2025 Fantasy Football WR Rookie Rankings (Pre-NFL Draft) - Tetairoa McMillan, Jalin Noel, Emeka Egbuka, and more

April 23, 2025

RotoBaller's 2025 fantasy football WR rookie rankings by Matt Donnelly. These early WR rookie rankings are from before the NFL Draft on April 24.

It is a down year for the wide receiver position compared to years past. However, there are plenty of prospects worth talking about who have the potential to be factors in fantasy football.

The NFL Draft isn't about the past; it's about the future. Here are my top 10 rookie wide receivers for fantasy for 2025.

For a deeper dive into dynasty strategy, rankings, and trade tactics, check out our complete Dynasty Fantasy Football Guide.

NFL Rookie Rankings for Fantasy Football (Pre-NFL Draft)

Rookie rankings are from before the NFL Scouting Combine and before the NFL Draft

Pre-NFL Draft Top 10 Fantasy Football WR Picks

10. Jack Bech, TCU

TCU's Jack Bech is the most slept-on draft prospect leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft. This is the same Jack Bech who led the LSU Tigers in receptions as a freshman (43), a Tiger squad that featured future NFL pass-catchers such as Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas Jr., Kayshon Boutte, and Trey Palmer.

Last season, Bech announced his presence again, posting 62 receptions, 1,034 receiving yards, and nine touchdowns for the Horned Frogs. Bech is a wonderful blend of skill and willpower who has mastered the technical side of the position despite some limitations. Bech is big enough to play on the outside, or a team can move him to the slot to create a mismatch. For fantasy managers, Bech is a PPR goldmine.

100 seconds of TCU WR Jack Bech running after the catch.

Watch how quickly he transitions to becoming a runner post-catch. Reliably breaks first tackle/angle. More than just impressive toughness -- he takes some tight corners! Good COD. pic.twitter.com/JB54FVqD0L

— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) April 1, 2025

9. Tre Harris, Mississippi

Tre Harris is lower on this list than on most due to his limited route tree compared to others in this class. Harris excels at slants and curls, demonstrates a quick release, and does an excellent job using leverage. 

Harris finished his senior season with 1,030 receiving yards on 60 receptions. What's impressive about those numbers is that he accomplished them while missing six contests due to injury. Before that injury, Harris averaged 128.8 receiving yards per game, 10.4 targets, and 8.4 receptions, averaging a touchdown per contest, all ranking inside the top seven in the nation.

8. Luther Burden III, Missouri 

Luther Burden III is one of the hardest receivers to gauge this draft season. He broke onto the scene and posted 1,212 receiving yards in his junior season, averaging 14.1 yards per reception in 86 receptions. That season, his yards per team pass attempt put him in the 97th percentile with Malik Nabers, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Marvin Harrison Jr.

While Burden only had 61 receptions in 2024, his 0.49 forced missed tackle rate was the highest of any Power Four receiver. Burden could be one of the best values in the draft, as he has experienced a bit of a dip this past season. In the right system, Burden could flourish as one of the elite PPR receivers in fantasy football.

7. Jayden Higgins, Iowa State

When looking at yards per route run this past season, Jayden Higgins is among the elite options for the 2025 draft. While his 2.77 yards per route run trails Tetairoa McMillan (3.06), it does put him ahead of former teammate Jaylin Noel and Emeka Egbuka, who is regarded as one of the best route runners in the draft.

Jayden Higgins moving chains and scoring points pic.twitter.com/ZL2ZtmVR1n

— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) April 1, 2025

Higgins does an excellent job changing his speeds and has an excellent release off the line of scrimmage. Whoever is throwing him the ball this upcoming season is going to love his ball-tracking ability and his ability to win those contested catches.

6. Matthew Golden, Texas

Matthew Golden is an excellent route runner and a big play waiting to happen every snap. Golden is as fast as they come, demonstrating that ability with a 4.29 40 time and a 1.48 10-yard split at the combine. He has also shown excellent ball tracking, separation skills, and elite body control.

However, being fast isn't good enough in the NFL, and combine speed freaks have historically struggled to produce at the next level. Some red flags arise, such as the lack of production in college. Golden's receiving yards market share, PPR per game, and experienced adjusted production all came in the 52nd to 56th percentile. 

Some have labeled Golden a one-hit wonder, but it's hard to ignore his final four contests, during which he averaged 102.8 yards per game and 3.37 yards per route run.

5. Jaylin Noel, Iowa State

Jaylin Noel is going to be productive wherever he lands. Noel had an 80 percent contested catch success rate and was successful when facing both man (74.1 percent) and zone (81.8 percent) coverages, per Reception Perception. 

Last season, while competing for targets with Jayden Higgins, Noel caught 80 of 119 targets for 1,193 yards, eight touchdowns, and averaged 2.62 yards per route run with an average of 3.50 yards per route coming against zone coverage. Noel showed off some explosiveness at the combine, running a 4.39 40-yard dash with an elite explosion grade thanks to a 41" vertical and an 11-foot broad jump.

4. Elic Ayomanor, Stanford

One of the rawest prospects in this year's draft also has one of the highest ceilings, and that's Elic Ayomanor. Ayomanor played in a bad Stanford offense, leading to a catchable ball rate of less than 47 percent on passes that traveled more than 15 yards. Despite one of the worst offenses, Ayomanor got the best of Travis Hunter, something very few receivers were able to do.

Elic Ayomanor is far too quick for someone this big and strong, it's not fair pic.twitter.com/aqkPhDufz4

— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) March 19, 2025

Ayomanor is going to be a problem, especially for smaller defensive backs trying to defend him on slants. Ayomanor is a bully out there and has one of the best release packages off the line. Once the ball is in his hands, he has serious YAC ability.

3. Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State

Ohio State has produced some great wide receivers. From Cris Carter and David Boston to Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, none have more receiving yards than Emeka Egbuka, who finished his Ohio State tenure with 2,868 yards on 205 receptions.

Looking deeper into the analytics, Egbuka has some of the best career numbers in yards per route run (2.61) and first downs per route run (0.126) of any pass-catcher in the draft.

2. Travis Hunter, Colorado

The question is, where does Travis Hunter play? Hunter would be the best receiver in the draft if he were strictly a wide receiver. The same could be said if Hunter were 100 percent committed to playing corner. If Hunter were smart, he'd follow the money, as receivers tend to earn a little more than defensive backs. You have options when you are both the Biletnikoff Award (best receiver in the nation) and Bednarik Award winner (best defensive player in the nation).

In contests where Hunter saw at least an 80 percent route rate, he averaged 10.7 targets, 107 receiving yards, 1.4 touchdowns, and 19.4 fantasy points per game. The only player who can stop Hunter on defense is Hunter himself.

1. Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Tetairoa McMillan stands out as the top option heading into the draft in a class that lacks the elite wide receiver profile. In 12 games last season, McMillan finished with 84 receptions and 1,319 receiving yards. That was 996 more receiving yards than the next closest Wildcat receiver. Everyone knew the ball was going to McMillan, and he was still producing.

Tetairoa McMillan had 10 receptions for 160 yards against the Oklahoma Sooners. pic.twitter.com/yjfGmkBegA

— Nick Penticoff (@NickPenticoff) May 12, 2024

Fantasy Points CEO Scott Barrett pointed out that Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita averaged 10.12 yards per attempt when targeting McMillan versus 5.83 yards per attempt when targeting other Wildcat receivers. Imagine what he could do if he watched the film.

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