Ranking NFL rookies with the most pressure to succeed: These 5 non-QBs will be counted on to deliver in Year 1

Rookie quarterbacks aren't the only first-year pros under pressure in their debut seasons as professional. Far from. And heck, with a down quarterback class featuring arguably the least-hyped No. 1 overall selection in league history in Cam Ward, there's a case to be made non-quarterbacks will feel more pressure as rookies. 

And I make that case below. None of my picks for rookies with the most pressure to succeed are quarterbacks. Sure, the spotlight will be on Ward in Tennessee, but we all understand the roster is years away from contending. The other first-round quarterback, Jaxson Dart, probably won't start in Week 1 with the Giants. 

Three of my five picks were top-10 selections, and the other two were also first-round choices.

5. Maxwell Hairston, CB, Bills 

The Bills have been so close to reaching a Super Bowl multiple times in the Josh Allen era. But the defense has routinely let the organization down in elimination games in the playoffs against Patrick Mahomes and one contest against Joe Burrow. 

With Christian Benford emerging as a lockdown perimeter cornerback -- who was just handsomely paid -- the Bills had a massive need across the field from him at the position. Departing from high-floor, low-ceiling types at corner, which has been a staple during the Sean McDermott era, the Bills selected Hairston, with 4.28-second 40-yard dash speed, late in the first round of the draft. 

He's on the smaller side but when fully healthy in 2023, intercepted five passes with six pass breakups and returned two of those picks to the house. With the Bills as one of the league's Super Bowl favorites, Hairston's play in Year 1 will be under the microscope all season. 

4. Shemar Stewart, EDGE, Bengals

In the first round, the Bengals saw likely targets go off the board directly in front of them, like Tyler Booker, Kenneth Grant and Walter Nolen -- all of whom were all picked within five selections of when Cincinnati selected at No. 17 overall. 

They ultimately landed on Stewart, widely considered the largest boom-or-bust prospect in the entire 2025 class. That label in and of itself is a pressure creator. The Bengals picked another raw, high-upside defensive end in the first round in Myles Murphy, who's been a major disappointment through two seasons. 

Now they have another similar prototype in Stewart. And his contract dispute leaves him as one of two first-round picks unsigned with training camp less than two weeks away. For a club with a Super Bowl-caliber offense and a defensive in dire need of massive improvement, Stewart is squarely under a high amount of pressure in 2025. 

3. Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Panthers

McMillan was the first pure receiver off the board -- not counting Hunter -- and he was picked to further the developmental process of 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young. And the Panthers entered the draft with 2024 first-round pick Xavier Legette fresh off a mostly disappointing season. They didn't have an obvious perimeter threat who could routinely move the chains. 

That's likely why they zeroed in on McMillan, and as we discovered post-draft in a Panthers' war room video, rebuked a sizable trade offer from the Rams in order to stay put to select the Arizona receiver. All of those factors combined make it rather evident: McMillan, the sizable, power forward wideout, is in the pressure cooker in his first season to be the catalyst for Young to fully live up to the hype that comes with being the top pick in the draft. 

Most important non-QB for every NFL team: These players will go a long way in determining their club's success

Jared Dubin

2. Ashton Jeanty, RB, Raiders

Jeanty was the most hyped running back prospect since at least Saquon Barkley in 2018. After nearly reaching the deemed-to-be-impossible single-season rushing yard record set by Barry Sanders in 1989, Jeanty narrowly came in second in the Heisman race to Hunter. 

He entered the 2024 season at Boise State with immense hype -- and exceeded expectations. Short but ultra-stocky with incredible contact balance and breakaway speed, Jeanty will instantly be the focal point of Chip Kelly's new offense in Las Vegas. 

And essentially everything is new within the Raiders organization. New minority owner Tom Brady. New general manager, head coach, quarterback, coordinators. And Jeanty at the center of what is believed to be a considerably more competitive Raiders club. There's clear pressure for him to begin his NFL career as one of the best backs in the league. 

1. Mason Graham, DT, Browns

In late April, the Browns sat there, at No. 2 overall, with the opportunity to pick Travis Hunter, potentially transcendent specimen and universally loved prospect. And they passed on him. More specifically, they accepted a trade offer from the Jaguars to move back from that second pick to No. 5 overall and ultimately picked Graham, the defensive tackle from Michigan. 

Think there's added pressure on the young interior rusher? Yeah, I'd say so. 

While most of the attention will be paid to the Browns quarterback situation inside one of the strangest quarterback rooms ever assembled -- Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders -- it's Graham who should feel the most pressure to succeed within this organization I can't decide is trying to win now or rebuild.