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Who should I draft for fantasy football in 2025? Fantasy football outlooks for Brashard Smith, Jarquez Hunter, Tetairoa McMillan, Matthew Golden, Travis Hunter, Dont'e Thornton, Jaxson Dart, Bhayshul Tuten, Keandre Lambert-Smith, Cam Ward.
Who Should I Draft? Some common 2025 fantasy football draft decisions are regarding players like Brashard Smith, Jarquez Hunter, Tetairoa McMillan, Matthew Golden, Travis Hunter, Dont'e Thornton, Jaxson Dart, Bhayshul Tuten, Keandre Lambert-Smith, Cam Ward. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning teams in 2025. Draft your optimal fantasy football teams for 2025. Our free Who Should I Draft? tool will help make your fantasy football draft decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to draft... all free! Make the right decisions.
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Fantasy Football Draft Outlooks
Below are some fantasy football outlooks written by our NFL team here at RotoBaller, bringing you their fantasy football analysis and advice on which players to consider drafting in 2025:
Jarquez Hunter, RB, Los Angeles Rams
Lean as heavily as you can into value players from stacked positions. This year, it happens to be at running back with many rookies who will be viable.
Jeanty, Omarion Hampton, TreVeyon Henderson, and Kaleb Johnson aren't quite so cheap, though maybe Johnson is falling in a lot of drafts. But if you skip over those guys, there are a lot of seriously talented backs in situations where they could produce ridiculous numbers if they get the proper role.
Jarquez Hunter brings an incomprehensible level of dawg element to the Rams offense. Best running back on that team the moment he was drafted. Elite ball security, too. I think he takes Kyren Williams' job. No way I'm keeping this guy of the field if I'm Sean McVay. pic.twitter.com/usEJMpPkRz
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) July 25, 2025
Scrutinize how later-round rookies have a chance to break into solid roles in the position groups of the offenses they belong to, and try to find how a particular rookie could reasonably outperform the guys "ahead" of him on the depth chart. A quick reminder: Miami Dolphins running back De'Von Achane was third on the depth chart this time in 2023, behind RB Jeff Wilson Jr. Achane obviously massively outproduced him.
Jarquez Hunter college splits inside/outside the tackles with Kyren Williams and Blake Corum pic.twitter.com/3lAqYYAAvo
— Football Insights 📊 (@fball_insights) May 26, 2025
If we take a look at the Rams' backfield, the differences among the three players become apparent almost immediately. Rookie Jarquez Hunter, despite playing in the difficult SEC conference, crushes both the Rams' current RB1 and RB2, Kyren Williams and Blake Corum, in the most crucial efficiency metrics in college.
Considering that you can't say that Hunter didn't face elite competition, it's reasonable to conclude that something about him as an athlete makes him better at avoiding tackles, better at fighting through contact, better at creating explosive run plays, and an overall more efficient back.
Consistently drafting rookies that are much cheaper in dynasty leagues, and picking the correct ones by identifying how they can improve their offenses simply by earning touches above the other players at their position, can help you get the best chances of finding the next sleeper star players. This is especially true when drafting players from teams with good offenses.
Running Back draft class career production pic.twitter.com/2HPoYrbOvE
— Football Insights 📊 (@fball_insights) May 8, 2025
Brashard Smith, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
Another good NFL offense is that of the Kansas City Chiefs. Head coach Andy Reid has a long track record of success, including three Super Bowl rings, and an offense that consistently succeeds year after year, despite key injuries and roster talent shortages at times due to those injuries.
Rookie running back Brashard Smith was drafted by the Chiefs this season. It's worth taking a bet on him simply because of his athletic profile (which includes a 4.39-second 40-yard dash), but there's more evidence that he could earn significant touches. He brings a proficiency as a receiver that no current Chiefs RB possesses.
As you can see from the above chart, Smith easily paces most of the other running backs from the 2025 class in yards per route run, which combines measures of a player's ability to earn targets when running routes and how they produce with those targets.
Brashard Smith, Bhayshul Tuten, and Jarquez Hunter should all get serious playing time in 2025. They bring different elements to their teams backfields.
-Smith: Massive potential as a receiver
-Tuten: World class burst/size/power combo
-Hunter: highly explosive and elusive
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) August 22, 2025
Smith will play in an offense that loves screen passes and low-ADOT slam dunk throws. Reid has changed the offense in recent years, especially after the departure of speedster WR Tyreek Hill, to feature a much more short-passing approach. That benefits an adept pass-catching running back like Smith.
Patrick Mahomes on screens since 2018, including playoffs
Yards: 3198 (1st)
TD: 37 (1st)
EPA/Play: 0.21 (1st)Aaron Rodgers is second with 15 screen TDs during that time
— Steve Palazzolo (@StevePalazzolo_) December 5, 2023
My analysis indicates that the Chiefs likely drafted Smith with this in mind. And even when Mahomes had a higher ADOT, he racked up massive numbers on screen passes. In fact, you could argue the Chiefs are the best screen-passing team in the NFL.
Chalk that up to Reid's schemes. It's not hard to throw a screen pass, which has an expected completion rate of over 98 percent. Smith seems like a fantastic pick with all this in mind. A talented, athletic rookie on an offense that's perfect for his skill set is a bet I'll always make.
Bhayshul Tuten, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
Another player on an offense that's likely to be good in 2025 is Jacksonville Jaguars RB Bhayshul Tuten. Liam Coen, the Jaguars' head coach, helped engineer an elite rushing attack for the Buccaneers last season. In his first season in Jacksonville, he selected Tuten in the fourth round of the NFL Draft.
Why is Bhayshul Tuten my RB1? In addition to being an elite athlete, he does some things that I really like running backs to do:
-Breaks tackles
-Eludes tackles
-Carries tacklers with him
-Slips tackles
-Powers through tackles pic.twitter.com/Tj9BjW6GHN— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 28, 2025
Tuten was a do-it-all player in college, boasting fantastic power, elite burst, top-end speed, and excellent elusiveness. Tuten's absurd 4.32-second 40-yard dash makes him the current best accelerator of all running backs in the NFL. He's an incredibly rare athlete at any position.
He's third on his team's running back depth chart. Remember that Achane was too. If you take a shot on anyone, it should be this guy. There's such incredible value if his abilities translate, and the number one ability that translates to the NFL is chart-bustingly elite athleticism.
I've spoken at length, about Tuten, Hunter, and Smith, the running backs drafted by the Jaguars, Rams, and Chiefs, respectively. These three players, along with Williams, are among my favorite rookies to target, based on their strengths and the potential opportunities I described above. I'm taking a ton of them.
Jaxson Dart, QB, New York Giants
Among the quarterbacks, I've been a staunch proponent of Dart being this year's best quarterback prospect. It wasn't exactly a stacked class, but I never understood why he was ranked lower than Tennessee Titans QB Cam Ward.
Jaxson Dart is the QB1 in this year's class. He is the best processor, best under pressure, underrated athlete, and highly advanced in the mental aspects of the game. His understanding of what to do is on a level above that of Ward and Shedeur Sanders, who will struggle against pressure.
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 1, 2025
Ward had better stats than Dart did in college, but Dart faced stiffer competition, and stats don't drive everything. Dart is young, at just 22 years old, and is on a team with an aging QB in Russell Wilson and a gunslinger, turnover-prone signal-caller in Jameis Winston. The opportunity is clearly there.
Jaxson Dart shined in his rookie preseason 👀
How we feeling, Giants fans? pic.twitter.com/GokyldY2Ax
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) August 22, 2025
We shouldn't always take preseason stats to heart, but while other superflex drafters are taking Ward and other quarterbacks, I'm making sure I get Dart in all my leagues. I expect him to hyper-target WR Malik Nabers, who has shown incredible potential in the league.
Dart is set to become the starting quarterback, potentially as early as midway through this season. Two teams, the Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers, said no to Wilson in recent years, opting instead to move on from him. His tendency to avoid the middle of the field could cause him to be benched.
Dart has a reasonably strong arm, plays very well under pressure, is a good decision-maker, has a fabulous pocket presence, can work through his progressions and find the right receiver, and has underrated size and athletic ability that should help him put up solid rushing numbers.
Dont'e Thornton Jr., WR, Las Vegas Raiders
When selecting the less-lauded rookies, one of my favorite things to do is look for elite athletic profiles. Thornton fits that bill more than any player in this class. He's nearly 6-feet-5-inches tall and ran a 4.30-second 40-yard dash at the 2025 NFL Combine.
Do you know who Dont'e Thornton is?
He's a Round 4 rookie WR who played on 100% of the Raiders' first-team snaps last night, ahead of Round 2 rookie WR Jack Bech
Thornton is an absolute freak athlete: Calvin Johnson is the only other WR in NFL Combine history to be 6'5" or… https://t.co/2fGnau9el1 pic.twitter.com/xrndi0xkz0
— Scott Barrett (@ScottBarrettDFB) August 8, 2025
Thornton is in an incredibly rare class of athletes. Only Calvin Johnson and DK Metcalf were of similar height and ran similar times at the combine (over 6-foot-4 and ran a 4.35 or faster), which means that Thornton, should he improve his game, has insane upside.
Of course, he had just 65 catches in his entire collegiate career. He could struggle early on making catches, and there are a lot of intricacies of playing the position he has yet to learn. But of any bench stash you could make purely for future upside, Thornton is a fantastic pick to make.
Keandre Lambert-Smith, WR, Los Angeles Chargers
Lambert-Smith has performed quite well for the Chargers in camp and throughout the preseason, and he's starting to get more hype as a result. He'll be tied to quarterback Justin Herbert for the long term.
Herbert is a fantastic passer, an accurate gunslinger with a rocket launcher for an arm, who has played consistently well since entering the league.
KeAndre Lambert-Smith with another highlight catch.
pic.twitter.com/SVbFjeEpLf— Fernando Ramirez (@RealFRamirez) August 17, 2025
Travis Hunter, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
Hunter has elite upside at wide receiver. He won the Fred Biletnikoff Award in his final college season, along with the Heisman Trophy. He was voted as the best WR in college football despite watching film with the team's other defensive backs and preparing for games primarily as a cornerback.
That indicates rare talent. He essentially was told to run his routes and beat his coverage. He did so to perfection. He was so good, in fact, that Matt Harmon, fantasy football analyst and creator of the excellent Reception Perception WR prospect evaluation tool, charted Hunter as having an above-average success rate on every type of route he charted.
Reminder that Travis Hunter is likely to get a Liam Coen slot role, known for producing league winning per-game production, and was lauded by Matt Harmon's Reception Perception, with positive success rates on every style of route he charted. Hunter is too cheap in redraft. pic.twitter.com/HoguAjdj3G
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) August 20, 2025
Hunter now gets the Liam Coen slot receiver role. That's remarkably valuable. We've seen two receivers work in Coen's slot role, one with the Los Angeles Rams in 2022 (Cooper Kupp) and one in 2024 (Chris Godwin), and both absolutely smashed in fantasy football.
“Full time on offense, ease in on defense”
Remind me why Travis Hunter has not shot up to early round 4, if not higher, in ADP?
+ 2nd overall draft pick
+ Awesome separator (per @RecepPerception)
+ Great both with the ball in his hands (0.28 MTF/Rec) and in contested… https://t.co/wlzIrzIB06— Dataroma (@ffdataroma) August 20, 2025
Hunter played the slot role in the preseason, which means Thomas is likely to play the "X" role. His elite combination of size, arm length, speed, and burst makes him ideal for this role.
Liam Coen slot receiver production history! In games before season ending injury:
2022 Cooper Kupp: 24.8 PPR points per game
2024 Chris Godwin: 20.7 PPR Points per game2025 Coen slot receiver: Travis Hunter, Biletnikoff Award winner, 2nd overall draft pick. pic.twitter.com/WVQaiO5Z4B
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) August 24, 2025
History is on Hunter's side in many respects. He's expected to play mostly on offense and ease in on defense. He should have a hot start to the season and immediately see his price skyrocket. You should make every effort to draft him.
Kyle Williams, WR, New England Patriots
Sometimes, it takes teams multiple seasons to bolster certain position groups, ensuring they are flush with both talent and depth. Sometimes, teams don't have that luxury. Kyle Williams, a rookie WR for the New England Patriots, has both more immediate opportunity and more long-term opportunity in his current offense.
He'll be tied to a second-year, young quarterback that showed a lot of potential last season in Drake Maye. His only serious target competition is WR Stefon Diggs, who's 31 years old and set to turn 32 during the season. His days are numbered. And the rest of the Patriots' receivers were not productive last season.
Patriots WR Kyle Williams will THRIVE in the NFL for 3 main reasons:
1. Release Package
2. Route-Running/Separation
3. YAC AbilitySee what I mean in the video below… https://t.co/y0fcfIKZX1 pic.twitter.com/Dichgdi3cP
— SCOUTD (@scoutdnfl) May 19, 2025
Williams is exactly the type of receiver you want to throw a dart at in the later rounds. He's explosive, refined as a route runner, has excellent separation abilities, and shows a great release package that has helped him get wide open on multiple reps in the preseason so far. Those abilities seem to have translated from college.
He's also great after the catch, as his highlight reel shows. He may not have elite draft capital, but that's fine, because he's so much cheaper in leagues.
Who Should I Draft Tool
Read more about the Who Should I Draft tool here:
2025 Player Decisions. Today's focus in on specific players - Brashard Smith, Jarquez Hunter, Tetairoa McMillan, Matthew Golden, Travis Hunter, Dont'e Thornton, Jaxson Dart, Bhayshul Tuten, Keandre Lambert-Smith, Cam Ward. These are some common searches for 2025 fantasy football drafts.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Draft? button to see who the recommended draft picks are based on fantasy football rankings, projections and more.
Improvements For Who Should I Draft? You may have noticed, our Who Should I Draft? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your 2025 fantasy football drafts. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats and projections, ADPs, strength of schedule, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Our RotoBaller staff puts together their preseason fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research, and update it constantly throughout the preseason. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players that are ranked.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do, is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Draft Searches. Curious to see some tough draft decisions for 2025? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Draft? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Draft
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Draft tool for 2025 drafts for Brashard Smith, Jarquez Hunter, Tetairoa McMillan, Matthew Golden, Travis Hunter, Dont'e Thornton, Jaxson Dart, Bhayshul Tuten, Keandre Lambert-Smith, Cam Ward:
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