NEW YORK – Heading into Week 17 in the NFL, it’s time to give serious thought to who may be voted the AP NFL Offensive Rookie-of-the-Year for 2008.

Last year’s voting was cut and dry with Minnesota Viking Adrian Peterson running away with the honors but this year’s rookie crop is overflowing with a smorgasbord of talent.

Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan is drawing a lot of attention but there are some AP voters also keeping a close eye on Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco.

Both quarterbacks have started their NFL careers at a phenomenal winning pace, going 10-5.

The running back position is also stacked. Three rookies have already joined this year’s 1000-yard club.

Chris Johnson Titans (1,228 yds) , Steve Slaton Texans (1,190 yds) and Matt Forte Bears (1,115 yds) all deserve to be considered. In addition to leading the Bears in rushing yards, Forte also leads his team in receptions with 58 for 424 yards.

Another rookie offensive showcase can be found in the Rocky Mountains. In the first NFL game of his career, WR Eddie Royal of the Broncos came out of the gate with a vengeance, taking former Pro Bowler DB DeAngelo Hall to school much of the game.

Royal finished his inaugural game with 9 catches for 146 yards; a 16.2 yd. average. Royal’s stats have been steady since totaling 80 receptions for 904 yards.

Voting for the NFL Offensive Rookie-of-the-Year will be a difficult task for the AP voters this season and it’s hard to predict who will be crowned the king of this year’s collection of rookies.

If I had to vote today, I would choose one of the quarterbacks since it is the hardest position to step into and the hardest to master.

So Matt Ryan is my choice because his QB rating is higher and some other important stats like his TD to INT ratio is better than Flacco’s.

Go vote on our Sports Climax poll located on our homepage. The ballot contains all 6 of these star players and last time I looked, there was a three-way tie for first.

It will be interesting to see how you sport junkies will stack up against the final tally of the Associated Press.

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