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As the regular season comes to a close, numerous teams around the NFL are thankful for the contributions from this year's draft class. In what was considered another deep group of rookies, no one should be surprised that several first-year players rose to the occasion and became instant-impact performers.

The draft is the lifeblood of the league, as a good class or two can completely turn around a team's trajectory.

For example, the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers both owned top-five picks in 2015's draft. With smart selections, each built their roster to the point where it was far more competitive this year, even making the playoffs a possibility. A postseason berth wasn't attainable for either team in the end, but both franchises can be excited about their futures due to smart drafting.

This year, 72 different rookies who played 100 or more snaps received a positive grade from Pro Football Focus through 16 weeks of play.

It all started with the very first pick. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Jameis Winston No. 1 overall, and he lived up to the billing as the draft class' most impressive player.

Click through the slideshow to find out who else made Bleacher Report's 2015 NFL All-Rookie Team, as voted on by eight writers—Gary Davenport, Mike Freeman, Brad Gagnon, Matt Miller, Ty Schalter, Mike Tanier, Sean Tomlinson and yours truly.