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Dave Ventresca's top nine dynasty fantasy football fallers and veteran player losers following the 2025 NFL Draft: Najee Harris, Will Levis, Jalen McMillan, and more.
Dynasty fantasy football managers are currently working overtime as they meticulously prepare for their league’s rookie draft. While managers should primarily be focused on the incoming rookie class, savvy gamers keep a pulse on the market value of veteran players.
The NFL Draft has a way of affecting veterans’ dynasty value. Some players see a spike in value while others see their stock crash and burn. This happens every year. Today, we will examine several veterans whose dynasty outlook became more bleak following the results of the 2025 NFL Draft. Dynasty gamers would be wise to temper expectations for these players and, in some cases, should look to cut bait altogether.
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Najee Harris - RB, Los Angeles Chargers
Harris signed a one-year deal with the Chargers earlier this offseason. At the time, it looked like a great move for Harris’ value as Los Angeles had released Gus Edwards and decided not to re-sign last year’s starter, J.K. Dobbins.
All of that changed when Los Angeles drafted North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton with the 22nd pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Omarion Hampton is headed to LA ⚡️#NFLDraft @Chargers @OmarionHampton pic.twitter.com/xzXRtjDnVt
— NFL (@NFL) April 25, 2025
Hampton is a highly talented back and was rumored to be the top running back on some teams’ draft boards. This is bad news for Harris’ dynasty value. He’s not as bad a player as some dynasty gamers want to admit, but the facts are the facts here.
Los Angeles only signed Harris to a one-year deal, then spent a first-round pick on a running back. He is not going to stand in the way of Hampton eventually taking over this backfield.
Jalen McMillan - WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
This has not been the best offseason for McMillan. He closed the 2024 season on a high note and posted five straight top-19 finishes to close the year. With veteran Chris Godwin set to hit free agency, it looked like McMillan was a rising dynasty star.
Mayfield to McMillan for the 32-yard TD!
📺: #WASvsTB on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/d8ESrlMXNF— NFL (@NFL) September 8, 2024
As things turned out, this may have been McMillan’s peak dynasty value. In an unexpected move, Godwin reportedly left $30 million on the table by turning down an offer from the New England Patriots and signing a team-friendly deal to return to Tampa Bay. If that wasn’t bad enough, the team then used its first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to select Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka.
Another year, another first round WR picked from @OhioStateFB 😮💨
Best of luck in Tampa Bay, Emeka Egbuka 🔥#B1GFootball x @Buccaneers pic.twitter.com/LL6jH885xq
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) April 25, 2025
Gross. This is a tough blow for McMillan’s backers. He went from being a potential breakout candidate to a WR3. Following the selection of Egbuka, it’s now unknown what kind of role he will have in Tampa Bay's offense.
Does the team still believe in him? Is he still in the long-term plans? It’s tough to look at the selection of Egbuka and the re-signing of Godwin and not question McMillan's standing with the team.
Jakobi Meyers - WR, Las Vegas Raiders
Meyers enjoyed a career year in 2024. He set career highs in receptions and receiving yards and also posted his first 1,000-yard season.
JAKOBI MEYERS DIVING TOUCHDOWN 🔥
pic.twitter.com/si7GsRC15X— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) December 15, 2023
He finished 2024 as the PPR WR19. Unfortunately for Meyers, the regime that signed him to a lucrative contract is gone, and there is a new head coach/general manager combo in place for 2025. Pete Carroll takes over as Raiders head coach while John Spytek is the new general manager.
After spending the sixth overall pick on running back Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas used its second-round pick to select wide receiver Jack Bech.
With the 58th pick in the 2025 @NFL Draft, the @Raiders select Jack Bech from @TCUFootball pic.twitter.com/Bxfi5EiVyk
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) April 26, 2025
Bech is a talented receiver and was a popular player among many NFL Draft and dynasty fantasy football pundits. The fact that the new Las Vegas regime used one of its first draft picks on Bech speaks to its confidence in him. It also means the new regime might not look as favorably upon Meyers as the previous one. Meyers is a free agent after the 2025 season, and the selection of Bech shows that Meyers is probably not in the team’s long-term plans.
Meyers should latch on somewhere else following the 2025 season. However, it’s clear Las Vegas is making plans to move on, and Meyers' dynasty value has taken a hit.
Russell Wilson - QB, New York Giants
Wilson signed a one-year deal with the Giants to be their starting quarterback. Given the contract, it sure didn’t look like Wilson was in the team’s long-term plans. This was confirmed when the Giants traded up to take quarterback Jaxson Dart with the 25th pick in the NFL Draft.
The @Giants trade back into the first round to get their QB.
Jaxson Dart is headed to the Big Apple! pic.twitter.com/Ckdks9uDEd
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) April 25, 2025
While this is not particularly surprising news, it does confirm that Wilson is not in the team’s plans and is merely a placeholder for Dart. If New York’s season goes the way that many believe it will, then Wilson will most likely be benched halfway through the year in favor of Dart.
It’s unknown what Wilson’s NFL future is following his time with the Giants. A career resurgence with New York feels unlikely, and this could be his final starting gig. Either way, Dart’s presence is bad news for Wilson’s dynasty value. It’s only a matter of time before Dart replaces him.
Cole Kmet - TE, Chicago Bears
Kmet initially looked like a huge dynasty winner when the Bears hired Ben Johnson to be their next head coach. However, that was short-lived as Chicago used the 10th overall pick to select Michigan tight end Colston Loveland.
Colston Loveland got drafted 10th overall by the Bears with his family and friends at home 🙌 pic.twitter.com/SvAw3JNKGc
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 25, 2025
Chicago can move on from Kmet after this year and incur just a $3 million dead cap hit. This seems like the most likely scenario.
If you’re a Kmet backer, this one stings because his value was just completely nuked by the Loveland selection. The best course of action for gamers is to hold Kmet and hope that he finds a starting job with a new team in 2026.
Will Levis - QB, Tennessee Titans
This one’s pretty simple. The Titans drafted Cam Ward with the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
THE NO. 1 PICK FROM THE U 🙌
CAM WARD IS THE TOP PICK IN THE 2025 NFL DRAFT 🔥 pic.twitter.com/e2QED2AEXi
— ACC Network (@accnetwork) April 25, 2025
Ward has been pegged as the new face of the franchise and quarterback of the future. This is in large part because Levis was terrible and committed too many egregious turnovers and couldn’t sense pressure. Levis looked like he might be something special following a four-touchdown debut outing in 2023, but he’s come crashing back to earth.
There’s not much gamers can do now. The jig is up on Levis. That means that gamers’ best course of action is to either keep him on the bench or cut bait altogether. Given what we’ve seen from Levis so far, the latter is the preferred move.
Jerome Ford - RB, Cleveland Browns
Ford’s time as a fantasy-relevant player is most likely done after the Browns selected Quinshon Judkins with the 36th pick in the NFL Draft. If that was bad enough, the team would also select Dylan Sampson in the fourth round.
Man, Cleveland saw Ford get meaningful snaps for two consecutive years, then spent two picks in the first four rounds to find better options. That just about says it all. He just wasn’t good enough the last two years to be considered a realistic Nick Chubb replacement.
Gamers can safely cut Ford loose as he holds little value in his current situation.
Rhamondre Stevenson - RB, New England Patriots
There had been murmurs that the Patriots wanted to add a back to their rotation this offseason. That turned out to be true as New England drafted Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson with the 38th overall pick in the NFL Draft. Henderson is a big-play machine who is a threat to score any time he touches the ball. His presence will certainly be a problem for Stevenson.
TREVEYON HENDERSON 75 YARDS TO THE HOUSE, WOW‼️
Ohio State immediately answers after Texas' TD. pic.twitter.com/a0OdS0eORK
— ESPN (@espn) January 11, 2025
Stevenson may not be completely phased out of the offense, but the Henderson selection certainly puts a hard cap on his upside. He likely won’t catch many passes with Henderson in town and is looking at some kind of backfield split.
The one saving grace for Stevenson is that Henderson doesn’t profile best as a short-yardage/goal-line back, so Stevenson could still have value in this role. Still, Henderson is a very good player, and the rookie likely takes over this backfield in 2026, possibly sooner if Stevenson’s infamous fumbling woes rear their ugly head this year.
Be on alert throughout the season because if Stevenson gets hot for a few games, a sell-high window could open. In that event, gamers should move swiftly to get him off their roster. He’s a nice back, but he’s not in the same league as Henderson.
Jaylen Warren - RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers were rumored to be in the market for a running back during the NFL Draft. Warren escaped Day 1 unscathed after Pittsburgh took defensive tackle Derrick Harmon in the first round. However, Warren was not so lucky on Day 2 as Pittsburgh used its third-round pick to select Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson.
With the 83rd pick in the 2025 #NFLDraft, we select RB Kaleb Johnson. pic.twitter.com/bGIsBRDAQl
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) April 26, 2025
Johnson enjoyed a fine career at Iowa and was one of the best backs in the country last year. He fell a bit in the draft due to some athleticism concerns. Make no mistake about it, though, Johnson is a very good back.
.@HawkeyeFootball Kaleb Johnson. Enter the RB conversation. This #nfldraft is loaded. A big back with quick feet; great change of pace with power to run through contact. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/lggsTJYEvb
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) March 31, 2025
From a schematic standpoint, Johnson’s game does fit better in a zone rushing scheme. Luckily for him, the Steelers seem like an ideal landing spot.
Kaleb Johnson was most successful in a zone-blocking scheme.
The #Steelers ran the 2nd most zone-blocking runs in the NFL last year per @FantasyPtsData 👀
This is a GREAT landing spot and Johnson is about to prove all his haters wrong. #fantasyfootball #nfldraft25
— Dave Ventresca (@FF_Stallion) April 26, 2025
Despite the selection of Johnson, Warren will still have a role in the offense. However, the hopes that Pittsburgh would finally make him the RB1 have been dashed.
Selling Warren now might prove difficult. However, many dynasty gamers don’t believe in Johnson’s talent. If a Johnson skeptic is in your league, you might be able to exploit this and still get a decent trade return for Warren.
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