The NFL will see some incredible talent coming out of this year’s college draft class, but which one has the opportunity to rise above the rest and take home the Defensive Rookie of the Year award?

Your first year in the NFL can be quite a daunting task, making the move from college football to the professional game where you’re no longer the big man on campus. It’s back to being the youngster once again, but if you’re able to make the step up, there’s always the chance that you can make an impact on the league straight away and even come away with some silverware.

Last year’s Defensive Rookie of the Year was arguably one of the easier decisions that the league will ever have to make, as New York Jets cornerback Ahmad ‘Sauce’ Gardner took home the trophy after an incredible year in which he established himself as one of the best corners in the game, not just among the rookie class.

But who are the contenders to take home that award this year? We’ve looked at this year’s draft class and what they were able to do in college to determine our top five contenders, and here they are:

5 Brian Branch - Safety, Detroit Lions

When in doubt, always lean towards Alabama defenders, and Branch was someone who could do it all with the Crimson Tide, with 111 tackles during his college carrer, with 14 of them coming for loss last season alone, you need to watch out for him creeping up to the line in the run game, and in the passing game, 23 pass deflections and 3 interceptions tell you that you don’t want to put the ball in his direction.

Given how bad the Detroit Lions’ defense was last year, they certainly need him on board and if he can be the spark to help turn the team around, expect a lot of attention to go his way come the end of the season.

4 Joey Porter Jr. - Corner, Pittsburgh Steelers

Technically he is a first-round talent as he was taken at 32, it’s just that the Miami Dolphins had their first round pick taken away. Doesn’t bring you a lot of ‘splash’ in terms of interceptions, but will be a very effective shutdown corner in a division that has a lot off wide receivers that can cause trouble.

Add to the fact the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defensive line might force a number of quarterbacks into mistakes and errand throws for him to make plays on, and you have someone who could really put himself front and centre for this award.

3 Christian Gonzalez - Corner, New England Patriots

Much like Joey Porter Jr, Christian Gonzalez is going to have a lot of work to do in the AFC as he has to put up with Aaron Rodgers, Josh Allen and Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback and a ton of receivers including Tyreek Hill, Stefon Diggs, Garrett Wilson and Jalen Waddle to name a few.

His long frame, impressive speed and physicality though will certainly make for some interesting matchups against those men and he will undoubtedly win a few of those battles that will see him end up playing a big role in helping to turn the New England Patriots around.

2 Jalen Carter - Defensive Tackle, Philadelphia Eagles

Arguably the best player coming out of the draft process full-stop, but slid down the draft board as a result of his off-field issues, but landed himself in the best situation he could with the Philadelphia Eagles. On a line with someone like Jordan Davis, it is going to be near-impossible to scheme around stopping both of these men and Carter will be able to feast on opposing running backs and quarterbacks like there’s no tomorrow.

1 Will Anderson Jr. - Edge Rusher, Houston Texans

I personally felt that Will Anderson Jr. was the best defender in this draft and would have gone #1 if the Chicago Bears hadn’t traded out of that spot. We’ve seen in recent years how easy it is for edge rushers/defensive ends to make an instant impact, look at Micah Parsons, Nick Bosa, Aidan Hutchinson and Myles Garrett to name a few over the years.

And with Anderson Jr.s incredible frame and motor, he is going to be a menace coming off the edge and will be giving opposing tackles nightmares just thinking about having to come up against him.