Ricky Pearsall is poised for a big Year 2: After missing the start of his rookie campaign, Pearsall showed plenty of promise. And now the 49ers‘ offense has one less mouth to feed after Deebo Samuel's trade to Washington.
Jalyx Hunt has a clear path to more snaps in 2025: Philadelphia's defensive line will look a lot different this year after the team parted ways with Josh Sweat (free agent), Milton Williams (free agent), Brandon Graham (retirement) and Bryce Huff (trade).
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Estimated Reading Time: 14 minutes
Every year, rookies across the NFL come in and make immediate impacts for their respective teams. Last season alone, seven ranked among the top 10 at their respective position in PFF overall grade: cornerbacks Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell, quarterback Jayden Daniels, running back Bucky Irving, wide receiver Malik Nabers, edge defender Jared Verse and linebacker Edgerrin Cooper.
While these players have already established themselves in the NFL, it’s important to point out that most rookies do not have the same success. For some, the learning curve from college to the pros is steeper. For others, injuries and/or depth chart hurdles make it difficult to get on the field.
With this in mind, let’s look at 10 second-year players who could step into bigger roles in 2025.
T Patrick Paul, Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins selected Paul in the second round (55th overall) in the 2024 NFL Draft, a move that had 2025 and beyond in the thought process as Terron Armstead’s replacement. Armstead recently announced his retirement but was excellent in his final season, finishing the year as a top-five tackle (89.4 PFF overall grade) and playing his most snaps since 2020.
Paul appeared in 10 games, three of which he logged two snaps or fewer in, but struggled in his first season, finishing the year with a 44.9 PFF overall grade. In Paul’s defense, he was tasked with coming off the bench to block All-Pro Myles Garrett in Week 17 and played out of position (right tackle) in Week 18 against the Jets to close out the season, two games that accounted for more than 30% of his total snaps for the season.
The pressure will be on Paul to solidify the left tackle position in 2025 as the clear starter coming into camp. It’s not realistic to expect the second-year pro to have the same kind of season Armstead is coming off, but he must develop into a reliable tackle for the team to have any chance of making the playoffs.
G Kingsley Suamataia, Kansas City Chiefs
A second-round pick out of BYU, Suamataia was thrust into action to open the 2024 season as Patrick Mahomes’ blindside protector. Things didn’t go well for the rookie early on, as he finished his second game as a pro with a 26.4 PFF pass-blocking grade against the Bengals. He allowed two sacks in the contest and was benched the following week.
Suamataia played sparingly the rest of the year but did get an opportunity at left guard later in the season against Denver, impressing in run blocking (75.2). He will enter camp this year as the favorite to start at left guard, but it will be a battle to watch with Mike Caliendo leading up to the season.
EDGE Jalyx Hunt, Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia's defensive line will look a lot different this year after the team parted ways with Josh Sweat (free agent), Milton Williams (free agent), Brandon Graham (retirement) and Bryce Huff (trade). The Eagles are still stout along the trenches, thanks to their ability to draft and develop players better than any other franchise.
Hunt, a former no-star recruit and safety at Cornell, made the switch to edge rusher at Houston Christian in 2022 and dominated the competition. He was a difference-maker for the Eagles’ Super Bowl-winning roster last year, finishing with a 69.0 PFF overall grade as a rookie across his 343 defensive snaps.
Coming into Year 2, the expectation is that Hunt will see significantly more playing time on the league’s best defense as the Eagles look to make it back to the Super Bowl for the third time in four years.
WR Ricky Pearsall, San Francisco 49ers
Pearsall missed the first six weeks of the season after recovering from a gunshot wound to the chest just before Week 1. He had a productive second half of the season after his return, catching 31 of 44 targets for 400 yards and three touchdowns.
First career TD for Ricky Pearsall
Love to see it 🙌
pic.twitter.com/Yxz79AkO4j
— PFF (@PFF) November 10, 2024
The 49ers traded wide receiver Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders in March, creating a path for Pearsall to step into a bigger role in 2025. Samuel graded out no lower than 70.9 in his six years with the team, so San Francisco will be counting on Pearsall to produce in a big way moving forward.
G Christian Mahogany, Detroit Lions
The Lions drafted Mahogany in the sixth round (211nd overall) in last year’s draft, a move considered a steal at the time for the 106th-ranked prospect on the PFF Big Board. A guard only and a powerful run-blocker for a team that aims to establish itself on the ground, he was a natural fit along the Lions’ dominant offensive line.
Mahogany served as a backup in the regular season, but when starting right guard Kevin Zeitler went down with a hamstring injury in Week 18, he was inserted into the starting lineup for the Lions' wild-card playoff game against the Washington Commanders. Mahogany dominated in his spot start, earning an elite 92.2 PFF overall grade, the highest for any offensive player that night.
Zeitler signed with the Tennessee Titans in free agency, and long-term center Frank Ragnow announced his retirement earlier this week, leaving one of the top offensive lines in the league with some questions along the interior. Mahogany and 2025 rookie Tate Ratledge will be counted on to fill the void for the NFC North favorite Lions.
RB Jaylen Wright, Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins traded up to draft Wright in the fourth round (120th overall) in the 2024 NFL Draft. He didn’t get much playing time as a rookie in a crowded backfield behind De'Von Achane and Raheem Mostert, seeing just 171 snaps over 15 games.
Wright was productive in his limited action, ranking among the top 20 qualifying running backs in yards after contact per attempt (3.25) and missed tackles forced per attempt (0.24). He also earned an 87.9 PFF overall grade in Week 5 against New England, his only game with 10-plus rushing attempts all season.
Wright’s outlook for 2025 is promising, with Mostert now a member of the Las Vegas Raiders and the Dolphins likely looking to scale back Achane’s workload this year after a 203-carry season. Achane also sees a lot of work as a receiver, as he led all running backs in receptions (78), receiving yards (598) and touchdowns (six) in 2024, and that could scale up in 2025.
WR Roman Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers
Wilson had a rookie season to forget in 2024, as he suffered an ankle injury in the Steelers’ first padded practice and missed most of the remainder of camp and the preseason. His NFL debut in Week 6 lasted just five snaps before a hamstring injury ended his campaign for good.
In his final season at Michigan in 2023, Wilson accounted for 48 receptions, 789 yards and 12 touchdowns. He displayed strong hands (just one drop) and big-play ability, catching 12 passes 20-plus yards downfield.
Moving forward, Wilson has an opportunity to step up into a bigger role. With George Pickens being traded to Dallas, Pittsburgh has very little depth at wide receiver behind recently acquired D.K. Metcalf, and the team will need his production to contend in a tough AFC North division.
T Blake Fisher, Houston Texans
Like Patrick Paul, Fisher was a second-round pick (59th overall) who struggled in his rookie season (44.7) but enters Year 2 as a clear starting offensive tackle option. Offensive line is a position of concern for the Texans following their trade of Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil to Washington, so it’s important that Fisher develops into a solid starter.
Fisher was a consistent player in college at Notre Dame, grading out at 72.9 in 2022 and 71.8 in 2023 and playing 1,584 snaps over that span.
RB Braelon Allen, New York Jets
Allen impressed in his rookie campaign with the Jets, earning an 82.0 PFF rushing grade across 92 rushing attempts, and he did so as the youngest active player (20 years old) in the NFL. Breece Hall is expected to remain the lead back in New York, but the arrow is pointing up on Allen’s outlook this season.
Braelon Allen finds the endzone for the lead! pic.twitter.com/V5tUmJgvHk
— PFF (@PFF) September 15, 2024
Ball security is always a big factor when it comes to playing time for running backs. Last season, Allen didn’t fumble once, whereas Hall was charged with six. Although Hall’s production is above average, it has steadily declined over the past two seasons when it comes to yards per carry and yards after contact per attempt after an electric start to his career.
With Hall set to become a free agent in 2026, it would not be a surprise to see the Jets give Allen a bigger role in his second season. First-year offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand worked under Ben Johnson in Detroit and figures to bring his run-first mentality to the Jets, something that bodes well for Allen in his second season.
DI Darius Robinson, Arizona Cardinals
Robinson was the 27th overall pick in last year’s draft but was limited to just six games (184 snaps) due to a nagging calf injury and a bereavement period away from the team. He struggled to make much of an impact when on the field, generating just two pressures on 120 pass-rushing snaps.
Admittedly, the path for Robinson to earn playing time may be less clear than others on this list. The Cardinals signed future Hall-of-Famer Calais Campbell (the highest-graded interior run defender in 2024) and Dalvin Tomlinson (67.4 PFF overall grade) and spent their 2025 first-round pick on Ole Miss defensive tackle Walter Nolen. They also bolstered their edge unit by signing free agent Josh Sweat after his Super Bowl run with the Philadelphia Eagles.
It’s hard to believe Robinson won’t have every opportunity to earn snaps with his play during camp, just one year removed from being a first-round pick. With that said, it’s fair to assume that his leash may be shorter, given the team's newfound depth along the defensive line.