How PFF Grades Work: A Guide to Giants PFF Grades and Rankings

5 days ago

5 min read

Updated: 16 hours ago

Published Oct 26, 2026, 11:14 AM ET | By Vincent Rapisardi

Key points

PFF grades every player on every play from -2 to +2 in half-point steps, with 0 meaning the player did what was expected.
Those play grades are converted to a 0-100 scale for each game and season; a season grade is not an average of game grades.
DJ Reader's 90.9 season grade leads all 126 qualified interior defensive linemen through Week 7.

Giants PFF grades show up in almost every conversation about the team, including ours. This guide explains how Pro Football Focus builds those numbers, what they measure and what they leave out, so the grades in our weekly coverage are easier to read.

Everything about the method below comes from PFF's own explanation of its grading system and its explanation of play-level grading. The Giants examples come from our Giants PFF grades 2026 tracker.

The short version: a PFF grade is an evaluation of how well a player did his job on each snap, not a box-score stat.

How PFF Grades Every Play

PFF analysts watch every snap and give each player a grade from -2 to +2, in 0.5 increments. A 0 is the expected grade, which is what most players earn on most plays.

PFF gives a quarterback example. A three-yard completion on a slant, thrown as designed, earns a 0 no matter what happens after the catch. An accurate, on-time 11-yard throw into a soft spot in zone coverage typically earns +0.5, even if the receiver drops it.

A throw that sails out of bounds usually costs -0.5. An overthrow that a safety could intercept is graded -1 or worse.

Each position has its own grading rules. PFF says it collects more than 200 fields of data on each play to set the baseline for what a player should be expected to do.

From Play Grades to the 0-100 Scale

The play grades are then adjusted for the situation and grouped into facets: passing, rushing, receiving, pass blocking, run blocking, pass rushing, run defense and coverage, plus special teams facets.

Finally, they are converted to a 0-100 scale for each game and season. That is the number most fans see.

PFF stresses that a season grade is not an average of game grades. It credits the whole body of work.

In PFF's example, an 80.0 game grade is not close to an all-time great game, but 16 games at 80.0 add up to an outstanding season.

The Giants' top season grades through Week 7 show how those numbers look in practice.

Player (pos.)	2026 PFF grade	Rank at position
DJ Reader (DT)	90.9	1st of 126
Abdul Carter (Edge)	90.2	3rd of 112
Jevon Holland (S)	83.2	4th of 93
Jameis Winston (QB)	54.0	29th of 34

Source: PFF player pages, checked Oct. 26, 2026. Every Giant's season grade is on our Giants PFF grades 2026 tracker.

What PFF Grades Measure, and What They Don't

The big idea is "contribution to production." A quarterback who throws a perfect deep ball that is dropped still earns a positive grade, and the receiver who dropped it earns a negative one.

That is why grades and stats can disagree. Abdul Carter's 90.2 season grade ranks third among 112 qualified edge defenders, but he has two sacks, because PFF credits the 27 pressures he has created, not just the finishes.

Grades also don't adjust for how valuable a position is. PFF says the 0-100 scale compares players relative to their peers, but it doesn't account for which positions matter most for winning.

And they are charted by people. PFF uses a standard rubric, but a grade is still a judgment about what a player was supposed to do on each snap.

How to Read the Giants PFF Grades

Start with the rank, not just the number. DJ Reader leading 126 interior linemen and Jevon Holland sitting fourth among 93 safeties say more than the raw grades alone. Holland stayed near the top even though he missed the Houston game with a concussion.

Single games swing more. In Week 6, JJ McCarthy graded 74.3 in his fourth-quarter relief appearance against the Saints, while Jameis Winston graded 36.3 before he was pulled.

We broke that game down in Giants PFF Grades Week 6. One quarter is a small sample, and both grades came with the Saints protecting a big lead.

Ranks need a snap minimum. Players below PFF's threshold get no rank, which is why some backups are missing from position lists. JJ McCarthy's PFF page still shows "Not Enough Snaps" for 2026 after his first start.

Using PFF Grades Alongside Stats

The best way to use grades is as a second opinion. When a player's grade and his box score agree, like Reader's grade and his seven run stops against New Orleans, the read is clear.

When they disagree, the gap is the interesting part. Carter's high grade and low sack total point to a pass rusher who wins often but has not finished.

Houston was the latest example. Carter posted a 90.9 game grade and six pressures in the 27-21 overtime win, but no sacks, as we covered in Abdul Carter's Week 7 analysis.

We update the Giants grades each week on our tracker, and we credit PFF for every grade we use.

Our Take: Use PFF Grades, but Don't Stop There

I love the analytics of a pass rusher: hurries, hits and pressures. PFF grades capture that work better than a box score.

But I've also said that pressures alone aren't enough for players drafted with elite picks. The Giants used top draft capital on edge rushers, and they need finishes too.

That's the way I read every grade. When the grade and the production agree, like DJ Reader's season, the case is easy. After Houston I wrote that PFF gave him a 91 for the day and that he's been great.

When they disagree, I take the grade as a sign of what's coming and the stats as what has actually happened.

Both matter. We'll keep using grades and stats side by side in our Giants coverage, and we'll keep crediting PFF for every grade we cite.

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