The 2025 NFL Draft is officially in the books, and fantasy football managers are already gearing up for rookie drafts.
Some landing spots were gold mines, while others might need a treasure map and a prayer.
Today, I will be breaking down the best and the worst landing spots, in order, for key offensive rookies and how you should value them in fantasy football leagues heading into the 2025 season.
Quarterbacks
Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans (1st overall)
The Titans have made Ward the face of their rebuild. After posting 4,134 passing yards and 37 touchdowns at the University of Miami last season. Ward enters a wide-open competition in Tennessee, where he will more than likely be QB1 when the season starts.
His playmaking upside is huge for fantasy football, but expect some growing pains. In one of the weaker divisions in football, Ward should be viewed as a top-seven pick in superflex leagues and even higher on the draft board if a team is in desperate need of a QB.
Will Howard, Pittsburgh Steelers (185th overall)
Will Howard is a quarterback who will need to develop. He has decent mobility, arm strength, and won a National Championship last season.
He enters a QB room with Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson as the only competition. Howard has a great shot to get as much playing time as Ward will for the Titans. The Steelers also traded for DK Metcalf and drafted a star running back from the University of Iowa, Kaleb Johnson.
If Aaron Rodgers does not end up on the Steelers, Howard could find himself starting this September, and you can draft him in the 3rd round of your rookie drafts.
Shedeur Sanders, Cleveland Browns (144th overall)
After one of the most surprising slides in NFL Draft history, the Browns selected what was at one point a top-five pick in the draft, to him slipping to the fifth round, Shedeur Sanders.
Sanders threw for over 4,100 yards and 37 touchdowns in Colorado, but fell to Day 3 with reports of “bad interviews” and “intangibles.” With all that said, he enters a QB room that is full.
The bright side is that Sanders will more than likely fall in rookie drafts and can be selected in the back half of them. The talent is still there, and a chip on his shoulder for sliding in the NFL Draft could be a recipe for success.
Jaxon Dart, New York Giants (25th overall)
The thing with the New York Giants is that they are a complete mess. The bright side of their team is the defensive front seven they are building and wide receiver, Malik Nabers.
Dart brings toughness and, more importantly, mobility that can make him an intriguing player for fantasy football. As of now, with Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston in the QB room for the Giants, Dart can be viewed as a stash for his first season in the NFL, but there will be a good chance he plays with how much Wilson has fallen off and how much of a turnover machine Winston is.
Jalen Milroe, Seattle Seahawks (92nd overall)
Jalen Milroe is electric. From the University of Alabama, combining a cannon arm with elite running ability, he can become the best fantasy option among the QBs listed.
Seattle snagging him is interesting, as they traded for Sam Darnold this offseason. Darnold tends to see ghosts at times, so Milroe can find himself starting sooner rather than later. The rushing upside is what makes Milroe so exciting in upcoming rookie drafts. Be sure to grab him in the second or third rounds.
Running Backs
Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders (6th overall)
Jeanty was the first running back selected in the NFL Draft and immediately enters the discussion to be a first-round pick in redraft leagues. He is the first overall pick in all rookie draft formats, too.
Jeanty is a dynamic playmaker with elite vision and explosiveness. The move may have been bold to select a running back with the 6th overall pick, making Jeanty the highest running back drafted since Saquon Barkley in 2018.
Nonetheless, Jeanty has all the tools to be one of the best running backs in the NFL after his first season. He had over 2,500 yards and 29 touchdowns in 2024, and after the first five picks in redraft leagues, people should consider him with a Chip Kelly and Pete Carroll system; over 300 carries is a high possibility.
Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers (22nd overall)
The Chargers did bring in Najee Harris, but only for a year. Omarion Hampton would be the RB1 of the 2025 class if it were not for Jeanty. Still, Hampton is a force, having over 1,600 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2024 at North Carolina.
Hampton, with a run-heavy offense, an elite coach with an elite QB, should be viewed as a top-three pick in rookie drafts.
Kaleb Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers (83rd overall)
Kaleb Johnson could have very well been drafted with a top-40 pick. Instead, he enters a situation where the team’s RB1 left via free agency. Jaylen Warren is still there, but if he was viewed as the RB1, the Steelers would have gone a different direction with pick 83.
Johnson is a tough runner who fits the mold of the Steelers. He had over 1,500 yards and 21 touchdowns in his final year at Iowa. It might be a committee at first, but spending your late first-round pick on Johnson can pay off in a big way with how the Steelers operate.
Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland Browns (36th overall)
Judkins enters a running back room that has an aging Nick Chubb and fellow rookie from the University of Tennessee, Dylan Sampson. A transfer from Ole Miss, Judkins racked up over 1,000 yards with 14 touchdowns in 2024 at Ohio State.
With a run-heavy scheme in Cleveland, Judkins should be viewed as a first-round pick in rookie drafts. Aim for the middle to the back of the first round if you draft Judkins. Despite the possibility of being in a committee to start his career, Judkins’ running style and a nose for the end zone make him an intriguing pick, but patience will be needed, knowing the history of the Browns.
Wide Receivers
Travis Hunter, Jacksonville Jaguars (2nd overall)
Travis Hunter was the best overall player in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Jaguars traded up from fifth to select Hunter with the second pick. Now, Trevor Lawrence has no more excuses. Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter will be his top two players, as well as Liam Coen. Coen was the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and had Baker Mayfield look like a top 10 QB every week.
Sure, Brian Thomas Jr. is the top option on the offense, but Hunter is a WR1 who will be playing as the team’s WR2. Hunter won the Heisman playing both sides, eclipsing over 1,200 yards and 15 touchdowns as a receiver.
The only question is if Hunter will be playing receiver or cornerback, and which one will he be playing more? Safe to say that the Jaguars drafted Hunter to be a playmaker for Lawrence with some designs on defense. Hunter landed in the best spot for the trajectory of his career, and after Jeanty, Hunter should be the second pick in all rookie drafts.
Tetairoa McMillan, Carolina Panthers (8th overall)
The Panthers did exactly what they needed to do to try and help Bryce Young. Tetairoa McMillan was most people’s WR1 with the uncertainty of what side Hunter would play. McMillan stands at 6’5, seeing over 1,300 yards and eight touchdowns in his final season.
McMillan has elite ball-tracking skills and contested catch ability, just like another big receiver, Mike Evans. Young raved about McMillan throughout the draft process, so it is only right that the Panthers get what their QB wanted.
McMillan enters training camp as the team’s top receiver and should be viewed as a top-four pick in all rookie drafts.
Matthew Golden, Green Bay Packers (23rd overall)
As a Packers fan, this pick makes me very happy. The first receiver drafted in the NFL draft for the Packers in a long time.
Matthew Golden has big play ability and showed that in his college career at Houston and Texas.
By joining a team that has no identity, knowing who the WR1 on the team is, Golden has a chance to showcase his talent early on. Golden had 987 yards on just 58 receptions last season and can help open the field for Jordan Love as he finds Jordan Reed underneath.
Golden is not a top-seven pick in rookie drafts, but taking a chance on him at the end of the first or the turn in the second will end up paying off well shortly.
Emeka Egbuka, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (19th overall)
Emeka Egbuka had to play behind Marvin Harrison Jr. in his junior year and then played behind Jeremiah Smith in his senior season.
Egbuka was viewed as one of the better receivers in the NFL Draft.
Egbuka had over 1,000 yards, 81 receptions, and 10 touchdowns in his final year at Ohio State. Being drafted by the Buccaneers will have people worried. But Mike Evans is up there in age, and Chris Godwin is entering those murky waters for receivers nearing the age of 30.
This is more bad news for Jalen McMillan, who was viewed as the team’s WR3. I believe there is a ton of competition in this receiver room, but in dynasty football, you bet on talent. Draft Egbuka in the middle of your first round of your rookie drafts.
Luther Burden, Chicago Bears (39th overall)
Luther Burden was viewed as a tremendous weapon entering the 2025 NFL Draft. He goes to a place that just hired the offensive genius, Ben Johnson, as the head coach, but there are a ton of mouths to feed there. DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, Luther Burden, and incoming rookie tight end, Colston Loveland, who the Bears selected 10th overall.
The bright side is how Johnson runs his offense and Burden’s lethal ability to extend plays after the catch. Burden will not be the first and most likely not the second option on this Bears’ offense, but spending your middle to end of the first round pick on him will pay off in the long run, but for now, there will be frustration.
Tre Harris, Los Angeles Chargers (55th overall)
The Chargers are a primarily run-first football team. The good news is that Tre Harris is entering a receiving room where he should not worry about any of them as a threat. Harris saw over 2,000 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns in his two years at Ole Miss.
He is a great choice in the second round of rookie drafts with only one question in mind, “How much will the Chargers throw in 2025?”
Tight Ends
Tyler Warren, Indianapolis Colts (14th overall)
Tyler Warren can very well have a high TE1 finish in his rookie season. The only other pass-catching weapons for the Colts are Josh Downs and Michael Pittman (who fell off a cliff last season).
Warren, as a tight end finished seventh in Heisman voting in 2024 and had 104 receptions, eight touchdowns, and 1,233 receiving yards. Having inexperienced QB play from Anthony Richardson and horrific QB play from Daniel Jones, either one of these QBs will rely heavily on Warren in 2025. Warren goes as high as third overall in rookie drafts, and the considerations are warranted.
Mason Taylor, New York Jets (42nd overall)
People probably expected Colston Loveland in this spot, but Mason Taylor goes to a team with a QB who loves finding his tight end, the New York Jets, and Justin Fields.
In 2022, Cole Kmet finished as the TE7 with Justin Fields as his QB. Taylor has been co-signed by legendary coach Nick Saban, who said one of his biggest recruiting mistakes was not getting Mason Taylor to Alabama. The 20-year-old tight end is the son of NFL legend Jason Taylor. With not many weapons on the Jets besides Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall, Taylor can find himself busy from the start of his rookie campaign.
Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears (10th overall)
The Bears usually do something questionable every NFL Draft. In 2025, it was selected a tightend with the 10th overall pick.
The Bears already have Cole Kmet, so what is Ben Johnson thinking? Will he run more 12-personnel plays?
Loveland was viewed as a tight end prospect just as good or a little worse than superstar, Brock Bowers. Now, the question is if fantasy managers will see that having to split time with Kmet. Loveland is a superb pass-catcher, and that can separate him from Kmet, but for now, this is a questionable pick, and you can wait to draft Loveland. Aim to draft him in the second, but do not reach out to him.
Final Thoughts
The 2025 NFL Draft reshaped the fantasy football landscape and rookie drafts alike. Whether you are hunting for immediate production or stashing upside talent for the future, these rookies will define how dynasty leagues unfold this summer.
