- Nick Emmanwori is a force in Mike Macdonald’s defense: The rookie earned an elite 89.5 PFF overall grade against the Rams after limiting receivers to just two catches for eight yards. He is now up to a strong 75.4 PFF coverage grade this postseason.
- Elijah Ponder gave New England his best game at the best time: With a trip to the Super Bowl on the line, Ponder put together the highest-graded game of his young career. He tallied three quarterback pressures and an 11.1% pass-rush win rate.
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Estimated Reading Time: 6minutes
We’re diving into the top rookies by PFF overall grade from the AFC and NFC Championship games. To qualify, players needed to have logged at least 15 snaps.
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1. S Nick Emmanwori, Seattle Seahawks (89.5)
Emmanwori struggled in the divisional round against the 49ers (57.3 PFF defensive grade), but he turned things around against the Rams, grading out as PFF’s top defender for the weekend. He recorded four tackles in run defense (74.5 PFF run-defense grade, second best), including a stop for no gain.
Emmanwori was also targeted five times and didn’t allow any breathing room. He broke up a pass intended for Davante Adams early in the second quarter and recorded additional breakups against Puka Nacua and Ronnie Rivers on back-to-back plays later in the period. Emmanwori also closed quickly for a coverage stop midway through the fourth quarter, holding Blake Corum to a two-yard pickup on the play. In all, he held receivers to just two catches for eight yards while leading all defenders with an 89.9 PFF coverage grade.
The second-round pick from South Carolina marches into Super Bowl 60 against the Patriots as PFF’s fifth-ranked safety during the playoffs (77.9). He has logged five tackles with two stops in run defense (73.2 PFF grade) and has generated an 8.3% positive play rate.
Emmanwori is holding quarterbacks to a 72.5 NFL passer rating — second best among rookie safeties — and has allowed six catches on 10 targets for 49 yards and five first downs in two playoff games, with most of that production coming against the 49ers. His 75.4 PFF coverage grade ranks third at the position — and second among safeties who will be playing in the Super Bowl (Craig Woodson, 85.3).
2. EDGE Josaiah Stewart, Los Angeles Rams (81.4)
Stewart made his presence felt in the Rams’ loss to the Seahawks with two hurries on just eight pass-rushing snaps. He also finished second behind teammate Jared Verse in PFF run-defense grade (78.0). Stewart assisted on two tackles while stopping Kenneth Walker III for negative yardage on another. He played just 22 defensive snaps in the game but still graded out as PFF’s best edge defender in the conference championship round.
The 22-year-old third-round pick from Michigan earned a 73.9 PFF overall grade in his first playoff run (sixth best). He was stellar in run defense, where he led all edge defenders with an 83.2 PFF grade. Stewart recorded two tackles and five assists and generated the seventh-best positively graded play rate at the position (21.1%). He was also the only edge defender not charged with a negative play in run defense during the playoffs.
Stewart got after the quarterback, too, recording six pressures at a rate of 18.2%. He was targeted only once in coverage, a catch that went for 12 yards against the Bears.
3. S Craig Woodson, New England Patriots (80.3)
Woodson continued his postseason breakout with the third-best PFF overall grade among safeties in the conference championship games. He stopped fellow rookie RJ Harvey for no gain late in the first quarter and broke up a fourth-down pass to Harvey in the second quarter with Denver knocking on the door inside New England’s 15-yard line. He nearly secured his second interception of the postseason on the play.
Woodson was targeted twice in the game, holding Harvey again to one catch for one yard. His 76.5 PFF coverage grade was the fourth-best mark among all defenders this weekend.
With Super Bowl 60 looming against the Seahawks, Woodson stands as PFF’s third-ranked defender by PFF overall grade this postseason (90.5). The fourth-round pick from California is the highest-graded run defender (88.1) and coverage defender (85.3) among playoff safeties.
The 24-year-old owns a second-ranked 13.0% positively graded play rate in run defense, powered by seven tackles — two for loss or no gain — along with five assists. Meanwhile, he has held receivers to three catches across 10 targets for 17 yards (tied for third best) while generating a 30% forced incompletion rate (seventh best) and holding quarterbacks to a 0.0 NFL passer rating (best) this postseason.
4. G Grey Zabel, Seattle Seahawks (68.6)
Zabel ranked as the highest-graded guard of the conference championship games, fueled by his 74.9 PFF pass-blocking grade (second). He surrendered just three pressures on 40 snaps.
Although he finished with just a 63.8 PFF run-blocking grade, it was still good for second best at the position. He recorded a 12.0% impact-block rate and a 12.0% defeated rate in the game.
Zabel is the league’s sixth-highest-graded guard this postseason. The 18th overall pick from North Dakota State has earned 70.0-plus PFF grades in both blocking facets. He has allowed just four pressures across his past four games, with his last sack coming in Week 16 against the Rams. That was the only game this season where Zabel surrendered a sack, and he earned a 74.0 PFF pass-blocking grade over that span.
The 23-year-old owns a 74.0 PFF run-blocking grade this postseason (sixth best) and has performed equally well in zone (73.4) and gap schemes (71.7) while generating the fourth-best impact-block rate (22.4%).
5. EDGE Elijah Ponder, New England Patriots (66.5)
Ponder enjoyed his highest-graded game of the postseason, showing up best as a pass rusher (65.5 PFF grade). He crashed the edge on a third-down play on the first drive of the game to get a hit on Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham and force an errant pass, resulting in a three-and-out. That was one of three pressures on the day for Ponder, who recorded an 11.1% pass-rush win rate (fifth best).
The undrafted rookie from Cal Poly enters the Super Bowl with a 58.2 PFF overall grade this postseason. He’s been most active as a pass rusher (57.9 PFF grade), recording eight pressures at a rate of 14.3%.
