Week 14 and by now most rookies have either found themselves as solid contributors or found themselves comfy seats on the sidelines. Featuring nowhere near the production rookies saw in week 13, 14 did involve the emergence of one rookie in place of an injured Pro Bowler and another with a nice performance on a national stage. Who else rounded out the Fab Five as the week's top 5 defensive rookie fantasy contributors of the week?
| Team | Player | Snaps | PFF Rating | Tackles | Assists | Rush-PR-Hit | Other |
| Arizona Cardinals | CB Patrick Peterson | 68/68 | 3.1 | 4 | 1-0-0 | 1 Sack | |
| Arizona Cardinals | NT David Carter | 16/68 | 1.6 | 3 | 1 | 8-0-0 | |
| Arizona Cardinals | OLB Sam Acho | 58/68 | 0.4 | 2 | 22-2-0 | 1 BP | |
| Baltimore Ravens | DT Pernell McPhee | 34/59 | 0.4 | 31-1-1 | |||
| Baltimore Ravens | CB Jimmy Smith | 32/59 | 2.1 | 1 | 1 PD | ||
| Baltimore Ravens | CB Chykie Brown | 12/59 | 0.2 | 3 | |||
| Buffalo Bills | DT Marcell Dareus | 47/68 | 4.1 | 3 | 2 | 26-4-1 | 1 Sack |
| Buffalo Bills | LB Kelvin Sheppard | 52/68 | 0.5 | 11 | 3 | ||
| Buffalo Bills | CB Justin Rogers | 18/68 | -0.6 | 1 | |||
| Carolina Panthers | DE Thomas Keiser | 15/71 | -0.9 | 12-0-0 | |||
| Chicago Bears | FS Chris Conte | 82/84 | 0.4 | 2 | 1-1-0 | ||
| Chicago Bears | DT Stephen Paea | 34/84 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19-1-0 | 1 Sack |
| Cleveland Browns | DE Jabaal Sheard | 55/60 | -2.2 | 1 | 25-4-0 | ||
| Cleveland Browns | DT Phil Taylor | 41/60 | -1.1 | 21-1-0 | |||
| Cleveland Browns | SS Eric Hagg | 17/60 | -0.3 | 1-0-0 | |||
| Cleveland Browns | CB Buster Skrine | 2/60 | 0 | ||||
| Cleveland Browns | SLB Ben Jacobs | 3/60 | 0.1 | ||||
| Cleveland Browns | DT Kiante Tripp | 2/60 | 0 | ||||
| Dallas Cowboys | ILB Bruce Carter | 2/85 | -0.1 | 1-0-0 | |||
| Denver Broncos | SLB Von Miller | 60/65 | 5.9 | 4 | 1 | 20-2-1 | 1 Sack, TFL |
| Denver Broncos | FS Quinton Carter | 65/65 | -1.4 | 2 | 2-0-0 | ||
| Denver Broncos | FS Rahim Moore | 50/65 | -1.9 | 5 | |||
| Denver Broncos | CB Chris Harris Jr. | 47/65 | 1.2 | 2 | 1 PD | ||
| Green Bay Packers | ILB D.J. Smith | 75/75 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 20-4-0 | 1 INT, 1 PD |
| Green Bay Packers | OLB Jamari Lattimore | 18/75 | -1.1 | 6-0-0 | |||
| Houston Texans | DE J.J. Watt | 56/61 | 2.5 | 3 | 1 | 29-1-2 | TFL |
| Houston Texans | OLB Brooks Reed | 61/61 | -0.7 | 3 | 26-0-0 | ||
| Houston Texans | OLB Bryan Braman | 2/61 | -0.1 | ||||
| Indianapolis Colts | FS Joe Lefeged | 19/74 | 0.7 | 2 | 1 INT, PD | ||
| Indianapolis Colts | CB Chris Rucker | 74/74 | -0.4 | 3 | 2 | ||
| Indianapolis Colts | DE Mario Addison | 33/74 | -2.3 | 1 | 7-0-0 | ||
| Jacksonville Jaguars | FS Chris Prosinski | 51/63 | -0.3 | 4 | |||
| Jacksonville Jaguars | CB Kevin Rutland | 54/58 | -1 | 1 INT | |||
| Kansas City Chiefs | OLB Justin Houston | 75/75 | -0.6 | 2 | 18-0-0 | 1 Sack | |
| Kansas City Chiefs | DE Allen Bailey | 15/75 | -0.1 | 12-0-0 | |||
| Miami Dolphins | CB Jimmy Wilson | 3/69 | 0 | ||||
| Minnesota Vikings | DT Christian Ballard | 8/62 | -0.3 | 5-0-0 | |||
| Minnesota Vikings | FS Mistral Raymond | 50/62 | -0.4 | 2 | |||
| New Orleans Saints | FS Isa Abdul-Quddus | 12/62 | 0.1 | ||||
| New Orleans Saints | DE Cameron Jordan | 26/62 | 0.3 | 12-0-0 | 1 BP | ||
| New Orleans Saints | SLB Martez Wilson | 12/62 | 0.9 | 1 | 7-0-0 | ||
| New York Giants | CB Prince Amukamara | 28/63 | -2 | 3 | |||
| New York Giants | SLB Jacquian Williams | 49/63 | -4.1 | 4 | 3 | 6-0-0 | |
| New York Giants | MLB Greg Jones | 1/63 | 0 | ||||
| New York Giants | DE Justin Trattou | 1/63 | 0 | ||||
| New York Giants | S Tyler Sash | 5/63 | -1 | ||||
| New York Jets | DE Mo Wilkerson | 35/57 | -1 | 2 | 20-1-0 | ||
| New York Jets | OLB Garrett McIntyre | 3/57 | 0 | ||||
| New York Jets | FS Tracy Wilson | 3/57 | 0 | ||||
| Oakland Raiders | CB DeMarcus Van Dyke | 6/71 | 0.1 | ||||
| Philadelphia Eagles | WLB Brian Rolle | 39/67 | -0.4 | 2 | 2-0-1 | 1 Sack | |
| Philadelphia Eagles | SLB Casey Matthews | 50/67 | -3.1 | 2 | 3-0-0 | 1 Sack | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | DE Cameron Heyward | 36/74 | 0.4 | 1 | 22-3-1 | ||
| Pittsburgh Steelers | CB Cortez Allen | 2/74 | -0.1 | 1-0-0 | |||
| St. Louis Rams | DE Robert Quinn | 55/72 | 0.9 | 1 | 1 | 29-2-2 | 1 BP |
| St. Louis Rams | CB Chris Smith | 4/72 | -0.5 | 1 | |||
| San Diego Chargers | DE Corey Liuget | 20/59 | 0.4 | 2 | 12-0-0 | 1 BP | |
| San Diego Chargers | CB Marcus Gilchrist | 12/59 | 0.7 | 1 INT | |||
| San Diego Chargers | CB Shareece Wright | 4/59 | 0.1 | ||||
| San Diego Chargers | ILB Andrew Gachkar | 5/59 | 0.1 | 1 | |||
| San Diego Chargers | ILB Bront Bird | 5/59 | 0.1 | 1 | |||
| San Francisco 49ers | OLB Aldon Smith | 28/57 | 3.3 | 4 | 19-4-0 | 1 Sack, FF | |
| San Francisco 49ers | CB Chris Culliver | 28/57 | 1 | 2 | |||
| Seattle Seahawks | SLB K.J. Wright | 47/70 | 2.2 | 4 | 4 | 4-0-1 | 1 Sack, 1 PD, TFL |
| Seattle Seahawks | CB Richard Sherman | 68/70 | -1.4 | 4 | 1 PD | ||
| Tampa Bay Bucs | DE Adrian Clayborn | 73/78 | 0.7 | 3 | 1 | 34-2-0 | 1 Sack, FF, TFL |
| Tampa Bay Bucs | MLB Mason Foster | 78/78 | 0.6 | 5 | 1 | 5-1-0 | 1 INT |
| Tampa Bay Bucs | DE Da'Quan Bowers | 57/78 | -0.1 | 2 | 26-1-1 | 1 BP, TFL | |
| Tampa Bay Bucs | CB Anthony Gaitor | 7/78 | 0.1 | ||||
| Tampa Bay Bucs | SS Ahmad Black | 3/78 | 0 | ||||
| Tennessee Titans | DT Jurrell Casey | 42/82 | -0.3 | 1 | 15-0-0 | ||
| Tennessee Titans | SLB Akeem Ayers | 52/82 | 1.7 | 6 | 1 | 15-0-0 | |
| Tennessee Titans | ILB Colin McCarthy | 82/82 | -0.8 | 5 | 1 | 8-1-0 | |
| Tennessee Titans | DT Karl Klug | 32/82 | 1.3 | 24-0-0 | 2 Sacks | ||
| Washington Redskins | OLB Ryan Kerrigan | 60/60 | -3.3 | 1 | 36-2-1 | ||
| Washington Redskins | FS DeJon Gomes | 47/60 | -1.5 | 4 | 1 | 1-0-0 |
Fab Five (Top 5 IDP Rookie Performances of the Week)
1. Seattle Seahawks SLB K.J. Wright: 4 solo tackles, 4 assists, 1 sack, 1 pass deflection, 1 tackle for loss; One of the biggest draft steals of the year was all over the place on Monday Night Football against the Rams. The fact that Wright was substituted out for nickel packages only playing 47/70 snaps is a bit concerning for weekly production but didn't seem to hold him back this week.
2. Green Bay Packers ILB D.J. Smith: 7 solo tackles, 3 assists, 1 INT, 1 PD; A.J. Hawk should probably watch his back because it is looking like D.J. Smith is yet another Packers late round gem. Smith was very productive at Appalachian State, so it's not surprising that he is producing at the NFL level. His coverage skills in this game are a pleasant surprise as well.
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers DE Adrian Clayborn: 3 solo tackles, 1 assist, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 tackle for loss; While the rest of the Tampa Bay team nearly played poor enough to get their head coach Raheem Morris fired, Clayborn was a bright spot. The end out of Iowa was a headache for fellow rookie Jaguars QB Blaine Gabbert and also added 2 QB pressures.
4. Indianapolis Colts FS Joe Lefeged: 2 solo tackles, 1 interception, 1 pass deflection; In a bit of a fluke, Lefeged makes this week's Fab Five even though he played in just 19 out of 74 defensive snaps. The fact that he contributed in spot duty is promising for Colts fans but not worthy of praise for dedicated IDP fanatics.
5. Denver Broncos SLB Von Miller: 4 solo tackles, 1 assist, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss; Miller was his usual self last week while most were in awe over Tebow-time. He also added 2 pressures and 1 hit, which don't count for anything in fantasy but show that he didn't just cash in on a rare opportunity to get at the QB.
For more IDP or rookie discussion, hit me up on Twitter, @PFF_MikeD.
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