NFL rookies had some time to get acclimated to their new cities and teammates. Now, we all get to see how these newcomers handle the best competition they’ve ever faced.
Below, I’ve graded the performance of one rookie from each of the past week’s 16 preseason contests. Some of these players are well-known to football fans, while others are trying to make names for themselves on the professional gridiron.
These evaluations are not predictions of how players will fare in this upcoming season, nor are they long-term career projections. Each mark simply takes stock of how the rookie played in Week 1 of the 2026 preseason.