The 20 most important second-year NFL defenders in 2025 - ESPN

This offseason, I've already reviewed the 2024 draft class at quarterback and wide receiver — both loaded positions. Remember, the first 14 picks of the draft were all spent on offense, which set a record. Yet despite the defense's predraft reputation as a weaker group, its collective rookie impact was substantial. So now I'm turning my attention there.

Twenty-seven rookies played at least 500 snaps on defense in 2024, a whopping 20 of whom were defensive backs. But it wasn't just that a lot of rookies played; in fact, 29 rookies took at least 500 defensive snaps in 2022. It's that they were great. Postseason runs were defined by Jared Verse, Quinyon Mitchell, Mike Sainristil and Cooper DeJean. Units were fundamentally changed by the success of Tarheeb Still, Jarvis Brownlee Jr., Calen Bullock and Chop Robinson. And honestly, a 500-snap threshold doesn't even catch key players who sat out time or are expecting big roles this season. Impact guys such as Edgerrin Cooper, Jalyx Hunt, Evan Williams, Kamren Kinchens and Byron Murphy II all don't clear that bar.

But as it is, regardless of number of rookie snaps, here are the 20 most important rising sophomores on defense — and what makes each of them so special. We listed them in order of their draft slot.

Murphy was inconsistent last season. An hamstring injury seemed to sap some of his explosiveness, and a back injury affected his play late. He was also asked to play a few different alignments in a deep rotation, so the rookie learning curve was pretty steep. His pass rushes were often poorly timed, and he could get caught thinking on his feet in run defense.

With those caveats in place, the best plays from Murphy last season were really slick. His ability to endure