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John's favorite rookie waiver wire pickups, fantasy football breakout candidates heading into Week 7 of 2025. Which NFL rookies have league-winning fantasy upside?
Week 6 of the 2025 NFL season is now in the books, and it's long been a good strategy to try to lean into the unknown to try to get an edge.
First-year NFL players are very commonly big question marks early on in their careers -- especially the ones you can sometimes find on waivers.
So it makes sense to spend much of the year hunting the waiver wire for rookies. You never know when you'll find the next breakout freshman NFL player. So let's dive into the best rookie waiver wire pickups for Week 7 of 2025!
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
Harold Fannin Jr., TE, Cleveland Browns
It's not yet clear how much time Browns tight end David Njoku (knee) will miss with his knee injury. But considering that new Cleveland starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel seems to have a clear preference to throw to his tight ends -- he's targeted Fannin and Njoku 29 times in his first two starts -- Fannin is a clear add.
The rookie caught seven of his 10 targets for 81 yards, scoring 15.1 PPR fantasy points, his highest total of the season. Njoku played just 44 percent of the team's offensive snaps before the injury forced him out of the game. Fannin moves into legitimate TE1 territory if Njoku misses time.
Harold Fannin is a tank pic.twitter.com/fdBjyjAIca
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) October 13, 2025
It doesn't appear that Cleveland's wide receivers are going to be heavily targeted moving forward. Maybe it has to do with Gabriel being on the shorter side of quarterbacks, but you'd have to ask him to find that out for sure. Fannin will likely be the top target-earner on this offense while Njoku is out. That could lead to multiple contests with 10 or more targets.
Luther Burden III, WR, Chicago Bears
While Burden clearly doesn't yet have the role he likely deserves in the Bears' offense, even after an impressive Monday Night Football performance, he should see his playing time increase. Rookies tend to get production bumps after their bye weeks.
Burden caught all four of his targets for 51 yards in his team's win over the Washington Commanders and showcased his excellent elusiveness after the catch. His services will be very valuable for Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, who's struggled with deep downfield passing in his career so far.
.@CALEBcsw goes deep to @lutherburden3 🚀
📺: ABC pic.twitter.com/imsfbxj3hL
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) October 14, 2025
Williams still has the highest off-target throw percentage in the NFL, and Burden was noted for his excellent yards-after-catch abilities. Chicago head coach Ben Johnson is one of the brightest offensive minds in the game, and he should do a good job of getting Burden in space.
The coveted slot receiver role in Johnson's offense could be massively valuable for Burden moving forward. He's an archetype of a player who gets a lot of easily catchable passes going his way. Burden was a solid pickup heading into this week, but is now a must-add in all formats.
It might take some time for Bears WR Olamide Zaccheaus' role to fade and make more way for Burden to shine, though, so be patient.
Tez Johnson, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Last week in this column, I recommended you pick up Johnson. He only had one catch in his Week 6 game, but it was a 41-yard touchdown pass from Baker Mayfield. In addition, the already injury-ridden Buccaneers' wide receiver corps is dealing with two more ailments.
With WR1 Mike Evans (hamstring) potentially set to return to practice this week, things seemed to be looking up. But star rookie Emeka Egbuka (hamstring) suffered a hamstring injury and had to be pulled from the Week 6 game, and Chris Godwin (fibula) picked up a new injury in Week 5 and didn't play at all on Sunday.
Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka is scheduled to undergo testing Tuesday to determine how much time he will miss from the hamstring injury he suffered vs. the 49ers. But it is expected to be some. pic.twitter.com/XWMI387hdc
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 13, 2025
We don't yet know for sure if Godwin will miss more time. He's still recovering slowly from a dislocated ankle he suffered last season, and Egbuka seems likely to miss at least one week. Johnson should have at least one more week of decent production if he can get some more targets.
I believe his play last week has earned him some more.
Jaxson Dart, QB, New York Giants
Dart still wasn't rostered in a majority of leagues after his Week 5 performance. He struggled against the New Orleans Saints and was a bit of a turnover machine, which hurt his final score and likely made many fantasy managers think his first game was a fluke.
But he willed the Giants to an absolutely embarrassing curb-stomp of the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 6. It appears he might already be the next great quarterback in the NFL. Facing the reigning Super Bowl champions, and without his elite WR1, Malik Nabers (knee), Dart shone.
The most impressive part about Jaxson Dart's game against the Eagles was his play before the snap. Came from a system in which he didn't do this at all. pic.twitter.com/qphPu5uwV0
— Ted Nguyen (@FB_FilmAnalysis) October 13, 2025
Dart's rushing upside is crucial to his fantasy value. He logged over 50 rushing yards in each of his first three games. A floor of middling passing output plus five points is pretty awesome in fantasy football, and immediately puts him in the QB1 -- i.e., top-12 -- conversation.
Despite Nabers being out for the whole year, Dart's mobility and ability to extend plays while avoiding sacks are already among the best in the NFL. This gives his decidedly below-average group of pass-catchers more time to get open, making it difficult for defenses to cover them until the ball is thrown.
Oronde Gadsden, TE, Los Angeles Chargers
Though Gadsden isn't likely to have quite the season that Indianapolis Colts rookie TE Tyler Warren is having, that doesn't mean he can't carve out a nice role in his offense. The absence of Chargers WR Quentin Johnston (hamstring) and the injuries to the team's offensive line could help Gadsden produce double-digit PPR fantasy performances moving forward, though.
Gadsden logged a season-high 75 percent of his team's offensive snaps in Week 6, according to Sleeper. He was targeted eight times by Chargers QB Justin Herbert, catching seven passes for 56 yards. The TE position is one in which it's essential to chase volume in PPR leagues, because their yardage totals often aren't impressive.
#Chargers snap counts from yesterday pic.twitter.com/72OpvtEh5h
— Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) October 13, 2025
The Chargers don't really have any other talent at tight end. They tried to make things work last season with TE Will Dissly, but he didn't provide the team with a boost. This year, they also have former New York Jets tight end Tyler Conklin, but he hasn't played particularly well.
L.A. should do its best to get Gadsden the ball more. With Johnston already suffering from an injury, WR Ladd McConkey having dealt with numerous injuries in college, and 33-year-old wideout Keenan Allen having a lengthy injury history, Gadsden has plenty of contingent upside.
The position he plays is very volatile in fantasy football, though. Just a few weeks ago, Fannin was an easy drop, and now he's a clear add. But injury luck -- in this case, teammates getting injured and subsequently opening up room for more volume for the healthy guys -- is a major driver of fantasy production.
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