2025 Fantasy Football IDP Rookie Rankings (Post-NFL Draft) - Abdul Carter, Travis Hunter, and more

May 6, 2025

RotoBaller's 2025 fantasy football IDP rookie rankings. These early IDP rookie rankings are from before the NFL Draft and include edge, safety, linebacker, and cornerbacks.

Are you not entertained? The NFL Draft went just as expected. Okay, that may not be entirely true, but it was entertaining. Young men found themselves in new homes, and fantasy managers finally finalized their rankings based on landing spots and future opportunities.

We look at those opportunities closely ahead of fantasy football drafts. Which players will find themselves in three-down roles, and which players will find themselves as specialists? Both have value for fantasy managers; just some carry a little more weight.

The time for talking is now over; it's time to start drafting in those IDP leagues, so here are the Top-10 IDP rookies for the 2025 fantasy football season. For a deeper dive into dynasty strategy, rankings, and trade tactics, be sure to check out our complete Dynasty Fantasy Football Guide.

Fantasy Football Rookie IDP Rankings

10. Mike Green, Edge, Baltimore Ravens

In the 10th spot, you can go a couple of directions, but you should be looking at the Baltimore Ravens defense as both Mike Green and Malaki Starks fall right into their lap and are in a great fantasy football landing spot.

Fantasy managers can't make a mistake going with either Raven, so it's more on positional need and league scoring when comparing the two options. The Ravens see Green as the replacement for Kyle Van Noy, who, at 35 years of age, is in the twilight stages of his career, and Green can fill that stand-up pass-rusher void for years to come. 

Mike Green isn’t just a pass rusher, he’s a wall in the run game too.

• 90.2 run defense grade in 2023
• 92.4 in 2024 (2nd among NCAA edge defenders)
• 49 run stops (most among edge rushers)
• 9.4% run-stop rate

Elite run-stopper vibes. 👏 pic.twitter.com/SSuC16aS1j

— Ravens Nation 𝙇𝙄𝙑𝙀 (@LIVERavenNation) April 26, 2025

Starks may offer more value today, but Green's upside gives him a long-term advantage.

9. Nick Emmanwori, S, Seattle Seahawks

Yes, Starks was selected eight picks ahead of Nick Emmanwori, but Seattle gave up a third to make a move to trade up for the freakishly athletic safety, and that can't be ignored either. Emmanwori can sit back and play centerfield or step up and play linebacker in subpackages; that's where the fantasy appeal comes in. IDP managers love dual positional values, and Emmanwori offers linebacker scoring from the defensive back position, and in tackle-heavy formats, that is fantasy gold.

8. Demetrius Knight Jr., LB, Cincinnati Bengals

From Door Dash delivery to delivering big hits on Sunday, there may not be an easier player to root for than Demetrius Knight Jr.

Knight will make a living coming downhill and filling gaps. Knight essentially will fill the void left behind by Germaine Pratt, who asked for a trade after the Bengals decided to part ways with former Defensive Coordinator Lou Anarumo.

One of Knight's biggest strengths is his instincts, which will serve him well as he lines up next to Logan Wilson on the Bengals' defense. The last time the Bengals selected a linebacker this high was in 2009 when they took Rey Maualuga with the 38th pick. Cincinnati has a plan for Knight, as new Defensive Coordinator Al Golden wasn't going to leave the draft without the former Gamecock." I was waiting for this pick for 17 picks now," Golden said after the selection." I was waiting for Demetrius. We are very fortunate to have him."

7. James Pearce Jr., Edge, Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta needed to invest in the defensive side of the ball and on-pass rushers in this draft. They certainly did so. James Pearce Jr. had long been tied to the Falcons thanks to the highest percentage of pass rushes with pressure among edge defenders in this class. Throughout Pearce's career, the former Volunteer had accounted for a 21 percent pressure rate and a 34 percent hit/sack-to-pressure rate. Both of these put him in the same class as Abdul Carter in terms of getting after the quarterback.

Highest % of Pass Rushes with a Pressure last season for the top EDGEs in the Draft ⚠️

James Pearce Jr: 23.4%
Bradyn Swinson: 20.1%
Abdul Carter: 19.6%
Jalon Walker: 19.5%
Mike Green: 17.8%
Donovan Ezeiruaku: 14.9%
Shemar Stewart: 13.4%
Nic Scourton: 12.2%
Mykel Williams: 11.5% pic.twitter.com/92ozbnRTcS

— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) April 13, 2025

There is a reason the Falcons paid a premium to move back into the first round from pick 46; Raheem Morris will have a plan for Pearce, and Pearce will have plenty of opportunities to execute it.

6. Carson Schwesinger, LB, Cleveland Browns

Cleveland's linebackers corps was banged up in a bad way last season. Jordan Hicks missed five games, while Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah also suffered a neck injury leading to the Browns surrendering 4.5 yards per carry on the ground a season ago.

As a Senior at UCLA, Carson Schwesinger racked up 136 tackles, 90 of which were of the solo variety. Schwesinger is a proven sideline-to-sideline defender who has the necessary burst to come downhill and make plays in the backfield or drop back in coverage and defend for running backs and tight ends.

Schwesinger will be plugged in as a Day 1 starter, providing plenty of fantasy value in leagues that heavily reward tackles with fantasy production.

5. Mykel Williams, Edge, San Francisco 49ers

With any luck, Mykel Williams will find himself starting opposite Nick Bosa sooner rather than later as the 49ers added themselves a Top-5 prospect with the 11th overall selection. The only red flag regarding Williams was his ability to stay healthy. When healthy, Williams offers more upside than any other pass rusher from this year's draft.

With active hands and effective inside moves, Williams could be a three-down player kicking inside when he's not attacking off the edge for Robert Saleh.

4. Jalon Walker, LB, Atlanta Falcons

Jalon Walker is exactly what the Atlanta Falcons needed. Walker can drop back as an off-ball linebacker, cover sideline-to-sideline, spy the quarterback, and bring pressure off the edge, which the Falcons leaked in 2024, producing a pressure rate of just 17.1 percent and 31 sacks.

Jalon Walker vs Kelvin Banks last season:

5 Tackles
3 Sacks
6 QB Pressures
1 Fumble Recovery
7 Total Havoc Plays https://t.co/Sd0HgpnBCs

— Kipp Adams (@KippLAdams) April 25, 2025

When Jeff Ulbrich isn't allowing his son to prank call Shedeur Sanders, he is hyping up Walker and his versatility. Walker's football IQ will draw fantasy comparisons to Micah Parsons. If Walker can live up to those comparisons, fantasy managers will have a set-it-and-forget-it addition to their lineups.

3. Jihaad Campbell, LB, Philadelphia Eagles

After amassing 117 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, five sacks, and a pair of forced fumbles, you knew wherever Jihaad Campbell landed, he was going to be making an instant fantasy impact. While the Eagles are loaded at linebacker with Zack Baun, Nolan Smith Jr., and Nakobe Dean, it is Campbell who offers the most versatility of that group with his sideline-to-sideline ability and his ability to be disruptive off the edge.

Campbell is going to get his tackles, he's going to be an asset in coverage, and he's going to blitz up the middle. Philadelphia now has two Bauns for the price of one. Plus, with the depth at the position, they can afford to have Campbell heal up until he is 100 percent ready to be unleashed.

2. Abdul Carter, Edge, New York Giants

Sacks always carry the most weight when it comes to fantasy. Abdul Carter projects to lead this class in that department, meaning fantasy managers are gaining a positional advantage by selecting the former Nittany Lion. Now, if he could also play running back, he might be even higher on this list.

It's hard to imagine a world in which the Giants don't use Carter in a manner similar to how the Cowboys deployed Parsons. Carter will play off-ball linebacker on first and second downs, then be green-lighted and pin his ears back on third down. Last season, Carter led the Nation with 23.5 tackles for loss, showing he is much more than a pass rusher.

1. Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Jacksonville Jaguars

Travis Hunter was announced as a wide receiver and defensive back at the draft, and the expectation is that the Jacksonville Jaguars will use him at both positions, with wide receiver being the primary position. What does that mean? It means that if your league allows dual eligibility, Hunter is going to get you receiver-type fantasy production that you can slot into a defensive back slot in your fantasy lineups. That will give fantasy managers a huge positional advantage.

The Jaguars trade up with the Browns‼️

Travis Hunter is heading to Jacksonville 🐆 pic.twitter.com/YMdUw06bFj

— ESPN (@espn) April 25, 2025

Just Missing: Malaki Starks (S, Baltimore Ravens, Shemar Stewart (Edge, Cincinnati), Nic Scourton (Edge, Carolina), Donovan Ezeiruaku (Edge, Dallas Cowboys), Danny Stutsman (LB, New Orleans), Mason Graham (DT, Cleveland), Landon Jackson (Edge, Buffalo)

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