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Grading all 32 first-round picks ahead of Week 16 of the 2024 NFL season

2YWRTBN New Orleans Saints offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga (75) waits for play to resume during an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Tyler Kaufman)

• Tackles Joe Alt and Taliese Fuaga shine: Although both of their teams fell short in Week 15, the rookie tackles were solid blockers.

Drake Maye was far better than the box score shows: The Patriots struggled to protect the rookie passer, who made the most of his few opportunities to produce.

• Unlock your edge with a PFF+ subscription: Get full access to all of our in-season fantasy tools, including weekly rankings, WR/CB matchup charts, weekly projections, the Start-Sit Optimizer and more. Sign up now!

Estimated Reading Time: 13 minutes


Edge rushers Jared Verse and Chop Robinson are the cream of the crop among the first-round defenders, and offensive tackles Joe Alt and Taliese Fuaga are becoming stalwarts 15 weeks into the season.

Here's how those two and the rest of the 2024 rookie first-rounders panned out this past week, with PFF grades, primary matchups, snap counts and analysis.


Pick No. 1: Chicago Bears: QB Caleb Williams

Overall Rookie Grade: 65.2 (Rank: 4/5)
Principal Opponent: N/A
Week 15 Snaps: 65
Week 15 Grade: 54.7

Williams hasn't thrown an interception since Week 6 but now has seven turnover-worthy plays over the past four weeks — tied for the third most in the NFL. He fared better under pressure this week, posting a 64.6 PFF overall grade against the Vikings to rank eighth among qualifying quarterbacks, but the Bears‘ offense remains a significant work in progress.


Pick No. 2: Washington Commanders: QB Jayden Daniels

Overall Rookie Grade: 88.3 (Rank: 1/5)
Principal Opponent: N/A
Week 15 Snaps: 78
Week 15 Grade: 74.7

Daniels mixed some spectacular playmaking with confounding sacks en route to a narrow victory over the Saints. He continues to be the Commanders’ best offensive player, though, as he led the team in rushing while committing zero turnover-worthy plays for the seventh time this season. Daniels is shining despite Washington's struggles in several other areas.

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