2 Broncos Make The Athletic's All-Rookie Team for 2021 Season's Third Quarter

Dan Brugler of The Athletic has released his All-Rookie team for the third quarter of the season.

GM George Paton has received a lot of praise for his first draft class with the Denver Broncos because of how it's played. However, that praise goes beyond those in Broncos Country as The Athletic's Dane Brugler recognized multiple rookies and gave Paton props for a job well done. 

While two Broncos rookies took the top spot for their respective positions, they team had four more honorable mentions. The two who took the top spot also happened to be the Broncos' first two 2021 draft picks. 

Javonte Williams was the top running back for the first time this season, while Patrick Surtain II remained the top cornerback from the second quarter to the season's third. OG Quinn Meinerz, OLB Jonathon Cooper, LB Baron Browning, and S Caden Sterns were the four honorable mentions. 

Brugler teeter-tottered on giving the running back honor to Pittsburgh's Najee Harris but ultimately, chose Williams. 

The toughest call this time around was running back. On one hand, Najee Harris leads all rookies in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. In terms of volume, he has been the top back. But I have been more impressed with Williams over the second half of the season as the Broncos increased his workload. After zero games with 16-plus offensive touches during the first eight games, Williams has surpassed 16 touches in four of the past five games (three wins) and has looked like a future star.

Despite 82 fewer carries, Williams has more broken tackles (32) and runs of 10-plus yards (22) than Harris, and his 4.79 yards per carry average leads all rookies. Among the 33 NFL players with at least 110 carries, Williams ranks second in the percentage of rushes that resulted in a first down (27.1%) — behind Jonathan Taylor (35.7%) and just ahead of Nick Chubb (26.9%). Though he ranks 14th in the league in offensive touches, Williams leads the NFL with 32 broken tackles.

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Harris took the top spot for running backs for the first two quarters, but Williams has since emerged onto the scene and has become more consistent as a running back. Meinerz being an honorable mention is understandable. So many rookie interior offensive linemen have been having a great season. But, for as great as Meinerz has been, he probably wouldn't be top-five among the group, though not far from it. 

The top two here for Brugler were Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith, both of the Kansas City Chiefs. 

The top edge rusher is Miami's Jaelan Phillips, whom the Broncos purportedly were trying to trade up to acquire in the early 20s before Miami drafted him 18th overall. Baltimore's Odafe Oweh, another edge Denver had an interest in, was the runner-up after being in the top spot for the first two quarters. 

Like Meinerz, Cooper has been good, but those two are on a different level. There are a few other rookie edge defenders that have been having a good year and an even better year than Cooper. 

When you get to linebacker, there is no doubt Dallas' Micah Parsons is the top guy. He was an athletic freak pre-draft that was talented off the edge, and Cowboys DC Dan Quinn is using him ideally to hide his weaknesses in coverage. 

The runner-up, Cleveland's Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, is also the clear-cut second-best rookie linebacker. Browning has been good, but his late emergence doesn't help his case. 

Now for the other Broncos with the top spot at his position, we come to Surtain who has held onto it after taking it over at the halfway mark of the season. He leads all rookie corners in interceptions and tied for eighth-most in the NFL, which is part of why Brugler gave him the top spot. 

If not for Micah Parsons, Surtain would receive my early vote for NFL defensive rookie of the year. He entered the league with a ton of hype due to his last name and the immense talent he showed at Alabama. And so far, he hasn’t disappointed. Surtain’s four interceptions lead all rookies and are tied for eighth-most in the league. One of those interceptions was a pick-six — one of only two defensive touchdowns by an NFL rookie so far this season.

Surtain is also tied for the rookie lead with 12 passes defended. Through 13 games, he has allowed only 48.0% completions and committed only two penalties. Surtain has also played the third-most defensive snaps among all first-year players. He has been as advertised.

There is no doubt that Surtain deserves the top spot for his play in coverage, but his play against the run and after the catch has been hit or miss this season. 

The final honorable mention was Sterns, who just hasn't seen the field enough to push for a higher spot. When he does, his play has mostly been strong, but there have been enough mistakes to help keep him down as well. 

Having six rookies make the list, with two of them taking the top spot, speaks volumes about Paton's strong draft. This should give Broncos fans a lot of hope that Paton will continue bringing home strong draft classes moving forward, even if they don't quite reach this level. 

It's nice to see all four of the Broncos' picks in the first three rounds looking like hits, a far cry from John Elway's premium-round bumblings. 

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