As Week 6 comes to a close it’s official, the season is just getting more entertaining by the week. A week filled with near-upsets, big road victories and plenty of fans cheering for all the wrong reasons. But it was another fantastic week for this year’s rookie class and plenty of change is happening in this week’s top ten rookie rankings.

10. DeAndre Hopkins Wide Receiver, Houston Texans

After a fantastic start to begin the season highlighted by a 100-yard performance against the Titans in Week 2, Hopkins is sliding down the rookie rankings. There was some thought that maybe a quarterback change could turn things around but now we know this is just a bad situation.

This was the game where we hoped Hopkins would get back on track against a Rams defense that is 18th in yards and would be without Cortland Finnegan. Instead it was another disappointing performance and even after Matt Schaub left with an injury, it was clear early on that T.J. Yates is not an upgrade at quarterback. Hopkins was targeted just five games in the blowout loss to the Rams, hauling in just three receptions for 47 yards. While he doubled his yardage total from last week it still marked the third straight week he failed to crack the 50-yard mark. To make matters worse on one of his receptions when Houston was driving down the field, Hopkins coughed the ball up and the Rams recovered costing the Texans a big shot at putting some points on the board. Hopkins has plenty of talent to work with and has opened some things up for this offense starting opposite of Andre Johnson but there just isn’t a quarterback on this roster who can get him the football consistently.

9. Kenny Vaccaro Free Safety, New Orleans Saints

While the Saints chance at perfection may have come to an end this week against Tom Brady and the Patriots, Vaccaro made sure he had an impact on this game and kept his name amongst the discussion for best rookies this season.

Many of Vaccaro’s efforts won’t show up on the box score but he still found a way to put some numbers next to his name. He picked up six tackles on the day, marking the fifth time this season he has had five or more tackles. But on Brady’s game-winning drive Vaccaro did everything he could to keep the Patriots from winning the game. He delivered a big hit on Julian Edelman when it appeared Edelman caught the ball at the one-yard line and was ready to roll in, Vaccaro came screaming in and popped the ball out. The big hit forced the incompletion and Patriots into a fourth and four, but we all know how that ended. Vaccaro even added a quote after the game saying the “undefeated monkey is off our back, so we can just go out and play ball”. With the monkey now off his back, I am very excited to see what Vaccaro has in store for after the Saints bye this week.

8. Keenan Allen Wide Receiver, San Diego Chargers

Months before the 2013 NFL Draft took place many considered Allen to be the best wide receiver prospect and a lock to be a top-20 selection. But poor quarterback play, injuries and a failed drug test pushed his stock all the way down to the third round.

Now as we are over a month into the regular season not only has Allen rebounded from all of the questions, he has shined and outperformed every rookie wide receiver drafted ahead of him. It took a few weeks for Allen to really get things going, he caught three receptions for 34 yards in his first game against the Eagles but followed that up with a one catch performance against the Titans. But in the past two games Allen has been sensational and that continued into Monday night’s game against the Colts. Allen was the leading receiver for San Diego again this week hauling in nine receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown. It was a fantastic performance for Allen and he has now posted three straight games with six or more receptions and 80 or more receiving yards. Philip Rivers has had a turnaround season and some of that credit has to go to the rookie wide receiver. Allen is showing everyone why he was so highly regarded early last season coming out of California and why speed isn’t everything.

7. Eddie Lacy Running Back, Green Bay Packers

When watching the Packers last season it was evident they lacked an identity in the running game. They made sure to address that need in the draft by drafting two running backs, with the hope that one of them could step up and give a nice punch to their attack.

It appears as if Green Bay has found its punch in the running game thanks to Lacy and against a tough Ravens defense, we saw just what he is capable of. Going against a Ravens defense that was eighth against the run, Lacy powered through some big runs especially on his first two carries of the game. Lacy picked up 10 yards on his first carry then followed that up with a 37-yard rumble along the sidelines before he was dragged down. Green Bay strangely started to shy away from the running game but found their way back to pounding the ball up the middle in the second half. Lacy made the Ravens defense pay as he carried the ball 23 times for 120 yards on the day. His big runs helped set up Green Bay’s biggest play of the game, a 64-yard touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson that made the safety bite because of the play action. It marked the second straight week Lacy received 23 carries and after falling one yard short of 100 last week, he picked up the first 100-yard game of his career. While Green Bay is dealing with plenty of injuries, Lacy now gives them a real threat to pound the football and close games in the fourth quarter.

6. Kyle Long Offensive Guard, Chicago Bears

Another week and another fine performance from Long but his biggest impact may have come from the broadcasters showing highlights of the big lineman playing in high school. Even while being overshadowed by that, Long still managed to have a good game on Thursday.

While the Bears never really seemed to open things up against the Giants, it had a lot to do with conservative play calling and not the rookie guard struggling. There has not been a better rookie offensive linemen this year as Long has outplayed everyone including first overall pick Eric Fisher, second overall pick Luke Joeckel and fourth overall pick Lane Johnson. As the Bears continue their rise to 4-2 on the season plenty of credit has to be given to the right side of their offensive line where they have really focused a lot of their runs and some great protection for Jay Cutler has come from. While Long falls down this list because of some outstanding play by other rookies, he has still been one of the most impactful rookies this season and a great draft day value for the Bears.

5. Tyrann Mathieu Free Safety, Arizona Cardinals

While Mathieu takes a slide down this list, he remains one of the most impressive rookies this season. In a division battle against the 49ers on the road, Mathieu did all he could to try and pull off the upset victory but the Cardinals fell short in the end.

There were times in this game where Mathieu was exposed as a rookie and for his immaturity and maybe no example bigger than what happened in the end zone. After Kendall Hunter ran in for the six-yard touchdown, Mathieu grabbed him and threw him down to the ground showing a lack of maturity. It was certainly disappointing to see at the end of a game where he was playing well, but a moment where the rookie let his emotions get the best of him. Mathieu still had a solid day especially against the run where he blew up two plays in the backfield. He did struggle in coverage at times but he showed flashes again including a big pass deflection during the game. Mathieu could have walked away with a solid effort in a losing effort but the immaturity at the end will be a lasting image from this game.

4. Sheldon Richardson Defensive Tackle, New York Jets

While Geno Smith may fall out of the rankings as his inconsistency from game to game continues, Richardson just continues to play well and make his case as to why he should be defensive rookie of the year.

Some will say that Richardson has just taken advantage of the surrounding talent around him like Muhammad Wilkerson but that is a slight to Richardson and the tremendous ability he has. Everyone knew how talented Richardson was before the draft but he fell because of inconsistency and that he was a bit of a work in progress. But he has shown more consistency this season and again made his presence felt this week against the Steelers. He finished the day with five solo tackles including one for a loss but also brought serious pressure on Ben Roethlisberger. This was a low-scoring game and was all about field goals until Roethlisberger hit Emmanuel Sanders deep on a blown coverage that resulted in a 55-yard touchdown. But for the rest of the game the Steelers offense was held in check, as it was the Jets defense that ultimately cost them in this game. Richardson is off to an excellent start to begin the year and while he is a little behind in the defensive rookie of the year chase, there is plenty of time for him to catch up.

3. Giovani Bernard Running Back, Cincinnati Bengals

Bernard saw more opportunities this week and while he still has to split carries with BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Bernard received 21 touches in the game and while he struggled on the ground, he more than made up for it as a receiver.

Green-Ellis again led the Bengals in carries and rushing yards as he ran the ball 18 times for 88 yards. Bernard really struggled to find any open running lanes as it seemed the Bills made a key point to keep the rookie running back from busting any big plays. Unfortunately for the Bills, they didn’t account for Bernard’s skills as a receiver where he sliced and diced their defense up including on a beautiful 20-yard catch and run that resulted in a touchdown. While Bernard managed just 28 rushing yards on 15 carries his big plays in the passing game led to six receptions for 72 yards and a touchdown. But the highlight of the day was the touchdown reception when he made nearly every Bills defender miss with moves in the open field and resulted in the score. Bernard is the early favorite to be offensive rookie of the year and his production will only grow from here.

2. Eric Reid Free Safety, San Francisco 49ers

The battle for supremacy amongst the rookie safety class gave us an excellent head-to-head matchup on Sunday when the Cardinals took on the 49ers. While we saw some big plays from both players the clear winner from this game was Reid.

Not only has Reid become the top rookie safety this year, he is now making a serious case for a Pro Bowl bid. Reid only had three tackles in this game but his impact goes far beyond that. He picked up his third interception of the season in a close game when Arizona was starting to move the ball down the field. Hen then showed some nice moves and speed returning it 53 yards to set up a 49ers score. Reid also picked up a big fumble, and was exceptional in coverage all game long as the trend continues on this season. It’s unbelievable to think Reid is just rookie and has even more room to grow and prosper this season and in the future.

1. Kiko Alonso, Middle Linebacker, Buffalo Bills

At this point there is zero debate about who has been the best rookie this season, Alonso is your rookie of the year through six games and his performance continued on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.

While it was another week without causing a turnover for Alonso he made his presence felt by just flying to the football. He was a tackling machine against Cincinnati racking up 22 total tackles, nine of which were solo tackles and another big stuff in the backfield. Alonso has been a monster this season in a variety of ways; bringing pressure on the quarterback with inside blitzes, forcing turnovers and punishing the ball-carrier. If you haven’t had the chance to watch this year’s clear favorite for rookie of the year, he is a must watch every Sunday.