• Four Cowboys make the list: Donovan Ezeiruaku and Tyler Booker headlined Dallas’ effort in a victorious Thanksgiving against the Chiefs.

• Josh Conerly Jr. impresses on a big stage: The Oregon product didn’t permit a single pressure against an elite Broncos pass rush.

• Get PFF+ for 30% off: Unlock the PFF Player Prop Tool, Premium Stats, fantasy dashboards, the PFF Mock Draft Simulator, industry-leading fantasy rankings and much more for 30% off this holiday season — everything you need to win your season.

Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

We’ve reached December, meaning it’s crunch time for teams still in the hunt. A lot of these organizations will be relying on their impact rookies to make plays, and many of them have proven to be up to the task.

We’ll be taking a look at who helped their teams the most in Week 13. A reminder that to qualify for this list, a player must have played at least 10 snaps.

Quarterback: Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints – 74.6

It was a shaky start to the game, as the Saints struggled to get anything going in the first half against the Dolphins, especially considering the weather was inconsistent throughout the afternoon. But the second half was a very different story, and Shough made significant adjustments as he nearly led the Saints to overcoming a 16-point deficit. On the day, Shough completed 26-of-40 passes for 239 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for a 72.0 PFF passing grade.

It was a Black Friday to remember for the Bears as they ran all over what has otherwise been an impressive Eagles defense on the season. Their seventh rounder out of Rutgers led the charge with 130 yards on 22 carries and a score.

Monangai finished with a 75.3 PFF rushing grade on the day, his fifth game of the season with that number going over 70.0. Friday also marked four straight contests with a rushing touchdown for him.

It wasn’t a high-volume showing for Harris, as he caught three passes for 30 yards against the Raiders on Sunday. But he was effective, as 20 of those yards came after the catch and two of his receptions resulted in first downs, culminating in a career-best 80.8 PFF receiving grade.

Higgins is starting to string together several strong performances in a row, as he’s recorded a PFF grade over 70.0 in three of his last four games. In their win over the Colts, Higgins caught all five of his targets — four of which resulted in first downs — for 65 yards, his highest total of the season.

Thornton played a limited role in the Raiders’ loss to the Chargers, as he only saw 14 offensive snaps. He caught one pass for 11 yards on a screen pass that resulted in a first down. On the year, Thornton only has 10 receptions, but six of them have resulted in first downs.

Despite Hawes being limited in his role as a receiver, as he’s only caught 11 passes all year, he’s still the fifth-highest-graded tight end in the entire league — not just amongst rookies. Hawes caught just one pass for 10 yards in the Bills’ win over the Steelers, but he was once again stellar as a blocker, posting a 70.8 PFF pass-blocking grade and 71.0 PFF run-blocking grade.

Conerly struggled to open his career but seems to be figuring things out, as he’s played three straight games with a PFF grade over 74.0 — with Sunday night’s overtime loss being his best performance. This streak of success has also included three straight run-blocking grades over 73.0, and he didn’t allow a pressure on 59 pass-blocking snaps against a Broncos defensive line that has otherwise wreaked havoc on offensive lines all season.

Banks has been a steady presence on the Saints’ offensive line, and Sunday was more of the same. While he did endure some struggles in pass protection, as he gave up his first sack since Week 8, he wasn’t burned very often — resulting in a 67.5 PFF pass-blocking grade.

The Cowboys pulled off one of their biggest wins of the season on Thanksgiving over the Chiefs, with Booker being among the key contributors. The rookie guard out of Alabama was particularly dominant as a run blocker, producing a 79.0 grade — which is right in line with the 79.1 figure he carries on the season. In all, Booker totaled five positively-graded run blocks as opposed to just one negative.

Another standout rookie guard on Thanksgiving, Ratledge struggled in pass protection with a 46.0 figure — but was so good as a run blocker that it didn’t damage his overall grade too badly. Ratledge allowed just one pressure but was beaten four other times on 33 pass-blocking snaps. Yet in the run game, he was a people-mover, recording a whopping seven positively-graded blocks.

Interior Offensive Line: Caleb Rogers, Las Vegas Raiders – 67.1

The former third-rounder out of Texas Tech made his offensive debut against the Chargers; while he only played 17 snaps, he held his own. 10 pass-blocking snaps, he yielded just one pressure, which occurred in garbage time after a nice spin move by Tuli Tuipulotu.

While Ezeiruaku won’t make Cowboys fans forget about Micah Parsons anytime soon, he has more than done his part to step up in his absence, having not recorded a PFF grade below 60.0 since Week 4. In the Cowboys’ win over the Chiefs, Ezeiruaku tormented the Chiefs’ offensive line by recording five pressures and two quarterback hits that ended up with him generating a career-high 24.1% pass-rush win rate.

Walker has rewarded the Falcons’ faith in him after making the former Georgia Bulldog the 15th pick in the 2025 Draft. He’s assembled some stellar performances this season, and despite the Falcons’ loss, he was once again a difference-maker against the Jets. Walker recorded three pressures, including a quarterback hit, while adding another pass-rush win.

Defensive Interior: Elijah Roberts, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 71.5

The former fifth-rounder out of SMU has carved out a nice role for himself along the Buccaneers’ defensive line, and Sunday’s win over the Cardinals was one of his best showings yet. He was particularly dominant as a pass rusher, notching three pressures with four additional pass-rush wins for a 23.1% pass-rush win rate that is a career-best.

Defensive Interior: Tyleik Williams, Detroit Lions – 69.5

The Lions’ top draft pick had a slow start to his career, but he’s quietly put together a long stretch of quality performances, posting a PFF grade of at least 65.0 in six of his last eight games. As a pass rusher, he recorded three pressures, with one of which resulting in Jordan Love hitting the turf. Williams also added a positive grade on 21.1% of his run-defense snaps.

Linebacker: Carson Schwesinger, Cleveland Browns – 75.9

While the Browns had a rough showing in their loss to the 49ers, Schwesinger was one of the few bright spots — particularly against the run, where he churned out a career-high 86.3 grade. Four of his five tackles resulted in stops, which ties a career high. In fact, Schwesinger has tallied a run stop in all but one game this season.

Linebacker: Shemar James, Dallas Cowboys – 66.1

The rookie fifth-rounder out of Florida only played 12 defensive snaps on Thanksgiving, but that was enough for him to make an impact. He wasn’t targeted a single time on nine coverage snaps for a 66.1 PFF coverage grade.

Despite lining up against one of the better passing attacks in the league, Burke put up a stellar performance against the Buccaneers, not being targeted a single time on 27 coverage snaps for a 74.9 grade. Although he’s played 239 coverage snaps, Burke has never allowed more than 43 yards into his coverage in a game, which he did in his first taste of NFL action.

Cornerback: Trikweze Bridges, Dallas Cowboys – 65.5

Twenty-five of Bridges’ 27 snaps came in coverage, but that was totally fine for the Cowboys’ defense. While he did allow both of his targets to be caught for either a first down or a touchdown, they were both short-yardage plays, as Bridges permitted just seven yards into his coverage on the day.

Since returning from injury in Week 8, Sunday’s win over the Steelers saw Hairston’s lowest play count on the season at just 13 defensive snaps. Still, he was solid in his limited action, not being targeted a single time in coverage. In fact, in his six games played thus far, Hairston has only given up multiple catches in a game once.

Despite being a fourth-round rookie, the Jets have asked a lot out of Malachi Moore this season, and he’s been up to the task. In their victory over the Falcons, Moore gave up four catches for 41 yards but also recorded two stops in coverage for a 63.6 PFF coverage grade.

Safety: R.J. Mickens, Los Angeles Chargers – 65.0

In their win over the Raiders, Mickens was once again a big contributor, posting grades of at least 60.0 both in run defense (60.3) and in coverage (63.8). He permitted just one reception on 14 coverage snaps for 11 yards, which was a big step down for him considering he’d only surrendered 17 yards into his coverage all season prior to Sunday. In fact, this was the first time any catch Mickens had allowed resulted in a first down.