• Jayden Daniels strolls to the quarterback selection: The Washington Commanders quarterback finished sixth in overall grade among signal-callers/ 

• Jared Verse makes huge impact at edge defender: Verse's pass-rush grade finished ninth overall, a huge feat for a rookie.

• 2025 NFL Draft season is here: Try PFF's best-in-class Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2025's top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.

Estimated reading time: 16 minutes

Offense

QUARTERBACK

Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders

Daniels ended up walking this with a fantastic rookie season that ranks right up there with the best we’ve ever seen. He finished fifth overall in our quarterback rankings as he guided the Commanders to what seemed an unlikely playoff spot.

RUNNING BACK

Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Irving may have been the sixth back taken in the 2024 draft, but he finished the year as not only the highest-graded rookie running back but also fourth overall. He was also propelled into the top five with a receiving grade that was only bettered by David Montgomery. The Bucs hit gold with Irving, and he was a big part of their late-season push to the playoffs.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Malik Nabers, New York Giants; Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars; and Ladd McConkey, Los Angeles Chargers

Of the big three receivers drafted, Nabers, despite some inconsistent quarterback play, made the biggest impression. He had the highest grade of all rookie receivers with a top-10 finish. While he was a clear No. 1, it was a battle between three for the remaining two spots, and Marvin Harrison Jr. was the man to miss out. Still, all the signs point to this being a historic draft class.

TIGHT END

Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders

Bowers set records for a rookie tight end as he put together a tremendous debut season. His overall grade was third among all tight ends, behind only Trey McBride and George Kittle. Not bad company at all.

TACKLES

JC Latham, Tennessee Titans and Joe Alt, Los Angeles Chargers  

On the left side, it was between Latham and Taliese Fuaga. Latham was a tad more consistent and flashed some long-term starter potential. The right side was an easier pick, as Alt showed why such a high pick was invested in him. A top-20 finish of all tackles as a rookie is no easy feat.

GUARDS

Jackson Powers-Johnson, Las Vegas Raiders and Dominick Puni, San Francisco 49ers

In a disappointing year for the 49ers, Puni was a standout success. He finished 11th overall in run-blocking grade, which was particularly impressive. At left guard, Powers-Johnson almost gets the nod by default because no other rookie was featured for more than 350 snaps at left guard. He did well enough for a rookie, earning a solid 66.4 grade.

CENTER

Zach Frazier, Pittsburgh Steelers

Outside of a couple of tough games, Frazier was an immediate hit for the Steelers, as his 76.8 grade ranked sixth overall among all centers. That's a pretty decent return for the 51st pick overall.

Defense

EDGE DEFENDERS

Jared Verse, Los Angeles Rams and Chop Robinson, Miami Dolphins

It was easy picking Verse due to his monstrous rookie year, as 77 total pressures are a lot for any player but a huge number for a rookie, helping push his pass rush grade to ninth overall for edge defenders. Picking between Robinson and Laiatu Latu was harder, but a stronger second half to the season gave the Dolphin the edge.

DEFENSIVE INTERIOR

T’Vondre Sweat, Tennessee Titans and Braden Fiske, Los Angeles Rams 

We didn’t see fireworks from the rookies here, but Sweat showed long-term starter potential due to some good work against the run. Fiske, on the other hand, struggled against the run, but his production rushing the passer got him selected.

LINEBACKERS

Edgerrin Cooper, Green Bay Packers and Payton Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers 

Plenty of potential on display from the rookie linebackers, but Cooper and Wilson were the standouts. No rookie linebacker was every down player for every week of the season, but there was plenty on display. Cooper was especially impressive as he handled a bigger load as the season went on.

CORNERBACKS

Jarrian Jones, Jacksonville Jaguars; Quinyon Mitchell, Philadelphia Eagles; and Cooper DeJean, Philadelphia Eagles

It’s hard to find one good corner in the draft, let alone two. DeJean starred in the slot while Mitchell and Jones had stellar seasons when looking at our advanced coverage grade metric. 

SAFETIES

Evan Williams, Green Bay Packers and Malik Mustapha, San Francisco 49ers 

There was a lot to get excited about from this group, but a lack of consistency and playing time made this one of the harder selections. In the end, players like Dell Pettus and Dadrion Taylor-Demerson miss out because of playing time as Williams and Mustapha do just enough.

Special teams

KICKER

Cam Little, Jacksonville Jaguars

Little was a shoo-in due to his 93.1% field goal percentage, including five of six from over 50 yards.

PUNTER

Ryan Rehkow, Cincinnati Bengals 

Rekhow held off Tory Taylor due to his superior punting grade.

RETURNER

Brandon Codrington, Buffalo Bills 

No rookie would score a return touchdown this year but we still saw enough from Codrington to hand him this award even with a couple of muffed punts.

SPECIAL TEAMER

Sione Vaki, Detroit Lions

Vaki would finish fourth overall of special teamers to play at least 200 snaps, comfortably best of all rookies.