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2025 NFL draft predictions - fantasy football sleepers to target in dynasty league drafts. Target these sleeper wide receivers and running backs in your drafts.
I'll keep this intro short. This year's draft has a ton of late-round steals that will be league-winners in redraft if they go to good situations and don't get injured. This is especially true in the running back position.
It's a stacked RB class, and the position is valued less in the NFL than every other position on offense as far as actual draft capital used goes. This gives you a big advantage in fantasy football because a lot of great backs will fly under the radar.
I'll break down three running backs and one wide receiver who will not only be steals but, with enough opportunities and on competent offenses, are highly likely to be league-winners in fantasy football. You should go out of your way to draft all of these guys in redraft. They are steals at what their eventual ADPs are likely to be.
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Bhayshul Tuten, RB, Virgina Tech
Former Virginia Tech Hokies running back Bhayshul Tuten could step in an be a team's workhorse RB1 from his first game in the NFL, yet he's seen as a late-round pick because he... went to Virginia Tech. Or maybe it's because his pass-blocking is being overanalyzed.
That's the offensive coordinator's job to figure out, and he can develop in that respect as well. He's an elite option in both the pass and the run game due to his explosiveness, size, durability, elusiveness, strength, and top-end speed. The OC of the team can worry about his pass pro.
And for fantasy football, there are no Points Per Successful Pass Blocking Rep either. Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown was similarly criticized for his pass pro struggles, yet he had a big breakout fantasy season last year because Bengals head coach Zac Taylor realized that you just get the ball in his hands and he can make good things happen because he's an elite athlete.
Bhayshul Tuten #Hokies #NFLDraft
Contact balance has Hugo the in-house LB on high alert. pic.twitter.com/T4qrPc3bCQ
— Matt Waldman (@MattWaldman) January 30, 2025
There's no conclusion you can make looking at his tape other than that he's a complete back who's ready to crush it in the NFL. Unless you're blind, Tuten can do basically everything and pairs that with his elite athleticism -- he'll probably run in the 4.3s or low 4.4s in the 40-yard-dash at the combine.
Seeing Virginia Tech RB Bhayshul Tuten with a Top 5 grade in @LanceZierlein grades has got me feeling a certain type of way 😍🔥 pic.twitter.com/BolP2KwgeQ
— Matt FF Dynasty 🏈 (@MattFFDynasty) February 14, 2025
He has steal written all over him. Other analysts are finally starting to come around on him, but I had him as my RB3 in early January.
Jayden Higgins, WR, Iowa State
Former Iowa State Cyclones wide receiver Jayden Higgins isn't seen as a top WR prospect, but he's my WR2 because he's the second-best wideout in this class. He cedes the No. 1 spot in my rankings to former Ole Miss Rebels WR Tre Harris, but that doesn't mean Higgins isn't also a fantastic and highly underrated prospect.
Higgins is a smooth and explosive route-runner and has the size and ability to win jump balls and catches in traffic. He's 6-foot-4 and 216 pounds, one inch shorter and four pounds heavier than TMac, and Higgins doesn't need any "for his size" qualifiers to excuse deficiencies like McMillan does. He moves very well, just in general.
Hello Jayden Higgins pic.twitter.com/Nv9Ax6I14D
— 32BeatWriters (@32BeatWriters) January 29, 2025
For some reason, consensus opinions seem to think that both Higgins and Harris shouldn't be lauded for moving very well "for their size" and that praise should be heaped on McMillan, who moves worse than both of them, but the extra inch or two excuses all of that away.
Jayden Higgins is an incredibly smooth route runner at 6’4 215lbs with excellent hands, physicality, and contested catch ability.
Has a little Nico Collins to his game 👀 pic.twitter.com/jliz8K5H1r
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) January 11, 2025
While there are plenty of draft analysts who rightly think that Higgins is a great prospect, the rankings consistently have him way too low because many far less versatile WRs are being massively overhyped, as often happens with WRs. The comparison to Houston Texans wideout Nico Collins is accurate, I think and is also my favorite comp.
Collins is faster, no doubt about that. But Higgins should also be drafted in all your PPR redraft leagues, as long as he doesn't go to a terrible landing spot. He will be immediately successful in the NFL. I expect a breakout in year 1 if he gets enough targets on a decent offense.
Brashard Smith, WR, SMU
This is one of the most obvious picks and one of the most ridiculously underrated players for fantasy football in the 2025 draft. Nobody learned anything from New York Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr.'s success, so here we are with a massive steal - former Southern Methodist University running back Brashard Smith.
Smith is a converted WR, just like Tracy, yet Smith is far more explosive. He might be the best accelerator among all the RBs in this draft (it's a close race between him, Tuten, and former Tennessee Volunteers RB Dylan Sampson), and evidence of his insane burst is all over his film.
SMU RB Brashard Smith is a name that I was frankly ignorant on coming into today.
Not anymore. His tape shows an extremely versatile back who is a major threat as receiver. Very good speed & elite change of direction.
Excited for another look tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/F5naJvi0mC
— Justin Apodaca (@JustinApod) January 28, 2025
I invite anyone who thinks there isn't an immediate place for his ridiculous athleticism to join a league with me and let me run victory laps in the league chats for the rest of the season as he starts breaking off huge plays, just like he did in college. It will be very difficult for defenses to handle this.
Brashard Smith
College: SMU
Age: 21
Size: 5’10, 196 lbs2024:
- 34 REC (17th)
- 0 Drops
- 91.7 PFF RB REC Grade (1st)
- 1,217 Rush YD’s
- 14 TD’s
- 51 MTF
- 5.8 YPC
- 20 Rushes of 15 YD’s+ (13th)Also, in 2024 vs Clemson, Smith added another:
- 109 Rush YD’s
- 11 TGTS for 7… pic.twitter.com/W6iqRmKftJ— The FF Dynasty (@TheFFdynasty) February 11, 2025
He's able to play like a traditional receiver as well, and his catching ability is fantastic. This gives him a ton of upside for PPR. He's able to high-point balls, can make tough contested catches, is great at adjusting to poor passes, and is great after the catch. The second play on the above highlight reel showcases some of these skills.
He also has an impressive spin move, is able to change direction and cut or juke on a dime, has very good long speed to rip off huge runs, and sets blockers up to fail incredibly well by squaring up his shoulders and leveraging his blocks to force isolated defenders into failing.
He sets himself up to cut in either direction around his blockers well so that he can beat defenders to the left or right, then chooses the correct way to go and explodes.
He doesn't have the ideal size for a running back, but that helps his ability to play as a wideout. In any competent offense, he'll be used generously in the passing game. Did I hear PPR upside? His decision-making is top-tier as well, and it shows up on his highlight reel.
Great comp. #SMU RB Brashard Smith is the definition of versatility + burst. Good test vs. the defense of Clemson. https://t.co/gui45vPjn4 pic.twitter.com/TbVdyhRKj1
— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) December 5, 2024
On a team with a decent offensive line and run-blocking schemes, he will be linebackers' worst nightmare. He can beat them to the edge, juke them, spin out of tackles, and just outrun them. Draft him in all your fantasy football leagues this season. I will.
Jaydon Blue, RB, Texas
For running backs, size and athleticism usually reign supreme. There are plenty of other traits that aid them in being successful, but for fantasy football purposes, there is a massive advantage to players that combine ideal size with explosive acceleration and high top-end speed.
That's exactly what Blue does. It's crazy to think that he was once on a team with Bijan Robinson, Jonathon Brooks, and Roschon Johnson. He didn't get a chance to carry the ball much until 2024, and even then, he only logged 134 carries. And the landing spot will be crucial for Blue.
Jaydon MF’n Blue. 🤘 pic.twitter.com/0Na4x31Ahb
— Justin Wells (@justinwells2424) December 21, 2024
But all it takes is one long touchdown run, and he can immediately become a seriously enticing fantasy asset to have, especially in Dynasty fantasy football. Blue is a track star who put on a bunch of extra muscle to play RB. And he has elite, elite speed.
List of returning RB who hit at least 22.3 MPH in game last season:
Jaydon Blue
That's it, that's the list.pic.twitter.com/PPFd4QJ3X5
— Patrick (@patrickjohnk) July 28, 2024
Baltimore Ravens running back Keaton Mitchell proved to us that as long as you are absurdly fast and explosive, you can be a fantasy star if you get the volume and your offensive coordinator uses you properly. Jaydon Blue. He has the size to develop into a three-down option as well.
He's more raw as RB prospects go, so how he develops will be important. But in Dynasty, you should be excited to take players with extremely high athletic ceilings, and Blue's ceiling is the exosphere (that's the outer reaches of Earth's atmosphere).
Even rookies with raw skillsets can have monster fantasy games if they break off big runs, and all that takes is a couple of good blocks if your guy can run 22 miles per hour.
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