Former Texas LB Anthony Hill Jr. scores top defensive PFF grade among NFL rookies through Sunday
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Former Texas star linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. didn’t take long to make a serious impact with his new team, the Tennessee Titans, in his first NFL debut on Sunday afternoon.
The Titans might have lost at home to the New York Jets, but Hill was a winner individually, posting the top defensive grade among rookies, according to PFF. Tennessee used a 2nd-round pick on Hill, grabbing him with the 60th overall pick in last spring’s draft, and Hill immediately started rewarding the Titans with Sunday’s breakout performance.
Hill, who played at Texas from 2023-25 and was a 2-time first-team All-SEC selection in addition to being a 2-time second-team All-American, posted a PFF grade of 78.7 against the Jets.
He was the only rookie defensive player to reach 78 or higher in the Week 1 grades, with 1 game left to play on Monday night as the Broncos visit the Chiefs. Hill piled up the tackles on Sunday against the Jets, posting 16 total tackles and 2 solo stops.
The 6-foot-2, 238-pounder who was born in Kansas played his high school ball in Texas before staying in-state to star for the Longhorns. Now, he’s beginning his ascent as an NFL player, and he was at the top of the class, so to speak, with his performance on Sunday.
Here are those top defensive rookie grades through play on Sunday:
Hill’s NFL career is off to a great start, and that should only help his odds to win Defensive Rookie of the Year. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about those odds as Week 1 of the NFL season comes to a close on Monday night:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
