Where will Rookie Fantasy Football Players be Drafted for the Upcoming Season?

One of the reasons the NFL Draft is so popular is because it gives us the next crop of hopeful stars for fantasy football. The most exciting players are usually those who factor into fantasy, so guys like Cam Ward, Ashton Jeanty, and Travis Hunter are intriguing for more than just their impact for their respective franchises.

It's hard to know where to rank a rookie. We expect big things from everyone immediately, but the reality is that most players take a few years to reach true impact status, and only the best of the best (and luckiest) are major players right away. That means showing restraint when drafting them in fantasy football unless you're ready to accept the risk involved in an unknown entity.

Let's go through some of the rookies drafted in 2025 and where they are likely to be ranked and drafted in most fantasy football leagues. Rather than numbering them, we'll look at the stages of fantasy drafts and ranges in which they could be drafted. This is only a current evaluation; things will change once training camp and preseason starts, depth charts are set, and injuries impact playing status.

First Round

• RB Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders

Jeanty seems like an honest-to-God bell cow at the running back position, a rare player in 2025. While we can argue the value of taking an RB sixth overall (and I did), Jeanty is likely to get the rock 20+ times per game immediately and rack up counting stats and fantasy points.

The only running backs who might be ranked ahead of Jeanty are Saquon Barkely, Derrick Henry, Christian McCaffrey (who is a major question mark), Bijan Robinson, and Jahmyr Gibbs. You could argue a few others (Jonathon Taylor, De'Von Achane), but I would view getting Jeanty in the second round as an absolute steal.

Early Rounds (2-5)

None, but we'll talk about this more in a second.

Mid Rounds (6-10)

• RB Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers
• RB Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland Browns
• RB Kaleb Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers
• RB RJ Harvey, Denver Broncos
• WR Travis Hunter, Jacksonville Jaguars

Any of these guys could potentially sneak into the early rounds if things break right. For Hunter, that would mean verification that he will play wide receiver nearly full time while playing limited snaps on defense. That offensive availability combined with strong showings in training camp/preseason would create a lot of buzz around the No. 2 pick.

For all the running backs, it would mean getting locked in as the top back on the team without any serious contender to steal bulk carries. Judkins and Harvey might fit that role now, as the Browns and Broncos don't have another high-level back on the roster. They might split carries at the beginning of the season with their respective veterans (Jerome Ford and Jaleel McLaughlin), but it's likely that the rookies eventually rise to the top unless they show they can't handle it.

Hampton is the future in Los Angeles, but the team signed Najee Harris to a one-year contract in free agency. That doesn't mean a lot; LA won't block a star rookie for a short-term guy. It does mean that Hampton will probably work closer to half the load, though, lowering his ceiling. Harris is a low-efficiency guy, but he's a capable veteran who will soak up bulk, maybe stealing some goal line carries.

Same deal with Johnson: Jaylen Warren is back on a one-year deal, and the Steelers won't stifle a budding star for the veteran, who turns 27 in November. For both Hampton and Johnson, I love the idea of grabbing them in Rounds 6-10 as upside plays while acknowledging that they might have more middling ceilings as rookies.

Late Rounds (11-16+)

• QB Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans
• RB TreVeyon Henderson, New England Patriots
• WR Matthew Golden, Green Bay Packers
• WR Tetairoa McMillan, Carolina Panthers
• TE Tyler Warren, Indianapolis Colts

The past two seasons, I was hyping up Anthony Richardson then Jayden Daniels as must-draft fantasy guys. Richardson had a few good games before getting injured; it happens. Daniels, however, was QB5, an instant fantasy star. That performance is repeatable because Daniels uses his legs as much as his arm, and he will rack up fantasy points running the ball.

That's why I was up on both players: those running points are gained even if a young quarterback struggles throwing the ball, which Richardson did but Daniels did not. Cam Ward is that guy this year. I don't think he'll be Daniels, but he could approximate some of the things Richardson has done, both good and bad. That means a guy who can be a valuable fantasy quarterback, even if it's only some weeks. Ward is a guy to target if you miss out on the top 10 QBs.

Henderson is especially a guy to consider in PPR leagues. He will split time with Rhamondre Stevenson, and Antonio Gibson is still there, so Henderson will have to fight for snaps unless an injury or two work things out. That lowers his floor to a point where it's hard to trust him before seeing it happen. Henderson is a lottery ticket, especially in deep leagues.

Golden joins a deep receiving crew in Green Bay. The hope is that Golden can emerge as the WR1 who leads this group of good complementary players and raises the level of the offense. The reality is that probably doesn't happen for a few years, at least, and Golden is more part of the group as a rookie as he gets his feet wet.

McMillan doesn't have as many players to fight for targets with, but last year's 32nd overall pick, Xavier Legette, and veteran Adam Thielen will still eat up plenty of targets, and the team signed Hunter Renfrow, a player who missed last season with an illness but who had 103 catches on 128 targets in 2021. Like Golden, the most likely outcome is that McMillan shows flashes as a rookie but doesn't reach higher levels for a few more years.

Warren might make a more instant impact. We've seen Sam LaPorta and Brock Bowers put up huge rookie numbers over the past two seasons, so there's a bit of an expectation for a rookie tight end to break out. Warren immediately takes the top spot on the depth chart, and while Michael Pittman Jr. and Jonathan Taylor will require their touches/targets, there's room for Warren to approach the 80+ receptions and 100+ targets that LaPorta and Bowers both reached as rookies. Warren is a high-ceiling, low-floor player.

Honorable Mentions

• QB Jaxson Dart, New York Giants
• QB Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints
• QB Shedeur Sanders, Cleveland Browns
• QB Dillon Gabriel, Cleveland Browns

Each of these guys could possibly see the field as a rookie at some point. It would be best to expect below-average play from each when they do play, though in the right matchups they could be low-level and deep-league streamers. Don't count on this group for anything in 2025.

• RB Brashard Smith, Kansas City Chiefs

Smith is a former wide receiver who switched to running back and is very fast, so he seems like the perfect fit as a pass-catching back for Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes. It might take him a while to get enough snaps to be a factor, but Smith could eventually be under PPR consideration because of his team situation.

• WR Jack Bech, Las Vegas Raiders
• WR Luther Burden III, Chicago Bears
• WR Emeka Egbuka, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• WR Jayden Higgins, Houston Texans
• WR Tommy Mellott, Las Vegas Raiders
• WR Jaylin Noel, Houston Texans
• TE Elijah Arroyo, Seattle Seahawks
• TE Terrance Ferguson, Los Angeles Rams
• TE Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears
• TE Mason Taylor, New York Jets

A big group of pass catchers who may or may not be widely involved as rookies. There's intrigue everywhere but certainty nowhere. Each of these guys is nothing but a lottery ticket and/or deep-league pick with hope they can find a role right away.

Burden and Loveland, the Chicago duo, are both talented but have good players in front of them on the depth chart and in the pass-catching hierarchy. D.J. Moore is a star, and Rome Odunze was a top-10 pick last year. They are priority players. Cole Kmet has been the starting tight end for four seasons, and while he's just good, not great, the most likely outcome is that he handles more snaps in 2025 while the rookie adapts.

The Houston and Iowa State duo of Higgins and Noel, Bech, and Ebguka are all fighting for WR2 snaps at best but more realistically WR3/4 numbers. Mellott was a quarterback in college who switched to receiver, and he's mainly here because I'm a Raiders fan, and I'm excited for the trick plays. He's a long shot to make a real fantasy impact.

Arroyo, Ferguson, and Taylor are all intriguing prospects who have veterans in front of them. They could be fantasy fixtures in the future, but they need to show production before we can trust them in fantasy football.

There will be more guys who make impacts both this year and in the future, but we can't name everyone (we could, I guess, but the analysis would all be the same: they are unlikely to make an impact but might show flashes and be relevant at times). No one else is worth drafting unless we see them go off in the preseason.