There’s no question the Denver Broncos have received a monumental contribution from their 2018 rookie class. And there was no guarantee Denver would receive the type of help from it’s rookies that it has.

Think about the lackluster 2017 class. Or even 2016. If the Broncos received the same sort of contribution from their 2018 rookies, we wouldn’t be talking about a 3-4 team.

We’d be talking about a 1-6 team — maybe 2-5 at best. That might not seem like a huge departure from the three wins on the board now, but that's on the coaches and vets for not capitalizing better on how well the rookies have played.

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In Denver, we’re seeing just how big of an impact a strong rookie class can have on the immediate fortunes of a team. Look at the 2017 New Orleans Saints, for example. With rookie draft picks like CB Marshon Lattimore, OT Ryan Ramczyk and phenom RB Alvin Kamara, the Saints were able to jump from 7-9 the year before to 11-5 and AFC South Champs.

Will the Broncos ultimately benefit in the standings the same way the Saints did? It’s too soon to tell, but there’s no question Denver’s rookies have been the difference-makers throughout this young season.

With almost half the season in the books, the Broncos enter a mini-bye of sorts. With 10 days between Thursday night’s resounding victory over Arizona to Week 8’s coming road trip to Arrowhead, the Broncos will get an opportunity to lick their wounds, and ‘reload’, as QB Case Keenum said.

As a kind of progress report, or stock report, I’m going to grade the individual contribution of Denver’s rookie class thus far. We’ll go from the worst to the best-graded. Who's been Denver's best rookie? You might be surprised.