- Nick Emmanwori takes over at No. 1: He graded out as the sixth-best safety in Week 6 and has played extremely well overall since returning from injury.
- The Panthers are starting to unlock Mitchell Evans: The tight end is now the NFL's third-highest-graded rookie, after another 89.0-plus PFF overall grade.
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Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes
We're diving into the top rookies by PFF overall grade through Week 6 of the 2025 NFL season. To qualify, players needed to have logged at least 100 snaps. Changes may occur once Monday Night Football grades are released.
1. S Nick Emmanwori, Seattle Seahawks (84.8)
Emmanwori takes over the top spot after grading out as the sixth-best safety this week (78.2). He recorded two hurries on three snaps as a pass rusher, earning a 70.7 PFF pass-rushing grade. He also earned a 73.0 PFF run-defense grade, logging a stop, an assist and an additional tackle across 15 snaps.
Emmanwori’s best work came in coverage, where he allowed seven catches for just 31 yards, a lowly average of 3.9 yards per target. He also added three coverage stops, holding receivers to seven total yards on those plays. Emmanwori tallied six tackles in coverage and finished with a 75.8 PFF coverage grade (sixth best).
The second-round pick missed three games early with a high ankle sprain, but he’s played well since returning, earning a 78.3 PFF overall grade in his past two games. Emmanwori enters Week 7 as PFF’s highest-graded safety. He leads all rookies in PFF pass-rush grade (71.1) and ranks in the top ten in PFF run-defense (83.5) and coverage (81.1) grades. He is holding quarterbacks to an 81.8 NFL passer rating, with five total coverage stops and only 40 receiving yards allowed.
The South Carolina product also ranks first in positively graded play rate as a run defender (16.7%). He’s the only rookie safety with a clip above 8%.
2. TE Jackson Hawes, Buffalo Bills (83.7)
Hawes drops to second in the rookie rankings after a rough outing against the Falcons on Monday Night Football. He graded well as a pass blocker (73.7), allowing zero pressures across three snaps. However, he was charged with three negative plays as a run blocker, all in man schemes (43.5 gap PFF run-blocking grade), and finished with a 47.3 PFF run-blocking grade overall. It was his second time falling below 60.0 in three weeks. Hawes was not targeted for the second consecutive week and earned a 46.9 PFF overall grade for his showing.
Despite recording a season-low PFF overall grade, Hawes is now tied for fifth in PFF pass-blocking grade (80.0). His PFF run-blocking grade, however, dipped to 72.4 (11th best).
3. TE Mitchell Evans, Carolina Panthers (83.4)
Evans recorded an 89.7 PFF overall grade against the Cowboys, his second outing with an 89.0-plus mark. His only target of the day came on the second play of the game, resulting in a 21-yard catch. He was excellent as a run blocker, logging the second-best PFF run-blocking grade at the position for the week (84.9). Evans amassed nine positively graded plays across 22 snaps in both schemes. He finished in the top five in both zone PFF run-blocking grade (83.6) and gap PFF run-blocking grade (84.4).
Like fellow rookie Jackson Hawes, the Notre Dame product is not targeted much. He has four single-target, single-catch games but has been highly productive with those opportunities, logging four first downs and two touchdowns over the past three weeks. Evans now sports a 75.5 PFF receiving grade on the season.
Evans' impressive PFF overall grade is powered by his work in the run game, where he owns a fifth-ranked 78.3 PFF run-blocking grade.
4. LB Jihaad Campbell, Philadelphia Eagles (83.3)
Campbell wasn't as impressive in the Eagles' Week 6 loss, but he was still the team's third-highest-graded defender (68.7). He made three stops in run defense, limiting runners to seven yards on those plays. As a pass rusher, he recorded three hurries across eight snaps on a 25.0% win rate, but the Giants still turned those plays into positive gains. Campbell was unblocked on one pressure, and another was a clean-up play. He was not targeted in coverage.
The Alabama product now has seven run-defense stops on the season, with an 8.3% positive play rate as a run defender. He ranks fourth in pass-rush win rate (19.4%) and maintains a solid 84.4 PFF coverage grade (fourth best).
5. RB Cam Skattebo, New York Giants (82.1)
Things were much brighter on the Giants' side of the field, as Skattebo finished with a season-high 98 rushing yards on 19 carries. Sixty-seven yards of that total came in the second half, where he earned a 90.4 PFF rushing grade. He gained 64 yards after contact and rushed for three touchdowns on the night.
Skattebo picked up nine first downs, another top-10 rookie mark, forced four missed tackles and tallied four runs of 10-plus yards in the second half, including an 18-yard rumble midway through the fourth quarter. He finished the night with a 0% stuff rate and an 80.7 PFF rushing grade.
The fourth-round sensation now has 82 carries for 340 yards and an 82.8 PFF rushing grade this season (third best). He ranks in the top five at the position in first downs (24) and first-down-plus-touchdown rate (29.3%). He has managed 74.4% of his yards after first contact and owns a league-best 2.9% stuff rate over his past two games. Each of his five touchdowns has come inside the red zone (third most), where he ranks fifth in carries (22) and rushing yards (60).
6. CB Will Johnson, Arizona Cardinals (79.4)
Johnson followed up a season-best defensive performance against the Titans (83.6) with a season-worst day against the Colts (55.9). He held receivers to three catches for 14 yards, all in the first half, and recorded a coverage stop, but he also surrendered his first touchdown of the season, an eight-yard catch to fellow rookie Tyler Warren after losing him across the middle in zone coverage.
Johnson recorded two tackles in coverage, contested a pass late in the fourth quarter and missed a tackle. He finished with a 104.2 passer rating allowed when targeted, his first game above 68.8 this season. Overall, he earned a 53.9 PFF coverage grade.
The Michigan cornerback drops from second to ninth in the PFF coverage grade rankings this week (78.7). He didn’t force any incompletions in Week 6 but still ranks third at the position with a 26.1% forced incompletion rate. He has allowed only one 15-plus-yard catch this season and is surrendering 3.4 yards per target (first among cornerbacks with at least 50 coverage snaps and 10 targets).
7. WR Tetairoa McMillan, Carolina Panthers (75.9)
McMillan saw a season-low five targets in Week 6, securing three catches for 29 yards. However, he still put his stamp on the game with two touchdown catches, the first of his career. Both scores came in the red zone with Donovan Wilson in coverage. The first was early in the second quarter after McMillan got by an initial defender and forced Wilson to stumble on his way to a wide-open 19-yard catch.
The second score came early in the fourth when Wilson bumped him in the endzone before he released into space for a two-yard catch. McMillan also finished the day with a season-high 74.8 PFF run-blocking grade.
The top-10 pick is now up to 27 catches for 380 yards this season. He is tied for fifth in red-zone targets (seven) and has brought in five such passes for 38 yards and four first downs. He has earned a 71.1 PFF receiving grade on those plays.
8. RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Washington Commanders (75.4)
Turnovers doomed the Commanders in their loss to the Bears, with Croskey-Merritt being on the wrong end of two of those three plays. He lost a fumble late in the first quarter, setting up excellent field position for the Bears, already up six. He was later part of a botched exchange with quarterback Jayden Daniels as Washington was driving to seal the game. That play would be the last of the night for the offense, as Chicago drove the field and kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired.
Croskey-Merritt finished the night with 17 carries for 61 yards. He gained 40 yards after contact and forced a missed tackle while picking up four first downs. He recorded a 48.4 PFF overall grade in the game.
Croskey-Merritt has lost fumbles in consecutive games, but the seventh-round pick still ranks fifth at the position in PFF rushing grade (79.7). He’s up to 62 carries for 353 yards and ranks seventh in yards gained after contact per attempt (3.8).
9. WR Emeka Egbuka, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (75.3)
Egbuka left the Buccaneers' Week 6 matchup against the 49ers in the first half with a hamstring injury. He finished the game with two catches for 24 yards and a first down. Both of his catches came from the slot.
The rising star had amassed 11 catches for 264 yards in his previous two games, earning a 75.8 PFF receiving grade over that stretch. He has been targeted 13 times out of the slot this season, catching eight passes for 100 yards and six first downs. Egbuka has also performed well in the red zone, ranking third in red-zone PFF receiving grade (81.7). He’s caught four of five red-zone targets for 55 yards (second most), with three first downs and two scores.
10. T Will Campbell, New England Patriots (74.8)
Campbell earned a 77.0 PFF overall grade against the Saints, his highest grade since Week 1. He continues to perform well in pass protection. He allowed three hurries across 31 pass-blocking snaps and has not allowed a sack since Week 1. He also logged a 77.2 PFF run-blocking grade (ninth best) with the fourth-lowest defeated rate (3.7%).
The fourth overall pick from LSU leads all rookie tackles in PFF pass-blocking grade (73.1). He has conceded a 5.9% pressure rate across 219 snaps and ranks second among first-year players in pass-blocking efficiency rating (96.8). He also ranks second in impact run-block rate (13.0%).
11. LB Carson Schwesinger, Cleveland Browns (74.8)
Schwesinger had a rough outing against Pittsburgh, finishing with a season-low 46.1 PFF overall grade. He forced two stops in run defense, one for a loss, but also posted a 14.8% negatively graded play rate (season worst). He failed to generate any pressure across three pass-rushing snaps and allowed each target into his coverage to be caught for 54 yards, including a blown assignment early in the third quarter that left D.K. Metcalf alone for a 25-yard pickup.
Despite the challenges, Schwesinger still owns a 77.9 PFF run-defense grade and one of the lowest missed tackle rates in the league (9%). He also ranks in the top 20 in defensive stops (16), leading to a 76.8 PFF tackling grade.
12. RB Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland Browns (74.1)
Judkins joined teammate Carson Schwesinger in his struggles. Judkins posted just a 54.3 PFF overall grade after gaining 36 yards on 12 carries (season low). He earned a 58.7 PFF rushing grade, the seventh-worst mark among running backs this week. Judkins did gain four first downs and force a season-high four missed tackles.
Judkins is up to 383 rushing yards this season, the second most among rookie runners. He is tied with Cam Skattebo and Breece Hall in first downs (24, fourth most) and ranks in the top 15 in total missed tackles forced (15).
13. Tyler Warren, Indianapolis Colts (73.9)
Warren continued to be a big part of the Colts' offense, earning a 71.2 PFF overall grade after catching six of nine targets for 63 yards and a touchdown against the Cardinals. He was able to run free through zone coverage for a 23-yard gain early in the first quarter, coming down just inside the red zone. Warren also recorded a drop, giving him three in his past four games. He generated a 123.8 passer rating when targeted.
Warren owns a 74.3 PFF receiving grade on the season, with 29 catches for 370 yards. He leads the Colts in targets (40) and ranks second on the team in threat rate (24.5%) and passer rating when targeted (117.7). Warren continues to excel in pass blocking, as he has yet to surrender any pressure (10 snaps) and ranks third in PFF pass-blocking grade at the position (81.0).
14. RB Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers (73.0)
Hampton remains on injured reserve with an ankle injury.
15. T Armand Membou, New York Jets (72.1)
Membou recorded a season-low 56.5 PFF overall grade against the Broncos, his second game with a grade below 60.0 this season. He struggled in both key facets, allowing four pressures across 26 pass-blocking snaps — including a sack on a third down to close out the third quarter — and generated a 7.1% impact-block rate in the run game (bottom-15 mark for the week).
The top-10 pick from Missouri owns a season-long 95.6 PFF pass blocking efficiency rating, placing him second among rookie tackles — behind Will Campbell. Although his PFF run-blocking grade now sits at 73.1, Membou still ranks as a top-20 run blocker at the position.
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