2008 NFL Rookie Leaders
The best of the 2008 rookie class in every major stat, top five in each.
Matt Ryan, the No. 3 pick, led 2008 NFL rookies in passing yards with 3,440. Steve Slaton, the No. 89 pick, led in rushing yards (1,282), Eddie Royal led in receiving yards (980) and Cliff Avril was tied for the lead in sacks (5.0).
Passing Yards
YDS- 1 Matt Ryan 3,440
- 2 Joe Flacco 2,971
- 3 Chad Henne 67
- 4 Jordan Palmer 41
- 5 Kevin O'Connell 23
Rushing Yards
YDS- 1 Steve Slaton 1,282
- 2 Matt Forte 1,231
- 3 Chris Johnson 1,228
- 4 Kevin Smith 975
- 5 Jonathan Stewart 835
- 1 Tim Hightower 10
- 1 Jonathan Stewart 10
- 3 Chris Johnson 9
- 3 Steve Slaton 9
- 5 Matt Forte 8
Receiving Yards
YDS- 1 Eddie Royal 980
- 2 DeSean Jackson 912
- 3 Donnie Avery 684
- 4 John Carlson 627
- 5 Davone Bess 554
Receptions
REC- 1 Eddie Royal 91
- 2 Matt Forte 64
- 3 DeSean Jackson 62
- 4 John Carlson 55
- 5 Donnie Avery 54
- 1 John Carlson 5
- 1 Eddie Royal 5
- 3 Martellus Bennett 4
- 3 Matt Forte 4
- 5 Josh Morgan 3
Yards from Scrimmage
YScm- 1 Matt Forte 1,715
- 2 Steve Slaton 1,659
- 3 Chris Johnson 1,488
- 4 Kevin Smith 1,261
- 5 Eddie Royal 1,089
Tackles
TKL- 1 Jerod Mayo 88
- 2 Curtis Lofton 78
- 3 Brandon Carr 65
- 4 Antoine Cason 64
- 5 Chris Horton 61
Sacks
SK- 1 Cliff Avril 5.0
- 1 Jason Jones 5.0
- 1 Trevor Scott 5.0
- 4 Derrick Harvey 4.5
- 5 Sedrick Ellis 4.0
Interceptions
INT- 1 Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie 4
- 1 Aqib Talib 4
- 3 Chris Horton 3
- 4 Brandon Flowers 2
- 4 Leodis McKelvin 2
- 1 Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie 19
- 2 Dwight Lowery 16
- 3 Brandon Flowers 13
- 4 Aqib Talib 9
- 5 Antoine Cason 7
- 1 Dwight Lowery 5
- 2 Cliff Avril 4
- 3 Jason Jones 3
- 4 Alex Hall 2
- 5 Steve Octavien 1
Field Goals Made
FGM- 1 Dan Carpenter 21
- 2 Garrett Hartley 13
- 3 Connor Barth 10
- 4 Taylor Mehlhaff 3
- 5 Steven Hauschka 1
Points Scored
PTS- 1 Dan Carpenter 103
- 2 Matt Forte 72
- 3 Garrett Hartley 67
- 4 Chris Johnson 60
- 4 Tim Hightower 60
A rookie is a player in his first NFL season, as the league counts it: a draft pick who spent a year on injured reserve is not a rookie the next. Counting stats only; rookies who clear the rate boards' minimums are too few to rank.