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John's favorite rookie waiver wire pickups, fantasy football breakout candidates heading into Week 4 of 2025. Which NFL rookies have league-winning fantasy upside?
Acquiring the right rookies on your team early is one of the best sneaky ways to make your fantasy football team stronger. We've seen a variety of rookie league-winners in recent years. For those who are under 70 percent rostered in fantasy leagues, you actually have a real chance at getting them, too.
From Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua to Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving, first-year players can often go from relatively unknown in the fantasy football community to absolute must-starts, and some of the biggest names in the business.
First-year NFL players can give you a unique opportunity, as you can still pick them up after they have their first big game or show signs of a clear breakout, without using a draft pick. So let's break down this week's biggest sleeper rookies that you should be adding to your rosters ahead of Week 4!
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
- Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
- Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
- Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Kicker (K) fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Ollie Gordon II, RB, Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins have gone a very long time without a legitimate big-bodied power running back. The team's current RB1, De'Von Achane, is one of the smallest starting RBs in the NFL. Their lead back from two years ago, Raheem Mostert, is listed as 212 pounds, but is likely to have played at a lower weight.
They thus lacked a lot of physical presence at the position, instead relying on elite speed and shiftiness to evade and outrun defenders to gain yards. Gordon isn't the most elusive back, but at 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds, he can physically punish defenders and use his size to his advantage in goal-line situations.
Ollie Gordon for RB2. Who’s with me? pic.twitter.com/yVeBMOmvkX
— Hussam Patel (@HussamPatel) August 16, 2025
Gordon's performance in college and during the preseason, along with his athletic measurements, likely indicated to the Dolphins early on that he could handle this role. But the upside is real in fantasy, where he's likely to serve as the goal-line back moving forward.
For all of Achane's athletic prowess, he's not suited to take on defensive tackles, defensive ends, and linebackers in short-yardage situations, where teams stack up their defensive lines with as much total weight as possible to try to leverage physics to prevent opposing players from gaining even an inch on inside run plays.
Miami's offense has previously supported two fantasy-relevant running backs, as was the case when they had both Achane and Mostert on the team. While Gordon doesn't have much receiving upside, he should absolutely be added as a handcuff.
Achane has a bit of a history with injuries, and Gordon would immediately move into the RB2 conversation were the lead back to be hurt. Additionally, the Dolphins could see more success in short-yardage situations with Gordon, leading to him getting even more playing time and the rushing attack as a whole being more productive in fantasy football.
Ollie Gordon just runs so hard. I would not be surprised if he gets some consistent regular season run from the jump. pic.twitter.com/WTsZl9W5uH
— Dante Collinelli (@DanteCollinelli) August 17, 2025
Gordon shouldn't be left on waivers in any leagues after this week. The running back position is far too important not to have every team's clear RB2 rostered, especially if that back has significantly more upside than the third RB on the roster.
And considering how Jeff Wilson Jr., the team's third-string tailback, has been used in recent years, it's clear Gordon is who the team wants to be their clear backup. He could take the lion's share of the touches in case of an Achane injury.
Bhayshul Tuten, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
If, for some reason, Tuten is available in your leagues, you need to snap him up now. Of course, after RB Tank Bigsby, the team's RB2 on the depth chart, was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, Tuten had a clear grasp of the RB2 role. Still, he didn't have a massive game in Week 3.
It was Travis Etienne Jr. who handled most of the rushing work. But such is life for later-round draft pick rookies in their first seasons in the NFL. Even when they operate with incredible efficiency, as did the Achane in his rookie year, they don't always take over the backfield quickly.
My best piece of advice for you in dynasty leagues is to trade for as much Bhayshul Tuten as you can. He'll be one of the most valuable RBs in dynasty by, at the latest, some point in 2026 (in my opinion)
Elite college tape, elite efficiency, great NFL tape so far. pic.twitter.com/fEhFGAKPbN
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) September 22, 2025
Tuten's not only relevant in dynasty leagues. In every game he's played, he's put up impressive highlight-reel-worthy runs and catches, despite having a limited role so far. And he has yet to have a single negative play so far -- an achievement that's a testament to his skill set.
He's elusive, powerful, extremely slippery, and incredibly athletic. It's almost like people have forgotten that he had the second-fastest 40-yard dash of any running back at the NFL Combine in history, among RBs that weighed above 200 pounds, only behind legendary speedster Chris Johnson.
There are a million reasons why Bhayshul Tuten will earn a bigger role in the Jaguars backfield. This is one of them. He's a wizard at creating positive runs when he's hit in the backfield. Something Travis Etienne struggles with.
League winning season loading for Tuten. pic.twitter.com/8jFRw6RDMB
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) September 17, 2025
Tuten's been my personal RB1 of the 2025 NFL Draft class since March of this year. He has all the measurables, the production pedigree, and the film to suggest he can be a star in the league. All he needs now is the volume. But great RBs with a ton of volume are never available on waivers.
Tuten should be rostered in 100 percent of leagues, and he's nowhere near that. He possesses an incredible amount of talent and is working with an offensive-minded head coach who has already helped the run game make massive strides, allowing for far more yards before contact.
Jacksonville Jaguars Rush Yards per Game:
2024 - 101.7 (25th in the NFL)
2025 - 141.7 (5th in NFL)
Bhayshul Tuten is in a very nice environment to absolutely explode at some point this season. Should be rostered in 100% of leagues
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) September 23, 2025
You'll want to have him in your starting lineups when he rips off his first long touchdown of the season. He's a fantasy star in the making.
Brashard Smith, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs' run game continues to be absolutely abysmal, featuring the committee backfield of RBs Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt. They combine to rank very low in the NFL in a variety of statistical categories. The run game is absolutely in shambles right now.
Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt one of the worst running back duos in the NFL. They rank:
-RB24 and RB27 in YPC
-Both tied for last with 0 explosive rushes
-RB26 and RB36 in Missed Tackles/AttCan't create big plays, can't score TDs, aren't elusive, and aren't efficient.
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) September 23, 2025
While we have yet to see Smith get anything more than a small role in the offense, that's the way things go for the Chiefs. Head coach Andy Reid prefers to work his rookies in slowly. It took 11 games before wide receiver Rashee Rice, a second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, got a consistent significant role in the offense.
Perhaps things will be a bit expedited for Smith, and I'm holding out hope, but it might take just one big play before he's much harder to grab, so I'd recommend snagging him now. He's an elite athlete and high-level receiving back, given that he's a converted wide receiver.
Brashard Smith is the clearest dark horse fantasy steal based purely on PPR upside. He's so legitimate as a pass catcher. I can't believe he's still so underrated. Chiefs are the PERFECT landing spot for him. Screen/short pass heavy team. pic.twitter.com/8SWFWZ1G1p
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) August 24, 2025
Maybe Reid will be forced outside of his comfort zone soon. The Chiefs are 1-2, having been lucky enough to play a game against the New York Giants and quarterback Russell Wilson, who has struggled significantly in two out of his three first games.
Kansas City could be in big trouble soon if they don't give the ball to another dynamic playmaker. A 35-year-old tight end in Travis Kelce and a receiver with a torn labrum in Xavier Worthy (shoulder) might not be enough to elevate this team to a winning record before Rice returns from his suspension.
Elic Ayomanor, WR, Tennessee Titans
Though Titans WR Calvin Ridley unjustifiably earned hype for another offseason before inevitably disappointing his fantasy managers again, it seems that rookie quarterback Cam Ward, taken first overall by Tennessee in the 2025 NFL Draft, might have another favorite target.
The first-year player has handily outproduced Ridley. Through three games, Ridley has yet to score double-digit PPR fantasy points. Just like last season, he saw solid target volume and produced very little. It's the nature of his games -- lots of blunders, including bad drops, and minimal fantasy production.
I won't call all of these Calvin Ridley plays "drops" or easy catches, but these are all opportunities to make a play and he makes none of them.
He's making "make a play" money. He is clearly a "make a play" talent. That's what makes all the unmade plays so unacceptable. https://t.co/axzOonM5Fz pic.twitter.com/lrJRbhfy8B
— Easton Freeze (@eastonfreeze) September 22, 2025
Ridley is the WR69 through three games. He's not worth starting on a team with low passing volume from Ward -- who's coincidentally one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL if you look at any advanced statistical category.
But, notably, Ayomanor has both of the struggling signal-caller's passing touchdowns so far. He's the WR36 through his three contests. If Ward improves, it stands to reason that Ayomanor will be the first to benefit. And though he may be the worst fantasy asset of all WR1s so far, that is at least worth rostering.
The Titans are a team absolutely without direction. They've won zero games; their coaching staff seems to have no idea what they're doing, making blunder after blunder. Their quarterback ranks near the bottom of the league in accuracy and sack avoidance, and they have holes all over the roster.
However, we now have multiple seasons of tape showing Ridley being absolutely unable to catch a football, and we can see Ayomanor start to dominate his team's targets. And even on poor offenses, that can result in a startable fantasy player. So, you should snag him in the leagues where you can get him!
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