No one can fully grade an NFL Draft pick until the player is at least in the back half of his rookie contract.That said: The clock is forever ticking.Early returns from the first round of the 2025 draft have been pretty strong, leaguewide. All eight offensive linemen selected in the top 32 earned starting jobs as rookies; both tight ends taken early (Colston Loveland and Tyler Warren) had outstanding debut seasons; even players who were a bit more up and down than they might’ve liked (Cam Ward and Ashton Jeanty) turned in productive stretches — and offered legitimate hope for the future.Unanswered questions remain, however. So, while most of the 2025 first-rounders will enter Year 2 on firm ground, there are several who still have to prove they’re capable of performing to the level of their selection.Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Jacksonville JaguarsHunter’s rookie season was derailed by a midyear LCL injury, which required surgery. He only played in seven games in 2025, though the Jaguars are hopeful he’ll be full-go for the start of camp later this summer.The bigger issue, beyond his health, is that Hunter’s impact during the first half of his rookie year was inconsistent. After trading up to No. 2 for Hunter last spring, the Jaguars opted to use their rookie as a true two-way player — Hunter worked at wide receiver and cornerback during training camp, and he played on both sides of the ball in every game for which he was on the field. He finished the year with 28 catches for 298 yards and a touchdown, plus 15 tackles and a pass breakup.I didn’t agree with the decision to rep Hunter on both sides of the ball that much immediately. The Jaguars appear ready to correct that error in year two by working Hunter as a full-time cornerback who occasionally sees time on offense.Even if you’re in the camp that believes he should play more offense than defense, the point is that he’ll be allowed to truly master the speed and detail required to succeed at one position. Once he does that — and it shouldn’t take long, because Hunter’s football instincts are elite — he’ll be much closer to becoming the “unicorn” prospect the Jaguars still firmly believe he is.Ashton Jeanty, RB, Las Vegas RaidersI debated whether or not Jeanty should be on this list. (I’m going to leave off Ward, as we saw enough from him as the leader of an awful football team last year to believe he’ll be just fine.)Jeanty, like Ward, was a high-profile pick on one of the NFL’s worst offensive football teams. Was he electric? Not really. Was he bad? Not at all. Jeanty played in every game, rushing for 975 yards, with 55 catches for another 346 and 10 combined touchdowns. For comparison, Jahmyr Gibbs — who played behind the best offensive line in the NFL as a rookie in 2023 — had 945 rushing yards, 52 catches for 316 yards and 11 combined touchdowns during his debut campaign.For NFL running backs, fair or not, rent’s due every day. Jeanty is on the right track, but he can’t afford any steps in the wrong direction as the Raiders continue to rebuild around him, Brock Bowers and now Fernando Mendoza.Mykel Williams, edge, San Francisco 49ersThis is a tough one. Anyone who scouted Williams at Georgia saw elite flashes from a prospect who was very raw (and hurt quite a bit). Williams then tore an ACL midway through his rookie season, limiting him to just nine games. That said, what we saw was encouraging.Many scouts wondered whether or not Williams would be ready from a technical standpoint to truly play starter’s reps as a rookie. He answered those questions pretty quickly, earning a job ahead of Week 1 that he never lost. He had six pressures against the Arizona Cardinals alone, and he posted five games with at least two pressures (and had at least one in eight of his nine appearances).The 49ers took the 6-foot-5, 265-pounder at No. 11, which drew at least a few raised eyebrows last spring. However, when you look at the other edge defenders who were on the board at that spot last April, it’s hard to see a player with more upside. Williams’ versatility as an immensely long and fast athlete in the box could turn him into a game-breaker, provided he stays healthy.The problem? Injured guys tend to be magnets for more injuries. The potential is still there, but we need to see if Williams can get through a full season.Walter Nolen, DT, Arizona CardinalsI wasn’t a huge fan of the Cardinals selecting Nolen ahead of Derrick Harmon. And even though some of Nolen’s late-season flashes have at least made me think twice, I’m still not convinced, at least in part because Nolen spent most of his rookie season banged up.He missed all of training camp (and eventually the first seven games of the year) with a calf injury. He then played four games before tweaking a knee and later tearing a meniscus in Week 16. The Cardinals are hopeful Nolen will be ready for 2026, and they do have some positive tape to build off — Nolen had a combined 10 pressures in his last two appearances and 15 total in just six games as a reserve.This pick was a bit like the Williams selection. Nolen was more inconsistent against the run in college than Harmon or even Lions defensive tackle Tyleik Williams, but his pass-rush upside remains immense. He’s a tremendous athlete (at 6-3, 305), so if he can keep himself on the field, it might be easy to see why the Cardinals liked him so much.Shemar Stewart, edge, Cincinnati BengalsStewart is another first-rounder who went down with an injury midyear, but it really wasn’t a surprise that he had a limited impact as a rookie. Stewart was a one-year starter in college who was raw and light on production. Athletically, he remains a mutant, at 6-5, 280, with nearly 35-inch arms and the ability to move like a 240-pounder.As expected, Stewart was up and down last season, especially against the run. However, even after tearing a PCL in Week 9, Stewart was able to get on the field for the last two weeks of the season — he picked up a combined five pressures.Every rep he gets is extremely important, so Stewart entering his second camp healthy is a great sign. If his health cooperates, there’s a good chance this pick will look a lot better by the end of 2026. We have to see some major growth here, though, as Stewart was still an inconsistent technician as a rookie.Jahdae Barron, CB, Denver BroncosThe versatile former Texas defensive back was certainly a factor last season, playing in every regular-season and playoff game. That said, he was more of a reserve/subpackage defender than a full-time starting outside corner. Some of that, at least early, was likely by design — Barron was sort of a slot/outside corner tweener when the Broncos used a first-round pick on him.The 5-foot-11, 200-pounder didn’t play much in Denver’s playoff win over the Buffalo Bills and saw just five snaps in an AFC Championship Game loss to the New England Patriots.At this point, we know Barron can at least hang with NFL receivers and be a valuable member of a secondary rotation, and that he’s a great locker room guy with terrific football character. But he was a first-round pick, so the Broncos need to see more consistency from him right away. Ideally, he’ll be starting — or playing starter’s reps — somewhere in the secondary come Week 1.Matthew Golden, WR, Green Bay PackersAfter being the first Round 1 receiver taken by the Packers since 2002, Golden had a relatively quiet rookie season (29 catches for 361 yards). That’s not overly concerning, for a few reasons. First, Green Bay had several veteran receivers on the roster in front of him when the year began. Second, he was a young, ascending talent coming out of Texas — not a developmental player, but certainly one who needed a minute to get up to speed in the NFL.Golden was a much better player at the end of his rookie year than he was at the start, which is exactly what you’re looking for. He had four catches for 84 yards and a touchdown in a wild-card playoff loss to the Chicago Bears. And since that time, Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks have left Green Bay.It’s pretty clear Green Bay is ready to see what Golden can do as a starting member of the offense. Despite being on the smaller side, Golden (5-10, 191) plays like a faster and more explosive version of Jayden Reed. He’s a great ball-tracker who wins in the air and knows how to get open.Golden will be on many breakout-candidate lists this summer, but we still have to see whether or not he makes good on that promise.Omarion Hampton, RB, Los Angeles ChargersThere really isn’t much question about whether or not Hampton can perform at the level required of a first-round running back. He showed he could when healthy last year, as a true three-down weapon perfectly built for Jim Harbaugh’s style of play.However, he’s now suffered two pretty serious ankle injuries during his career — the left ankle he fractured midway through his rookie year is the same one he broke in high school.Hampton still should be an outstanding fit for everything offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel brings to Los Angeles’ soon-to-be fascinating attack, but can he stay healthy? We’ll have to wait and see.