Saints’ skill position players lead PFF grades in win over Titans

By Ross Jackson

The skill position players highlight the New Orleans Saints’ top grades from Pro Football Focus following the team’s 34-26 victory over the Tennessee Titans. Rookie quarterback Tyler Shough doesn’t make the list of top players, but only by a short margin. His weapons, however, skied to the top of the list.

Here are the highest and lowest grades earned during the Saints’ sixth win of the year.

Top 5

TE Juwan Johnson – 90.1

WR Chris Olave – 87.5

RB Audric Estimé – 82.9

LB Danny Stutsman – 82.1

DE Chase Young – 78.8

Johnson, Olave and Estimé were among the heroes of this matchup. Olave furthered his career-best season with his second 100-plus yard receiving game in a row and his third consecutive game with at least one touchdown reception. Johnson and Estimé each set career-highs in yardage gained with Johnson consistently deepening his on-field connection and chemistry with Shough and Estimé taking off for 88 of his 94 rushing yards in the second half.

Stutsman saw a career-high in snaps and totaled six tackles in the game with four credited as stops. Meanwhile, Young put together the team’s play of the year by ripping the ball from Titans quarterback Cam Ward’s hands and returning it for a touchdown.

CHASE YOUNG TO THE HOUSE!!! @OhioStateFB | 📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/dvmHj8GEjq

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) December 28, 2025

Young also generated eight pressures, a single-game team-high for the year, and added another half-sack later in the game.

Shough barely missed the list finishing with a 76.6 grade that was downed by receiving a 49.6 grade as a rusher. His 80.4 passing mark was his second best of the season.

Bottom 5

DT John Ridgeway III – 34.2

DE Carl Granderson – 36.8

TE Moliki Matavao – 37.1

RG William Sherman – 41.7

C Luke Fortner – 43.9

Ridgeway and Granderson were each dinged heavily for their performance in run defense, but Ridgeway was also credited with three stops in that area of the game. Meanwhile, Granderson piled on seven total pressures as a pass rusher, creating opportunities for other players even though he didn’t finish the game with a sack himself. The grading scale doesn’t take much into consideration for creating plays for others among defensive linemen, a trend seen throughout the season.

Sherman and Fortner both had their hands full with one of the NFL’s best defensive linemen in Jeffery Simmons. Sherman was credited with six pressures given up, a season-high for the right guard, while Fortner was credited with none. However, Fortner was penalized for his run blocking by the analytics site, having given up some plays in the backfield to Simmons, especially early.