Highest-graded undrafted free agents from the 2025 NFL regular season
- Efton Chism III flashed sure hands to close out the regular season: His work in the preseason and his contested touchdown catch in Week 17 point to a player who has a future in the NFL.
- The Jaguars found a valuable depth piece in Danny Striggow: The Minnesota product’s 69.0 PFF run-defense grade ranked third among rookies who logged at least 100 snaps during the regular season.
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Undrafted free agents face a tough road to NFL snaps, but a handful always defy the odds to make a 53-man roster.
Significant work is hard to come by for that group — as is high-level play — but these 10 players flashed potential during the 2025 regular season. These were the 10 highest-graded undrafted free agents who played at least 75 non-special teams snaps.
1. WR Efton Chism III, New England Patriots (74.1)
The Patriots made Chism inactive for much of the year, including the first five weeks of the season, and he played a maximum of nine offensive snaps in a game until Week 17. Then, the coaching staff lengthened his leash, and it was clear that the training camp standout brought some pop.
The Eastern Washington product hauled in his first two NFL passes in Week 17 against the Jets, one for a touchdown on a contested target. He logged 26 offensive snaps in Week 18 and even handled 14 reps in the Patriots’ wild-card win over the Chargers, notching one catch for 20 yards.
He produced two 70.0-plus PFF game grades to close out the regular season, fueling his No. 1 ranking among undrafted players.
2. TE Keleki Latu, Buffalo Bills (73.8)
Latu didn’t get an earnest chance to show off his skill set until Week 18 against the Jets, when the Bills rested their starters. With Mitchell Trubisky helming the offense, Latu hauled in three passes — bringing his season total to four — for 30 yards. His two forced missed tackles and three first downs helped him earn a near-elite 89.8 PFF receiving grade in the game.
The 6-foot-7, 244-pound tight end has flashed on special teams, too, (82.5 PFF special-teams grade) but will have to wait until 2026 to see more work in Buffalo’s offense.
3. EDGE Danny Striggow, Jacksonville Jaguars (69.3)
Striggow earned a sub-60.0 PFF overall grade in only one of his nine appearances with more than 10 snaps this season. His 69.0 PFF run-defense grade ranked third among rookies who logged at least 100 snaps during the regular season — ahead of first-rounders Mykel Williams, Abdul Carter, James Pearce Jr. and Shemar Stewart.
It was a promising rookie campaign for the Minnesota product. He served as valuable depth behind Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker, finishing the regular season as the Jaguars’ second-highest-graded defensive lineman.
4. CB Corey Thornton, Carolina Panthers (68.6)
Whenever the Panthers trusted Thornton with significant snaps, he repaid them with lockdown coverage. Due to injury, the undrafted free agent saw just 15 targets in coverage this regular season, but only eight resulted in catches. He broke up two others and surrendered all of 71 receiving yards.
No rookie cornerback who faced at least 15 targets allowed a lower passer rating than Thornton (66.3). If he can return to form in 2026 after suffering a season-ending broken fibula in Week 12, Thornton could be a prominent piece in Carolina’s secondary.
5. DI Eric Gregory, New England Patriots (68.6)
The Patriots claimed Gregory off waivers from the Bengals in late August, and he bided his time on the sideline before making his NFL debut in Week 11.
From then on, Gregory played 126 regular-season snaps and produced a 16.4% positively graded play rate in run defense — the eighth-best clip among 27 qualifying rookie interior defenders. And no first-year interior defender earned a higher PFF run-defense grade in the regular season (68.6) than Gregory.
6. WR Jahdae Walker, Chicago Bears (67.3)
It was always going to be a challenge for Walker to carve out a role in the Bears’ crowded receiver room; even first-round pick Colston Loveland took some time to do so this season.
Yet, the Texas A&M product came up big down the stretch, hauling in a pair of touchdown passes in Chicago’s final three regular-season games — including the game-tying score against the Packers in Week 16 with less than 30 seconds remaining in regulation. He earned a career-best 75.4 PFF overall grade in that outing.
7. DI Adin Huntington, Cleveland Browns (64.8)
Huntington logged 25 offensive snaps as a fullback and 158 defensive snaps as a lineman for the Browns. He earned two 85.0-plus PFF game grades in a row — in Weeks 2 and 3 against the Ravens and Packers, respectively — and notched a quarterback pressure and at least one stop in each outing.
While an increased workload didn’t follow, Huntington was a steady presence for Cleveland, despite his undrafted status. He didn’t miss a single tackle, leading to a 73.8 PFF tackling grade, which tied for 10th best among 170 interior defenders who tallied at least 100 regular-season snaps.
8. TE Benjamin Yurosek, Minnesota Vikings (63.5)
The rookie tight end class featured several top-end pass catchers but also a handful of blocking studs. Although Yurosek went undrafted, he took on a blocking role in Minnesota’s offense from day one. Nearly 80% of his snaps were as a blocker, and he delivered his best performance in the Vikings’ final game.
On a career-high 26 snaps in Week 18 against the Packers, Yurosek garnered an elite 90.4 PFF overall grade, powered by an 81.9 PFF run-defense grade. It was a taste of what the Vikings could get out of Yurosek in an expanded blocking role next season, although Josh Oliver is locked in as the team’s primary blocking tight end.
9. T Ben Chukwuma, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (62.5)
Injuries forced Chukwuma into significant action in Weeks 14 and 17, where the Georgia State product saw 141 of his 151 snaps this season. And he did his job at left tackle with no major losses in those outings, earning 60.0-plus PFF game grades.
While Chukwuma did allow six combined pressures in the two games, it was on a significant pass-blocking workload. He also posted a 65.1 PFF run-blocking grade for the year, topping first-rounders Josh Conerly Jr. and Josh Simmons in that regard.
10. WR Darius Cooper, Philadelphia Eagles (62.2)
Cooper made a name for himself this preseason with six catches for 82 yards and a score in the Eagles’ opener, although he didn’t make his first regular-season grab until Week 12.
From then until the end of the regular season, he didn’t drop any of his 11 targets and produced a 67.1 PFF receiving grade — tying him with top-10 pick Tetairoa McMillan.
