One Year Removed from the NFL Combine 

by Bo Marchionte
@bomarchionte | College2Pro.com
Published June 25, 2026, 6:32 AM

Ready to Explode in Year Two

Heading into the 2025 NFL Draft last season, one of my absolute favorite players – Period. Was none other than the Arizona Cardinals 16th overall pick in round one. Watching his tape, it looked like a grizzly bear in attack mode. Quickness and power are overwhelming.

Nolen III by the Numbers

  • Height: 6’4”
  • Weight: 300
  • Draft Entry – First-Round (16th overall)
  • Games: 6
  • Starts: 0

A calf injury limited Nolen III to just six games as a rookie, but the flashes in limited action provided the long-term outlook of positivity for Arizona.

At 6-foot-4, 300 pounds, Nolen is a rare interior disruptor whose pass-rush traits already rank among the league’s best. If he stays healthy, expect a substantial leap in Year 2. He finished his abbreviated rookie campaign with 11 tackles, 2.0 sacks, five tackles for loss, five quarterback hits, two pass breakups and a defensive touchdown, despite never making a start.

PFF Metric Breakdown

  • 97th percentile -Pass Rush Grade
  • 95th percentile – Pass Rush Grade on True Pass Rushes
  • 95th percentile – Pass Rush Grade without Play Action
  • 89th percentile – Pass Rush Win Rate
  • 65th percentile – Run Defense Grade
  • 16th percentile – Run Stop Percentage (biggest area for growth)

Nolen’s metrics scream one thing: elite interior pass rusher.

Three different pass-rush categories in the 95th percentile or better aren’t a fluke they’re the profile of a player capable of wrecking games.

The lone blemish is his run-stop percentage, but that’s often improved with experience, strength and snap volume.

If Arizona gets a healthy season from its young defensive tackle, don’t be surprised if Nolen III becomes one of the NFL’s fastest-rising defensive linemen in 2026.

Mitchell Evans: Separation Creates Opportunity

Mitchell Evans quietly put together a rookie season that hints at much bigger things ahead. While the raw production won’t jump off the page, his underlying PFF metrics tell a far more exciting story.

The Panthers tight end consistently created space against defenders, giving quarterbacks clean throwing windows. That’s a trait that often translates into a Year 2 surge once trust, chemistry and opportunity increase.

Evans by the Numbers

  • Height: 6’5”
  • Weight: 260
  • Draft Entry: Fifth Round (163rd overall)
  • Games: 17
  • Starts: 10

If Carolina expands his role, Evans has the tools to become one of the NFL’s better all-around young tight ends. A former Notre Dame tight end is another reason to believe he has a higher ceiling than most. With 43 catches for 421 yards and three touchdowns in his final season at South Bend.

PFF Metric Breakdown

  • 98th percentile – Separation Percentage
  • 98th percentile – Separation Percentage vs. Single Coverage
  • 84th percentile – Run Blocking Positively Graded Play Percentage
  • 65th percentile – Yards After Catch per Reception
  • 64th percentile – Receiving Grade vs. Zone Coverage
  • 56th percentile – Overall Receiving Grade
  • 31st percentile – Yards Per Route Run
  • 2nd percentile – Average Depth of Target (aDOT)
  • 0th percentile – Receiving Grade vs. Single Coverage

The headline metric is impossible to ignore. Two different 98th-percentile separation grades place Evans among the NFL’s elite at creating throwing windows, a rare trait for a young tight end.

Pair that with an 84th-percentile run-blocking grade, and you have a player capable of staying on the field in every situation. The low aDOT suggests he was primarily used on underneath routes rather than stretching defenses vertically, limiting his statistical ceiling.

If the Panthers begin attacking the seam and giving Evans more downfield opportunities, the production could quickly catch up to the talent, making him one of the better breakout candidates entering his second season.

A true sleeper.

One Elite Trait Can Earn Him More Snaps

The raw PFF grades aren’t pretty, but they also don’t tell the entire story. Chicago drafted Ruben Hyppolite II in the fourth round (132nd overall) because of his speed, range and ability to chase plays from sideline to sideline.

Those instincts showed up in one category that jumps off the page: run-stop percentage. Entering year-two behind T.J. Edwards and Devin Bush should provide Hyppolite II a foundation to build himself into a real contributor for Chicago.

Hyppolite II by the Numbers

  • Height: 6’0”
  • Weight: 236
  • Draft Entry: Fourth Round (132nd overall)
  • Games: 7
  • Starts: 0

If Hyppolite can become more consistent in coverage, he has the athletic profile to carve out a much larger defensive role in Year 2 after spending much of his rookie season developing behind veterans.

PFF Metric Breakdown

  • 98th percentile – Run Stop Percentage
  • 11th percentile – Forced Incompletion Percentage
  • 6th percentile – Run Defense Grade
  • 4th percentile – Coverage Grade in the Box
  • 3rd percentile – Overall Coverage Grade
  • 0th percentile – Coverage Grade in the Slot

One statistic stands well above the rest. A 98th-percentile run-stop percentage is elite and shows Hyppolite has a knack for finding the football and finishing plays against the run.

The coverage numbers, however, illustrate exactly why he wasn’t a full-time defender as a rookie.

Fortunately for the Bears, coverage technique, route recognition and play diagnosis are coachable. Speed isn’t.

Hyppolite possesses the athletic ability that can’t be taught, and if Chicago can refine his instincts in coverage while continuing to unleash him downhill against the run, he has every opportunity to become one of the more improved second-year linebackers in the NFL.

Explosiveness Waiting to Break Loose

Travis Etienne left free agency to the New Orleans Saints. Tank Bigsby was the next up until Bhayshul Tuten flashed enough early in year one to earn the confidence of Liam Coen and his high-powered offense.

Tuten’s rookie numbers were modest, but the advanced metrics reveal a running back capable of producing far more than the box score suggests.

Jacksonville’s fourth-round pick flashed the contact balance and tackle-breaking ability that made him one of the most explosive runners in college football.

Tuten by the Numbers

  • Height: 5’9”
  • Weight: 209
  • Draft Entry: Fourth Round (104th overall)
  • Games: 15
  • Starts: 0

Etienne reemerged as a top running back in the league under Coen. Tuten should be the beneficiary of Etienne’s departure and Coen’s offensive mind.

Finishing with 83 carries for 307 yards and five rushing touchdowns, adding 10 receptions for 79 yards and two receiving scores. Tuten did that in a crowded backfield

PFF Metric Breakdown

  • 82nd percentile – Missed Tackles Forced per Attempt
  • 79th percentile – Yards After Contact per Attempt
  • 70th percentile – Missed Tackles Forced per Reception
  • 63rd percentile – Zone Rushing Grade
  • 39th percentile – Receiving Grade
  • 34th percentile – Yards per Route Run
  • 30th percentile – Overall Rushing Grade
  • 8th percentile – Gap Rushing Grade

The two metrics that matter most jump off the page. An 82nd-percentile missed tackles forced rate and 79th-percentile yards after contact tell you Tuten creates yards on his own. Those are traits that translate regardless of offensive line play.

His struggles came in gap concepts, while his 63rd-percentile zone grade suggests he’s a much better fit running behind a zone-blocking scheme. If Jacksonville continues to lean into his strengths and expands his workload, Tuten has the burst, contact balance and home-run ability to emerge as one of the NFL’s biggest Year 2 breakout running backs.

Built to Protect the Franchise Quarterback

The Las Vegas Raiders are counting on Caleb Rogers to become a long-term fixture up front, and Year 2 presents the perfect opportunity.

With Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, now leading the franchise, protecting the young quarterback becomes priority No. 1.

Rogers by the Numbers

  • Height: 6’5”
  • Weight: 305
  • Draft Entry: Third Round (98th overall)
  • Games: 6
  • Starts: 6

Rogers showed enough in his rookie season to believe he can develop into a dependable starter, particularly in pass protection, where several advanced metrics were among the NFL’s best.

PFF Metric Breakdown

  • 96th percentile – Pass Block Grade vs. 3-Man Rush
  • 94th percentile – Pass Block Grade on 3-Step Concepts
  • 40th percentile – Run Blocking Negatively Graded Plays
  • 30th percentile – Pass Block Grade with Play Action
  • 2nd percentile – Sack Allowed Percentage

 

Rogers missed the majority of the 2025 season due to injury and limited playing time. He faced obstacles like any rookie does in their first season.

Rogers’ late-season performances were more encouraging. As the season progressed, he became a solid contributor, showing enough improvement to earn praise from general manager John Spytek.

The elite pass-protection metrics deserve the spotlight. Rogers excelled in quick-game concepts and consistently handled three-man rushes, evidence of strong technique, balance and processing.

The glaring weakness is the 2nd-percentile sack-allowed percentage, but sacks often involve far more than one offensive lineman, including quarterback timing, protection calls and route development.

If Rogers can build on his elite pass-blocking traits while cleaning up the inconsistencies, he’ll become a valuable piece of the offensive line and an important protector for franchise quarterback In Fernando Mendoza.

 

 

 

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