Rookies of the Month-Running back DAVID JOHNSON of the Arizona Cardinals and cornerback MARCUS PETERS of the Kansas City Chiefs are the NFL Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Month for December (December 3-January 3), the NFL announced today.OFFENSE: RB DAVID JOHNSON, ARIZONA CARDINALS· Johnson, a third-round selection (No. 86 overall) from Northern Iowa, led all NFL players during the month with 658 scrimmage yards and averaged 131.6 scrimmage yards per game.· He started all five games during the month – the first five starts of his career – and rushed for 442 yards and four touchdowns. He added 17 receptions for 216 yards and a touchdown.· Johnson was the only NFL player with at least 400 rushing yards and 200 receiving yards during the month.· He led all rookies during the month in rushing yards (442) and total touchdowns (five).· He recorded at least 120 scrimmage yards in four of the five games during the month, including a career-high 229 yards in Week 15 at Philadelphia. In that contest, Johnson rushed for 187 yards with three touchdowns and had four receptions for 42 yards. He joined Pro Football Hall of Famer JIM BROWN as the only players in NFL history to rush for at least 185 yards and three touchdowns against the Eagles.· This season, Johnson totaled 1,636 all-purpose yards and scored 13 touchdowns, the most by a rookie in franchise history.· Johnson had eight rushing touchdowns, four receiving touchdowns and a kickoff-return touchdown. The only other rookie in NFL history to accomplish the feat is Pro Football Hall of Famer GALE SAYERS (1965).· Johnson is the third Cardinals player to be named Offensive Rookie of the Month, joining wide receiver ANQUAN BOLDIN (September, November 2003) and quarterback JAKE PLUMMER(November 1997). Johnson is the first Cardinals running back to be named Rookie of the Month and first Cardinal to earn rookie monthly honors since safety TYRANN MATHIEU in 2013 (October, Defense).
DEFENSE: CB MARCUS PETERS, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS· Peters, a first-round selection (No. 18 overall) out of Washington, led all NFL players with four interceptions and 10 passes defensed during the month to go along with 16 tackles and one forced fumble.· He started all five of the team’s games and helped the Chiefs to a 5-0 record.· Peters had a career-best two interceptions, including a 93-yard touchdown return, in the Chiefs’ 34-14 win at Baltimore in Week 15.· He also posted an interception in Kansas City’s wins at Oakland (Week 13) and against Cleveland (Week 16).· Peters tied for first in the NFL among all players this season with eight interceptions and also tied for the league lead with a franchise-best 26 passes defensed.· He led the league with a club-record 280 interception-return yards, which is the third-most ever by an NFL rookie and trails only DON DOLL (301 yards in 1949) and Pro Football Hall of Famer DICK “NIGHT TRAIN” LANE (298 in 1952).· He joins ERIC BERRY (December 2010) as the only Chiefs to win an NFL Rookie of the Month Award.
2015 NFL ROOKIES OF THE MONTH
- Baltimore running back JAVORIUS ALLEN (fourth round, Southern California), who started all five games and had 428 scrimmage yards (210 rushing, 218 receiving) and two total touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving).
- St. Louis running back TODD GURLEY (first round, Georgia), who rushed for 312 yards and four touchdowns.
- Seattle wide receiver TYLER LOCKETT (third round, Kansas State), who had 759 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns.
- Tampa Bay quarterback JAMEIS WINSTON (first round, Florida State), who started all five games and passed for 1,392 yards and six touchdowns. He also rushed for two touchdowns.
Other nominees for the December NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month Award as submitted by NFL clubs:
- Atlanta defensive end VIC BEASLEY JR. (first round, Clemson), who had two sacks, a forced fumble and six tackles.
- New England defensive tackle MALCOM BROWN (first round, Texas), who started all five games and had 17 tackles and two fumble recoveries.
- Cleveland linebacker NATE ORCHARD (second round, Utah), who started four of five games and had 10 tackles, three sacks, one interception and two passes defensed.
- Washington linebacker PRESTON SMITH (second round, Mississippi State), who led all rookies with five sacks and had 11 tackles and a forced fumble.
