There was a point when it felt like an outright necessity to give a draft class three years before determining whether or not those players hit. Things have changed to a degree, as we’ve seen an influx of young players entering the NFL and making an immediate impact on their respective teams.
Taking a look back at the 2023 NFL Draft shows us a bit of a mixture: Some players entered the NFL and took the league by storm, while others might have gotten off to a slower start, but now look primed to make an impact for your fantasy rosters. Here’s a look at a few notable third-year players and their 2025 fantasy football outlook.
- 2025 NFL Draft Guide
- 2025 NFL Draft Scouting Reports
- 2025 NFL Mock Drafts
- Dynasty Mock Draft Simulator
Dynasty Draft Advice: Third-Year Players
Wide Receivers
We saw four wide receivers come off the board in round one of the 2023 NFL Draft, and they all came in consecutive picks — Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Quentin Johnston, Zay Flowers and Jordan Addison. We also saw Puka Nacua come off the board in round five and immediately set the league on fire.
Nacua battled injuries in his 2024 season, but he’s a truly elite option at the wide receiver position. When you look at wide receivers ranked by fantasy points per game in PPR formats in 2024, only one player was higher than Nacua (18.8) — Ja’Marr Chase (23.7). Puka Nacua is a truly elite wide receiver who may even see his target volume increase thanks to the expected departure of Cooper Kupp. The Rams will likely still look to add another playmaker, but Nacua is a locked-in top-end WR1.
Those who were patient with Jaxon Smith-Njigba during his rookie season as he played behind DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett saw that patience pay off in a big way in 2024, as he hauled in 100 receptions for 1,130 yards and six touchdowns. Wide receiver is a loaded position group, so when you’re looking at fantasy football rankings, Smith-Njigba might often fall just outside the top 12 options at the position. Know that’s more indicative of the depth of the position and talent surrounding him than it is of him as a player. He has WR1 upside every week. If you opt to address the wide receiver position heavily in startup drafts and can come away with Smith-Njigba as your WR2, you’re in excellent shape.
Zay Flowers also had his first 1,000-yard season as a pro in 2024, and it’s easy to be a big fan moving forward knowing he’s attached to an MVP-caliber quarterback in Lamar Jackson. Flowers would need some real touchdown luck to go his way to significantly move him up the rankings, but he can confidently be trusted as a solid WR2 option on your dynasty roster.
The same goes for Jordan Addison, with one caveat. We need to see how the quarterback position unfolds in Minnesota. If the Vikings decide to run it back with Sam Darnold under center, I’ll be utilizing Addison as a WR2. He won’t move much if the team moves on and moves forward with last year’s first-round pick, J.J. McCarthy, but there will be some level of uncertainty until we see it play out in a regular season game.
Quentin Johnston had the best season of his young career, but his inconsistent hands and the likelihood the Chargers add another weapon on the outside for Justin Herbert make it tough to trust Johnston as more than a WR4/WR5 option in dynasty.
We have a trio of players who are clouded in different levels of uncertainty who we’ve seen be highly productive at the NFL level — Rashee Rice, Jayden Reed and Tank Dell.
Rice suffered a torn LCL and could still be facing a suspension for an off-the-field incident. Dell tore his ACL, dislocated his kneecap and damaged his meniscus. We likely won’t see Tank Dell in 2025, so it’s very hard to suggest making any moves with him. If he’s on your roster and you have a large enough bench, you just hold for now and wait to see what happens. Reed started the season on fire in 2025 but was maddeningly inconsistent down the stretch.
All three of these players have outstanding upside. Rice is the easiest to trust of the three, but you do have to weigh the possibility he will face a suspension. On the field, Rice has WR1 upside. The same could be said for Reed, but he’s probably best treated as a boom or bust WR2.
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