These five rookies balled out in their NFL debuts, but is their early success sustainable?

Week 1 might feel like the worst time to make definitive statements. It's one game. The difference between a memorable rookie debut and a forgettable one can be as mundane as a tipped pass or as simple as a blown assignment.

But that does not mean we can't learn something. In fact, looking at rookie Week 1 results going back to 2020, the better question is not simply who produced. It is how they produced, how much they were asked to do, and whether the underlying performance felt sustainable.

I've written a version of this article since 2023, and I'm happy (and, honestly, a little surprised) to report that I've been more right than wrong — though not always in the way I expected. My 2023 Week 1 rookies? Bijan Robinson, Puka Nacua, Christian Gonzalez, Brian Branch and Jalen Carter, and in retrospect, those feel like layups even if Nacua was a Day 3 pick.

All five are bona fide stars, and three — Robinson, Gonzalez and Carter — signed long-term deals that made them the highest-paid at their positions when they put pen to paper (Robinson is now No. 2 behind Jahmyr Gibbs).

The 2024 and 2025 groups were…

Original source: https://www.cbssports.com/