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John's favorite rookie waiver wire pickups, fantasy football breakout candidates heading into Week 9 of 2025. Which NFL rookies have league-winning fantasy upside?
First-year players in the NFL offer excellent upside at a very cheap price -- often, first-year players drafted outside the first two rounds are hardly on the fantasy radars of managers in your leagues.
Churning through waiver wire pickups and eventually hitting on just one is worth it. For the low price of not having to give up anyone on your roster that you actually want, it's a pretty good deal.
The bigger issue is finding one that actually does something. That's a more difficult task. The majority of them end up being nothing but speculative stashes, but which rookies should you take shots on this week?
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Ollie Gordon II, RB, Miami Dolphins
Gordon had a bit better usage this week than he has in the past few games. We'll find out later what exactly that means, but it's a good sign for now. He's much bigger than the team's starter, RB De'Von Achane, and that helps him be more effective in short-yardage situations.
To this point, the problem has been that Achane is simply so good that he's hard to keep off the field. He has massive pass-catching upside and is one of the league's best running backs, and is the engine through which the Dolphins offense runs.
Tua Tagovailoa has his FOURTH TD pass of the day!
MIAvsATL on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/2GMEfBXQwo
— NFL (@NFL) October 26, 2025
I suspect we might see more of Gordon doing nothing this season. That is to say, he'll likely have more games with very little production. The extra volume he had against the Atlanta Falcons likely came because Miami was blowing its opponent out.
It's not like he'll turn his one target into a 20-yard touchdown every week. And it's unlikely that Miami wants to trade Achane for the value they'd get for him, which is likely pretty low. But Gordon is a locked-in handcuff to Achane that could see serious volume in case of an injury to the starter.
So he's worth grabbing in deeper leagues as a handcuff and potential lottery ticket.
Jaydon Blue, RB, Dallas Cowboys
Blue logged the most rushes he's had in an NFL game so far in Week 8. He carried the ball eight times for 29 yards and showed some of the explosiveness that made him a fairly hyped prospect coming into the NFL. But he also fumbled once.
Cowboys lead running back Javonte Williams maintained his lead role and scored two touchdowns in the blowout loss to the Denver Broncos. But surprisingly, the Cowboys actually tried to get Blue involved earlier in the game, and not just when it was completely out of reach.
might be time for the Cowboys to give Jaydon Blue a few more reps pic.twitter.com/k9zeGVYKJh
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) October 26, 2025
Much of Blue's yardage came on the above explosive runs. There were rumblings in the offseason of Blue complaining excessively about injuries, and an interesting debacle with expensive brand-name cleats that he shouldn't have been wearing. Were it not for these, perhaps he'd already have a bigger role.
There is huge upside here, of course, but it's contingent. If Williams gets hurt, Blue will immediately step into a huge role as the lead back of a team with a good offensive line and a high-powered offense. His explosiveness could make him one of the better RBs in the league if that happened.
Asked Jaydon Blue when he found out about the grade II groin strain...
He says an ultrasound revealed it in training, weeks before the combine
Today, Blue was clocked at 4.25-4.28 in his 40
"I was healthy today, as you can see I ran the time that I wanted"#HookEm | #Texas pic.twitter.com/0FgQIiRuY1
— Cory Mose (@Cory_Mose) March 26, 2025
It might not matter a lot in redraft leagues this year. His dynasty potential is massive, but in all the leagues I have Williams in, I'm making it a priority to stash Blue when I have the bench space for him.
Dylan Sampson, RB, Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns starting running back Quinshon Judkins (shoulder) suffered an AC joint sprain in one of his shoulders in his team's blowout loss to the New England Patriots. It doesn't look like he'll miss significant time, but it's possible he could be out for at least one game.
That said, the Browns do have their bye week in Week 9, meaning Judkins will have an extra week to rest up before he returns to take on the New York Jets the subsequent week. If you're desperate for running back production and in a deeper league, it might be worth stashing Sampson.
Harold Landry III, lining up as a wide-7, absolutely plows through Browns RB Dylan Sampson and puts him on the ground on the failed 2-point attempt by Cleveland. pic.twitter.com/LooucicMBz
— Ben Belford-Peltzman (@thepatriotsbeat) October 27, 2025
Sampson has some work to do in his pass protection and as a rusher, but his receiving work is what gives him fantasy value. When he's had significant playing time, like after the Judkins injury in Week 8 or when Judkins wasn't playing for the team yet due to a legal situation, he's been used heavily as a receiver.
The rookie was targeted six times last game, catching five of the passes for 29 yards. He didn't gain yardage on his four carries, but back in Week one, he caught all eight of his targets for 64 yards, showing that heavy involvement in the receiving game does make him startable in PPR fantasy leagues.
As a handcuff to Judkins, he will have value if he becomes the starter due to injury or suspension, or something like that, and he would have a very safe floor because of his receiving work.
Jaylin Noel, WR, Houston Texans
Noel once again proved that when given the opportunity, he can produce nicely. He was one of the more underrated rookies in the 2025 NFL Draft class, according to my analysis, and he caught five of his six targets for 63 yards. In Week 7, he turned seven targets into four catches for 77 yards.
Texans offensive coordinator Nick Caley is still inexplicably giving snaps and usage to WR Braxton Berrios, even with Noel playing well. WR Christian Kirk (hamstring) is still the team's starting slot receiver -- he didn't play in Week 7 or Week 8, which meant Noel absorbed some of his work.
First down factory!
📺 : @nflonfox pic.twitter.com/ySfTXfaF4S
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) October 26, 2025
I fear that when Kirk comes back, Caley will try to force him back into the lineup, even though he's virtually a non-factor in helping the offense win. Sometimes, poor coaching leads to mis-utilization of players, which leads to those players being irrelevant in fantasy football through no fault of their own.
Even when rookies are clearly playing very good football, oftentimes OCs will intentionally hamstring their snaps, sometimes in a calculated manner (as in the case of Kansas City Chiefs head coach and de facto OC Andy Reid), but sometimes it's out of what seems to be incompetence.
Stroud finds his rookie Jaylin Noel downfield to get in scoring position before the half
HOUvsSEA on ESPN
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/UHtaceOlcb— NFL (@NFL) October 21, 2025
Noel deserves the ball a lot more, but for now, he's little more than a speculative stash. It might take time for Caley to realize that Kirk is likely washed or simply not able to play up to his potential due to injury. He simply has not been explosive or looked good on film.
He's a solid route-runner, but a team like the Texans desperately needs explosive plays to help them win games against tough defenses. They were able to win at home against a San Francisco 49ers defense demolished by injuries, and a team that was starting their backup quarterback.
But next week they'll face the Denver Broncos, who have a fantastic defense, and they're probably not winning that game without explosive plays.
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