University of Kwazulu-Natal

Nfl Rookie Report Card Grades For Every First Round Pick Ahead Msn

Bonisiwe Shabane
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nfl rookie report card grades for every first round pick ahead msn

The first four weeks of the NFL season are in the books, and here's how every 2025 first-round pick fared in their debut month in the league. Stats: 51.2% completion, 614 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs Ward ranks 32nd in passer rating and 32nd in EPA/play, and he's been sacked an NFL-worst 17 times. Tennessee's supporting cast doesn't do him any favors, but aside from his wild first NFL touchdown pass, the No. 1 pick hasn't shown much. Stats: 13 catches, 118 yards; 11 tackles, 1 pass breakup

Hunter hasn't had a "welcome to the NFL" moment, and it feels like Jacksonville doesn't have a strong plan to maximize the two-way star's talents on either side of the ball. He's played 159 snaps on offense and 101 on defense. Although he made a tough third-down grab in Week 4, Hunter's season still lacks the highlight-reel plays that made him a Heisman Trophy winner. Halfway through a rookie season is not a large enough sample size to make determinations on how a career will play out, but it is worthwhile to take inventory on immediate contributions provided by... Who has been the best rookie performer for each team? Most disappointing?

CBS Sports also recently graded each first-round pick, but that player is not always "best." To build a case, injuries and positional depth are taken into consideration. For example, it is not fair to evaluate a rookie at a team's position of strength on the same scale as a rookie who had a clear path to playing time. Best: OG Dylan Fairchild, Georgia (Round 3, No. 81 overall) Fairchild by default? Edge rusher Shemar Stewart has shown some flashes, but there is not a clear choice for "best."

Most disappointing: LB Barrett Carter, Clemson (Round 4, No. 119 overall) Many of the NFL’s first-round rookies are contributing to playoff contenders as we head into the latter stretch of the 2025 season. As always, we’ll continue to track their performance, PFF grades and principal opponents as we barrel toward the end of the regular season. Hunter was inactive this week due to a knee injury. November 6, 2025, 9:49am EST 479 • By Alex Hoegler

The 2025 NFL first round was packed with quarterback drama, surprise risers, and blue-chip defenders expected to become instant cornerstones. Now that we’re halfway through the season, the early returns are finally clear. Some rookies have exceeded expectations and become immediate impact players, while others are still struggling to adjust to the league’s speed and physicality. From breakout stars reshaping their franchises to first-round gambles that haven’t paid off yet, we break down how every 2025 first-round pick has performed so far — and what their trajectory looks like heading... It’s unfair to fully blame Ward for the Tennessee Titans’ struggles. But like, Caleb Williams and Robert Griffin III had excellent rookie years on horrible teams with textbook coaching malpractice.

Ward is barely completing over half his pass attempts, is in danger of finishing with more interceptions than passing touchdowns, and, oh yeah, has his Titans in a spot to potentially pick first overall... The first term is pretty much complete, and it's time to issue report cards to the NFL's 32 first-round freshmen as we say goodbye to September. Obviously, a lot can and will change here, but first impressions are important. Here's a grade for each first-rounder at the four-week mark. .css-1582m2i{margin:0;font:inherit;font-weight:700;}1. Tennessee Titans QB Cam Ward: C

Support has been an issue, as Ward has taken a league-high 17 sacks while dropped passes have also been a factor. And to his credit, he's limited his mistakes. All of that said, his pocket awareness is a problem and his .css-wrcrjw{margin:0;font-size:1.6rem;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:Proxima Nova,Proxima Nova Fallback Helvetica,Proxima Nova Fallback Arial;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;letter-spacing:0rem;line-height:1.92rem;color:var(--br--palette-foreground__link__secondary__default-mainChannel);font-size:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:normal;}.css-3nqh9c{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-color:rgba(var(--br--palette-primary-mainChannel) / 0.4);margin:0;font-size:1.6rem;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:Proxima Nova,Proxima Nova Fallback Helvetica,Proxima Nova Fallback Arial;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;letter-spacing:0rem;line-height:1.92rem;color:var(--br--palette-foreground__link__secondary__default-mainChannel);font-size:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:normal;}.css-3nqh9c:hover{text-decoration-color:inherit;}.css-lu48cp{margin:0;font:inherit;color:var(--br--palette-primary-main);-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-color:rgba(var(--br--palette-primary-mainChannel) / 0.4);margin:0;font-size:1.6rem;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:Proxima Nova,Proxima Nova Fallback... Across the NFL, rookies are being asked to step into starring roles faster than ever — and how well they’ve responded often mirrors their teams’ fortunes. With seven weeks of the season in the books, Yardbarker NFL writers graded every NFL team’s rookie class based on production, efficiency and long-term promise. Here's how the league's draft classes stack up so far:

DALLAS COWBOYS (3-3-1) | Rookie class grade: D | Rookie right guard Tyler Booker is a good contributor on a potent offense. He's playing at an average level for his first year (Pro Football Focus grade of 60.3 percent, the 48th best of 114 guards). Booker’s fellow rookies on defense have been relegated to depth pieces for one of the NFL's worst units. Second-round defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku has one sack. NEW YORK GIANTS (2-5) | Rookie class grade: A- | With each passing week, it looks like the Giants have found their franchise QB in Jaxson Dart, and RB Cam Skattebo and outside linebacker... While Dart is still rough around the edges, through four starts, he has 10 touchdowns overall and provided a desperately needed spark.

Third-round defensive tackle Darius Alexander looks a long way from being an asset (no sacks and only one tackle). Welcome to The Ringer’s 2025 NFL Draft Guide. Big boards. Mock drafts. Scouting reports with in-depth player analysis. NFL player comparisons.

Team needs. We have everything you'd ever need to dive deep into the NFL draft, all in one place. You are reading Danny Kelly’s draft grades. Kelly graded every first-round pick. How did your team fare? The top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft had a tough rookie season.

The Bears shook up the coaching staff multiple times throughout the season, which hindered his progress. In addition, his offensive line allowed the most sacks in football. Despite this, Williams held a 20:6 TD:INT ratio while averaging 208.8 passing yards per game. It was a disappointing season, but better days should be ahead, given the circumstances. Jayden Daniels led the Commanders to 11 victories in the season and even brought them their first playoff victory in over 19 seasons. Through 15 full regular season games, Daniels averaged just under 300 total yards per game with 31 total scores.

Daniels is not only the face of the franchise but could become the future face of the league. He is the top pick to capture Offensive Rookie of the Year and will likely be in the MVP race for the next decade. The UNC product spent the first five weeks on the bench but performed well when he took over starting duties. Over his 11 games, Maye scored 17 total touchdowns and averaged 204.9 passing yards and 37.2 rushing yards per game. He also threw ten interceptions. While his production in the box score was not overly impressive, he played behind a poor offensive line and lacked a true WR1.

Despite this, he flashed high upside and will look to enjoy a strong sophomore campaign. Marvin Harrison Jr. struggled to find consistent targets but performed very well when given looks. During the first ten games of the season, Harrison only saw six or more targets in six of these games. In these contests, Harrison caught five touchdowns. However, during the stretch run, Harrison saw his role grow as he saw eight targets per game.

Despite this, he only eclipsed 100 yards on two occasions and was often outshined by other rookie wideouts. Many teams expected the Chargers to target a top pass catcher at this spot but instead bolstered their offensive line with Joe Alt from Notre Dame. This was the correct pick, as the Chargers got a budding star lineman and selected Ladd McConkey from Georgia later in the draft. Through over 600 pass-blocking snaps, Alt allowed just 20 pressures operating as the starting right tackle.

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