon to feature here. Sacks sell in award season.

DRAFTED: Round 2, Pick 35

This 6-3, 220-pounder just moves differently than most human beings. We saw it back in February during his stunning athletic display at the NFL Scouting Combine, and now we’re seeing it on the Seahawks’ ferocious defense. Emmanwori hurt his ankle in Seattle’s first defensive drive of the season, sidelining him for the rest of September, but he’s been a menace since his return in Week 5. In fact, he just earned NFL Rookie of the Week honors for his inspired performance in Seattle’s beatdown of Arizona, stuffing the stat sheet with nine tackles, four passes defensed and half a sack. As you can see, I made a mash of Emmanwori’s positional listing above, because he’s been lining up all over the place, even rushing off the edge at times. And this versatility’s been a godsend to a Seattle defense that’s dealt with injuries in the back seven.

"He's an exciting player to coach," defensive coordinator Aden Durde said Thursday. "He understands the level of work you have to put in to do the unique things that he does. He can do things in the game at every level of the defense, and you think that's really cool and that's exciting, but that takes a lot of work. That takes a lot of work to understand how to play with technique on the first level, understand how to have all your keys and your run keys and your pass keys on the second level, all the adjustments, and then on the third level, your technique and understanding your adjustments there."

DRAFTED: Round 1, Pick 31

It felt like highway robbery when the Eagles pounced on Campbell with the penultimate pick of the first round in April. Post-combine shoulder surgery might have scared some teams away, but Howie Roseman didn’t blink, trading up one slot to land the versatile ‘Bama ‘backer.

"For us, this is a really easy pick," Roseman said in April. "He's a really explosive player. He can play inside. He can be an edge rusher. I just really feel fortunate to bring him home back to Philly.

"This was a top-10 player on our board. We do not have any long-term concerns with his health."

I know Howie worship is reaching insufferable degrees these days, but man, it sure feels like the guy just doesn’t miss. Campbell started the first eight games of the season, immediately making his presence felt as a rangy playmaker on Vic Fangio’s talented defense. Nakobe Dean’s return from injury has eaten into Campbell’s playing time, which is why the rookie doesn’t rank higher in this exercise, but it’s pretty clear the reigning Super Bowl champions did indeed get a steal at the end of Round 1. Must be nice.