- The Titans will have to do more for Cam Ward: With an abundance of cap space and another top draft pick, Tennessee has the tools in place to build up Ward’s supporting cast into something far more potent.
- Ashton Jeanty should be just fine: Jeanty proved he is still a tackle-breaking machine at the NFL level, but the Raiders’ offensive line held him back. The front office should be targeting upgrades for the league’s 30th-ranked run-blocking unit.
- 2026 NFL Draft season is here: Try the best-in-class PFF Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2026’s top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.
Estimated Reading Time: 8minutes
The transition from college to the NFL is difficult, and some rookies handle it better than others. A disappointing rookie is fully capable of rebounding, though.
Peyton Manning famously threw 28 interceptions and won only three games as a rookie before exploding in year two. We’re going to look at five players who underwhelmed as rookies and how concerned each team should be with their outlook.
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QB Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans: Moderate
Ward was the top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft out of Miami and immediately became the Titans’ starter behind a suspect offensive line and with limited offensive weapons. To say Ward struggled mightily out of the gate would be an understatement — but also not much of a surprise.
Ward didn’t earn a 70.0-plus PFF passing grade in a game until Week 12 against the eventual NFC champion Seahawks, and he put together only one more such game against the Chiefs. In all, Ward completed just 59.8% of his passes for 3,169 yards, 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions, adding 21 big-time throws and 23 turnover-worthy plays. That all amounted to a 56.4 PFF passing grade, which ranked 36th out of 38 qualifying quarterbacks. The two players below Ward were fellow rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
Titans head coach Brian Callahan was fired midseason and has since been replaced by former 49ers defensive coordinator and Jets head coach Robert Saleh. While Saleh’s track record of developing quarterbacks hasn’t been great, if he surrounds himself with the right assistants, that point could be moot. As of this writing, the Titans’ offensive coordinator position is vacant. That could be a critical hire for Ward’s development.
One thing working in Ward’s favor is the Titans’ abundance of cap space — the most in the NFL, according to Over The Cap. They have the means to surround Ward with proven veteran talent. The Titans and Ward have a lot of work to do if he is to reach his full potential, but they are in a better position than last season.
WR/CB Travis Hunter, Jacksonville Jaguars: Low
Hunter was a unique prospect, given his two-way ability, and that was potentially a lot for a rookie head coach like Liam Coen to figure out.
Hunter injured his LCL in the middle of the season, ending his rookie year after just seven games. His production wasn’t near his Heisman-level numbers at Colorado, but he did have some promising performances.
As a receiver, Hunter caught 28 passes for 298 yards and a score, the bulk of those numbers coming in his last game against the Rams — eight receptions for 101 yards and the aforementioned touchdown. As a cornerback, he allowed just nine catches for 96 yards and no touchdowns for a 73.1 PFF coverage grade. Hunter looked like he was on his way to breaking out before he suffered the knee injury.
Hunter’s recovery will be critical in determining his ability to take the next step forward, and his supporting cast should give him ample opportunity to do so. The Jaguars began hitting their stride late in the season under Coen, and the midseason addition of wide receiver Jakobi Meyers added a new layer to the offense. Hunter’s return could put the Jaguars on a path to becoming a dominant force in the AFC South.
RB Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders: Low
One may look at Jeanty’s numbers and consider his rookie year a colossal failure. He carried the ball 266 times for 975 yards, a 3.7 yards-per-carry figure that would have most people looking for a new back. Yet, despite these pedestrian numbers, Jeanty’s 75.3 PFF rushing grade was more than respectable.
At the top of the list of problems was a Raiders offensive line that ranked 30th in PFF run-blocking grade (53.0). Among Jeanty’s 975 rushing yards, 815 came after contact, meaning the former Heisman runner-up was running for his life more often than not.
Among running backs with at least 100 rushing attempts, Jeanty’s average of 0.6 yards before contact per run ranked third worst. Only the Browns‘ Quinshon Judkins and the Seahawks’ Zach Charbonnet were getting hit sooner. He did manage to force 61 missed tackles on runs, which tied Kenneth Walker III for the fifth most in the league.
For Jeanty to reach his full potential, the Raiders desperately need to invest in their offensive line. They currently hold the first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, which is expected to be used on Heisman-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza — a selection that should take some pressure off Jeanty. After him, though, offensive line prospects become scarce. The PFF Big Board features only 15 offensive linemen in the top 100, regardless of position.
On the plus side, the Raiders currently have the second-most cap space, according to Over The Cap, so free agency could be their avenue to run-game advancements.
DI Kenneth Grant, Miami Dolphins: High
The Dolphins’ top draft choice out of Michigan struggled this year. Grant carried a 41.2 PFF run-defense grade and a 57.6 PFF pass-rush grade, equating to a 48.3 PFF overall grade that ranked 103rd among 129 interior defenders.
After letting go of Mike McDaniel, the Dolphins hired former Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley to be their next head coach. While Hafley’s defense found some success in Green Bay, placing as the 13th-best defense in 2025 by PFF grade, his interior defenders were poor, to say the least.
The Packers’ interior defenders graded out as the third-worst unit in the NFL, collectively carrying a 41.6 PFF overall grade that eclipsed just the Raiders and 49ers. Only one Green Bay interior defender, Jonathan Ford, earned a season-long PFF overall grade above 60.0 — and it was a 60.4 mark on just 48 snaps. While that could be chalked up to a personnel issue rather than coaching, it doesn’t bode well for Grant’s ability to rebound from a down rookie season.
EDGE Shemar Stewart, Cincinnati Bengals: High
A lot was made of Stewart’s selection by the Bengals at 17th overall in last year’s draft. With Trey Hendrickson’s future with the team up in the air, they needed to find another edge defender who could step in should Hendrickson be unavailable. Stewart’s tenure with the Bengals began with a holdout over contract details that caused some uncertainty about his future in Cincinnati.
After that was sorted, though, Stewart put together an interesting rookie season, to say the least. He came out of the gates hot with an 86.3 PFF overall grade in his debut but never sniffed that number again, with a 66.2 mark being his highest-graded outing afterward. In all, Stewart earned a 41.0 PFF overall grade, fueled by a 56.0 PFF pass-rush grade and an abysmal 29.3 PFF run-defense grade.
Stewart didn’t record his first sack until Week 17 against the Cardinals, and even then, it came after the quarterback had been holding the ball for more than four seconds. Stewart registered just 15 pressures on 181 pass-rush attempts. His lack of improvement as the season wore on — after he was considered such a raw prospect — should have the Bengals worried about their top investment from 2025.
