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Should you draft Isaac TeSlaa, Jaylin Noel, and Elic Ayomanor in fantasy football in 2025? John breaks down the fantasy football outlooks for these rookies.
Three rookie wide receivers from the 2025 NFL Draft -- Detroit Lions wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa, Houston Texans WR Jaylin Noel, and Tennessee Titans wideout Elic Ayomanor -- are all currently buried on their team's depth charts, but were selected inside the first four rounds of this year's draft.
Typically, receivers taken on the first two days, or early in day three of the NFL Draft, tend to carve out non-insignificant roles in their first seasons with their new teams. Of course, how they play in training camp, how they perform when the season starts, and the talent in the WR and TE rooms on their teams play roles in their eventual utility in fantasy football.
They're all three worth diving into, though. After the massive breakout of Los Angeles Rams WR Puka Nacua, a late fifth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft who won leagues in his first season, we got evidence that we should leave no stone unturned. So let's break down fantasy football outlooks for all three of these WRs!
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Isaac TeSlaa Fantasy Football Outlook
The Detroit Lions selected the previously under-the-radar TeSlaa with the sixth pick in the third round this season. You know he has to be good because he has a fantastic haircut. He should really consider trademarking his haircut, branding it as "the TeSlaa", but that's a conversation for another day.
TeSlaa is a fantastic athlete, and while his usage in college at Arkansas wasn't inspiring, Lions general manager Brad Holmes has a way of finding absolute steals in the NFL Draft, as he's proven over his years as the team's head personnel man.
I have failed myself by not taking Isaac TeSlaa seriously enough.
TD vs press into an elite worm. He is him. pic.twitter.com/inJV8WsgXw
— Al Calo (@Calo_Football) August 23, 2025
TeSlaa ran a 4.44-second 40-yard dash at 6-foot-4 and 214 pounds. He's a strong, physical receiver with plenty of juice after the catch. His route-running could use some refinement, but the athletic potential is absolutely there, and in limited preseason action, he's been impressive.
TeSlaa's physicality, length, burst, after-the-catch abilities, and strength have all been put on display, and many football analysts are kicking themselves for not recognizing TeSlaa's potential. He got an elite landing spot with Detroit, which is a team known for doing fantastic work developing their players and maximizing their strengths.
The only question is how much playing time he will get. He appears to be set to take the WR3 role, whatever that will be, in new offensive coordinator John Morton's offense. But WRs Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams and tight end Sam LaPorta are all highly talented and capable of earning high target shares.
Everyone was acting like Isaac Teslaa wasn't the 11th most athletic WR ever tested at the NFL Combine. Steal of your Dynasty drafts if you got him anywhere after the 2nd round. https://t.co/NLpH5BaxAj pic.twitter.com/V8xbNQbJ0G
— Justin Cohen (@BadBoyOfScoops) August 24, 2025
In redraft, he's a good stash to make. An injury to Williams, St. Brown, or even LaPorta could give TeSlaa a significant target share in games any of those three players miss. The Lions are a stable organization with a history of good offense, a good offensive line, and a productive quarterback.
Perhaps TeSlaa's best fit is in Best Ball. He could be used sparingly and make splash plays every few games, in which case he would be great for a format in which you don't have to worry about who you start. But with so many talented pass-catchers on the team, his value is greater in dynasty leagues than in redraft.
Jaylin Noel Fantasy Football Outlook
Noel is a fantastic athlete, just like TeSlaa. He's shorter, at 5-foot-11, but ran a 4.39-second 40-yard dash. He projects to be a slot receiver at the next level and should develop into a lethal option from that position. But like TeSlaa, he was drafted into a very crowded receiver room.
He joins Nico Collins, one of the league's best receivers, fellow rookie Jayden Higgins, and veteran Christian Kirk with the Houston Texans. Kirk has traditionally been a slot receiver, and with Collins playing X and Higgins likely at the "Z" spot, Noel could struggle to get snaps early on.
Jaylin Noel being Amon-Ra St. Brown but faster
-Runs the best zig routes in the class (second best is Jayden Higgins ironically)
-Breaks a tackle attempt square on his hip
-ACCELERATION
Noel will win leagues in 2025 if he doesn't get a horrible landing spot, I guarantee it pic.twitter.com/eaNdbpRt9A— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 24, 2025
Noel's college film is fantastic. His acceleration after the catch is impressive. He's explosive off the line and has a nice release package. He has very strong hands and can make absurd contested catches. And he can sink his hips and explode on a dime when needed. He has a very broad skill set and range of strengths.
But this season, he could be stuck behind Kirk for the slot role and be a rotational player early on. I prefer to bet on talent, but Higgins and Collins also have undeniable talent, in my eyes. It makes sense that the Texans drafted these two, though.
Collins has missed 17 games in his four-year career. That averages to over four games per season. And with WR Tank Dell (knee) likely to miss most of the 2025 season, and potentially have his career permanently damaged by his devastating knee injury, Houston needed reinforcements at the position.
Half pirouette, and if you pause it right when the ball arrives he catches it with one hand and sticks it to his mitts before securing with the other just to make sure. Absurd play. pic.twitter.com/ka6lamA2kL
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 24, 2025
Noel is the fastest receiver on the team, though, so having him run vertical routes out of the slot and getting the ball in his hands to run after the catch makes sense. On this roster, his career arc will just be delayed. Kirk is on a one-year deal, and for dynasty fantasy managers, you hope the team moves on from him after the season.
But this season, the team will need to run a lot of three-WR sets for Noel to pay off. It's hard to trust him in redraft on a team with a poor offensive line and a quarterback who struggled under so much pressure last season. That situation could be even worse this year, with their best offensive lineman, left tackle Laremy Tunsil, now gone.
Without multiple injuries, this isn't a situation in which Noel will find big target volume easy to come by. May as well keep an eye on him, and he's worth a shot if you have a bench spot and Kirk gets hurt. But even then, he likely won't be playing in 2WR sets early on, which heavily limits his snaps.
Elic Ayomanor Fantasy Football Outlook
Ayomanor was the 34th pick in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. The Titans added him to a wide receiver room that now contains veteran WR Calvin Ridley and a bunch of other receivers that are either old, fellow rookies, or don't have much production in their history.
The big receivers that sometimes run good routes can be fantasy traps. There are red flags that Ayomanor demonstrated in his game that shouldn't be swept under the rug. And with a rookie quarterback, things could be pretty rocky to start the year, or for the whole season.
Elic Ayomanor has put some nice routes on film this preseason
Solid preseason:
5 catches for 72 yards on 9 targets
(2.06 yards per route run) https://t.co/rFcVZB6Ubm pic.twitter.com/xjPlSE85HE— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) August 23, 2025
Ayomanor's size and speed combination are certainly intriguing. He has issues with drops, though, and typically is better at separating on downfield double-move routes than getting quick, consistent separation on shorter routes. To be a consistent target-earner, you need to do more of both.
Rookie QB Cam Ward's mobility could help ameliorate some of those issues, and if he's able to extend plays, the two could develop a nice connection. But the Titans' offense was just putrid last year under head coach Brian Callahan. That would need to change quickly.
Ayomanor isn't likely to beat out Ridley any time soon. It would be a gamble to assume that Ward can support two fantasy-viable receivers, especially on an offense that didn't show any clear direction last season. Callahan's schemes might not be at fault, and the old QB is gone, but it's just an unknown.
Credit to @BGWhitefield for this evaluation of Cam Ward. I agree with it pretty much fully. QBs that crumble under pressure are usually just plain bad in the NFL. Ward panicks when the rush comes and doesn't have an answer for pressure at all right now. pic.twitter.com/v9tHqtIWBm
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) April 24, 2025
Most of the content on social media you can find steams up Ward. He was the first overall pick, after all, and he put up huge numbers in his final season. But we've seen plenty of cases where players have great statistical production in college, and it doesn't translate to the next level.
The Titans had a poor offensive line last season, and Ward is simply a different QB under pressure than when kept clean on film. Tennessee made changes in the front, but they don't have a lot of depth, and sometimes OLs that look good on paper simply don't play well.
I showed you my favorite play from Cam Ward’s debut, but this was my least favorite. A LOT of coachables here.
❌ Misses Ridley on the open drag
❌Leaves a clean pocket
❌Unacceptable Throw Decision
This is much worse than the near pick, but those are the only two bad ones. pic.twitter.com/VrrURj7n7Q
— TicTacTitans (@TicTacTitans) August 11, 2025
Bad reps get lost in the wave of hopes and dreams that fans and fantasy managers have of players on teams that were bad last season. Wish-casting is a hard thing to avoid, but ignoring the negatives of a quarterback isn't a great idea. And poorly-playing quarterbacks rarely support more than one fantasy-relevant pass-catcher, if even that.
The Titans' passing attack is one I'm avoiding buying into in fantasy.
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