4 Dynasty Rookie Draft Picks Experts Avoid (2025 Fantasy Football)

We’ll have you covered as you prepare for your 2025 dynasty rookie drafts. In order to dominate your dynasty rookie draft, check out our expert consensus dynasty rookie draft rankings. And sync your dynasty league to practice with fast and free dynasty rookie mock drafts. Below, we dive into dynasty rookie draft picks our analysts are higher or lower on compared to our expert consensus rankings.

Dynasty Rookie Draft Advice: Players to Avoid

Isaiah Bond (WR – Texas)

As a small, blazing-fast receiver coming out of the University of Texas, Isaiah Bond is sure to draw comparisons to Xavier Worthy. But Worthy had 12 touchdowns and nearly 1,000 receiving yards as a freshman. Bond never had a 700-yard campaign across three college seasons (two at Alabama, one at Texas) and never had a season where he averaged even 50 receiving yards a game. But Bond will become a coveted dynasty asset if some NFL team falls in love with his speed and drafts him in the second round.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

Jalen Milroe (QB – Alabama)

Milroe has plenty of arm strength to make every necessary throw. The problem isn’t velocity for Milroe; it’s ball placement. His accuracy is erratic at every level. He has some nice throws on film while on the move, but there are also plenty of head-scratchers. Milroe also throws a flat ball to the second level. It’s rare to see him lace a layered throw to the second level of a defense. Most throws are delivered on a line. He’ll have to develop this part of his game to consistently have success against zone defenses in the NFL. Milroe is a “see it, throw it” quarterback. He isn’t an anticipatory thrower of the football. I anticipate him having issues with receivers being “NFL open” at the next level unless he operates in a scheme with plenty of designed looks and easy reads. His internal clock is a second slow. He doesn’t get through his progressions quickly and often gets hung up on his first read. Milroe’s field vision is subpar. He misses too many receivers breaking open, especially across the middle of the field. This is also true in a scramble drill, though, as Milroe hyper-focuses on one receiving option or drops his eyes immediately. Milroe will exhibit quiet feet in the pocket at times and deliver some accurate passes in the face of pressure, but those reps are dwarfed by the times that he bails clean pockets. Milroe needs to keep his eyes downfield more. Many times, at the first sniff of pressure, he immediately flips the switch to runner and forgoes his receiving options. He attempts to answer too many problems that defenses present for him with his legs. Milroe has 4.5 speed as a straight line/linear runner. He can make subtle changes of direction, but he can get himself into trouble when attempting to string together multiple moves. He’s at his best when getting downhill and turning on the jets, as he isn’t a quick twitch rusher. He’s also not the most physical ball carrier. Last year, among 80 qualifying quarterbacks, Milroe ranked 33rd in yards after contact per attempt and 23rd in elusive rating (per PFF).
– Derek Brown

Quinshon Judkins (RB – Ohio State)

Judkins has a compact build and can utilize his upper body strength to shed incoming tacklers. It’s not difficult for him to get loose from a lazy wrap. He has a nasty stiff arm that he’ll deploy. Judkins is a one-speed runner. He gets up to top speed quickly, but his raw speed isn’t eye-popping. He will be able to rattle off chunk plays in the NFL, but I doubt he will hit many home runs. Judkins ranked 41st or lower in breakaway rate in his final two seasons in college. With many runs, Judkins gets what is blocked, but not a ton more. He’s a linear runner who needs to rely on his offensive line to clear the way more than some other backs in this class. Judkins does keep his legs moving through contact, which helps him to fall forward and finish runs well at times. Judkins is passable as a pass protector. He has no issues sticking his nose in there and getting dirty with an incoming defender. However, Judkins will drop his eyes occasionally and lunge at incoming rushers, which he’ll have to break himself of in the NFL. Judkins is a dump-off option only in the passing game. Most of his passing game action was as a check-down option or on swing passes.
– Derek Brown

Luther Burden III (WR – Missouri)

Burden is a quick-twitch underneath slot weapon for offenses. Over the last two seasons, he ran 81.7-85.3% of his routes from the slot. Burden is a dynamic and fun player to watch with the ball in his hands. He can create YAC and yards for himself without needing perfectly blocked screenplays. Burden’s usage at Missouri was somewhat gimmicky. He was utilized in bunch formations, in motion, with handoffs, and with rub routes a ton to create easy releases for him. Yes, the aim for Missouri was to get the ball in his hands in every way possible, but that doesn’t explain away the usage profile. As a true route runner, Burden is more of a projection than a finished product. With a ton of his usage coming via schemed touches, the reps where Burden was asked to go out there, and route guys up were more limited. During his more traditional slot snaps, he was fed a bevy of ins, outs, and slot fades. You’ll occasionally see a seam shot in there for good measure. While Burden might turn out to be a strong route runner because of his electric movement skills, that is only a projection. Stating that he is a strong route runner versus the hope that he can become a good route runner is a very different conversation. Entering the NFL, most coordinators should expect to integrate him into the offense with some gadgetry. Maybe he hits the ground running as a route technician, but there’s an equally strong chance that he doesn’t, and he has to mature in this area with on-the-job training in the NFL. Burden plays larger than his size would suggest at the catch point. He has that “my ball mentality” and that dawg in him. Burden has a 55.8% contested catch rate over the last two seasons. This skill should help him in the red zone and if he experiences more muddy catch points in the NFL as he matures as a route runner. Burden is an accomplished punt returner who can offer an NFL team value on special teams. In 2022, he was fifth in the SEC (32nd nationally) in punt return yards and ranked eighth in punt return average (among 66 players with at least 12 punt returns).
– Derek Brown