New England Patriots: Deatrich Wise in the hunt for Rookie of the Year

Pro Football Focus has their Rookie of the Year rankings based on their grades. Where does New England Patriots rookie Deatrich Wise rank?

Through three weeks of the season, there have been a lot of good rookie performances around the NFL. One of the top rookies so far has been Deatrich Wise of the New England Patriots.

After being taken in the fourth round by the Patriots, Wise has been forced into a much larger role than originally thought. With Rob Ninkovich retiring and fellow rookie Derek Rivers being out the season, it has been Wise who has stepped up.

Through three games, Wise has totaled two sacks already this season, as he has shown a great ability to get to the quarterback.

As the Rookie of the Year race shapes up, Pro Football Focus has the rookies rated in order based on their player grade. For Wise, he comes in sixth currently with a nice grade of 84.2. Here’s what PFF had to say about Wise.

"Elite Stat: Wise ranks third among edge defenders with an 18.3 pass-rush productivity rating.Wise ranks ninth among edge defenders with his 84.7 pass rushing grade and his 13 total pressures are the 14th-most among his peers. Wise is just one of five players to have at least eight quarterback knockdowns (sacks combined with hits) this season, putting him in a group with DeMarcus Lawrence, Calais Campbell, Melvin Ingram and Von Miller."

As you can see, Wise is in some elite company among edge rushers so far this season. Being mentioned in the same sentence with Melvin Ingram and Von Miller is certainly a good thing, as they are two of the best edge defenders in the NFL.

While Wise is off to a great start, he does have some work cut out for him in the Rookie of the Year race. Kareem Hunt of the Kansas City Chiefs is off to a fantastic start to his rookie season, and he has sparked the Chiefs so far this season.

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With over 400 rushing yards and 100 receiving yards in just three games, Hunt has really separated himself from the rest of the rookies. With a lot of games still to be played, Wise can certainly make up the ground in the Rookie of the Year race. However, he will have to hope that Hunt slows down.