5 NFL Rookie Targets To Draft In 2025 Fantasy Football Leagues (Premium Content)

July 28, 2025

Andrew's 5 top NFL rookies sleepers to draft in fantasy football dynasty leagues for 2025. These are the top prospects to target in dynasty formats for 2025.

In this article, I will make cases for five rookie draft targets. While I expect these five players to be among my most highly rostered players this draft season, I will still be aggressively targeting many other rookies – and I suggest you do too. This includes Ashton Jeanty. I didn't feel the need to write up Jeanty's prospects, but I am extremely high on his rookie season outlook. Draft him anywhere in the first round with confidence. Take advantage of league-mates who don't watch college football or are overly risk-averse.

Rookies are extremely important in fantasy football. In dynasty leagues, they ARE the draft, and in redraft leagues, they can be season-defining draft picks or waiver wire pickups. Even with all the content out there, I still think the fantasy football market generally underrates rookies in redraft fantasy football.

Drafters don't like taking players they haven't seen play yet or don't know much about, and drafters underestimate the impact of late-season contributions. Rookies are likelier to put up their best fantasy scores in the fantasy playoffs rather than at the beginning of the season.

TreVeyon Henderson - RB, New England Patriots

This rookie RB class is loaded, so dart throws in the late rounds on guys like Jarquez Hunter, Brashard Smith, and especially Dylan Sampson are sharp picks. Before the NFL Draft, I was incredibly high on R.J. Harvey and Bhayshul Tuten. They were two of my most drafted players in Underdog's pre-draft best ball contests, as auto-clicks in the 14th round and beyond. Since the draft, they've skyrocketed up fantasy boards and are now extremely expensive. Tuten didn't even earn great draft capital, but the market bumped him up after an impressive combine showing. I am a huge fan of both Harvey and Tuten as players, but please be price-conscious when targeting them.

While I will target most rookie RBs at cost, my favorite cost-adjusted target is TreVeyon Henderson. Henderson went 38th overall in the NFL Draft and had an excellent college career as an explosive playmaker at Ohio State. Henderson boasts a 4.43 speed and plays that fast on film. He has adequate size at 5-10, 202, and is terrific as a pass-catcher. While he may not be the most physically punishing back, fantasy bets on who can house it from anywhere are always intriguing. The first time Henderson scores a 50+ yard touchdown early in the season, drafters will wish they weren't taking plodding veterans over him.

Henderson may never be a workhorse, but he's bigger than Jahmyr Gibbs and should carve out a significant role in the passing game. Rhamondre Stevenson figures to be the 1A to start the season, but the rookie could easily surpass him as the starter by the second half of the season. I'm not particularly high on the Patriots offense, but their young QB is a year older, they added a left tackle at the top of the draft, and Mike Vrabel is an upgrade at head coach. Draft TreVeyon and enjoy the home runs.

The TreVeyon Henderson screen TD was more than just speed and poor defensive design.

Texas FS Andrew Mukuba has the pursuit angle, but Henderson is so dang good in the open-field. He anticipates the block of Hinzman #75 and then cuts behind it (all while at full speed). pic.twitter.com/s1EYp3qe6W

— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) January 11, 2025

Emeka Egbuka - WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Draft capital is the most important factor when projecting wide receiver prospects into the NFL. While pre-draft evaluations matter, ultimately, when an entire professional organization spends millions of dollars and a huge opportunity cost on a player, it signals the true market value of that player. Emeka Egbuka was the second receiver drafted in 2025 and ended up going higher than most expected. He's often described as a high-floor player, but he should command volume in a way that makes him a great pick at ADP this summer.

Egbuka is silky-smooth as a route-runner, has awesome hand-eye coordination and hands, and enough size and athleticism to translate to the pro game both inside and out. His depressed price as a seventh-round fantasy pick is likely due to target competition. Let's break it down. Mike Evans is going to be 32 when the season kicks off, Chris Godwin is 29 coming off a serious lower-body injury, and Jalen McMillan is a young player who did not prohibit the team from drafting a first-round receiver. The Bucs chose to build on a strength and loved Egbuka too much to pass on him.

With three fragile bets in front of him, if Egbuka can carve out a real role, the Bucs offense should be explosive and pass-heavy with Baker Mayfield at the helm. Mayfield projects near the top of the league in passing touchdowns, and Egbuka has the skill set to score in the same ways Godwin has. Draft talent and let the chips fall. The likelihood that Evans, Godwin, and McMillan are all healthy and outplaying Egbuka by the fantasy playoffs is slim.

Emeka Egbuka at cost is an opportunity to take a good football player who might actually be great.

I love when the market decides things that have nothing to do with the actual player should dictate the price.

Oh no, the roster has other WRs.

Draft good players.

— Andrew (GPNGC) (@draft32teams) June 13, 2025

Cam Ward - QB, Tennessee Titans

There's usually more excitement for the first pick in the real NFL Draft. With a 160.1 ADP on Underdog at QB25, Cam Ward is simply underpriced. The Titans' offense surely does not need to be a juggernaut for Ward to smash his price tag, but there is definitely a chance they improve a lot more than people expect. With two major moves along the offensive line, three positions should be upgraded. Dan Moore Jr. was added to play left tackle, which will move JC Latham to right tackle - his more natural position. Guard Kevin Zeitler was also added. The offensive line should be better.

Ward probably won't have an incredible array of weapons to work with. Still, he has two capable running backs, a legitimate number one route-runner in Calvin Ridley, and some solid receiving options like tight end Chig Okonkwo, veteran Tyler Lockett, and three upside rookies.

Ward's surrounding situation isn't exactly amazing, and I don't expect him to be a rookie like Jayden Daniels for obvious reasons. But his confident game should translate into fantasy points right away, and I expect him to lock on to Ridley early and often. Ward wins with his arm, but he can run when needed and will be comfortable throwing the ball all around the field. The Titans passed on generational two-way player Travis Hunter and an awesome pass-rusher in Abdul Carter to build around Ward - they are going to let him spin. I extensively studied his film, and you can learn more about why I'm high on his game linked in the article in the X post below.

https://t.co/nVITScjG6y https://t.co/AEnvGZ4J87 pic.twitter.com/nxuVPYfkdh

— Andrew (GPNGC) (@draft32teams) March 11, 2025

Jayden Higgins - WR, Houston Texans

The Texans' offensive line was abysmal last year, and they still chose to spend the 34th pick in the draft on Jayden Higgins to address their hole at WR2. C.J. Stroud had a down year last year, but Nico Collins still put up numbers when healthy. Collins is a legitimate number one receiver, and Higgins figures to be a solid number two right out of the gate.

Higgins is a natural receiver with excellent hands, tremendous size at 6-4, 214, 4.47 speed, route-running chops, and the ability to win vertical as well as any receiver in his rookie class. He was explosive in jumps at the combine, and that explosion showed up on film, especially on go routes. His game compares favorably to Tee Higgins, and he may end up as one of the best second options in all of football, just like Tee.

With a new offensive coordinator, any sort of bounceback from Stroud in his third season should lead to more passing touchdowns and an overall better offense. Higgins is the favorite to finish second on his team in targets and may be one of the most productive second options in any passing attack this season. Draft Higgins.

Jayden Higgins 1on1 rep

🔺Motor/footfire to close space
🔺Single jab/A step (sudden!)
🔺Run!
🔺Dig w/ head down
🔺Finish at catch pt pic.twitter.com/OjYIOle04x

— Andrew (GPNGC) (@draft32teams) March 9, 2025

Tre Harris - WR, Los Angeles Chargers

Ladd McConkey lit it up in his rookie season, but he was basically the only real threat in the Chargers' passing game. Adding a quality outside receiver was a priority for Jim Harbaugh's offense, and they did just that when they used the 55th pick in the draft on Tre Harris out of Ole Miss.

Harris was a transfer from Louisiana Tech, where he earned second-team all-conference honors as a Sophomore. An older prospect, Harris is not an analytical darling, but I loved his film, and he did eventually produce in the SEC. My notes on Harris are all overwhelmingly positive, aside from one bad drop on a deep ball where he had yards of separation winning a post route. Harris is an excellent route-runner with twitchiness that reminds me of A.J. Brown. He also has incredibly strong hands. Do not let anyone tell you he can't run routes because of Lane Kiffin's RPO-heavy system. He possesses the traits to do it, and when asked to run routes with NFL-type break points, he was terrific.

Mike Williams retired, and Quentin Johnston is Johnston, so Harris should have no issue earning the top outside receiver spot in Greg Roman's offense. With an excellent quarterback on a projected good offense, the bet on Harris is simply whether he's good or not. I think he has the potential to be better than good right away.

Key takeaway:

Getting reps with the 1s https://t.co/hQKklUfcu1

— Andrew (GPNGC) (@draft32teams) May 29, 2025

This Tre Harris catch didn’t count because he was out of bounds but it shows his hands. Earlier in this game he made a crazy one-handed catch along the sideline as well. Great ball skills, strong hands. pic.twitter.com/ncwkvR4Jv1

— Andrew (GPNGC) (@draft32teams) February 21, 2025

Tre Harris is at worst a plus WR2 in the NFL. Might develop into a WR1.

Can run routes, gets out of breaks
Can win deep
Length
Twitch and speed
Makes some spectacular catches
Broke out as a RS-Soph at La. Tech

pic.twitter.com/BQYrtocLS5

— Andrew (GPNGC) (@draft32teams) January 31, 2025

All the Tight Ends -- Next Year

I am extremely high on this rookie tight end class. Colston Loveland was a top-5 prospect for me, and Elijah Arroyo probably would've gone in the first round if he were healthy enough to work out at the combine. Tyler Warren is also awesome, while Terrance Ferguson, Harold Fannin Jr., Mason Taylor, and even Oronde Gadsden Jr. have the talent to develop into fantasy contributors.

However, I am not particularly high on the upside of any of them this season. Loveland and Arroyo are coming off injuries and have question marks surrounding their supporting casts. In Loveland's case, three talented wide receivers will command targets, and his QB is coming off a horrible rookie year. If Caleb Williams makes a jump thanks to new Head Coach Ben Johnson, Loveland could produce well, considering his reasonable ADP. However, he'd need to basically make Cole Kmet useless and out-target either D.J. Moore or Rome Odunze right away, in addition to benefiting from an assumed huge leap from his QB.

In Arroyo's case, he's stuck in a crowded tight end room with a QB acclimating to a new offense. Arroyo is super talented, but I don't envision him becoming a fantasy factor until his second year and beyond.

Buy these rookie tight ends in Dynasty leagues, but only target them if the price is right in redraft.

UPDATE on 7/23/25:

Loveland appears healthy and ready to go, and Noah Fant was released by the Seahawks - a bullish sign for Arroyo's health. Both are now worth targeting this season.

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