Carlson not on ESPN's Top Rookie List

by: Mike Parker

ESPN's Kevin Seifert has compiled a list of eight rookies on a fast track to NFL success, and guess what? Your favorite Seahawks tight end isn't included.

Really, I'm not surprised by any of this anymore, but even ESPN has to wake up and give credit where it's due. John Carlson has been a strong pillar of an otherwise completely unproven passing game for the past three weeks, and, despite the fact that he has yet to see the end zone, he leads the teams in receptions so far. (And with Engram and Branch coming back, I'm not expecting those numbers to hold up.) Carlson's also proven himself to be a great blocker and has been very quick to pick up one of the most complicated offenses in football. How can you ignore this?

I'm not demanding that he be put at the top of the list here, as other rookies like Matt Forte and DeSean Jackson have undeniably made an impact on their respective teams--and probably bigger ones than Carlson, to be fair--but Carlson has kept the Seahawks' offense moving in situations where it would've otherwise fallen flat on its face. Developing a chemistry with Hasselbeck this quickly is something of which you've got to take notice.

And to be fair, Sando did interject a nice bit about LoJack exceeding expectations in the NFC West portion of this column. But no mention by anyone of Carlson at all? I'm half-tempted to say Carlson should headbutt Tony Siragusa on the sidelines on Sunday just for the attention.

But as a member of the Seahawks, he's doing a great job of keeping with tradition and staying under the radar. -END-

[UPDATE: Mike Sando has written a response to Parker, which you can find here. -Ed.]