Updates

Fans can vote directly on Twitter through January 25, 2021. To vote, fans should tweet the first and last name of the player or the player’s official Twitter handle. The Tweets must include the hashtag, #PepsiROY. Fans can also use the online ballot available throughout the entire voting period.

The winner will be recognized and the trophy will be presented virtually from Tampa Bay during Super Bowl LV festivities and online here.

The five finalists were selected for their outstanding performances through the 2020 NFL season. Each week, five nominees were chosen for the Pepsi Zero Sugar NFL Rookie of the Week and fans voted for the winner on NFL.com. Those results were used to help determine the finalists.

Below is a closer look at the finalists:

• Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert
  Herbert threw for the most touchdown passes (31), most completions (396) and second-most passing yards (4,336) by a rookie quarterback in NFL history. He recorded eight games with at least 300 passing yards, tied for the third-most in the league this season, and surpassed Andrew Luck for the most 300-yard passing games by a rookie quarterback in NFL history (six games in 2012). Herbert, who also had five rushing touchdowns, surpassed Cam Newton (35 touchdowns — 21 passing and 14 rushing — in 2011) for the most combined passing and rushing touchdowns by a rookie quarterback in NFL history.
  
  
• Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson
  Jefferson, a 2021 Pro Bowl selection, led all rookies and ranked fourth in the NFL with 1,400 receiving yards, a total that surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss (1,313 receiving yards in 1998) for the most in Vikings franchise history and Anquan Boldin (1,377 receiving yards in 2003) for the most by a rookie wide receiver in the Super Bowl era. Jefferson became the fourth rookie with at least seven games of 100-or-more receiving yards in NFL history, joining Bill Groman (nine games in 1960), Odell Beckham Jr. (seven games in 2014) and Harlon Hill (seven games in 1954). He also led all rookies with 88 receptions and tied for second among rookies with seven touchdown receptions this season.
  
  
• Jacksonville Jaguars running back James Robinson
  Robinson ranked second among rookies with 1,414 scrimmage yards (1,070 rushing, 344 receiving), the most by an undrafted rookie in the common-draft era and became the fourth undrafted rookie with at least 1,000 rushing yards since 1967. He had 10 touchdowns (seven rushing, three receiving) in 2020 and is the third undrafted rookie with 10 touchdowns in the common-draft era, joining Phillip Lindsay (2018) and Dominic Rhodes (2001). Robinson had seven games with at least 100 scrimmage yards this season, tied with Clark Gaines (1976) for the most such games by an undrafted rookie since 1967.

• Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor
  Taylor led all rookies and ranked third in the NFL with 1,169 rushing yards while his 1,468 scrimmage yards were the sixth-most in the league this season. He led all rookies with 12 touchdowns (11 rushing, one receiving) and joined Pro Football Hall of Famers Marshall Faulk (1994) and Edgerrin James (1999) as the only Colts rookies with at least 10 touchdowns since 1990. Taylor rushed for 253 yards in Week 17, tied with DeMarco Murray (253 rushing yards on October 23, 2011) for the second-most rushing yards by a rookie in a single game in NFL history.
  
  
• Washington Football Team defensive end Chase Young
  Young, a 2021 Pro Bowl selection, led all rookies in sacks (7.5) and tackles for loss (10), and was the only player in the NFL this season with at least four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. In Washington’s final seven games (Weeks 11-17), Young totaled four sacks, four passes defensed, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and one touchdown as the team went 5-2 down the stretch to earn their first division title since 2015.