Top five rookies from week nine of the 2021 NFL season

Pat Freiermuth (Twitter)

There is a reason why we wait until the Monday nighter before we give our top fives of the week. That is because in week nine, it was two Pittsburgh Steelers rookies who were the top rookies of the week on winning teams.

5) Eno Benjamin–Arizona Cardinals

One of the biggest stories from week nine was the fact that the Arizona Cardinals were still able to beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-17 with ease even without quarterback Kyler Murray (ankle), wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (hamstring), and losing Chase Edmonds with a high ankle sprain on the very first play of the game. James Conner became the undisputed primary back, with rookie Eno Benjamin of Dallas, Texas getting his fair share of carries to give Conner a break. Benjamin finished with nine rushes for 39 yards and one touchdown, which put Arizona up 31-7 at the time.

4) Rhamondre Stevenson–New England Patriots

The Patriots were expected to go with a running game led by Damien Harris and Brandon Bolden on Sunday. Not so fast. Instead, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick used rookie running back Rhamondre Stevenson of Las Vegas, Nevada, regularly. Stevenson had a game to remember as he led New England in rushing yards (62) and receiving yards (44) in a 24-6 Patriots win over the Carolina Panthers. With the win, New England moves above .500 (five wins and four losses) for the first time this year.

3) Javonte Williams–Denver Broncos

Javonte Williams, the Broncos rookie running back, did not find the end zone on Sunday, but had a marvelous game nonetheless. The North Carolina product reached 100 yards rushing for the first time in his career. He in fact had 111 yards on 17 carries in a 30-16 Denver win in Dallas. With the win, the Broncos improved to 5-4.

2) Najee Harris–Pittsburgh Steelers

There is no doubt that Steelers fans have a lot to be excited over Najee Harris. On Monday, Harris had 22 rushes for 62 yards and one touchdown, along with three catches for 16 yards in a narrow 29-27 Pittsburgh win over Chicago. With the win, the Steelers improve to 5-3.

1) Pat Freiermuth–Pittsburgh Steelers

For the first time in Pat Freiermuth’s NFL career, he found the end zone twice. The rookie out of Penn State also had five catches for 43 yards. The nickname for Freiermuth is already Baby Gronk. If Freiermuth is anywhere close to the tight end Rob Gronkowski has been in his career, the Steelers have an absolute gem.

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