- The Browns‘ youngsters impress in Vegas: Five Cleveland rookies make the list due to their efforts in the team's Week 12 victory.
- Yahya Black is making an impact as a run defender: The Steelers rookie posted a 91.5 PFF run-defense grade against the Bears, forcing a fumble in the process.
- Get PFF+ for 40% off: Use promo code BLACKFRIDAY to unlock the PFF Player Prop Tool, Premium Stats, fantasy dashboards, the PFF Mock Draft Simulator, industry-leading fantasy rankings and much more — everything you need to win your season.
Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes
With the Thanksgiving slate quickly approaching, we’ve got another team of star rookies to look into from this past week.
As teams prepare for the stretch run to the postseason, many of these rookies will be called upon to help lead the charge. A reminder that in order to qualify for this list, a player must have played at least 10 snaps.
Quarterback: Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans – 78.7
Despite another loss that saw the Titans fall to a league-worst 1-10 on the season, Cam Ward had his best showing of the year despite an aggressive Seahawks defense that recorded pressure a whopping 45 times on 56 dropbacks. Six different Titans offensive linemen allowed multiple pressures, and Ward still managed a career-high 74.7 PFF passing grade.
In all, Ward completed 32-of-47 passes for 272 yards and a score while adding a big-time throw and no turnover-worthy plays. Against pressure, Ward completed 13-of-19 passes for 131 yards and a 63.0 passing grade. For reference, if Ward kept that grade up for an entire season, he’d have the fourth-highest passing mark when pressured, trailing only Jalen Hurts, Dak Prescott and Matthew Stafford.
Running Back: Dylan Sampson, Cleveland Browns – 73.1
Rookies played a huge role in the Browns’ 24-10 win over the Raiders, as you may notice as this article goes along. Not only did Shedeur Sanders get the win in his first start, but fourth-round rookie Dylan Sampson made his presence felt.
Sampson didn’t contribute much as a runner, carrying the ball just seven times for 23 yards, but he did some serious damage as a receiver. Sampson caught both of his targets for 59 yards, which included taking a screen pass 66 yards to the house on a 91.2 PFF receiving grade.
Wide Receiver: Isaiah Bond, Cleveland Browns – 76.3
After going undrafted out of Alabama, Bond has carved out a nice role in the Browns’ offense. Against the Raiders, he caught all three of his targets for 64 yards, converting one into a first down and a 118.8 passer rating when targeted.
Wide Receiver: Luther Burden III, Chicago Bears – 71.5
In a crowded receiver room, Burden has been able to find ways to stand out. In the Bears’ win over the Steelers, he converted all three of his receptions into first downs for 46 yards and a 69.2 PFF receiving grade.
Wide Receiver: Xavier Restrepo, Tennessee Titans – 71.3
After a bad 40-yard dash time caused him to go undrafted, Restrepo finally made his NFL debut against the Seahawks and did not disappoint. Restrepo caught three passes for 31 yards, converting two of them into first downs. Not a huge day, but a good start in his attempt to re-establish a connection with his college quarterback Ward.
Tight End: Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland Browns – 77.8
The third-rounder out of Bowling Green has been a consistent contributor for the Browns’ offense since his debut, never playing fewer than 40 offensive snaps in any game this season. Like many other Browns rookies, he came up big in their victory over the Raiders. Fannin caught four passes for 40 yards, converting two into new sets of downs while also performing well in pass protection to the tune of a 70.3 grade.
Offensive Tackle: Ozzy Trapilo, Chicago Bears – 75.1
Trapilo’s primary role for much of the season has been as a sixth offensive lineman in certain packages, but Sunday against the Steelers was his first time seeing significant playing time with Theo Benedet out — and he delivered. The second-rounder out of Boston College was particularly stellar in pass protection, surrendering just one pressure and losing one other matchup on 41 pass-blocking snaps for an 84.6 PFF pass-blocking grade against a Steelers pass rush that is considered amongst the league’s elite.
Offensive Tackle: Kelvin Banks Jr., New Orleans Saints – 74.5
Despite a lost season for the Saints, one positive they can take away is that it looks like they’ve hit on the tackle they took with the ninth overall pick — Kelvin Banks Jr. has been consistently reliable all season. Against the Falcons, Banks was excellent as a run blocker, posting a 77.9 grade. He was particularly good on inside zone runs, carrying an 85.5 grade on those tries, which the Saints ran on 10 of 26 such plays.
Interior Offensive Line: Tate Ratledge, Detroit Lions – 71.5
The Giants have one of the more formidable defensive lines in the league. but you wouldn’t know it if you just watched Ratledge’s tape against them in Week 12. Ratledge permitted just one pressure on 48 pass-blocking snaps while not recording a single negatively-graded run block. In fact, the Lions ran three man/duo runs and Ratledge recorded a positively-graded block on all three for an 87.1 grade on such attempts.
Interior Offensive Line: Tyler Booker, Dallas Cowboys – 62.9
The Cowboys recorded a huge win over the Eagles. Rookie guard Tyler Booker helped carve big running lanes for his backs, as he tallied six positively-graded blocks on zone runs (inside and outside) — which accounted for 63% of the team’s runs.
Interior Offensive Line: Donovan Jackson, Minnesota Vikings – 61.1
Jackson has become a fixture on these lists of late. Despite the Vikings’ offense not being able to accomplish much against the Packers, Jackson wasn’t part of the problem, especially in pass protection. Jackson didn’t allow a single pressure and only lost one rep on 17 pass-blocking snaps for a 76.2 such grade, his third straight game with a pass-blocking grade over 70.0.
Edge Defender: Mike Green, Baltimore Ravens-78.1
It’s been a shaky start to the career of the Ravens’ second-round pick out of Marshall: Entering Week 12 against the Jets, Mike Green only had two career games with a PFF grade over 60.0. But Green was dominant against New York, particularly against the run — where he carried a 77.5 grade. On 15 run-defense snaps, Green totaled two stops, and 26.7% of his plays earned positive grades.
Edge Defender: Jalon Walker, Atlanta Falcons – 72.5
The former 15th overall pick has been a very welcome addition to the Falcons’ defense, and he continued his strong rookie season with another good performance against the Saints. Walker only posted two pressures as a pass rusher, but he converted one of them into a sack while adding three additional pass-rush wins.
Defensive Interior: Yahya Black, Pittsburgh Steelers – 91.7
Despite limited playing time, Black recorded his second game with a PFF grade over 91.0 in the last three weeks — and run defense was a big reason why. On seven such snaps, Black recorded a 91.5 PFF run-defense grade that included a stop and a forced fumble.
Defensive Interior: Mason Graham, Cleveland Browns – 75.2
While it’s taken a while for his pass rush to get going, Graham has been on a pretty solid run the last few weeks. He has generated at least three pressures in three consecutive games while posting a pass-rush win rate of over 10% in four consecutive games. Graham hasn’t recorded any sacks during this stretch, but he has continued to show improvement in harassing the quarterback as he grows during his rookie campaign.
Linebacker: Danny Stutsman, New Orleans Saints – 75.3
Stutsman hasn’t seen the field a lot on defense as a rookie, but he’s quietly been very solid when he has gotten an opportunity — especially against the run. Despite only playing 72 total snaps in the last six games — 48 of which against the run — Stutsman has compiled a PFF run-defense grade of at least 70.0 in four contests. That includes at least a 60.0 in all of his appearances, including a 71.1 figure against the Falcons.
Linebacker: Carson Schwesinger, Cleveland Browns – 66.4
After a hot start to the season, Schwesinger has cooled off a bit as the season’s gone along, as he’s posted a sub-60.0 PFF grade in four of his last six games. That being said, Sunday’s win over the Raiders was one of his strongest performances, even by his lofty standards. His efforts included a 77.3 PFF run-defense grade, a career high.
Cornerback: Marcus Harris, Tennessee Titans – 89.2
The former sixth-rounder out of California has seen an uptick of playing time of late, putting up his best outing in the Titans’ narrow loss to the Seahawks. Harris was strong in coverage, producing an 83.7 PFF coverage grade. In particular, none of Harris’ three targets were caught, and he forced two incompletions against a passing attack that has been among the most dominant in the league this season.
Cornerback: Trikweze Bridges, Dallas Cowboys – 67.1
The penultimate pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Bridges only played 12 snaps but was productive in limited action. Eleven of his 12 snaps came in coverage, where he didn’t allow a single reception for a 67.2 PFF coverage grade.
Cornerback: Korie Black, New York Giants – 62.0
Another former seventh-rounder, Black played 67 snaps against the Lions, by far the most in his young career. He assembled the second-highest PFF grade of his career in the losing effort. While he only allowed one reception, it went for 30 yards on an out-and-up route by Amon-Ra St. Brown. Otherwise, on 46 coverage snaps, Black was only targeted one other time.
Safety: Rayuan Lane III, Jacksonville Jaguars – 77.9
Given all the circumstances around the program, it’s very rare to see a player make the league out of Navy, let alone get drafted in the sixth round — but that’s what Rayuan Lane III was able to accomplish this offseason. He hasn’t seen a lot of playing time, but he featured on defense the most in his career in the Jaguars’ win over the Cardinals. Lane played a career-high 26 snaps, 23 of which in coverage — in which he recorded a 73.3 grade. Lane wasn’t targeted a single time and also broke up a pass.
Safety: Jordan Hancock, Buffalo Bills – 75.9
All 12 of Hancock’s snaps came in coverage, which has been the case for 88% of his plays this season. Like Lane, Hancock wasn’t targeted once but did compile a stop in coverage. In fact, on 70 coverage snaps this season, Hancock has given up just two receptions for 21 yards.
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