- Jacob Parrish is making plays in the Buccaneers' secondary: His 89.7 PFF overall grade in Week 4 ranked fifth among cornerbacks, powered by his first NFL interception.
- Eagles linebacker Jihaad Campbell is becoming an all-around weapon: From pass rushing to coverage to run defense, Campbell is proving capable of doing it all for Philadelphia in his rookie campaign.
- Unlock your edge with PFF+: Access Premium Stats, dominate fantasy with in-season tools and projections and make smarter bets with the new PFF Player Prop Tool.
Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes
We're diving into the top rookies by PFF overall grade through Week 4 of the 2025 NFL season. To qualify, players needed to have logged at least 50 snaps.
1. TE Jackson Hawes, Buffalo Bills (90.0)
Hawes recorded his fourth straight single-target, single-catch game, this time a 15-yard gain off a flat route midway through the third quarter against the Saints. Hawes, however, struggled in run blocking for the second straight week, finishing with a 51.5 PFF run-blocking grade. Most of his run-blocking snaps came in gap schemes (10), where he produced five negatively graded plays. Hawes finished with six negative plays total as a blocker, his most in a game so far this season.
Hawes still owns an 89.7 PFF receiving grade entering October, and despite his down game against New Orleans, he is tied for ninth at the position in PFF pass-blocking grade (78.1) and ranks 10th in PFF run-blocking grade (73.4).
2. CB Jacob Parrish, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (85.6)
Parrish graded out as the NFL's fifth-best cornerback in Week 4, earning an 89.7 mark against the Buccaneers. He recorded a 90.9 PFF coverage grade (fourth best), limiting receivers to zero yards on two catches, both screen stops. He nearly got his first career pick after jumping in front of A.J. Brown early in the fourth quarter. Parrish now has seven coverage stops on the season, with multiple stops in consecutive games.
The Kansas State product is the third-highest-graded cornerback through the first month of the season. He maintains a 75.2 PFF run-defense grade and ranks in the top five in PFF pass-rush (77.8) and coverage (83.5) grades. Parrish has racked up five quarterback pressures on just eight rushes, including a sack and a hit.
Parrish plays primarily from the slot, having seen the fourth-most snaps at the position through four weeks (96). He owns a 71.9 man-coverage PFF grade with one catch allowed for negative yards. He ranks 10th in zone PFF coverage grade (82.9), limiting receivers to 38 yards on eight catches.
3. LB Carson Schwesinger, Cleveland Browns (84.1)
Schwesinger finished with a 78.3 PFF overall grade against the Lions. He recorded three run stops in the third quarter, limiting Jahmyr Gibbs to six total yards on those plays. He also posted a 69.7 PFF run-defense grade and six tackles. Schwesinger recorded the seventh-best PFF coverage grade (76.4) of the week among linebackers after allowing his lone target to be caught for an eight-yard gain midway through the fourth quarter.
Schwesinger continues to lead rookie linebackers in PFF run-defense grade (78.5) and ranks in the top 15 in run stops (eight). He remains ranked behind the Eagles' Jihaad Campbell in PFF coverage grade (76.5), having now allowed six catches for 33 yards (eighth best).
4. RB Cam Skattebo, New York Giants (83.7)
Skattebo played a season-high 52 offensive snaps against the Chargers. He gained 79 rushing yards on 25 carries, including a 16-yard gain up the middle early in the first quarter. He tallied four first downs and forced three missed tackles, giving him 11 in his past three games. The fourth-rounder produced 82.3% of his yards after contact.
Skattebo remains the NFL's highest-graded running back through Week 4, ranking in the top three in both PFF rushing (82.3) and receiving (79.0) grades. Skattebo now has 181 yards rushing across 48 carries, with five gains of 10-plus yards. Most of his carries (36) have come in zone schemes. He has caught 12 of 15 passes for 98 yards and four first downs.
5. LB Jihaad Campbell, Philadelphia Eagles (83.4)
Campbell notched a 70.6 PFF overall grade against the Buccaneers, fueled by a position-best 89.2 PFF pass-rushing grade. Campbell recorded two hurries on six rushes and finished with a 20.0% pass-rush win rate. He also added a run stop late in the third quarter, limiting Rachaad White to a three-yard pickup.
The Alabama product was up-and-down in coverage, where he recorded a 64.5 PFF grade. He surrendered a 72-yard touchdown to running back Bucky Irving on a catch-and-run late in the third quarter. He also recorded his first career interception when he picked off a pass in the red zone midway through the fourth quarter. In all, Campbell allowed catches on all four targets into his coverage for 83 yards.
The first-rounder is the league's ninth-highest-graded linebacker entering Week 5. He places third at the position in PFF tackling grade (86.7), having recorded 21 total tackles with four stops. He’s tied for the fifth-best pass rush win rate (22.2%) and owns a 14.8% pressure rate. Campbell also ranks third in PFF coverage grade (86.2), with only 11 yards surrendered across four targets prior to Week 4’s matchup with Tampa Bay.
6. RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Washington Commanders (83.4)
Croskey-Merritt played only eight snaps against the Falcons, but he carried the ball seven times for 47 yards. He opened up the second half with a 16-yard carry, one of his three first downs on the day. He also forced a missed tackle and averaged 4.4 yards after contact per attempt (eighth best). Despite the light workload, he produced a 78.0 PFF rushing grade (sixth best).
Croskey-Merritt leads all running backs in PFF rushing grade (90.6) entering Week 5. He has now gained 172 yards on 29 carries and is averaging 3.97 yards after contact. Croskey-Merritt has forced seven missed tackles and has tallied four rushes of 10-plus yards, with his longest gaining 42 yards.
7. DI Adin Huntington, Cleveland Browns (79.0)
Huntington played 20 snaps against the Lions in Week 4 — 15 on defense and five on offense. He struggled on his way to a 59.1 PFF run-blocking grade during his offensive stint. Huntington also posted only a 54.0 PFF overall grade on defense, after back-to-back weeks with 85.0-plus marks. Huntington assisted in a tackle in run defense and failed to record any pressure across five rushes.
The Tulane product is the highest-graded rookie interior defender through four weeks (79.0). His resume includes three run stops across 25 run-defense snaps and a 77.3 PFF pass-rush grade via a sack and a hurry across 24 pass-rushing snaps.
8. CB Will Johnson, Arizona Cardinals (77.9)
Johnson was inactive in Week 4 due to a groin injury.
9. S Jonas Sanker, New Orleans Saints (77.3)
Sanker's 85.0 PFF overall grade in Week 4 ranked fifth among safeties. He was excellent in coverage against the Bills, logging a third-ranked 87.6 PFF coverage grade. Sanker was bumped on a route by Dawson Knox early in the second quarter but was still able to jump for the deflection. On the next play, he chased down an overthrown pass for an interception. Later in the fourth quarter, Sanker deflected his second pass of the game, also against Knox. As well as he played in coverage, he also led all Week 4 defenders in missed tackles (five).
Sanker has now missed six tackles on the season at a 30% rate (third highest). He leads all rookies in PFF coverage grade (79.1), having allowed only one catch for five yards on three targets.
10. T Armand Membou, New York Jets (76.7)
Membou had his best outing since Week 1 (89.1), notching a 73.9 PFF overall grade against the Dolphins. He struggled in pass protection (63.9), surrendering four hurries on 34 snaps for an 11.8% pressure rate, but was excellent as a run blocker, finishing with an 80.3 PFF run-blocking grade (eighth best). Most of Membou’s run snaps came in inside zone schemes, where he recorded five positively graded plays across 12 snaps and earned a 92.1 PFF run-blocking grade. He finished the night with a 90.8 zone PFF run-blocking grade, second best among tackles in Week 4.
The first-rounder ranks 12th in PFF overall grade among tackles through four weeks. He remains tied for first among rookie tackles in PFF pass-blocking grade (68.8), and his 5.8% pressure rate allowed is the second-lowest clip among rookies. Membou also owns an 82.8 zone PFF run-blocking grade, the seventh-best mark at the position.
11. TE Mitchell Evans, Carolina Panthers (76.5)
Evans caught three passes on three targets against the Patriots for 23 yards, all season highs. He logged a 16-yard catch on the first drive of the game and hauled in his first career touchdown late in the game when the defender fell on the route. Evans also recorded a 72.0 PFF pass-blocking grade on limited snaps, the final piece of his 67.2 PFF overall grade.
Evans has played 55 snaps in his past two games after seeing only 14 in the first two. He has caught all five of his targets in that span for 41 yards, earning a 76.0 PFF receiving grade. His work as a blocker has been promising, too, leading to a 74.0 PFF pass-blocking grade and a 64.4 PFF run-blocking grade.
12. S Xavier Watts, Atlanta Falcons (76.3)
Watts enjoyed his best outing since Week 1, finishing with a 76.7 PFF overall grade against the Commanders. He lost Luke McCaffrey along the back of the endzone for a touchdown early in the second quarter, but he made up for it in the third by tracking down an overthrown pass for his second pick of the season. Watts finished the day with a 76.7 PFF coverage grade.
While his PFF run-defense grade has dipped (71.7), Watts is making up for it in coverage. He now ranks second among rookies, behind the Saints' Jonas Sanker, in PFF coverage grade (72.2).
13. TE Oronde Gadsden II, Los Angeles Chargers (74.4)
Gadsden is coming on as of late after being a healthy scratch during the first two weeks. He caught two passes for 16 yards and a first down against the Giants in Week 4, with a 72.0 PFF pass-blocking grade and a 56.0 PFF run-blocking grade on limited snaps (four).
Gadsden has now played 52 offensive snaps over the Chargers' past two games. He has caught seven of nine targets for 62 yards, with four first downs, including a 17-yard gain against Denver in Week 3. He has a 24.3% threat rate entering Week 5.
14. WR Tetairoa McMillan, Carolina Panthers (74.3)
McMillan caught four passes against the Patriots for 62 yards, with three gains of 15-plus yards. He was able to separate from Christian Gonzalez early in the first quarter for a 16-yard gain and then did so again in the third quarter for a 15-yard pickup. His longest gain of the day came late in the fourth quarter when he took a slant pass for 22 yards.
McMillan now has 18 catches for 278 yards and 15 first downs on the season. He has made at least two catches of 15-plus yards in every game, with 10 total on the season. He ranks second among rookies in yards after the catch per reception (5.6). And while most of his targets have come against zone coverage (21), he’s tied for the fifth-best PFF receiving grade against single coverage (90.7).
15. EDGE Jack Sawyer, Pittsburgh Steelers (72.9)
Sawyer earned his highest PFF overall grade of the season after recording two hurries across eight rushes and batting a pass midway through the fourth quarter. Sawyer finished Week 4 with a 79.1 PFF pass-rush grade. He played 11 defensive snaps against the Vikings.
Sawyer is the highest-graded rookie edge defender through the first month of the season. He boasts a 76.9 PFF tackling grade, fueled by six tackles, four stops and zero missed tackles. He also owns the second-best PFF pass-rushing grade among rookies (73.8), behind Abdul Carter (84.6). Sawyer has produced three pressures and recorded a 14.3% win rate across 28 such snaps.
© 2026 PFF - all rights reserved.