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Joey's late-round rookie sleepers to target in 2025 fantasy football drafts. His undervalued NFL rookies, first-year players, and breakout candidates for 2025.
There are always rookies who go under the radar in redraft formats. Most of these rookies aren't selected early in the NFL draft, but they emerge as solid fantasy options in Year 1. Last year, New York Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. fell under that category. In 2023, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua was a waiver wire gem.
In this article, we will look at four rookies in the later rounds of fantasy drafts who managers should select. None of these rookies went in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and many fantasy managers might not be eyeing any of them in the double-digit rounds. However, they could turn out to be sneaky fantasy options.
So, which rookies should fantasy managers target in drafts? Let's dive in and find out.
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Mason Taylor, TE, New York Jets
Many thought the New York Jets would take a tight end in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Instead, New York opted to bolster its offensive line and selected Armand Membou with the seventh overall pick. That led the Jets to take LSU tight end Mason Taylor with their second-round pick at No. 42 overall.
The tight end position was a big need for the Jets entering the draft, and Taylor immediately fills that void. The 6-foot-5 tight end totaled 129 catches for 1,308 yards and six touchdowns in his three college seasons at LSU, including a career-high 546 receiving yards in 2024.
Mason Taylor is a TE prospect in the 2025 draft class. He scored a 8.88 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 150 out of 1331 TE from 1987 to 2025. https://t.co/JnbWBn2yhF pic.twitter.com/fcw1S0GTDy
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) March 30, 2025
Given the team's lack of receiving options outside of Garrett Wilson, Taylor could have a solid role in Year 1. He should be New York's starting tight end over Stone Smartt and Jeremy Ruckert to begin the year, and both Allen Lazard (WR2) and Xavier Gipson (WR3) shouldn't take too many targets away from the rookie.
In addition, it helps to have a quarterback who targets tight ends frequently. When Justin Fields was the Bears quarterback, Cole Kmet had two top-10 tight end finishes in 2022 and 2023. In both seasons, Kmet caught at least 50 passes and totaled over 500 receiving yards.
We shouldn't expect Taylor to finish as a top-10 tight end in PPR formats in his first year. However, seeing him maintain a solid target share in 2025 wouldn't be shocking. Rich Cimini of ESPN also believes the 21-year-old will "have a significant role as a rookie."
So, he's someone fantasy managers should be targeting in the later rounds of drafts. He could emerge as a low-end TE1 option in deeper leagues throughout the year.
Tre Harris, WR, Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers selected wide receiver Tre Harris with the 55th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Harris comes to the pros after five seasons in college. He started his college career at Louisiana Tech before transferring to Ole Miss for his final two seasons. The 6-foot-2 wideout put up strong all-around numbers in those two years with the Rebels.
He caught 54 passes for 985 yards and eight touchdowns in 2023 and followed that up by totaling 60 catches for 1,030 yards and seven touchdowns in 2024. What was even more impressive from Harris was that he totaled over 1,000 receiving yards across just eight games after dealing with a lower-body injury for most of the second half.
Now, Harris will look to bring his size to Los Angeles. This was an ideal landing spot for the Ole Miss product, and he has the potential to be a solid fantasy option right away. With Ladd McConkey locked in as the WR1, the rookie could eventually overtake Quentin Johnston for the WR2 role in this Chargers offense.
herbo to tre .. we can get used to this pic.twitter.com/go585LWJ3p
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) May 12, 2025
He had a 95 PFF grade against man coverage last season and could emerge as the team's deep-threat option this season. That could work out well for Harris' fantasy value, as Justin Herbert ranked sixth in adjusted yards per pass attempt (7.7) and fifth in deep ball completion (42.4%) last season. Therefore, he's considered a sleeper entering 2025 fantasy drafts.
Jayden Higgins, WR, Houston Texans
The Houston Texans' wide receiver room will look slightly different in 2025. Stefon Diggs left in free agency, and Tank Dell (knee) is expected to be out for the entire season. Although Houston traded for Christian Kirk in the offseason, rookie Jayden Higgins could be a sneaky pick in fantasy drafts.
The Texans selected Higgins with the 34th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft following two strong seasons at Iowa State. He totaled 140 catches for 2,166 yards and 15 touchdowns in his two years with the Cyclones, which included an 87-catch, 1,183-yard, and nine-touchdown campaign in 2024. The 6-foot-4 wideout should now find himself as a top option in this Houston offense.
Higgins ranked tied for 24th in contested catches (14) among all wideouts in his final college season and had a solid 58.3% contested catch rate. He also finished the year with an 87.8 PFF grade against man coverage. That should all help the rookie find some success in Year 1, considering C.J. Stroud ranked second in completion percentage versus man coverage (65.5%) last season.
There's no doubt that the 22-year-old will be overshadowed in this Texans offense. However, he should be a Day 1 starter and line up opposite Nico Collins on the outside to begin the year. That makes him someone to target in the double-digit rounds. Higgins has the potential to emerge as another deep-threat option in Houston while maintaining a solid target share.
Kyle Williams, WR, New England Patriots
The New England Patriots entered the draft with a clear need at wide receiver. Even though they signed Diggs in free agency, the team needed more talent. The Patriots got that when they selected Kyle Williams with the 69th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Williams played five seasons in college, including his last two years at Washington State. In his final season with the Cougars, the 6-foot wideout caught 70 passes for 1,198 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also ranked 15th among all college wideouts in yards after the catch (8.4) and tied for 10th in deep catches (14) during that campaign.
This Kyle Williams rep at the Senior Bowl is just filthy man
Cooks the defender TWICE on the same route..
1,196 Yards and 14 TD’s this year btw
92nd Percentile 40 Time (4.40) ain’t bad
..and now he gets paired with Drake Maye
Kyle Williams is coming for that WR1 role in NE pic.twitter.com/N8RIlp3jZX
— Austin Abbott (@AustinAbbottFF) May 9, 2025
The Patriots can definitely use a wideout like him in their offense. DeMario Douglas was the only wideout on this team last year to total over 300 yards after the catch (361 yards). So, we could see Williams make an immediate impact in New England's offense.
Neither of 2024's rookie wideouts (Ja'Lynn Polk and Javon Baker) showed much in their first year, and fantasy managers have seen some third-rounders contribute in fantasy in recent years. Jalen McMillan emerged as a solid fantasy option later in the 2024 season, Josh Downs finished as the WR35 in PPR formats in 2023, and Dell totaled over 700 receiving yards as a rookie.
While we shouldn't assume that Williams will turn into one of those fantasy players this year, he has the chance to emerge as a security blanket for Drake Maye throughout the year. Diggs is expected to be sidelined to start the season, and that could help jumpstart the wideout's rookie campaign.
Fantasy managers must love his potential in this New England offense with an emerging quarterback. So, take a chance on him in the later rounds because it could pay off.
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