- Bucky Irving made an immediate impact as a rookie: Irving finished 2024 with a 90.8 overall PFF grade, fourth among all running backs, and he was the only player at the position to earn both a rushing and receiving grade above 90.0.
- Leo Chenal has already enjoyed a stellar career: Over the last three seasons, Chenal has earned an 85.9 PFF overall grade, ranking fifth among 83 linebackers with at least 1,000 snaps during that span. His 91.3 run-defense grade ranks third, behind only Bobby Wagner and Fred Warner.
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Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes
Earlier this week, we unveiled our list of the top 25 players under 25, a showcase of the NFL’s brightest young stars already making an impact at the highest level. But narrowing down the list wasn’t easy.
With so much emerging talent across the league, a number of highly impressive players just missed the cut. Whether due to injuries, limited sample size or sheer competition, these 10 rising standouts were right on the fringe, and some might be poised to push their way onto the list in the near future.
RB Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Irving made an immediate impact as a rookie, becoming an increasingly central piece of the Buccaneers’ offense as the season progressed. He finished 2024 with a 90.8 overall PFF grade, fourth among all running backs, and he was the only player at the position to earn both a rushing and receiving grade above 90.0. His 90.5 receiving grade ranked second among all backs.
While Irving’s 49 receptions (including the postseason) ranked just 10th at the position, his 20 broken tackles after the catch were the second most.
RB Kenneth Walker III, Seattle Seahawks
Walker remains one of the most underrated running backs in the NFL, a product of playing behind one of the league’s weakest offensive lines. Despite that, the Michigan State alum has finished among the top 20 in PFF overall grade at the position in each of his three NFL seasons. In 2023, he finished sixth at the position in overall grade (83.5). In 2024, he finished seventh (88.5), with a 91.3 rushing grade that ranked fourth. He gained 78.7% of his rushing yards after contact, the seventh-highest rate at the position, and led all running backs with 0.40 broken tackles per carry.
WR Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens
Flowers impressed as a rookie, finishing as the 30th highest-graded wide receiver, but he took a clear step forward in 2024. He finished 16th at the position with an 82.1 overall PFF grade and averaged 2.19 receiving yards per route run, tied for 17th among 125 qualifying wideouts last season.
The Boston College product's value to the Ravens became even more apparent in the postseason, as Baltimore’s offense felt his absence after he missed both playoff games with a knee injury suffered in the final week of the regular season.
WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks
Smith-Njigba broke out in his second NFL season, particularly during the second half of 2024. From Week 8 through the end of the regular season, the Ohio State product earned a 90.8 PFF receiving grade, second among 99 qualifying wide receivers over that span. He totaled 811 receiving yards during that stretch, ranking ninth at the position, and dropped just one pass on 64 catchable targets.
His strong finish to the year gave the Seahawks confidence to elevate him to their No. 1 wide receiver role for 2025 following the departures of both Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf.
T Joe Alt, Los Angeles Chargers
While Detroit’s Penei Sewell — the highest-ranked player on our Top 25 Under 25 list — was the only offensive tackle to make the cut, another right tackle deserves honorable mention: Los Angeles’ Joe Alt.
The Notre Dame product entered the league with lofty expectations as the fifth overall pick in 2024, and he delivered. Alt earned a 75.9 PFF overall grade, ranking 24th among 81 qualifying offensive tackles. Among the 30 rookie tackles who have logged at least 800 snaps over the past five years, his debut season ranks seventh, a strong indicator that Alt is on a clear path to stardom.
DI T'Vondre Sweat, Tennessee Titans
Tennessee’s 362-pound interior defender made an immediate impact as a rookie in 2024. Sweat earned a 76.1 overall PFF grade, ranking 14th among 118 qualifying interior defenders, while forming one of the league’s top interior trios alongside Jeffery Simmons and Sebastian Joseph-Day. The Texas product stood out even more against the run, posting a 75.0 run-defense grade, eighth best at the position.
Sweat also earned a negative grade on just 11.5% of run plays, the eighth-lowest rate among all interior defenders, showcasing his consistency and reliability in the trenches.
ED Nick Herbig, Pittsburgh Steelers
Injuries and a crowded depth chart have limited Herbig’s role over his first two seasons in Pittsburgh, but when he was on the field in 2024, he made a significant impact. His 91.5 PFF pass-rushing grade ranked fourth among edge defenders, trailing only Aidan Hutchinson, Myles Garrett and Micah Parsons. Herbig posted a 19.6% pass-rush win rate, seventh among 110 qualifying edge defenders and the highest among Steelers at the position.
Thanks to his ability to convert pressures into sacks at an elite rate, he also recorded a 13.0 pass-rushing productivity score, second only to Hutchinson over the year.
LB Leo Chenal, Kansas City Chiefs
Though Leo Chenal won’t turn 25 until October, he already has three NFL seasons and two Super Bowl rings to his name. While the Wisconsin product plays a limited role in the Chiefs’ defense — logging less than 460 defensive snaps in each of the past two regular seasons — he’s been highly effective in that role. Over the last three seasons, Chenal has earned an 85.9 PFF overall grade, ranking fifth among 83 linebackers with at least 1,000 snaps during that span. His 91.3 run-defense grade ranks third, behind only Bobby Wagner and Fred Warner.
CB Christian Gonzalez, New England Patriots
Although Christian Gonzalez already has two NFL seasons under his belt, he won’t turn 23 until the end of June. New England’s 2023 first-round pick made an immediate impact as a rookie, earning an 80.8 PFF overall grade before a season-ending injury cut his year short after just four games. His sophomore campaign started slowly, but he still managed a 76.0 overall grade and a 78.0 coverage grade, the latter ranking 14th among all cornerbacks in 2024.
Through his first two seasons, Gonzalez has earned an 82.4 coverage grade, ninth among 105 qualifying cornerbacks. He has allowed a passer rating of just 68.7, eighth at the position.
CB Quinyon Mitchell, Philadelphia Eagles
While one Eagles rookie cornerback — Cooper DeJean — made the original Top 25 list, DeJean's counterpart, Quinyon Mitchell, narrowly missed the cut.
Still, Mitchell was every bit as impactful for Philadelphia in 2024, particularly down the stretch. During the Eagles’ Super Bowl run, Mitchell earned an 83.1 PFF overall grade in the postseason, tied for the seventh-highest among 184 qualifying cornerbacks over the past five playoffs. In those four games, he allowed a passer rating of just 35.3, recording two interceptions while surrendering only 10 receptions and one touchdown.
Across the full season, Mitchell posted a 78.5 overall grade, ranking eighth among all cornerbacks.
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