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2025 NFL rookie mock draft for fantasy football dynasty leagues and rookie drafts. Top NFL prospects to target like Ashton Jeanty, Cam Ward, and more.
It's never too early to look ahead to next year's dynasty drafts. A handful of college football players are emerging as superstars, others are continuing their dominance, and yet more are fading into the background as their performances falter. It's important to gather as much information as possible about these future rookies.
Rookie drafts have outsized importance in dynasty fantasy football. Hitting on a future NFL star player can have massive implications for your team for years moving forward. And it's incredibly important to not just follow consensus! You're guaranteed to miss out on plenty of steals if you're never bold.
See RotoBaller's first dynasty mock draft for 2025 below. There are some bold moves, and some players in slots simply because that's where people will draft them at consensus. But our players ranked higher than consensus are there for a reason!
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1. Ashton Jeanty, RB - Boise State Broncos
Rather than fret over positional value, your best shot in Dynasty rookie drafts is to get yourself in a position to take the best player overall, then take the best player overall. Jeanty is arguably the best running back prospect to come out of college since Saquon Barkley was drafted out of Penn State. He's that good.
Ashton Jeanty goes OFF for 31 CAR, 149 YDS, 2 TDS ??
Jeanty now has 20 total TDS in EIGHT games ? pic.twitter.com/sDGz4ceTyC
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 2, 2024
Despite him not playing for the biggest football program, he's completely elite in nearly everything that NFL teams want running backs to do and should step in as a starter and workhorse back in his first game as a pro. A Heisman contender from his college is unheard of, though the voters will probably just give it to a quarterback anyway.
Boise State Ashton Jeanty highlights.
Has to be a Heisman favorite. ? pic.twitter.com/lYT4NAyGuZ
— College Football Alerts (@CFBAlerts_) October 6, 2024
In case anyone wants to use the small school argument against him, don't forget that he rushed 25 times for 192 yards and three touchdowns against No. 1 Oregon. This article could be entirely focused on heaping praise on Jeanty's skills and accomplishments, and it probably still wouldn't do him justice.
He's a truly special player and could be one of the best at his position in the league in a few short years. The one knock on him is his size, which could become an issue when trying to break tackles from NFL-level athletes.
2. Cam Ward, QB - Miami Hurricanes
The year's clear best quarterback of the class, Ward, and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders will likely continue battling to be the first quarterback drafted in the 2025 class. Ward is the best dual-threat QB in this year's draft, which is massively important at the next level. Many of the most successful offenses are commandeered by QBs that can run.
Cam Ward has the ‘voo doo’ magic all elite QBs have:
pic.twitter.com/AEFvLEVvZc— #1 FIN Fan (@EliteMarino) November 2, 2024
His improvisational ability is what sets him apart from the other QBs in this class, but he prefers the pass first and isn't known for prioritizing scrambling. He keeps his wits about him under pressure and constantly makes magic happen. His ceiling is incredibly high.
3. Travis Hunter, WR/CB - Colorado Buffaloes
Hunter is unique in that he plays two positions and takes far more snaps than the average player during a game, but this ranking assumes that he'll primarily play WR at the next level. The human body can't take the amount of snaps in an NFL game that Hunter would have to if he played both positions.
Travis Hunter was cooking last weekend versus Cincinnati pic.twitter.com/zZyjmfEOzE
— Joe O’Leary (@TheHQNerd) October 31, 2024
He's a bit raw of a prospect but flashes elite traits. He has ridiculous start-stop quickness and can separate with the best of them. In the end, it's reasonable to expect that money will be the deciding factor. It's hard to imagine Hunter passing up on over $30 million a year when he gets his second contract.
4. Tetairoa McMillan, WR - Arizona Wildcats
McMillan's combination of size and body control will be too tantalizing for teams to pass up on in the 2025 NFL draft, and he's very likely to be selected in the first round. While this year's WR class is certainly not up to par with 2024's, Tet can become an immediate WR1 on some teams.
In their latest mock draft, @PFF has the #Patriots selecting Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan with the third overall pick.
Drake Maye would get a weapon ? pic.twitter.com/X9HGUgqDxh
— Carlos Talks Pats (@LosTalksPats) October 29, 2024
The comparisons to Mike Evans are probably unwarranted, though. Evans was in his own elite tier coming out of college. Tet's ability to separate leaves something to be desired, and you can't get away with bullying NFL-level DBs with size alone. That said, most fantasy leagues use PPR scoring formats, leading to outsized importance for WRs.
Make no mistake -- this is a weak WR class compared to the average year. It wouldn't be a big mistake if you passed up on Tet. But people will just draft players at their ADPs most of the time anyway. You're better off picking a running back this year. Seriously.
5. Shedeur Sanders, QB - Colorado Buffaloes
Godspeed to you if you need a quarterback from this year's class. Sanders might have been the fourth (at best) quarterback taken if he were in 2024's class, and the strength of the last group likely caused at least a few of this year's QBs to stay in school for longer.
Shedeur Sanders ➡️ Travis Hunter ?@ShedeurSanders x @TravisHunterJr
?: ESPN pic.twitter.com/Hh4uKdKWbU
— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) October 27, 2024
Elite WRs elevate quarterbacks, so it would be interesting to see him play without his No. 1 WR Hunter. That said, he has many excellent traits, displaying a fantastic arm, accuracy across all levels of the field, and great processing. He's not the best athlete, but quarterbacks don't have to be.
6. Omarion Hampton, RB - North Carolina Tar Heels
This year's running back class has the potential to be legendary, and it might seem bold to put five of them in the first round of this mock draft, but some years there are huge imbalances in talent between the position groups. Hampton could be the steal of this year's draft and could produce RB1 numbers straight away.
5 TDs. 253 all-purpose yards.
OMARION HAMPTON, EVERYBODY ??
? @accnetwork x @UNCFootball
pic.twitter.com/8A0ZNTd7a6— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) November 2, 2024
You should probably get a running back in this class if you can. Hampton can be a workhorse immediately, and he's a special player.
7. Tre Harris, WR - Ole Miss Rebels
When writing rankings or mock draft articles regarding any sport, you have the choice of just following consensus or trying to get ahead of it. The latter is what we're trying to do here. Harris has been dominating every opponent he plays and showing incredibly nuanced route-running that should help him succeed from Day 1 at the next level.
Tre Harris to ICE the game last year was nasty work? pic.twitter.com/whYerJInJt
— 229 Sports (@229Sports_) October 9, 2024
One of Malik Nabers' best traits was that he was insanely dominant against everyone. Nitpick WRs who do this at your own peril. He also plays in the SEC, which brings the highest level of competition in the NFL. That should give a boost to his stock for fantasy football.
This ranking is pretty far above consensus, but if Harris comes back healthy, he should rocket up draft boards as his season goes on. There's still plenty of the 2024 season to go.
8. Kaleb Johnson, RB - Iowa Hawkeyes
Somehow another elite running back is flying under the radar in this year's class, but his string of great performances in 2024 is helping him elevate his stock. He's rushed for 1,144 yards on 146 carries, good for 7.8 yards per carry. He's also tallied 16 rushing scores along with 18 receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown.
I've been talking about Kaleb Johnson all season being one of the best RB’s in the nation
Dynasty managers you are going to wanna take note of this name pic.twitter.com/H9iC63hpFC
— Joe O’Leary (@TheHQNerd) October 26, 2024
These are truly eye-popping numbers to be putting up in the Big 10 conference. It's astounding the amount of RB talent there is in this class, and it's too easy to write off the lower-ranked players as if they aren't elite when there are so many good ones. People passed up on Brian Thomas Jr. in 2024 dynasty drafts with this mindset. Don't repeat it.
9. Dylan Sampson, RB - Tennessee Volunteers
Sampson is another relatively unheralded prospect who's been making waves by doing the same thing Harris has been doing -- dominating everyone. He's breaking out in a huge way.
Incredible sequence by Dylan Sampson just before the half, capped off with winning a 1 on 1 battle with Danny Stutsman for the TD. 92 hard fought YDS for D-Samp. pic.twitter.com/edCNegdos5
— V͎O͎L͎d͎e͎m͎o͎r͎t͎ (@vo_ldemort) September 22, 2024
Speed is massively important for all players in fantasy football. Running backs that produce at an elite level for multiple years tend to be some of the fastest as well. Scoring home run touchdowns adds so much to a player's scoring ceiling. 17 rushing touchdowns in seven games is pretty good, right?
10. Nicholas Singleton, RB - Penn State Nittany Lions
Singleton's prowess as both a rusher and a receiver and his explosive speed make him an ideal candidate for a three-down back at the next level. Should he go to a team that gives him workhorse usage, he could be set up for an excellent career as an all-around playmaker.
WE SEE YOU NICHOLAS SINGLETON.@PennStateFball | ? NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/FFdao323eA
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) October 27, 2024
A 6-foot, 227-pound running back should not be able to run routes and make one-handed catches with such fluidity and ease. His upside in PPR scoring formats could be legendary.
11. Quinn Ewers, QB - Texas Longhorns
If you aren't drafting Ward or Sanders, you probably aren't very happy with what's left over. Ewers has been too inconsistent to solidify himself as an elite quarterback prospect, and he's already being overshadowed by his backup, Arch Manning, who's just 19 years old.
?Quinn Ewers w/ an absolute DIME.
Love the vertical pocket movement and elite off-platform accuracy.
Full video available for the QBS Patreon Community
Join: https://t.co/l0CJd0zOlL pic.twitter.com/Qy4pzG13UV— The QB School (@theqbschool) September 6, 2022
If he can work on making the right plays most of the time, he'll elevate his game in the league quite a bit. He often looks like a different QB on different days, and that can be alarming to NFL scouts. We don't recommend you draft this guy unless you're desperate for a quarterback, for example, if you're in a Superflex league.
12. Carson Beck, QB - Georgia Bulldogs
We found ourselves pushing the quarterbacks further and further down this list. Outside of Sanders and Ward, this class isn't very good, and Beck is only here because dynasty drafts tend to feature reaches for the quarterback position.
Carson Beck's lost a lot of money this season in the 2025 NFL Draft. He can't read coverages. Never looks off underneath defenders. It's bad right now.
— Brad Crawford (@BCrawford247) November 2, 2024
His draft stock was massively propped up by the greatness of tight end Brock Bowers. He's not there anymore, and Beck looks lost. In the right situation and with the right coaching, he has a decent upside. But he is a quarterback, so he'll be overdrafted in dynasty drafts. That's the way it goes.
In case it wasn't clear, we are not excited about drafting this guy at all and would prefer to stay far away. This is the year to draft running backs. Quarterbacks and wide receivers were great in last year's draft.
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