Three days removed from securing his first career interception, Rams safety Taylor Rapp has earned recognition as one of the NFL's top performing rookies through Week 13.
Both NFL.com and scouting service Pro Football Focus (PFF) listed him as such on Wednesday, with the former University of Washington standout checking in at No. 21 in NFL media analyst Daniel Jeremiah's latest rankings and No. 8 in PFF's highest-graded rookies for this week.
Jeremiah's update was his first since the middle of the season, and that edition did not include Rapp. PFF's weekly version ranked him No. 9 in Week 2 but had not included him since.
"Rapp is an outstanding tackler and he's started to emerge as a playmaker in the Rams' secondary," Jeremiah wrote. "He was always around the ball in college and as he gets more comfortable, we're starting to see the same from him at this level."
Rapp reached the career milestone via a pick-six off of Cardinals QB Kyler Murray in the third quarter of Sunday's game, jumping in front of a pass intended for Larry Fitzgerald. The third time was the charm for him after two missed opportunities earlier in the contest, including a drop with six minutes left in the second quarter and an interception less than 90 seconds in the third quarter that was wiped out after Arizona successfully challenged for pass interference against L.A.'s defense.
According to PFF, he has posted the fifth-highest overall grade (82.5) among qualify safeties since earning a starting role in Week 7.
