A lot changed in our weekly rookie rankings following Week 8. Just one defensive player remains on our list, we have two first-time appearances, a new top quarterback and three teams now have multiple players inside the top 10.
With the help of Premium Stats 2.0, we present to you the highest-graded rookies in the NFL through Week 8 of the 2020 NFL season.
[Editor's Note: PFF's advanced statistics and player grades are powered by AWS machine learning capabilities.]
1. OL MICHAEL ONWENU, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
This past Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, Onwenu started and stayed at one position on the offensive line for just the third time this season. All three of those games came at different positions — left guard, right guard and right tackle — and they have been his three best games of his season to date.
Onwenu stuck at right tackle in Week 8 and was outstanding in both facets, earning a 70.1 pass-block grade and an 86.3 run-block grade.
The sixth-round rookie was playing at an exceptionally high level entering the week, but if we had to choose his biggest weakness, it was his drop-off in pass protection when playing tackle as opposed to guard. However, he showed a lot of progress in that area this week, raising his pass-blocking grade from the tackle position by 11 grading points while cutting his loss rate in half.
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