• Laiatu Latu has galvanized the Colts‘ success: Latu’s 89.5 overall PFF grade ranks sixth among edge rushers and first among all defensive players in the 2024 Draft.

• Cole Bishop is becoming valuable for the Bills: Bishop’s most notable improvement from last season has been in coverage, where — thanks to two interceptions along with four other pass breakups — his passer rating allowed in coverage is just 29.6, the lowest of any safety to play over 300 snaps.

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While some 2024 draftees like Jared Verse and Cooper DeJean took the lead by storm in their rookie seasons, others have taken a little longer to acclimate themselves to the NFL.

With over half of their sophomore seasons in the rear view mirror, here are five defensive players who have taken significant jumps in their second year.

After posting a respectable rookie season which saw Latu play at least 25 snaps in every game and record an impressive 72.1 overall PFF grade, the 15th overall pick has taken his game to the next level in Year 2. Latu has already matched his pressure total from last season (38), including a career-high nine-pressure outing against the Rams in October.

While his pressure rate has grown from 10.1% last season to 15.7% this season, Latu’s game has developed in various other areas. He is missing tackles less than half as often as he was during his rookie season, and has even snagged two interceptions on the season — the Colts have experimented with dropping the 265-pound edge rusher into coverage on several occasions.

Latu’s 89.5 overall PFF grade ranks sixth among edge rushers and first among all defensive players in the 2024 Draft. He is a major reason why the Colts have been the biggest surprise of the season so far.

After logging over 2,000 snaps at the collegiate level, many of which came under the tutelage of defensive mastermind Kirby Smart at Georgia, Smith still entered the NFL as a late third-round pick with a lot to prove.

Fortunately, he found an excellent landing spot under the aggressive-minded Todd Bowles, where his opportunistic style has been allowed to flourish. Smith was quickly given a license to get creative in his rookie season. He led all nickel cornerbacks in pass-rush snaps (57) and excelled as a run defender, posting a 88.1 PFF run-defense grade in his rookie campaign.

Despite setting the bar high in Year 1, Smith has taken yet another leap in his sophomore season. He has proven to be even more of a menace getting after the quarterback, with five pressures and two sacks on 24 pass-rushing snaps.

However, Smith’s most impressive development has without doubt been his increased versatility in Year 2. After playing 87.5% of his snaps aligned as a slot defender in his rookie season, Smith has diversified into various other roles within the Buccaneers’ defense.

In this more flexible role, Smith has become heavily involved as a tackler, and his natural run-defense instincts have been allowed to flourish. Smith’s overall PFF grade has grown from 70.2 last season to 79.7 this season.

The 16th overall draft pick from a year ago, Byron Murphy II brought high expectations to a Seattle defense looking to find another cornerstone piece alongside Devon Witherspoon.

After registering six pressures in his first two career starts, Murphy’s early rookie momentum was halted by a hamstring injury which sidelined him for three games. Upon returning, he rarely impressed over the remainder of the season, posting a 57.8 overall PFF grade and producing just half a sack in 2024.

Determined to showcase his true talent, Murphy’s second year got off to an exceptional start with 12 pressures and two sacks over his first three games. Thankfully, no injuries have stopped Murphy in his tracks so far this season, as he recently maintained his strong form with a five-pressure outing against the Cardinals on Sunday.

In total, Murphy has tallied 30 pressures and five sacks through nine games. He has played at least 39 snaps in every single game so far — something he did just four times last season. His 75.1 PFF grade is a major improvement from last season, and the arrow is firmly pointed upward for Seattle’s rising star.

While Murphy’s run defense still remains an area of concern (54.8 PFF grade), the Seahawks drafted him as high as they did because of his freakish ability to generate interior pressure on passing downs. That’s now paying dividends for the hottest team in football at 7-2.

A four-year player for the North Carolina Tar Heels, Cedric Gray has been donning various shades of blue since 2020. The fourth-round pick hasn’t followed the same script as the other names on this list — after sustaining a nerve-related shoulder injury in his inaugural NFL preseason, Gray missed the entire first half of his rookie season. Upon his return, the vast majority of his snaps came on special teams.

When Gray did see the field as a member of the Tennessee defense, it wasn’t pretty. On just 48 total snaps late in the season, Gray posted a very poor 36.8 PFF grade. After getting a proper shot at a full NFL preseason this summer, Gray won a starting linebacker job for the Titans and has played the second-most snaps of any Tennessee defender so far this season.

His sophomore season has not been without hiccups — opposing quarterbacks have gone 14-for-14 for 147 yards and a touchdown when targeting Gray over his last two games. However, the vast majority of his play has been very impressive for a young player drafted outside of the top 100 selections.

Gray’s 71.7 PFF grade is respectable, but what stands out above all else is his 91.4 PFF run-defense grade — which ranks second among all linebackers behind Detroit Lions star Jack Campbell.

After a start-stop rookie season which featured several instances of both 60-plus-snap appearances and 0-to-10-snap games, Bishop has earned consistent starting time under Sean McDermott in Year 2, leading the Buffalo defense in total snaps.

The 60th overall pick from 2024 has garnered a 74.1 PFF grade which ranks 14th among the top 64 safeties in snaps — a strong improvement over his 52.0 mark last season.

Bishop’s most notable improvement from last season has been in coverage, where — thanks to two interceptions along with four other pass breakups — his passer rating allowed in coverage is just 29.6, the lowest of any safety to play over 300 snaps.

Like Tykee Smith, Bishop has shown the versatility to line up all over the Bills’ defense. Despite Jordan Poyer re-entering the fray in recent weeks, the Bills have firmly turned the page to Bishop as the new leader of their secondary.

Given Buffalo’s tendency to find itself in pivotal AFC playoff games down the stretch, Bishop is a name worth keeping your eye out for as we enter the business end of the 2025 season.