- Nick Herbig just misses the cut: On 361 pass rushing snaps, Herbig recorded 52 pressures and converted nine of them into sacks for a PFF pass rush grade of 87.3.
- AJ Brown continues to play at a high level despite distractions: It was a tumultuous year for Brown and the Eagles, but the star receiver still managed to catch 84 passes for 1,052 yards and seven touchdowns while going 18-for-39 on contested catches.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Last week we released the PFF 101 for 2025. This was a difficult list to compile as many deserving players had to be left out. However, we are going to give some recognition to the 10 players who just missed the cut but had a fantastic 2025 season.
EDGE Nick Herbig, Pittsburgh Steelers
It’s a tall order for an edge rusher on a line that also features TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith, but that’s exactly what Nick Herbig did in 2025. On 361 pass-rushing snaps, Herbig recorded 52 pressures and converted nine of them into sacks for an 87.3 PFF pass-rush grade that surpassed both Watt and Highsmith for the team lead.
WR Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens
Last season was tough for the Ravens, but Flowers was one of their steadiest and most reliable players. Flowers caught 86 passes for 1,211 yards and five scores while finishing just four games with a PFF grade below 70.0.
WR Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins
While Waddle may not have put up the gaudy numbers he has in recent years, as he caught 64 passes for 910 yards and six scores, he was still very productive from a rating standpoint in a struggling Dolphins offense, as his PFF grade of 85.2 was the second-highest in his five-year career.
OT Taylor Moton, Carolina Panthers
This past season was Moton’s ninth in Carolina, but it was his highest-rated season yet. Moton finished with a PFF pass-blocking grade of 78.0 and a PFF run-blocking grade of 80.6, culminating in a PFF grade of 82.4 for the year. Throughout Moton’s nine-year career, he has never had a season-long PFF grade lower than 71.2 or a PFF pass-blocking grade lower than 76.9.
RB Josh Jacobs Green Bay Packers
Jacobs hasn’t missed a beat since signing with the Packers ahead of the 2024 season, and 2025 may have been as good as he’s ever been. Jacobs ran for 1,008 yards and 13 touchdowns, but he was even better as a receiver, catching 39 of his 47 targets for 296 yards and a touchdown for a career-high 89.5 PFF receiving grade.
WR AJ Brown, Philadelphia Eagles
It was a tumultuous year for Brown and the Eagles, but the star receiver still managed to catch 84 passes for 1,052 yards and seven touchdowns while going 18-for-39 on contested catches. Brown never managed to go over 1,000 yards in the first seven years of his career.
S Jaylinn Hawkins, New England Patriots
After seeing inconsistent playing time and production throughout the first five years of his career, Hawkins saw an expanded role in 2025 and broke out in a big way. His 74.9 PFF grade, 79.7 PFF run-defense grade and 74.7 PFF coverage grade all crushed his previous career bests with a career-high 1,102 defensive snaps en route to helping the Patriots to an AFC championship.
CB DJ Turner II, Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals defense has been much maligned in recent seasons, but Turner has been one of the few bright spots of that unit. Turner allowed just 31 catches on 66 targets for 485 yards and four scores all season, while also intercepting two passes and forcing another 16 incompletions for a career-high 78.1 PFF coverage grade.
LB Edgerrin Cooper, Green Bay Packers
Cooper has been a fixture in the middle of the Packers defense since he was selected with the 45th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft from Texas A&M. After missing some time due to injury as a rookie, Cooper had a healthy 2025, playing 1,089 snaps and receiving quality grades across the board as he posted a 67.4 PFF pass-rush grade, 71.0 PFF run-defense grade, and a 74.8 PFF coverage grade with no touchdowns allowed all season.
WR Parker Washington, Jacksonville Jaguars
Washington’s biggest contributions in his first few seasons came as a return specialist, as he didn’t exactly impress anyone as a receiver. Year 3 was the big breakthrough year for the former Penn State product, while setting new career highs in both PFF grade (82.6) and receiving grade (85.6). On the season, Washington caught 69 passes for 996 yards and six touchdowns and remained a dominant returner with two punt return touchdowns.
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