Will Howard, Elic Ayomanor, Jalen Royals - Dynasty Fantasy Football Rookie Draft Sleepers

May 2, 2025

Brant's dynasty fantasy football rookie draft sleepers. His analysis for Will Howard, Elic Ayomanor, and Jalen Royals in 2025 fantasy football rookie drafts.

With the 2025 NFL Draft in the rearview mirror, we have officially hit dynasty rookie draft season. The top of the first round is shaking out for Superflex leagues: Ashton Jeanty, Cam Ward, Tetairoa McMillan, Travis Hunter, Omarion Hampton, TreVeyon Henderson, Emeka Egbuka, Quinshon Judkins, and now RJ Harvey are among the top options for rookie drafters.

Once you hit the mid-second round, just about anybody can go off the board. Several sleeper prospects could emerge as legitimate fantasy options going forward.

Which prospects should you target in the late rounds of dynasty fantasy football rookie drafts in hopes of landing a future contributor? More on three key sleepers below.

For more good information on strategies for dynasty for the 2025 season, be sure to check out RotoBaller's Dynasty Fantasy Football Guide.

Will Howard, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers

As it stands right now, Aaron Rodgers is not on the Pittsburgh Steelers roster. While that could change, Rodgers is still undetermined on whether or not he wants to play in the 2025 season.

The only other quarterbacks on Pittsburgh’s roster at this time are Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson. While Will Howard was a sixth-round pick, he offers traits that many sixth-rounders do not offer. Howard stands 6-foot-4 and 236 pounds, has a bigger arm than most think, can run the ball well, and made several NFL-level throws throughout Ohio State’s dominant run to the College Football Playoff title.

Howard flashed a lot of upside while at Kansas State and finally put it all together at Ohio State this past season while surrounded by elite personnel. I find it hard to believe he does not get a shot at the NFL level, and Pittsburgh was the perfect landing spot for him to compete. You can grab him right now in the late third or fourth round of rookie drafts. Low risk, high reward, as he could wind up being a starting quarterback long-term.

Elic Ayomanor, WR, Tennessee Titans

After adding its quarterback of the future, Cam Ward, Tennessee needed to add weapons, given that its receiver room was very thin behind veterans Calvin Ridley and Tyler Lockett.

In the fourth round, the Titans selected Chimere Dike out of Florida and Elic Ayomanor out of Stanford. Ayomanor is younger, was more productive in college, and has more physical tools than Dike, although Dike was selected before him, leading me to lean toward Ayomanor as my preferred option between the two.

The #Titans select Standford WR Elic Ayomanor with Pick No. 136

This is him against Jaguars No. 2 Pick, Travis Hunterpic.twitter.com/QAiYbfAczN

— SleeperTitans (@SleeperTitanUp) April 26, 2025

Ayomanor recorded 1,844 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns over the past two seasons at Stanford, emerging as the go-to receiver while dealing with a poor quarterback situation. While he is tall and profiles as a possession receiver, his 4.44 40-yard dash cannot be slept on. He has all of the traits a WR1 needs, and just so happens to be joining an elite quarterback prospect in a room that lacks weapons. 

If you can grab Ayomanor in the early third round or even late second round of rookie drafts, do not hesitate to do so. There is legitimate 1,000-yard, 10-touchdown potential here.

Jalen Royals, WR, Kansas City Chiefs

At a glance, Kansas City’s receiver room is loaded, and opportunities may be tough to come by for the fourth-round rookie. But don’t forget that Rashee Rice destroyed his knee last season and has a potential suspension looming. If he misses time, which is likely, that leaves Xavier Worthy, Marquise Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Skyy Moore, and an aging Travis Kelce to compete with for targets.

While he looks to be the fifth option at best on paper with everyone healthy, Royals could work his way into the starting lineup with injuries, and it may be impossible to take him off the field once he gets on it. The Utah State product put up 834 yards and six touchdowns in just seven games with former Iowa castaway Spencer Petras throwing him the football this past season.

Royals is a dynamic playmaker with the ball in his hands, but also a great route runner. He stands 6-feet tall and weighs 205 pounds, offering legitimate NFL size. His game has few holes and he could really thrive being tied to Patrick Mahomes in an offense that was clearly lacking additional weapons in 2024. In the late second round or early third round of rookie drafts, he is a great value.

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