Rookie of the Year: A Quarterback Dominated Race

The 2012 NFL rookie class has proven to be one of the better draft classes in recent years, with players like Trent Richardson, Alfred Morris, Doug Martin, Justin Blackmon and Ryan Tannehill just to name a few. Many teams this season have relied heavily on the players they selected back in April and many of them have produced. But three quarterbacks have stood out consistently all season long, Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson have all proven they can be successful in the league and made their cases for the 2012 Rookie of the Year award. Here is my breakdown of each player’s season and my choice for who I would vote for in the award race if I actually could vote for it:

Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts: Selected first overall in the 2012 NFL draft, Luck led the Colts to a 11-5 record after the team went 2-14 the year before. He went 339-627 in passing attempts with a completion percentage of 54.1 and threw for 4,374 yards with 23 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. Also he rushed for 255 yards and five touchdowns.

Robert Griffin III, Washington Redskins: Selected second overall in the 2012 NFL draft, Griffin led the Redskins to a 10-6 record and a playoff berth after the team went 5-11 last season. He went 258-393 in his passing attempts with a completion percentage of 65.6 and threw for 3,200 yards with 20 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also rushed for 815 yards and seven touchdowns.

Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks: Selected 75^th overall in the 2012 NFL draft, Wilson led the Seahawks to a 11-5 record after the team went 7-9 last year. He went 252-393 in passing attempts with a completion rating of 64.1 and threw for 3,118 yards with 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Also he rushed for 489 yards and four touchdowns.

Each one of these players has played well enough to win the award. The fact that all three of their teams are in the playoffs is amazing. But the award can only go to one of them and my pick for the 2012 Rookie of the Year award goes to Russell Wilson of the Seahawks. For me it was a tough decision between him and RG III. Wilson is surely the underdog in this race, but I think he deserves the award over Luck and RGIII because of where he was drafted and the numbers he has put up. He had more touchdowns than both Luck and RGIII and still only managed 10 interceptions throughout the year. Plus his completion percentage is only 1.5 points below RGIII, which is astonishing.

Without the lone tie-game of the season, the Seahawks might have taken the NFC West from the 49ers and earned a first round bye. Wilson and RGIII are meeting up in the Wild Card round of the playoffs in what could be a great game with two great quarterbacks. Taking nothing away from Luck or RGIII but we all knew what to expect from them being the first and second picks in the draft but Wilson had to earn his starting spot in training camp and he proved that the decision to start him was the best move the Seahawks could have made all season.