Week 7 featured more of the same from the runaway Defensive Rookie of the Year, a breakout performance from a 3rd round pick cornerback, strong performances from a pair of linebackers who weren't even expected to start at the beginning of the season, and nice performance from the defensive rookie that nobody is talking about. Let's take a look at how every rookie who played a single defensive snap performed this week and see who cracked Week 7's Fab Five (the top 5 IDP rookies of the week).
| Team | Player | Snaps | PFF Rating | Tackles | Assists | Rush-PR-Hit | Other |
| Arizona Cardinals | CB Patrick Peterson | 76/77 | -2.3 | 5 | |||
| Arizona Cardinals | NT David Carter | 18/77 | -0.3 | 5-0-0 | |||
| Arizona Cardinals | OLB Sam Acho | 24/77 | -0.3 | 1 | 9-1-0 | 1 Sack | |
| Baltimore Ravens | DT Pernell McPhee | 11/68 | 3 | 2 | 10-1-0 | 1 Sack | |
| Carolina Panthers | DT Sione Fua | 28/69 | -1.7 | 14-0-0 | |||
| Carolina Panthers | DT Terrell McClain | 52/69 | -0.9 | 1 | 35-1-1 | ||
| Chicago Bears | DT Stephen Paea | 34/72 | 0.1 | 27-0-1 | |||
| Chicago Bears | FS Chris Conte | 72/72 | 2.9 | 1 | 1 INT, 2 PD | ||
| Cleveland Browns | DE Jabaal Sheard | 53/55 | 0 | 2 | 35-2-0 | .5 Sack | |
| Cleveland Browns | DT Phil Taylor | 36/55 | 0.1 | 2 | 26-2-0 | ||
| Cleveland Browns | SLB Quinton Spears | 2/55 | 0 | ||||
| Cleveland Browns | CB Buster Skrine | 1/55 | -0.5 | 1 | |||
| Denver Broncos | SLB Von Miller | 66/70 | 4.9 | 3 | 2 | 35-4-2 | 1 Sack, 1 TFL |
| Denver Broncos | FS Quinton Carter | 70/70 | 0.2 | 2 | |||
| Denver Broncos | FS Rahim Moore | 6/70 | 0.1 | ||||
| Denver Broncos | CB Chris Harris Jr. | 7/70 | 1.8 | 1 PD | |||
| Detroit Lions | DT Nick Fairley | 27/80 | -0.7 | 1 | 14-0-0 | ||
| Houston Texans | DE J.J. Watt | 37/53 | 1.4 | 3 | 22-2-0 | 1 Sack | |
| Houston Texans | OLB Brooks Reed | 50/53 | -1.7 | 3 | 28-0-0 | 1 Sack | |
| Houston Texans | OLB Bryan Braman | 3/53 | -0.1 | 1-0-0 | |||
| Houston Texans | FS Shiloh Keo | 22/53 | -1.8 | ||||
| Indianapolis Colts | FS Joe Lefeged | 31/72 | -2 | 4 | 2 | ||
| Indianapolis Colts | CB Chris Rucker | 5/72 | 0 | ||||
| Indianapolis Colts | MLB Adrian Moten | 5/72 | 0.2 | ||||
| Jacksonville Jaguars | FS Chris Prosinski | 18/63 | 0.2 | ||||
| Kansas City Chiefs | DE Allen Bailey | 24/70 | -0.4 | 18-1-0 | |||
| Kansas City Chiefs | OLB Justin Houston | 34/70 | -0.8 | 3 | 11-1-0 | ||
| Miami Dolphins | CB Jimmy Wilson | 29/77 | -0.1 | ||||
| Minnesota Vikings | DT Christian Ballard | 5/66 | -0.3 | 4-0-0 | |||
| New Orleans Saints | DE Cam Jordan | 33/43 | 0.9 | 1 | 1 | 17-0-1 | |
| New Orleans Saints | SS Isa Abdul-Quddus | 16/43 | 0.1 | ||||
| New Orleans Saints | WLB Martez Wilson | 10/43 | 0.2 | 1 | |||
| New York Jets | DE Mo Wilkerson | 40/60 | 2.6 | 3 | 19-0-0 | ||
| New York Jets | ILB Nick Bellore | 3/60 | 0.1 | ||||
| Oakland Raiders | CB DeMarcus Van Dyke | 64/75 | 1.1 | 4 | 1 INT, 2 PD, TFL | ||
| Pittsburgh Steelers | DE Cameron Heyward | 11/60 | 0.2 | 6-1-0 | |||
| Pittsburgh Steelers | DE Corbin Bryant | 5/60 | -0.7 | 3-0-0 | |||
| Pittsburgh Steelers | OLB Chris Carter | 3/60 | 0 | ||||
| Pittsburgh Steelers | CB Cortez Allen | 10/60 | 0.4 | 1 | |||
| St. Louis Rams | DE Robert Quinn | 28/65 | -1.5 | 15-1-0 | |||
| San Diego Chargers | DE Corey Liuget | 44/81 | -1.9 | 1 | 19-0-0 | ||
| San Diego Chargers | CB Marcus Gilchrist | 7/81 | 0 | ||||
| Seattle Seahawks | SLB K.J. Wright | 46/87 | 3.1 | 6 | 1 | 5-0-0 | 1 TFL |
| Seattle Seahawks | CB Richard Sherman | 74/87 | 0.2 | 4 | |||
| Seattle Seahawks | WLB Malcolm Smith | 18/87 | -0.2 | 1-0-0 | |||
| Tampa Bay Bucs | DE Adrian Clayborn | 59/69 | 3.7 | 3 | 28-2-0 | 1 Sack | |
| Tampa Bay Bucs | LB Mason Foster | 5/69 | 0.1 | ||||
| Tampa Bay Bucs | DE Da'Quan Bowers | 9/69 | 0.7 | 4-1-0 | |||
| Tennessee Titans | DT Jurrell Casey | 47/71 | -0.3 | 2 | 14-0-0 | ||
| Tennessee Titans | SLB Akeem Ayers | 50/71 | -2.3 | 1 | 5-0-0 | ||
| Tennessee Titans | DT Karl Klug | 24/71 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9-0-0 | |
| Washington Redskins | OLB Ryan Kerrigan | 69/69 | -1.7 | 2 | 25-1-0 | ||
| Washington Redskins | NT Chris Neild | 12/69 | -0.2 | 2-0-0 | |||
| Washington Redskins | FS DeJon Gomes | 2/69 | 0 |
Fab Five (Top 5 IDP Rookie Performances of the Week)
1. Oakland Raiders CB DeMarcus Van Dyke: 4 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 interception, 2 pass deflections; In typical Raider fashion, they drafted the speedy Van Dyke, who ran the fastest 40 yard dash at the NFL combine (4.28). Thus far, he is proving to be much more than just a fast guy. Through the season the rookie from “Da U” has been targeted 24 times and allowed only 9 receptions. With 3 straight games with tons of playing time, he has moved into the IDP discussion.
2. Denver Broncos LB Von Miller: 3 tackles, 2 assists, 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss; There’s not much more to say about what the runaway defensive rookie of the year has done so far this year but a sack in 5 straight games and the highest PFF graded 4-3 OLB on the season (+20.4) should do the trick.
3. Seattle Seahawks SLB K.J. Wright: 6 tackles, 1 assist, 1 tackle for loss; The release of Aaron Curry wasn’t just about Curry struggling, it was about the emergence of the rookie Wright. Coming in at 3 on this week’s Fab Five, Wright is now the 4th highest graded Seahawk with about half as many snaps (165 out of a possible 447).
4. Chicago Bears FS Chris Conte: 1 tackle, 1 interception, 2 pass deflections; The former California Bear who made a name for himself shadowing Oregon QB Darron Thomas is the rookie that nobody is talking about. Playing in his 2nd straight game without coming out for a single snap, Conte pulled in his first career interception. He’s a nice centerfielder but that may not translate to IDP production due to the low tackle numbers (5 total on the season in 150 snaps).
5. Houston Texans OLB Brooks Reed: 4 tackles, 1 sack; Ironically, in the game where Reed picked up his first career sack, he ended up with his lowest PFF grade (-1.7) of the season, probably because he couldn’t get near the quarterback on his 27 other pass rushes. Still, to even get to Titans QB Matt Hasselbeck this year deserves praise as that has only happened 5 times all season, the lowest number in the NFL.
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