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A good number of players are at the midway point in the season, so I figured it's fair to hand out a little bit of hardware (I'm pretty sure neither of the midyear winners will see he has won a Kiper award and call it a season). What I will say is that, among the best, we have a really good positional mix across offense and defense, and I'm particularly impressed with how well we've seen some quarterbacks play, as it's a famously tough transition position. That all said, here are the usual parameters: • This is a measure for all games this season, not just last Sunday.
• Total snap count matters. Staying on the field is a measure of value.
• Positional value matters, but overall performance and impact on the team matter more.
• Relative value matters. I ask: Would this player be a starter on most teams, or on a good team? Remember, I've hit reset on these players as far as future value; this is all about production. Here's my latest ranking of the top 15 rookies in the NFL:
1. C.J. Mosley, ILB, Baltimore Ravens
(Midseason defensive rookie of the year) The temptation here is to push Mosley down a bit because he's playing a position that, at least traditionally, has been one where guys have the chance to transition quickly and succeed if you put enough talent in front of them and keep blockers occupied. But Mosley has been even better than good. I think he's been in the neighborhood of Luke Kuechly, Patrick Willis, Bobby Wagner -- in other words, playing his position as well as anybody in the NFL plays his position. He leads all rookies in tackles, and leads his team. He also has a pair of interceptions.
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