Here is the IDP Rookie Report for NFL's Week 5. It was a down week for rookie performances but that could be partially due to the fact that the consistent Ryan Kerrigan had a bye week. Still, continuing were the Aldon Smith and Von Miller consecutive sack streaks and week 5 also saw a glimpse of what Nick Fairley could come to be. Also, how well did Houston's Brooks Reed do in replacing Super Mario Williams? Let's dive in.
| Team | Player | Snaps | PFF Rating | Tackles | Assists | Rush-PR-Hit | Other |
| Arizona Cardinals | CB Patrick Peterson | 63/64 | -2.5 | 3 | |||
| Arizona Cardinals | NT David Carter | 17/64 | -0.3 | 6-0-0 | |||
| Arizona Cardinals | OLB Sam Acho | 20/64 | 0.2 | 3-0-0 | |||
| Buffalo Bills | DT Marcell Dareus | 36/63 | -1.6 | 30-1-1 | |||
| Buffalo Bills | LB Kelvin Sheppard | 9/63 | 1.2 | 3 | 1 | 0-0-1 | |
| Buffalo Bills | SS Da'Norris Searcy | 1/63 | 0 | ||||
| Buffalo Bills | CB Justin Rogers | 5/63 | 0 | ||||
| Carolina Panthers | DT Sione Fua | 52/79 | 2.2 | 3 | 25-0-1 | ||
| Carolina Panthers | DT Terrell McClain | 32/51 | -0.8 | 1 | 34-1-0 | ||
| Denver Broncos | SLB Von Miller | 40/78 | -1.4 | 1 | 18-1-0 | 1 Sack | |
| Denver Broncos | FS Rahim Moore | 75/78 | -2.7 | 1 | 1 | 1-0-0 | |
| Denver Broncos | SS Quinton Carter | 58/78 | -2.9 | 5 | 1-0-0 | ||
| Detroit Lions | DT Nick Fairley | 18/82 | 2.4 | 13-3-0 | |||
| Houston Texans | DE J.J. Watt | 49/65 | 2.7 | 1 | 1 | 34-3-0 | |
| Houston Texans | OLB Brooks Reed | 57/65 | 2.1 | 3 | 29-3-2 | ||
| Houston Texans | CB Brandon Harris | 5/65 | 0.4 | 1-1-0 | |||
| Indianapolis Colts | FS Joe Lefeged | 21/72 | -0.2 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Indianapolis Colts | CB Chris Rucker | 1/72 | -1 | ||||
| Jacksonville Jaguars | FS Chris Prosinski | 14/69 | 0.1 | ||||
| Kansas City Chiefs | DE Allen Bailey | 17/57 | -1 | 1 | 11-0-0 | ||
| Kansas City Chiefs | OLB Justin Houston | 20/57 | -1 | 1 | 10-0-1 | ||
| Miami Dolphins | CB Jimmy Wilson | 15/66 | 0.8 | 1 | |||
| Minnesota Vikings | DT Christian Ballard | 15/81 | -1.4 | 11-1-0 | |||
| New Orleans Saints | DE Cam Jordan | 36/61 | -2.1 | 1 | 16-1-0 | ||
| New York Giants | SLB Jacquian Williams | 76/82 | -1.2 | 7 | 1 | 8-0-0 | 1 BP |
| New York Giants | MLB Greg Jones | 4/82 | 0.1 | 1 | 1-0-0 | ||
| New York Jets | DE Mo Wilkerson | 55/81 | -1.8 | 4 | 26-1-0 | ||
| Oakland Raiders | DeMarcus Van Dyke | 78/85 | -0.7 | 3 | |||
| Philadelphia Eagles | SLB Casey Matthews | 1/66 | 0 | ||||
| Philadelphia Eagles | WLB Brian Rolle | 55/66 | 1.6 | 5 | 4 | 2-0-0 | 1 TFL |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | DE Cameron Heyward | 18/76 | 1.8 | 1 | 15-0-1 | 1 Sack, 1 FF | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | OLB Chris Carter | 17/76 | -1 | 12-1-0 | |||
| San Diego Chargers | DE Corey Liuget | 18/49 | -1.9 | 8-0-0 | |||
| San Francisco 49ers | OLB Aldon Smith | 28/63 | 2.4 | 2 | 20-2-0 | 2 Sacks | |
| San Francisco 49ers | CB Chris Culliver | 29/63 | 3.5 | 1 | 1 INT, 3 BP | ||
| San Francisco 49ers | DE Demarcus Dobbs | 6/63 | -0.2 | 1 | 3-0-0 | ||
| San Francisco 49ers | DE Ian Williams | 7/63 | -0.2 | 3-0-0 | |||
| Seattle Seahawks | MLB K.J. Wright | 21/73 | 1.3 | 3 | 1 | 2-0-0 | |
| Seattle Seahawks | CB Richard Sherman | 38/73 | 0.8 | 2 | |||
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | DE Adrian Clayborn | 39/60 | 0.4 | 2 | 16-1-1 | ||
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | LB Mason Foster | 50/60 | -0.2 | 2 | 1 | 6-1-0 | |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | DE Da'Quan Bowers | 28/60 | -0.2 | 2 | 11-1-0 | 1 BP | |
| Tennessee Titans | DT Jurrell Casey | 38/66 | 0.6 | 1 | 15-0-0 | 1 Sack | |
| Tennessee Titans | OLB Akeem Ayers | 45/66 | -0.8 | 1 | 3-0-0 | ||
| Tennessee Titans | DT Karl Klug | 29/66 | -2.6 | 20-0-0 |
Fab Five (Top 5 IDP Rookie Performances of the Week)
- Philadelphia Eagles WLB Brian Rolle: 5 solo tackles 4 assists 1 TFL; Rolle has taken the starting job from Casey Matthews and he isn’t letting go. One good thing about the Eagles poor run defense is that it gives Rolle plenty of opportunities to get on the statsheet.
- San Francisco 49ers CB Chris Culliver: 1 solo tackle, 1 int, 3 BP; In week 5, Culliver more than tripled his snap total on the season with 29 and from how well he played it would be a safe assumption to say that he will continue to get playing time. Very rarely does a great performance from a CB show up in fantasy but in Culliver’s case it did. Every time he was targeted by Josh Freeman, the 49er either batted the ball down or intercepted it. Not bad, rookie.
- Pittsburgh Steelers DE Cameron Heyward: 2 tackle 1 sack 1 FF; Heyward hasn’t been utilized as much as one would expect a 1st rounder to be but this week he finally showed his worth with a sack-fumble and a QB pressure in just 15 rushing opportunities.
- San Francisco 49ers OLB Aldon Smith: 2 solo, 2 sack; Speaking of a small amount of rushing opportunities, how about what Aldon Smith is doing in limited attempts. Week 5 Aldon Smith not only racked up 2 sacks for the 2nd consecutive week, he did so while adding 2 more pressures in just 20 pass rushes. While it’s concerning that Smith only has 2 tackles on the year, his sack numbers alone might make him a must-own in fantasy soon enough.
- New York Giants OLB Jacquian Williams: 7 solo 1 assist 1 BP; Williams received by far his most playing time of the season last Sunday with 76 out of 82 snaps. Prior to the game, Williams had not seen more than 50% of the snaps in a game. If the play time is consistent, Williams may become a must-own due to his high tackle numbers.
To discuss more IDP hit me up on Twitter @PFF_MikeD.
© 2025 PFF - all rights reserved.