I’m always curious to take a look over at Pro Football Focus and check out what they have to say about the Tennessee Vols. While PFF is a great outlet, sometimes I feel like what my eyeball sees doesn’t always match up with certain players’ grades from week to week.
With the Vols on a bye this week, I was curious to see what PFF thinks about the Vols’ top five graded players and cross reference it with what my own eyeballs have told me.
It’s nice to see that my eyeballs (and PFF’s grades) are on point
here. I’m using players with a minimum of 120 snaps, by the way.
1) DE Tyre West – 85.1
The edge rushers are the MVPs of this team so far, although Colton Hood is making a case for himself there as well. West showed off his disruptive nature against Mississippi State, notching two sacks and forcing a fumble that resulted in a Tennessee touchdown.
2) QB Joey Aguilar – 84.8
It’s hard to overstate how awesome Aguilar has been this year. He’s gone beyond giving the passing game a spark and served as a lightning rod for the offense. It’s also a week-to-week thing with high-end production, as he’s on a 29-game 200+ yard passing streak. Simply outstanding.
3) WR Chris Brazzell II – 84.4
Does this one even need to be explained? Brazzell leads the SEC in receiving yards through 5 games and he’s looked like one of the top two or three receivers in the sport this season. What an enormous step forward from him this year after a spotty 2024.
4) DE Joshua Josephs – 82.4
Josephs has filled in admirably as the team’s leading pass rusher with James Pearce, Jr. playing on Sundays this year. He leads the team with 14 QB pressures with a 15.9% pressure rate, so he’s been disruptive early in the season.
5) RB Star Thomas – 81.7
Thomas and DeSean Bishop have both shown they should likely be more of a two-headed monster moving forward at the running back position. The rushing stats are similar (Thomas 52 carries, 305 yards, 3 touchdowns; Bishop 49, 335, 4) but Thomas – who leads all running backs in catches, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns by a small margin – has a higher PFF passing mark than (Bishop 60.7 to 36).
