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Should you draft Woody Marks, Tahj Brooks, and DJ Giddens in fantasy football in 2025? Jackson breaks down the fantasy outlooks for these three rookies.
With fantasy football season just around the corner, the hype around first-year players is at an all-time high. While star rookie names like Ashton Jeanty, Travis Hunter, Omarion Hampton, and Emeka Egbuka grab most of the headlines, later-round NFL Draft picks and handcuff running backs can also be key to fantasy success. We're going to dive into three players who fit those categories in this article.
None of Woody Marks, Tahj Brooks, and DJ Giddens are entering Week 1 of their rookie campaigns as clear starters for the Texans, Bengals, and Colts, but that doesn't mean they don't possess contingent upside in 2025. Many casual fantasy managers don't follow the college game or know much about these rookie sleepers, so there is a real advantage to be gained if you hit on a handful of these young bucks.
Should you draft Marks, Brooks, or Giddens? What are their fantasy football outlooks? Let's answer those questions below.
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Woody Marks Fantasy Football Outlook
Marks has one of the most elite receiving profiles from a college running back that you'll ever see. The former Mississippi State Bulldog turned USC Trojan collected 60 receptions as a true freshman, 83 receptions as a true sophomore, and 261 career receptions in five seasons (57 games). He racked up 1,546 receiving yards and five scores. Without knowing anything else about him, those stats immediately suggest he has intriguing PPR upside.
However, he was not a one-trick pony. Marks tallied 608 rushing attempts for 3,016 yards (5.0 YPC) and 31 rushing touchdowns. He's 207 pounds and posted a respectable 4.54-second 40-yard dash at the 2025 NFL Combine. The 24-year-old was ultimately selected by the Texas with the 14th pick in the fourth round, making him the 10th running back to come off the board.
Woody Marks scampers into the end zone 😤
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/82JpwHDKFb
— NFL (@NFL) August 23, 2025
With Joe Mixon (foot) slated to miss at least the first four games of the new season after being placed on the NFI List, Marks could secure touches in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams. Nick Chubb is on the roster, but he has a limited pass-catching skill set and might not ever look the same after an unfortunate run of lower-body injuries. Dameon Pierce is also there, but the team has proven it does not think highly of Pierce based on his usage since DeMeco Ryans came to town. The decision to draft Marks should also tell us they don't believe in Pierce.
For those in traditional PPR leagues, he's worth a late-round pick. In deeper setups with plenty of bench slots, he's a fantastic target. There is doubt in Mixon's ability to play at all in 2025, and Marks has a real path to be the checkdown back for C.J. Stroud.
If Chubb looks like a shell of his former self and Mixon can't make his way back onto the field (or looks awful when he does), Marks has more upside than many realize. An RB2 finish in PPR leagues is now too far out of the realm of possibilities.
Tahj Brooks Fantasy Football Outlook
If the 2025 NFL Draft class wasn't loaded with high-end running back talent, Brooks likely would have been an earlier pick. The Texas Tech product rushed for at least 1,500 yards in each of his final two collegiate seasons and tallied 28 total touchdowns in his last 24 games. He rushed for at least 100 yards in all 11 games last season, and he ended his career with a 22-game streak of rushing for at least 95 yards.
Despite solid athletic testing and an impressive production profile, he slipped to Round 6. However, he secured an opening-day roster spot for the Cincinnati Bengals. Chase Brown is the clear RB1 for the Bengals, but Zack Moss was let go, and Samaje Perine is 29 years old and without much gas left in the tank. While the organization trusts Perine as a pass-blocker for Joe Burrow, he lacks legitimate explosiveness at this stage in his career. Meanwhile, Brooks has the ability to move the chains on the ground, catch passes (102 career receptions), and pass block at a high level.
"Two-time captain. First team Academic All-American. Best blocking back in this Draft. That's the stuff you don't get in YouTube highlight reels. It's what you learn in conversations here in Indy."@pschrags on @TexasTechFB RB Tahj Brooks pic.twitter.com/BhJBAzKjP0
— NFL GameDay (@NFLGameDay) March 1, 2025
Brooks could have a difficult time seeing the field early, but if Brown were to suffer an injury and have to miss anytime, he'd have exciting upside in one of the league's elite offenses. In regular 12-team setups, Brooks will probably go undrafted, and for good reason.
But those in deep leagues or dynasty formats should stash him as long as you can. Remember, you can stash handcuff running backs even if you don't have the starter. Especially if you find yourself thin at the running back spot after the first five rounds of your fantasy draft, stashing backups with upside in the case of an injury is an excellent way to load your bench with lotto tickets and contingent upside.
DJ Giddens Fantasy Football Outlook
Let's move on to another former Big 12 running back, DJ Giddens, who was selected by the Colts in the fifth round of April's draft. Giddens is another strong producer from this rookie class, tallying 1,549 total yards and 13 touchdowns as a sophomore and 1,601 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior at Kansas State. His 50 receptions for 581 yards and four receiving scores demonstrate his pass-catching chops, something starter Jonathan Taylor is not known for.
At final roster cuts, Indianapolis let go of veteran running back Khalil Herbert, leaving Giddens and Tyler Goodson as the only two RBs on the roster behind Taylor. It's a safe bet to expect Giddens to be a better overall running back than Goodson, and the Kansas State rookie is trending toward being the clear RB2 in his first pro season.
Taylor, who stayed relatively healthy through his first two NFL campaigns, has missed 16 games over the last three years. The Indianapolis offense is unlikely to be a top-tier unit with Daniel Jones (or Anthony Richardson Sr. if Jones is benched) at the helm, but Giddens is practically free in fantasy football drafts.
The chances Taylor misses at least a couple of games in 2025 are high, so there's a real scenario where Giddens is the lead back at some point in his rookie season. When bye weeks and injuries become a factor, having running backs with these paths to opportunity is important.
Rookie RB DJ Giddens had gotten some run with the first team today at practice, afterwards #Colts OC Jim Bob Cooter said;
"Often times he has had a knack in this camp of finding that crease, reading that defense the right way, and sort of working with his offensive line" pic.twitter.com/wfHVacPQt9
— 𝙇𝙪𝙠𝙚 𝙑𝙚𝙧𝙠𝙖𝙢𝙥 📸 (@LukeVerkamp) August 3, 2025
And even if Taylor doesn't miss any time, the Colts would benefit from reducing his workload in some capacity to keep him fresh. With Giddens having a stronger receiver profile, this could lead him to see third-down and two-minute drill opportunities immediately. Remember when Nyheim Hines was at his best and had standalone upside at Indy's RB2? That's a possible outcome for Giddens, but he has more upside if he finds himself in the starting role.
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