RANT SPORTS – Good teams are not supposed to rely on rookies to make an impact right away in the NFL.
Trying telling that to 10 teams who appear to be playoff bound because of the play of at least one key rookie. All 10 of these NFL rookies have made an immediate impact which has helped lead to the team’s success.
No you won’t find wide receiver Malik Nabers or tight end Brock Bowers, both having great rookie seasons, on the list. Why? Because the Giants and Raiders have five combined wins. There has been no impact.
Defensive lineman Jared Verse is also having a great rookie season, but the Rams aren’t going anywhere, either. So he didn’t make this list.
Here’s the list of the top NFL rookies:
Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington
Daniels and Washington fell out of first place in the NFC East, but they still appear to be a wild-card team and the QB is one of the main reasons why. He’s completing 68.7 percent of his passes and has 10 touchdowns to just three interceptions for a QB rating of 99.6
Joe Alt, T, Los Angeles
Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh has never hidden his love for the offensive line so it was no surprise he made Alt his first-round pick. The big left tackle has been everything the coach and team hoped he would be.
Zach Frazier, C, Pittsburgh
Frazier, a second-round pick out of West Virginia, has anchored a good Steelers offensive line that has the team ranked eighth best in running the ball and in first place in the AFC North.
Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Arizona
Harrison isn’t putting up monster numbers (33 catches, 499 yards, six TDs), as some expected. He has made an impact on a Cardinals team that leads the NFC West at 6-4. Also of his 33 catches, eight have been for 20 yards, or more ad 24 have gone for a first down.
Kamari Lassiter, CB, Houston
Houston’s first pick (second round), Lassiter has started at corner for eight games and has three interceptions and eight passes broken up for the AFC South’s first-place team.
Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Philadelphia
It didn’t take long for the rookie from Toledo to emerge as the first-place Eagles No. 1 CB. In his last six games, Mitchell has been targeted 20 times and has allowed 10 completions for 87 yards. He has yet to allow a touchdown pass.
Bo Nix, QB, Denver
Nix has really come on for a Broncos team with their sights set on an AFC wild-card spot. He’s complete 65.5 percent of his passes with 14 touchdowns and six interceptions. Four of those six interceptions came in his first two games. And in his last four games he has nine TDs and just one pick.
Roger Rosengarten, T, Baltimore
The Ravens have the top offense in the league, mostly in part to QB Lamar Jackson and RB Derrick Henry. Rosengarten, the team’s second-round pick out of Washington, has started every game at right tackle and has a key role i that success as well.
Evan Williams, S, Green Bay
The Packers played games without quarterback Jordan Love and won. They played without All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander and won. Williams has missed two games and the Packers went 0-2. The fourth-round pick out of Oregon has been a welcome piece to the secondary. In eight games he has an interception, a forced fumble and has allowed a QB rating of 52.3.
Xavier Worthy, WR, Kansas City
The speedy receiver from Texas has been just what the AFC West leading Chiefs needed. He’s caught just 24 passes for 307 yards and four touchdowns, but he’s second on the team in yards and catches and first in touchdowns. He also has two rushing touchdowns.
RANT SPORTS – As Super Bowl LIX Beckons, Football Fans Gravitate to Key Stats and Storylines
On February 9, 2025, the NFC and AFC Conference Champions will meet at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, for Super Bowl LIX. Football fans have been piling into the action all season to make their picks and predictions for the winner.
As Super Bowl Sunday beckons, there will be a tsunami of interest in the many different forms of football betting. Last year, the Super Bowl set records for American wagering, with some $23 billion bet. This year, seeing the popularity of the big game, platforms are going all out to appeal to this mass of betting interest.
So, there are plenty of offers bouncing around and unique ways to bet on the outcomes of Super Bowl LIX. Keep reading to explore these novel options and discover some stats to keep in mind for the potential Super Bowl contenders this year.
A Diverse Landscape for Super Bowl Fans
Every year, betting lines light up with a whole range of quirky selections. For the Super Bowl, prop markets are always a point of interest – and not just for the player lines. The length of the national anthem, style of the halftime performer’s attire, and the color of the winning team’s Gatorade douse are all in the odds.
In daily fantasy sports betting, the lines can also see a bit more variation. With some platforms, you’ll be able to bundle in these once-a-year kind of props. Many will also offer boosts on certain players hitting or missing their under-over lines. Others are adapting the formula entirely for the big game.
At Sleeper, the emphasis is on collaborating with your squad to make top fantasy picks. You’ll all get to select the DFS player lines that you think will happen, bundle them into a picks list, and watch the stats move in real time. With the Super Bowl fast approaching, savvy DFS teams will be claiming a Sleeper promo for NFL betting like this.
With the offer, each player will get a $55 bonus cash offer after playing $5. So, naturally, many teams will open an account, make the $10 deposit, play $5 on an upcoming game of the NFL, NBA, or anything else, and then get their 11 $5 bonus wagers to use on the big game.
What to Keep in Mind for the Super Bowl
On the NFC side, coming into the Conference Championships, Jayden Daniels absolutely had the upper hand on the Eagles’ QB, who’d suffered a concussion and then a leg injury. However, the Philadelphia defense ranked as the best in the NFL by quite some margin, only allowing 278.4 yards on average. It was Philadelphia that romped to an easy 55-23 victory.
Over in AFC territory, the Super Bowl machine that are the Kansas City Chiefs might have a shot at history with the unheard-of three-peat, after their 32-29 win over the Bills. There’s also Travis Kelce’s shot at unseating one of Jerry Rice’s long-standing records. With just three receptions in the big game, Kelce would overtake Rice’s haul of 33 takes at the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl LIX promises to be a fascinating game, with a second matchup of these two teams in three years. That contest came down to the final seconds, but who will win this one?
The bigger question here is, where will fans be placing their bets for the colossal event?
RANT SPORTS – NASCAR likes to open with a short track exhibition
A week before heading to Daytona for the 2025 NASCAR season, they will kick off the year with an exhibition race on Saturday night under the lights. The event, known as The Cookout will take place at Bowman Gray Stadium, a NASCAR-sanctioned quarter-mile asphalt flat oval short track and a historic football stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
The race, also known as The Clash, will mark the debut for several new drivers. Two of the top young talents making their NASCAR Cup Series debuts are Tim Brown for Rick Racing and Burt Myers for Team Amerivet.
This race also features the Front Row Motorsports debut for Noah Gragson and the return of Zane Smith that team. Additionally, Todd Gilliland will be driving the flagship No. 38 after three seasons in the No. 34. Furthermore, Josh Berry iin the iconic Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford.
Some familiar names with new and full season rides
AJ Allmendinger has returned to Kaulig Racing full-time, while Riley Herbst has joined 23XI Racing. Cole Custer is back now full time at the Haas Factory Team. Cody Ware is also time in the family-owned No. 51.
Ryan Preece is debuting for RFK Racing and Michael McDowell has moved to Spire Motorsports. Shane Van Gisbergen is racing full-time in Cup for Trackhouse Racing
Here is the full list of cars the teams
1 | Ross Chastain | Phil Surgen | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet
2 | Austin Cindric | Brian Wilson | Team Penske | Ford
3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Boswell | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet
4 | Noah Gragson | Drew Blickensderfer | Front Row Motorsports | Ford
24 | William Byron | Rudy Fugle | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet
34 | Todd Gilliland | Chris Lawson | Front Row Motorsports | Ford
35 | Riley Herbst | Davin Restivo | 23XI Racing | Toyota
38 | Zane Smith | Ryan Bergentry | Front Row Motorsports | Ford
41 | Cole Custer | Aaron Kramer | Haas Factory Team | Ford
42| John Hunter Nemechek | Travis Mack | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota
43| Erik Jones | Ben Beshore | Legacy Motor Club | Toyot
45 | Tyler Reddick | Billy Scott | 23XI Racing | Toyota
47| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Mike Kelley | HYAK Racing | Ford
48| Alex Bowman | Blake Harris | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet
50 | Burt Myers | Tony Eury Jr. | Team Amerivet | Chevrolet
51 | Justin Haley | Billy Plourde |Rick Ware Racing | Ford
54 | Ty Gibbs | Tyler Allen | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota
60 | Ryan Preece | Derrick Finley | RFK Racing | Ford
66 | Garrett Smithley | Carl Long | Garage 66 | Ford
71 | Michael McDowell | Travis Peterson | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet
77 | Carson Hocevar | Luke Lambert | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet
88 | Shane Van Gisbergen | Stephen Doran | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet
99 | Daniel Suarez | Matt Swiderski | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet
Where to watch and listen to the race
Practice and qualifying is set for 6:10 on FS1 and heat races are set for 8:30 on FS1. The last chance race is set for 6 p.m. on Sunday on FOX and the main event is scheduled for 8 on FOX.