Are first-year NFL players catapulting or killing your fantasy football team? Maybe yes, maybe no (probably yes), which makes this the perfect time to redraft ten of the top 2025 NFL rookies for fantasy football.
Leading up to this summer’s NFL Draft, a goodly number of fan bases were begging — begging, I tells ya — for their beloved franchise to leapfrog the Las Vegas Raiders at the six-spot in order to draft Boise State running back/video-game character Ashton Jeanty.
To this point, Jeanty has been eminently meh, averaging 63.3 rushing yards per game (18th among running backs) and 11.6 fantasy points (also 18th). This is why folks like me are better off sticking with fantasy.
But even fantasy mavens like us blow it when it comes to rookies. I was high on tight end Colston Loveland — I’m a Bears homer, so I had to be — but when Colts freshman TE Tyler Warren turned into Travis freakin’ Kelce 2.0, not so much.
Point being: It’s super-difficult to get it right on Draft Day. But almost two months into the NFL season? Again, not so much.
To that end, let’s take a trip to FantasyLand and redraft ten members of what’s turning out to be a solid rookie class.
Redrafting 2025 NFL Rookies for Fantasy
10) Oronde Gadsden II — Los Angeles Chargers, TE
This one’s a case of recency bias, as the fifth-round pick out of Syracuse is coming off back-to-back games in which he racked up a total of 241 receiving yards and a pair of TDs, looking like former Chargers great Antonio Gates the entire way.
He was the eighth TE off the board and might ultimately make fools out of the other seven teams that drafted anybody not named Tyler Warren.
9) Jacory Croskey-Merritt — Washington Commanders, RB
Every single coach on the Commanders’ sideline should get down on their knees and thank the football deities that Croskey-Merritt fell into their laps.
The seventh-rounder out of Arizona has evolved into a legit fantasy RB2, and if Washington QB Jayden Daniels misses more time, the 5’11”, 208-pounder might find himself getting all the burn he could possibly want.
Admittedly, the man they call Bill has been a scootch invisible over the last three weeks, but I still want him on my dynasty team.
8) Jaxson Dart — New York Giants, QB
Y’all, here’s something you haven’t heard in about four decades: The New York Giants are fun! And we can credit their increased level of jocularity in part to their first-year signal-caller.
Drafted 24 spots behind Tennessee’s No. 1 pick, Cam Ward (who you’ll notice isn’t on this list), the charismatic Dart looks like he’s built for the Big Apple.
And did I mention Ward isn’t on this list? I did? Well, I’m mentioning it again: Ward isn’t on this list.
7) Ashton Jeanty — Las Vegas Raiders, RB
This one’s a scootch unfair, as the Boise State product is saddled with one of the NFL’s worst starting QBs in Geno Smith — can you say 10 interceptions? — and an offensive line that Pro Football Network ranks at 26.
To his credit, Jeanty is fantasy-relevant, and if the Raiders figure out the rest of their offense — and that’s a big if — Jeanty could become a thing. But for at least the next season or two, he’ll likely be a good-but-not-great option in fantasy and reality.
6) Tetairoa McMillan — Carolina Panthers, WR
Tet is clean.
Clean hands, clean routes, clean everything. He hasn’t yet blown up any spotlights — he’s fantasy’s WR34 — but when the Panthers get him a real QB (sorry, Bryce Young and Andy Dalton), we might just have ourselves a Gen Z Keenan Allen.
5) Quinshon Judkins — Cleveland Browns, RB
Not gonna lie: Coming into the draft, I wasn’t super-high on the Ohio State product. His tape looked good — damn good, really — but he was in a timeshare backfield with TreVeyon Henderson, and college timeshares make life difficult for everybody.
But rolling with a lousy Browns offense, Judkins has punched in 5 tuddies, landing himself at RB15, topping the likes of Denver's J.K. Dobbins, Pittsburgh's Jaylen Warren, and Detroit's David Montgomery. And there’s no timeshare to be seen, so watch out.
4) Omarion Hampton — Los Angeles Chargers, RB
In Week 4 against the Giants, Hampton steamrolled his way to 165 total yards and a touchdown, giving Bolts fans hope that they’d landed the next LaDainian Tomlinson. In Week 5, the North Carolina standout jacked up his ankle and headed to IR. As of right now, there’s no official timetable for his return.
On paper, Judkins is the better fantasy option — Hampton is two spots behind Judkins on the fantasy board — but the Charger wins the eye test, and when he returns, he should regain his (sorta) rightful place among the league’s elite backs.
Or at least I hope he does. Dude’s on my fantasy team.
3) Cam Skattebo — New York Giants, RB
(Note: I wrote this before Skattebo's brutal ankle injury, but I stand by it.)
If I may repeat myself: Y’all, here’s something you haven’t heard in about four decades — The New York Giants are fun! Dart plays a role in the gaiety, but Skattebo takes it over the edge.
The bowling ball out of Arizona State is one of those NFL skill players who don’t look the part until they look the part. He tends to get stronger as the game progresses, and when he gets a head of steam, he can run through defenders — and he does one helluva backflip.
2) Emeka Egbuka — Tampa Bay Buccaneers, WR
The Ohio State Wide Receiver Factory is, once again, in full effect. Following in the footsteps of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Garrett Wilson, and Chris Olave, Egbuka has become the Bucs’ WR1, and if Tampa WR room remains a sick ward for the rest of the season, a top-three fantasy finish isn't out of the question.
1) Tyler Warren — Indianapolis Colts, TE
Speaking of rookies who top the fantasy leaderboard, say hello to Tyler Warren, who’s 2.7 fantasy points away from the coveted position of TE1.
The ex-Nittany Lion has racked up 492 yards — the 15th-highest total in the league, regardless of position — ahead of fellow TEs Kansas City's Travis Kelce, Arizona's Trey McBride, and Dallas' Jay Ferguson
And most importantly, he’s the go-to pass catcher on the team with the best record in the league.
And there, ladies and gents, is your Rookie of the Year.
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