- Vernon Broughton has an immediate opportunity: Bryan Bresee's season-ending ACL injury could open a meaningful role for Broughton after a hip injury limited the 2025 third-round pick to 24 rookie snaps.
- Jalen Milroe enters a key developmental year: Milroe saw minimal action behind Sam Darnold as a rookie after posting a 42.8 PFF passing grade during his first NFL preseason.
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Some top draft picks didn’t get to feature as much as they would have liked in their rookie seasons. In some cases, that was due to injury. Others found themselves stuck behind established NFL stars, proving that the “best player available” philosophy is alive and well across the league.
This article takes a look at players drafted in the first three rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft who played fewer than 100 snaps during their rookie seasons.
Eight of these nine players were selected in the third round, and all, of course, remain with the organization that drafted them just 15 months ago.
DI Vernon Broughton, New Orleans Saints
Broughton takes up the first spot on this list due to the recent news that Saints defensive tackle Bryan Bresee tore his ACL in training camp and will miss the entirety of the 2026 season.
Drafted 71st overall in 2025, Broughton entered the league with legitimate expectations of contributing as part of the defensive line rotation before a season-ending hip injury in Week 2 cut his rookie campaign short after just 24 snaps.
The former Longhorn has competed at the highest level of college football for several years and is already 25 years old. While some rust is to be expected after such a lengthy absence, the Saints will hope he can step straight into a meaningful role. First, though, he has to prove he belongs this August.
RB Kaleb Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers
Johnson generated legitimate late first-round buzz out of Iowa during the pre-draft process before ultimately falling to the Steelers with the 83rd overall pick.
A costly mistake on a kickoff return in his second career game — when he allowed the ball to settle in the end zone and gift the Seahawks a touchdown — derailed any early momentum and he never managed to carve out a larger role during his rookie season afterward.
Johnson played just 51 offensive snaps, earning a 40.2 overall PFF grade. He averaged only 2.6 yards per carry while picking up just two first downs on his 29 rushing attempts. He also dropped one of his two targets in the passing game and was beaten on all reps in pass protection.
Steelers fans will rightly argue that such a small sample size is nowhere near enough to judge Johnson’s talent. He does, however, remain in a crowded backfield that became even deeper after the addition of Navy’s Eli Heidenreich in this year’s draft, paired with the free-agent acquisition of Rico Dowdle.
QB Jalen Milroe, Seattle Seahawks
Milroe unsurprisingly played the fewest snaps of any top-100 offensive draft pick, spending his rookie season behind Sam Darnold as Seattle went on to win the Super Bowl in his first season.
The dual-threat quarterback left something to be desired last preseason, posting a 42.8 PFF passing grade without recording a single big-time throw despite an aggressive 10.1-yard average depth of target. He also held onto the ball for an average of 3.3 seconds.
One area where nobody questions Milroe’s ability is as a runner, although there is room for improvement here, as well. He rushed for 104 yards last preseason but lost two fumbles in the process.
Milroe should look to Malik Willis as a blueprint for how his career could develop. Willis has now earned a starting opportunity in Miami after spending several years proving himself as one of the league’s most reliable backup quarterbacks.
WR Tai Felton, Minnesota Vikings
Felton was drafted 102nd overall by the Vikings but played just 46 offensive snaps as a rookie, instead becoming a key special teams contributor with 293 snaps, the fourth-most on the team.
After the free-agent addition of Jauan Jennings, Felton is still likely to begin the season as Minnesota’s fourth receiver. However, he has already begun turning heads in training camp, taking first-team reps and hauling in plenty of passes from J.J. McCarthy.
Felton’s 4.37-second 40-yard dash speed should add an explosive element to a Vikings passing attack that desperately needs it after producing just 28 explosive passing plays from Week 11 onward last season, the fewest of any team not named the Jets.
WR Savion Williams, Green Bay Packers
Williams was drafted 87th overall as a do-it-all offensive weapon with rare athletic ability. The 6-foot-5 receiver lined up out wide, in the slot, in the backfield and even took snaps as a Wildcat quarterback over the course of his rookie season.
A nagging foot injury, combined with Green Bay’s depth at receiver, limited Williams to just 91 offensive snaps during his rookie season, although he did get great exposure to numerous roles within the offense.
With Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks both gone elsewhere, a larger role should be available for Williams if he’s able to prove himself during the preseason.
T Charles Grant, Las Vegas Raiders
The 99th overall pick played just 59 offensive snaps as a rookie, with nearly all of them coming after the Raiders’ season was effectively over. Even so, Grant impressed in limited action, earning a 77.7 PFF pass-blocking grade while allowing just one pressure across 26 pass-blocking snaps.
Grant entered the league from FCS William & Mary, so this preseason should provide a much better indication of how comfortably he has adjusted to NFL competition.
The Raiders hope Grant can become a long-term answer at one of the tackle spots protecting quarterback Fernando Mendoza. However, he has played almost exclusively at left tackle, where franchise stalwart Kolton Miller currently remains entrenched.
LB Nickolas Martin, San Francisco 49ers
The 75th overall pick played just 15 defensive snaps before suffering a season-ending concussion in Week 13. He also logged 76 snaps on special teams.
At 5-foot-11 and 220 pounds, Martin is undersized even by modern NFL linebacker standards. He makes up for some of that with 4.53 speed and outstanding explosiveness, but his size will always leave him fighting an uphill battle, particularly on a roster featuring Fred Warner, who rarely comes off the field.
Martin will be competing for the SAM role within Raheem Morris’ defense. However, the 49ers played base personnel on just 20.2% of snaps last season, the fifth-fewest in the league. Morris has already spoken in glowing terms about Martin’s potential.
ED Landon Jackson, Buffalo Bills
Jackson was one of the SEC’s top edge defenders during his time at Arkansas, earning first-team All-SEC honors in each of his last two years. From 2022 through 2024, only four SEC defenders recorded more sacks than Jackson.
His rookie season in Buffalo never really got off the ground. Jackson did not make his debut until Week 5, played only 30 snaps over the following month and then suffered a season-ending torn MCL in Week 10.
He has since added significant muscle and returned to training camp looking noticeably bigger than he did as a rookie, and Bills fans are optimistic that Jackson can show his talent this August before emerging into a rotational role.
CB Jaylin Smith, Houston Texans
The 97th overall pick finds himself buried behind one of the NFL’s strongest cornerback groups, with Derek Stingley Jr., Kamari Lassiter and nickel corner Jalen Pitre all ahead of him.
Smith played just 32 defensive snaps before a hamstring injury ended his rookie season. He spent his first three years at USC primarily in the slot before moving outside during his final season, and he continued playing on the perimeter during last year’s preseason. Across those 70 preseason snaps, he posted an impressive 85.9 PFF run-defense grade.
DeMeco Ryans has the versatility to deploy Smith wherever he sees fit, but unless injuries strike the Texans secondary, meaningful opportunities may be hard to come by for the 22-year-old.
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