Each week we dive into each team’s rookie class and compare how they stack up against each other. (Grades for each player are the overall offensive or defensive grade handed out by PFF.com)
Dallas Cowboys
Tyler Booker (OG)
First Round
Currently missing time with high-ankle sprain
Grade: 65.0
Donovan Ezeiraku (DE)
Second Round
Carolina’s offense is a split personality, and that matters for a rookie edge. On paper, the Panthers block the run really well and pass protect just below average. They rank seventh in Run Block Win Rate (73%), but in pass protection they rank 27th in Pass Block Win Rate (54%). So basically, defenses feel their pads on first down, but you can squeeze the pocket if you’re patient and smart.
The headache is the guy behind that line, a familiar face, Rico Dowdle. He’s fresh off detonating Miami for 206 rushing yards last week, so if the Dallas’ edges don’t set the edge and tackle clean, he will break off runs again.
For Ezeiruaku, his snap usage is trending up, and has done so every week since the first game against Philadelphia, thanks to his hot motor and relentless energy on defense. If the Cowboys force passing downs and Ezeiruaku keeps his rush-lane integrity, he’s walking into the kind of matchup that rewards his speed and rush sequencing. The Panthers want to bludgeon you on early downs and ask their tackles to hold up long enough after that. Ezeiruaku has been inching closer every week to a sack, and this is the kind of game where he could finally be raising his arms to celebrate.
Grade: 59.7
Shavon Revel Jr. (CB)
Third Round
Currently on Non-Football injury list (NFI)
Jaydon Blue (RB)
Fifth Round
The fifth-rounder out of Texas finally got the green light in Week 5 and made his presence felt straight away with a 32-yard kickoff return that jump-started field position in the win over the Jets. He struggled in the run department with only seven yards on four carries.
What jumped off the screen was pace. Blue pressed the front side on zone runs like a vet and hit the return lane with urgency. The blocking wasn’t always there so he struggled to get past the second level, but you can see his speed and how it is just waiting for an opportunity.
Grade: 64.2
Shemar James (LB)
Fifth Round
What has flashed on tape with Shemar so far is he plays every down with urgency and a plan. Dropped into the lineup after Jack Sanborn exited, James looked better than his predecessor. Hopefully this week, James will work on his pursuit angles and awareness on play-action, something he did struggle with last week. It’s been positive from James so far, and leading the team in tackles against the Jets is a good place to return to when asking if he deserves more playing time. He’s quick, aggressive, mostly right at reading his landmarks, and all that’s encouraging for a rookie linebacker.
Grade: 49.4
Ajani Cornelius (OT)
Sixth Round
Inactive
Grade: N/A
Jay Toia (DT)
Seventh Round
Inactive
Grade: 30.2
Phil Mafah (RB)
Seventh Round
Inactive
Grade: N/A
Carolina Panthers
Tetairoa McMillan (WR)
First Round
The Panthers didn’t spend the No. 8 pick on McMillan to let him idle on the sideline. He stepped right into the lineup as a true outside receiver and looked the part from snap one. The early stats have him at 24 catches for 351 yards, but no touchdown as yet.
The frame and wingspan with McMillan is huge. At 6’5”, 212 pounds, he plays every inch of it without getting stiff. He boxes out like a power forward, flashes late hands on the boundary, and wins those back-shoulders and digs through the defender, not around him. The routes are about tempo, not sprinting, then he taps the brakes at the stem, and snaps back downhill for clean separation, is amazing to watch. Layer in the ball tracking and body control along with functional toughness to block and finish through contact, and you’ve got a rookie who stays on the field in any situation.
McMillan profiles as a chain-mover with fireworks and the guy who’ll keep drives alive on second-and-eight and still sneak an explosive play in when the corner blinks. As the timing with Bryce Young improves, the highlight plays should start arriving.
Grade: 75.1
Nic Scourton (OLB)
Second Round
The Panthers took Nic Scourton at pick number 51 and looked to bolster their defense with a strong and power moveable chess piece. After a bumpy August, he’s climbed right into the rotation and stayed there. The box score has been light so far, but the film speaks.
Scourton rushes with a plan, not just a standard long-arm to the chest, he can flatten the edge, then snap back under when a tackle oversets. He’s sturdy enough to set a hard edge, patient enough to cash late when the pocket resets, and nimble enough to stay attached on boot-action throws.
In terms of his role at Carolina, they’re giving him a chance for sure, but it’s limited. Watch him bounce across the front and hunt in long yardage situations while the vets chew early downs. Keep stacking second-effort rushes and tidy edge fits, and the stat line will catch up to the tape. Smart money says the first sack lands sooner rather than later.
Grade: 71.2
Princely Umanmielen (OLB)
Third Round
The Panthers are still figuring out what Princely Umanmielen wants to be on Sundays, and that’s okay as rookie edge roles don’t always arrive quickly. He’s been limited to 81 total snaps while the staff shuffles packages, but the flashes are easy to spot. He has a springy first step, a good long-arm stab that straightens a tackle’s set, and a backside chase that shows up when the ball tries to cut back. It’s been a little bit of everything so far with a sprinkle of early-run fits and some special-teams grunt work, while they search for the lane that sticks.
The path forward is role clarity for Umanmielen, not a magic trick. Let him be the designated pass rusher on long yardage plays for now, and give him a couple of chances when spell running backs stay in.
Grade: 50.0
Trevor Etienne (RB)
Fourth Round
Trevor Etienne looks the part every time he hops off the sideline with fresh legs, instant burst, and that one cut agility you can hear from the press box. The catch, his lane is narrow right now because Rico Dowdle has the hot hand and the Panthers are riding it like a rental car. When your lead back is chewing up first downs and setting the tone on early downs, the rookie becomes the spice, not the entrée.
For Etienne right now, it’s about utility and timing. Keep stacking clean pass-pro reps so the coaches trust him on third down, keep selling motion so play-action has more teeth, and keep being the change-up back that punishes defenses the second they exhale. Dowdle’s the volume plan (and he’s earned it), but Etienne can still steal possessions with ten smart snaps and one well-timed burst.
Grade: 70.9
Lathan Ransom (S)
Fourth Round
Ransom’s role is growing by the week, and it isn’t just next man up noise. Coaches are trusting him in more packages because he’s doing the quiet things right. He’s playing with clean pre-snap communication and reliable tackling that ends plays where they’re caught. A couple of nicks in the safety room helped open the door, but Ransom’s the one keeping it open by stabilizing the alley on early downs and handling motion without busts.
Ransom plays top-down with purpose. He’ll overlap a dig, cover a post, and still arrive square enough to erase open field yards. He’s comfortable disguising two-high into single-high, can live as the down safety in quarters, and carries tight ends without panic in match principles. Add in special-teams value and a willing blitzer’s temperament and Carolina has got a first-year safety who helps in three phases without asking for a spotlight.
Grade: 57.6
Cam Jackson (NT)
Fifth Round
He’s been limited to just 28 snaps so far as he rotates the nose tackle postiom and has registered only one tackle so far this year.
Grade: 38.5
Mitchell Evans (TE)
Fifth Round
Evans is Carolina’s sneakiest button on the controller. The rookie fifth-rounder wandered into a packed tight end room and immediately claimed the third tight end job. His marquee moment came last week against Miami where he ghosted through goal-line traffic for the game-winning four-yard score to finish a 27–24 rally. And that now makes two touchdowns in two games.
Don’t pencil in a target avalanche, however, pencil in high-leverage work. As defenses crash downhill on Rico Dowdle and squat on the Panthers’ passing game, Evans should keep logging snaps in heavy sets and play-action looks, the exact neighborhoods where his routes pop free.
Grade: 75.2
Jimmy Horn Jr (WR)
Sixth Round
He’s featured in only one game for nine snaps and has made two receptions for 21 yards. He’s effectively the back-up slot receiver behind Hunter Renfrow, and the wide receiver position for Carolina has been an issue so far this season.
Grade: 60.7
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