With Week 1 of the NFL season in the books, it’s time to begin our weekly look at the highest-graded rookies in the league. Small sample sizes can skew things this early in the season, so we will only consider players who were on the field for at least 20 snaps in their debut.
As the season progresses, that threshold will increase by 20 snaps each week. Here are the highest-graded rookies in the NFL after Week 1.
1. WR Antonio Williams, Washington Commanders, 91.2
Williams was impressively productive despite playing just 11 receiving snaps in his first regular-season action. He caught four passes for 64 yards and averaged 5.82 yards per route run, a mark bettered only by Zay Flowers of the Baltimore Ravens among wide receivers with at least 10 receiving snaps in Week 1.
2. DI Peter Woods, Kansas City Chiefs, 83.2
Woods was the highest-graded rookie defender in the NFL this week, with his work as a pass-rusher driving much of that success. While he recorded just one pressure, he consistently won reps that didn’t result in pressure. His 13.3% PFF pass-rush win rate was the best mark among rookie interior defenders.
3. G Austin Barber, Cleveland Browns, 82.6
Barber was the highest-graded rookie offensive lineman in the NFL this week, impressing both as a run-blocker and in pass protection. He allowed just one pressure, and his 96.8% PFF pass-block win rate ranked second among rookies. As a run-blocker, his 5.6% negatively graded play rate was tied with teammate Spencer Fano for the best mark among rookie offensive linemen.
4. TE Matthew Hibner, Baltimore Ravens, 81.0
Hibner was used sparingly as a receiver, running just five routes in Week 1. He did turn a short pass into a 13-yard gain, but his grade was driven by his work as a run-blocker. Hibner logged 17 run-blocking snaps and earned a positive grade on 22.2% of them.
5. LB Anthony Hill Jr., Tennessee Titans, 78.7
Hill was active as a run defender in the Titans’ loss to the New York Jets, with his 13.5% positively graded play rate leading all rookie linebackers. He made an impact in coverage as well, leading rookies at the position with a pair of pass breakups.
6. S Genesis Smith, Los Angeles Chargers, 77.5
Smith had a solid debut for the Chargers, earning PFF grades above 65.0 both in coverage and as a run defender. Despite playing just seven run-defense snaps, he recorded three tackles, including one that resulted in a defensive stop.
7. WR Caleb Douglas, Miami Dolphins, 76.1
Douglas ran 32 routes in Week 1, with only Bryce Lance of the New Orleans Saints and Carnell Tate of the Tennessee Titans running more in their debuts. He led all rookie wide receivers with five receptions and finished with 94 receiving yards, trailing only Antonio Williams among rookies who ran at least 10 routes.
MONTHLY PFF Plus NEW – PRICE DROP!$9.99
per month, billed monthly
Choose Monthly PFF+ monthly, $9.99 per month What you unlock MOST FLEXIBLE- PFF+ content and tools
- Articles, Fantasy tools, NFL and College tools, Betting
- Access to mock draft simulator
- Guru AI football chatbot insights with limited tokens
$99.99$8.33 /mo
per year, billed annually
Go Annual PFF+ annual, $99.99 per year What you unlock BEST VALUE- PFF+ content and tools
- Articles, Fantasy tools, NFL and College tools, Betting
- Access to mock draft simulator
- Guru AI football chatbot insights with limited tokens
- Premium Stats
- Micro transactions available for additional tokens
$199.99$16.67 /mo
per year, billed annually
Go Pro PFF Pro, $199.99 per year What you unlock ELITE- PFF+ content and tools
- Articles, Fantasy tools, NFL and College tools, Betting
- Access to mock draft simulator
- Guru AI with higher base token level
- Upgraded Premium Stats Pro
- Micro transactions available for additional tokens
- Revamped player and team pages
- Enhanced data and visualizations
- Improved Interface
- Programmatic data access for modeling (API/scrape)
8. LB Jaishawn Barham, Dallas Cowboys, 75.9
Barham earned the highest PFF run-defense grade among rookie linebackers, going all 19 of his run-defense snaps without earning a negative grade. He also made an impact in the passing game, recording a tackle for a 7-yard loss.
9. OT Blake Miller, Detroit Lions, 74.7
Miller kept mistakes in the run game to a minimum, producing the second-best negatively graded play rate among rookie offensive tackles, but it was as a pass-blocker that he really stood out. He allowed a pressure rate of just 2.4% in his Lions debut, and his 78.4 PFF pass-blocking grade was tied for seventh among all right tackles in Week 1.
10. G Vega Ioane, Baltimore Ravens, 73.0
The 14th overall selection in the 2026 NFL Draft had some isolated struggles in pass protection, committing a penalty and allowing two pressures, but still produced a 90.0% PFF pass-block win rate in his regular-season debut. He was a monster as a run-blocker, though, earning a 76.0 PFF run-blocking grade and producing a 20.6% positively graded play rate on run-blocking snaps.
11. LB Josiah Trotter, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 72.8
Trotter was targeted often by Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, allowing four receptions for 61 yards on six targets. He eventually got the better of Burrow, though, turning a mistake into a pick-six and finishing with an 85.6 PFF coverage grade, the highest among rookie linebackers.
12. DI Skyler Gill-Howard, Detroit Lions, 71.6
Gill-Howard played 47 defensive snaps in Week 1 and flashed both as a run defender and as a pass-rusher. His 27.3% positively graded play rate against the run was the best mark among the 10 rookie interior defenders who played at least 10 run-defense snaps.
13. LB Harold Perkins, Atlanta Falcons, 71.3
Perkins’ snap breakdown was unusual in Week 1. Of his 24 defensive snaps against the Pittsburgh Steelers, 23 came against the pass. He didn’t record a pressure on six pass-rushing snaps but did make a tackle that resulted in a defensive stop and finished without a missed tackle.
14. G Kadyn Proctor, Miami Dolphins, 71.2
Proctor led all rookie offensive linemen with a 79.0 PFF run-blocking grade and a 30.8% positively graded play rate on run-blocking snaps. His performance by concept was interesting, with an 80.0% positively graded play rate on gap runs compared with 0.0% on zone runs. With just seven snaps of each, though, the sample is too small for that split to be anything more than an interesting note at this point.
15. LB Kendal Daniels, Atlanta Falcons, 70.5
Unlike Perkins, Daniels was used both as a run defender and in coverage and had a solid outing in his debut. He missed a pair of tackles but also recorded two tackles that resulted in defensive stops, earning PFF grades above 65.0 in both coverage and run defense.