Right tackle Joe Alt was given the biggest test imaginable in his first career game in the NFL after being drafted fifth overall by the LA Chargers. Alt was tasked with facing one of the best edge rushers in the entire sport, Maxx Crosby, as the Chargers opened the season against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Even in snaps where Alt did not have direct one-on-one reps against Crosby, he and the Chargers' offensive line had to deal with a tenacious Raiders pass rush that is among the best in the sport. And while it was not perfect, the Chargers more than held up.
Alt, however, was perfect in his reps against the All-Pro edge. Crosby could not generate a single pressure in the 11 one-on-one pass-rushing snaps against Alt in Week 1. This is the first time Alt has been shut out in an individual matchup since Week 9 of the 2022 season.
One would assume that in a week where the rookie quarterbacks struggled that Alt would walk away with the NFL's Rookie of the Week award. However, in classic quarterback-bias fashion, Alt was snubbed from winning the award in favor of Washington Commanders' quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Joe Alt's elite Chargers debut means nothing for Rookie of the Week
It does not matter how great an offensive lineman plays, they are never going to get the recognition that a skill position player gets. Chargers fans know this firsthand from Rashawn Slater's rookie season.
If Daniels turned in an elite showing and led the Commanders to victory it would be one thing. Heck, even a half-decent performance in a win would at least make some sense considering the quarterback position is the most important in the league. It would have at least been easier for Alt and Chargers fans to swallow that way.
Instead, Daniels won the award after a mediocre NFL debut where the Commanders were absolutely spanked by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That game was never even close and most of Daniels' numbers came in garbage time.
Daniels completed 17 of 24 passes for 184 yards with no touchdowns. He did add 88 rushing yards on 16 carries for two touchdowns. Five of those completions and one of Daniels' rushing touchdowns came on the last drive of the game late in the fourth quarter when the Commanders were down 37-14. Heading into that garbage-time drive, Daniels had 12 completions for 129 yards with one rushing touchdown.
Alas, Daniels won the award not because he was the best rookie of Week 1 (that would be Alt, who literally locked down one of the best edge rushers in the world in his NFL debut), but because he had the best numbers among the rookie quarterbacks from the 2024 NFL Draft.
Unfortunately, this will not change as the season goes along. Alt will probably be snubbed again in the future.