NFL Pro deep dive: Players you didn't know were THIS efficient in 2025

Alongside the rest of his defense, Devin Bush was a bright spot in an otherwise dim season for Cleveland. Drafted in the first round in 2019 by Pittsburgh, he made an immediate impact as a rookie, but a knee injury in 2020 thwarted his production in the subsequent years. Until 2025, when he re-exploded onto the scene and was one of the most efficient linebackers in the league. He started all 17 games and finished with 125 tackles, seven tackles for loss, three interceptions, two sacks, two forced fumbles and eight passes defensed. His three interceptions ranked third among all linebackers, and he returned two of them for touchdowns, including a 97-yard pick-six against Cincinnati. Bush was the only player in the NFL to have multiple pick-sixes this season. He’s now a free agent heading into the 2026 season and he may have massively boosted his price tag with last season’s performance.

While Kyren Williams is the guy in the Los Angeles backfield, the Rams utilized their 2024 third-round pick Blake Corum significantly more in his second season, and he was extremely efficient when his name was called. He more than tripled his production in 2025 (746 yards) compared to 2024 (207 yards) and went from zero touchdowns in his first year, to six in his second. Corum was so efficient in fact, that he led all running backs with 13.3 expected points added (EPA) on rushes and 0.09 EPA per carry. Among all running backs with at least 50 carries, he boasted 5.1 yards per carry (T-4th), a 15.9% explosive run rate (4th) and a 49.7% success rate (5th), per NFL Pro. As Corum’s efficiency skyrocketed, he helped boost the Rams from the 24th-ranked rushing offense in 2024 to 7th in 2025.

When it comes to cornerbacks, fans recognize names such as Pat Surtain II, Sauce Gardner, Derek Stingley Jr., and Christian Gonzalez as the industry standard for standout cornerbacks, and for good reason. But, if you haven’t heard of Mike Jackson from the Carolina Panthers, I believe he’s about to become a household name. He led the league in passes defensed (19) and had as many interceptions as he did touchdowns allowed (4). Among all defensive backs with a minimum of 50 targets, Jackson ranked sixth in coverage EPA (-19.0) and forced a tight window on 32.3% of targets, which ranked eighth among qualified cornerbacks, per NFL Pro. This was by far his most efficient year since being drafted in 2019 and as the Panthers stock continues to climb, Jackson’s does too.

It’s easy to overlook someone like Chris Olave, given he was on a team that finished last in the NFC South and only edged out six wins. But the fourth-year wideout quietly had his most effective season yet, with a career-high 1,163 receiving yards (8th) and nine touchdowns (T-4th), also a career-high. Olave shined as a fast, deep threat for rookie quarterback Tyler Shough, accounting for 28.8% of the Saints’ receiving yards. He tallied 25 explosive routes (T-12th), topped 20 mph on ten of his routes (4th) and ranked fifth in deep-ball air yards (20+ air yards) among all receivers, per NFL Pro. However, his real efficiency for the Saints came on third down – he not only tallied the third-most receiving yards (381) in third-down situations but scored SEVEN touchdowns in such situations, leading the league.

In his fifth year in Atlanta, Kyle Pitts established himself as a consistent threat in the Falcons offense. While the years between his rookie season and now were up and down in terms of production, he re-established his relevance as Atlanta’s go-to guy in the air and led the team in receiving yards (928), while hauling in a career-high five touchdowns. Among all tight ends in 2025, Pitts finished second in receiving yards, fourth in yards after catch (431) and sixth in missed tackles forced (10), per NFL Pro. The former first-round pick just got franchise tagged by the Falcons, so they clearly took note of this year's performance as well.

The sample size is small, but mighty. When Brock Purdy went down with a toe injury, Mac Jones assumed the QB1 job in San Francisco from Week 2 until Week 10. In that time, he tallied the fifth-most passing yards (right behind MVP Matthew Stafford), a 69.6% completion rate and a 51.7 pass EPA that ranked 11th among qualified passers. He was especially efficient on short (0-9 yards) and intermediate (10-19 yards) throws, where he led in passing yards (1,849), ranked third in completion percentage (75.2%) and fourth in pass EPA (70.3), per NFL Pro. Jones led the Niners to five wins over those eight games, despite being down several key players, and added a total win probability of 130.8% while helming the offense. While there were more efficient players over that time period, none of them were backup quarterbacks missing half their starting roster, which adds value not visible on a stat sheet.

As a unit, the Tampa Bay pass defense struggled to contain offenses all year long, which makes them very easy to overlook when considering efficiency. However, there was one anchor in their secondary that helped mitigate the damage. Seventh-year cornerback Jamel Dean. Among all defensive backs with at least 50 targets, Dean ranked second in target EPA (-28.3), second in completion rate (43.1%) and fourth in completion percentage over expected (-8.3%). He recorded nine passes defensed, a pair of forced fumbles, three interceptions, a touchdown and a sack, all while giving up just one touchdown when he was the nearest defender in coverage. Dean was even more dominant in the red zone: among all corners with at least five red zone targets, he ranked fifth in target EPA (-8.5) and second in completion rate (16.7%) while forcing a tight window on 66.7% of targets (3rd), per NFL Pro. He is now a free agent entering 2026 and teams looking to bolster their defense with an experienced veteran can look to him for a dynamic, multi-faceted weapon in their secondary.