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Mock Draft Simulator 2026 NFL Draft Big Board Big Board Builder NCAA Premium Stats SubscribeMultiple players from the 2025 rookie draft class produced intriguing, if unheralded, seasons. The article below breaks down seven such NFL instances, featuring players with high-end per-play productivity and/or fantasy-friendly roles that could yield usable results in 2026.
RB Bhayshul Tuten, Jacksonville Jaguars
Jaguars fourth-round rookie running back Bhayshul Tuten remained stuck in a three-player rotation all year, totaling 87 rushing attempts and 13 targets while splitting snaps with starting running back Travis Etienne Jr. and seventh-round rookie pass-catching specialist, running back LeQuint Allen. Tuten’s play intrigues. His 66.0 PFF offense grade ranks second among the three players. Etienne’s 74.2 PFF offense grade ranks first, while Allen’s 55.0 PFF offense grade ranks third.
Etienne, 27, is scheduled to enter free agency this offseason. Tuten is a natural fit for the starting role if the front office allows Etienne to leave.
Tuten’s rushing data among 53 NFL running backs with at least 87 rushing attempts and his receiving data among 73 NFL running backs with at least 12 targets.
NFL RB RushingBhayshul TutenPFF Rushing Grade67.7 (No. 52)Missed Tackles Forced Per Rush Att.0.22 (T-No. 10)Yards After Contact Per Rush Att.3.3 (No. 12)Yards Per Rush Att.4.1 (No. 33)1st-Down &/Or TD Rate29.9% (No. 3)Yards After Contact Percentage80.5% (No. 5)PFF Receiving Grade59.1 (T-No. 44)Target Rate14.1% (No. 51)Yards Per Route Run0.86 (T-No. 51)Yards After Catch Per Reception8.3 (No. 36)Tuten efficiently forces missed tackles and maintains balance through contact exceptionally well. He successfully translates this skillset as a post-catch producer. Improving his overall receiving ability should be an offseason priority. Regardless, Tuten (5-foot-11, 209 pounds) is ready to operate as Jacksonville’s starting running back in 2026 after an intriguing 2025 rookie season.
TE Jackson Hawes, Buffalo Bills
Bills fifth-round rookie and nominal No. 3 tight end Jackson Hawes established himself as his team’s top run-blocking tight end while flashing high-end receiving traits. Buffalo’s oft-injured No. 1 tight end, Dalton Kincaid, will likely prevent Hawes from becoming a fantasy football TE1, but Hawes’ potential should not be ignored. Hawes’ 84.1 PFF offense grade ranks fourth among 65 NFL tight ends with at least 365 offensive snaps. His 534 offensive snaps rank 38th, 74.2 PFF run-blocking grade ranks second and his 370 run-blocking snaps rank third. Kincaid’s 86.8 PFF offense grade ranks second, 368 offensive snaps rank 65th, 70.6 PFF run-blocking grade ranks 11th, and his 96 run-blocking snaps rank 64th.
Kincaid reportedly played through a torn PCL in his left knee since initially spraining the ligament in Week 10, 2024. The injury “has cost him four games while other injuries have cost him six other games[,] including a concussion, AC joint sprain, right hamstring [strain], and [an] oblique [strain].” He also suffered a Morel-Lavaelle lesion in his right knee in 2024.
As detailed previously, proficient run-blocking is critical for play-action involvement and 29.9% of [Weeks, 1-17, 2024] tight end targets were earned via the play-action passing game.”
Among 41 NFL rookie skill position players with at least 18 targets, Hawes’ (19 targets) 1.75 yards per route run (YPRR) ties for fifth, 5.8 yards after the catch per reception ranks 15th, 17.8% target rate ranks 17th, and his 15.8% deep-target rate ranks 16th. He grades out as the third-best player (81.8 PFF receiving grade).
Unfortunately, Kincaid’s 2.70 YPRR rank first among 32 NFL tight ends with at least 50 targets by 0.59, and his 23.7% target rate ranks second. A significant injury is likely required for Buffalo to demote a player with such elite per-route efficiency.
Bills veteran No. 2 tight end Dawson Knox, 29, has one year remaining on his contract, including $5 mlillion in dead money and $12 million in salary cap savings if designated as a post-June 1 cut. He earned a 68.2 PFF offense grade.
Hawes is unlikely to unseat Kincaid as the Bills’ No. 1 tight end, yet Kincaid’s unreliable health could provide Hawes a lane. Hawes’ intriguing play could earn him the No. 2 role, regardless of Knox’s presence. A TE1, second NFL season is possible. Hawes must be rostered in dynasty formats.
RB Dylan Sampson, Cleveland Browns
Browns fourth-round rookie running back Dylan Sampson (5-foot-11, 201 pounds) produced an elite receiving profile this season while performing adequately as a rusher. His intriguing rookie season showing makes him an RB3/flex candidate in 2026. Season-ending injuries suffered by his teammate provide Sampson with an opportunity to graduate beyond a pure pass-catching role this offseason. Sampson’s 65.8 PFF offense grade ranks second among the three Browns running backs with at least 100 offensive snaps.
Browns second-round rookie running back Quinshon Judkins suffered a season-ending fibula fracture and ankle dislocation in Week 16. He also dealt with an AC joint sprain this season and earned a 66.6 PFF offense grade.
Sampson is already an elite pass catcher.
Sampson’s rushing data among 60 NFL running backs with at least 65 rushing attempts, and his receiving data among 32 NFL running backs with at least 35 targets.
NFL RB RushingDylan SampsonPFF Rushing Grade61.1 (No. 60)Missed Tackles Forced Per Rush Att.0.18 (T-No. 29)Yards After Contact Per Rush Att.2.5 (T-No. 54)Yards Per Rush Att.2.7 (No. 60)1st-Down &/Or TD Rate18.5% (No. 54)Yards After Contact Percentage90.9% (No. 1)PFF Receiving Grade80.6 (No. 7)Targets35 (No. 32)Target Rate24.0% (No. 3)Slot-Target Rate2.1% (No. 11)Catch Rate94.3% (No. 3)Yards Per Route Run1.86 (No. 2)Missed Tackles Forced8 (T-No. 20)Yards After Catch Per Reception9.8 (No. 5)Explosive Pass Plays3 (T-No. 23)Sampson could be especially productive in PPR formats next season.
RB Devin Neal, New Orleans Saints
Saints sixth-round rookie running back Devin Neal was intriguingly trusted on passing downs despite veteran star running back Alvin Kamara’s presence. Neal’s 58.7 PFF offense grade bests Kamara’s 51.7 PFF offense grade. Neal must improve his play this offseason. He has access to a fantasy-friendly role in 2026.
A Week 15 hamstring strain prematurely ended his season. He also suffered a hamstring strain in early August. He must maintain good soft tissue health moving forward.
New Orleans’ former No. 2 running back Kendre Miller suffered a season-ending ACL tear in Week 7. He earned a 74.0 PFF offense grade this season.
Neal was inactive in Weeks 2-6. While sharing the field with Kamara in Weeks 7-12, Neal surprisingly handled a 62.7% third- and fourth-down snap share and a 49.1% two-minute drill snap share.
With Kamara sidelined by an ankle sprain and MCL sprain from Week 12 and on, Neal handled a 76.9% third- and fourth-down snap share and a 70.8% two-minute drill snap share.
Among 54 NFL running backs with at least 34 pass-protection snaps, Neal’s 57.8 PFF pass-blocking grade ranks 27th. Among 56 NFL running backs with at least 19 targets, Neal’s 13.6% target rate ranks 44th and 0.74 YPRR ranks 55th.
Among 63 NFL running backs with at least 55 rushing attempts, Neal’s 0.18 missed tackles forced per rushing attempt ties for 29th and his 2.4 yards after contact per rushing attempt ranks 60th.
RB Jaydon Blue, Dallas Cowboys
Cowboys fifth-round rookie running back Jaydon Blue produced an intriguing Week 18 rushing performance after spending most games inactive following a volatile, unprofessionalspringandsummer. He also fares well as a small-sampe pass protector. Blue’s 58.9 PFF offense grade ranks 29th among 31 NFL rookie skill position players with at least 35 offensive touches, while his 82.1 PFF pass-blocking grade ranks third among 91 NFL running backs with at least six pass-protection snaps.
Blue rushed 16 times for 64 yards and one touchdown against the New York Giants in Week 18, tying for the second-most explosive run plays (four) among 15 NFL running backs with at least 15 rushing attempts that week, while grading out as the eighth-best player (67.1 PFF rushing grade).
Blue bizarrely earned just one target all season after averaging 1.56 YPRR while earning 48 targets in his final, 2024 college season.
Blue showed off his explosive traits in Week 18, though his overall rookie season showing is concerning. He could factor in as a high-upside flex player or better in 2026 if he can improve his professionalism and earn the No. 2, rotational rusher and passing down role.
TE Oronde Gadsden II, Los Angeles Chargers
Chargers fifth-round rookie tight end Oronde Gadsden II established himself as his team’s No. 1 tight end after breaking out in Week 3, though he produced just one TE1 weekly finish after the Chargers’ Week 12 bye, making him a potential buy-low in dynasty formats and early-offseason drafts. He intriguingly shone as a centerfield target earner and his 64.6 PFF offense grade ranks 19th among 32 NFL tight ends with at least 565 offensive snaps.
Gadsden’s receiving data among 29 NFL tight ends with at least 55 targets.
NFL TE ReceivingOronde Gadsden IIPFF Receiving Grade71.1 (No. 15)Targets71 (T-No. 18)Target Rate16.9% (T-No. 23)Slot-Target Rate6.4% (No. 20)Deep-Target Rate11.3% (No. 2)Catch Rate73.2% (No. 19)Yards Per Route Run1.65 (No. 10)Missed Tackles Forced3 (T-No. 22)Yards After Catch Per Reception4.5 (No. 21)Explosive Pass Plays14 (T-No. 14)Gadsden earned 14 targets 10-plus yards downfield and between the painted numbers, tying for eighth among NFL tight ends. He caught 10 targets for 209 receiving yards and one touchdown. Among 14 NFL tight ends with at least 12 qualifying targets, Gadsden ranks sixth in yards per qualifying reception (20.9) while grading out as the third-best player (90.3 PFF receiving grade).
Gadsden turns 23 in June, standing 6-foot-5, 236 pounds. He is an extremely intriguing TE1 candidate in 2026 and beyond.
QB Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints
Saints second-round rookie quarterback Tyler Shough showcased fantasy-friendly dual-threat abilities in his Weeks 8-18 starting stretch. His 74.6 PFF offense grade ties for 18th among 35 NFL quarterbacks with at least 475 offensive snaps.
Among 33 NFL quarterbacks with at least 270 dropbacks, Shough ranks 23rd in big-time throw rate (3.8%), 12th in yards per passing attempt (7.3), average depth of target (aDot, 8.7) and adjusted completion rate (76.5%), eighth in average time to throw (2.70) and fifth in turnover-worthy play rate (2.0%) while grading out
As detailed previously, “rushing proved to be a more efficient point-scoring tactic than passing… QB1s [averaged] 0.84 fantasy points per rushing attempt and 0.53 fantasy points per passing attempt.” As detailed in previously, “[t]he last two fantasy football seasons (Weeks 1-17) produced four quarterbacks apiece who averaged more than 21.0 fantasy points per game. Five-of-eight quarterbacks averaged 6.0-plus attempts per game and seven-of-eight averaged 3.6 or more.”
Shough, 26, rushed just four total times in his first two starts. Among his Weeks 10-18 games, he averaged 5.63 rushing attempts per game, while thrice totaling seven rushing attempts and once totaling eight. He cleared 20-plus rushing yards five times and scored three touchdowns. He averaged 18.6 fantasy points per game during this span while totaling the 10th-most fantasy points (148.4).
Shough’s intriguing second-half-season showing makes him a potential QB1 in 2026, due partially to his fantasy-friendly dual-threat profile.