It’s that time again. Dynasty rookie fever SZN is here. The 2025 NFL Draft is in the rearview, and rookie drafts will start flying daily. Before you dive head-first into our fantasy football mock draft simulator and run 3,000 rookie drafts in preparation, please read up on this talented prospect class as I roll through my positional primers. You can find each of them in our 2025 Dynasty Draft Kit.
- Dynasty Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- Dynasty Rookie Draft Simulator
- Dynasty Rookie Draft Rankings
- DBro’s Top 100 Rankings & Notes: 1QB | Superflex
Dynasty Rookie Draft Advice
Let’s dive into my dynasty rookie draft content to help you prepare for your drafts!
Dynasty Rookie Draft Quarterbacks
With Derek Carr retiring, the pick of Shough inside the top 50 in the NFL Draft makes more sense. He will compete in camp to be the Saints’ Week 1 starter, and I’d even call him the favorite to land the job, considering what we have seen (or have not seen) from the other players in that room. If we assume that he’s the Saints’ starter for 2025, he has immediate QB2 appeal for Superflex squads. If Shough can play well enough this upcoming season, it’s not insane to think that he could be the team’s long-term starter, although I’m highly skeptical, and I think it’s best to view his starting window as maybe only one year. Last year, he was sixth in passing grade, but he ranked outside the top 20 quarterbacks in adjusted completion rate (30th), yards per attempt (24th), big-time throw rate (35th), and deep ball adjusted completion rate (72nd, per PFF). Shough is in play in the second round/early-third round of dynasty rookie drafts.
Stats:
- 2024 (minimum 150 dropbacks)
- PFF passing grade: 6th
- Adjusted completion rate: 30th
- Yards per attempt: 24th
- Big-time throw rate: 35th
- Deep passing (minimum 20 deep passing attempts)
- Adjusted completion rate: 72nd
- Deep throw rate: 69th
- Pressured passing (minimum 50 pressured dropbacks)
- Pressured adjusted completion rate: 63rd
- Clean pocket adjusted completion rate: 17th
- Clean pocket passer rating: 15th
Scouting Report:
- Tyler Shough had his 2021 (broken collarbone) and 2023 (shoulder injury) seasons cut short because of injuries.
- Shough is a tall pocket passer. He has enough mobility to create out of structure, but I wouldn’t consider him a “mobile” quarterback. He isn’t a statue, either.
- Shough has the arm strength to make every NFL throw. He can throw from multiple arm angles and his film includes some mouthwatering off-platform throws. I do need to add some context after saying that. His accuracy can wane when on the move or when pressured. If he can improve his consistency with off-platform throws, especially when booting, it will go a long way for his overall play.
- Shough has a nice deep ball, but he will short-arm some, which will leave his wide receivers waiting. There are plenty of nice deep balls on tape that he drops in the bucket with his receiver in stride. He does need to add some arch to some throws that he’ll toss on a line.
- When under pressure, Shough’s footwork can lapse. He will chuck some throws from his back foot and with his base off kilter. At times, his internal clock can also feel a second behind. Overall, he does a decent job navigating pressure by hanging tight in the pocket, stepping up in the pocket as it collapses or rolling out to allude pass rushers.
- Shough can lace some nice second-level layered throws from multiple arm angles. This includes throws into tight windows. He has a gunslinger mentality at times. I’d rather a quarterback be willing to embrace risk versus be risk averse, but he sometimes writes checks his arm has a tough time cashing. Some throws in his film would have been picked off in the NFL or college if the cornerback he faced was slightly better.
Player Comp: More mobile Davis Mills
Check out my complete Dynasty Rookie Draft Quarterback Primer 
Dynasty Rookie Draft Quarterback Rankings
Dynasty Rookie Draft Running Backs
IT’S R.J. HARVEY’S WORLD & WE’RE ALL JUST LIVING IN IT! I couldn’t be happier for Harvey and the Broncos. This is a wonderful pairing of situation and talent. Harvey and his second-round NFL draft capital land in a backfield where his only direct competition is Audrice Estime and Jaleel McLaughlin. Before the NFL Draft, Harvey was my RB5 of this class, but now, after the conclusion of the draft, he has risen to my RB3. I’m sky-high about his prospects and will be heavily overweight in the rookie draft season. It’s hard not to love a player that ranked inside the top 20 among FBS running backs in each of the last two seasons in breakaway percentage and elusive rating (per PFF). Add in Sean Payton’s running back usage, and Harvey looks primed to smash. Over the last two years, Payton has ranked fifth and first in running back target share. Harvey is in play as high as the 1.05 in every dynasty format. He’s currently my 1.07 in super flex rookie rankings.
Stats:
- 2024 (minimum 100 carries & 20 targets)
- Yards after contact per attempt: 31st
- Breakaway rate: 14th
- PFF elusive rating: 19th
- PFF receiving grade: 75th
- Yards per route run: 36th
- 2023 (minimum 100 carries & 20 targets)
- Yards after contact per attempt: 53rd
- Breakaway rate: 15th
- PFF elusive rating: 18th
- PFF receiving grade: 35th
- Yards per route run: 42nd
- 2022 (minimum 100 carries & 20 targets)
- Yards after contact per attempt: 36th
- Breakaway rate: 44th
- PFF elusive rating: 27th
- PFF receiving grade: 30th
- Yards per route run: 11th
Scouting Report:
- RJ Harvey is a tough runner. His leg drive allows him to pinball off defenders and pick up tough yards. He sheds arm tackles well, especially in the second level and is a better short-yardage runner than you’d expect from a player his size.
- Harvey’s lateral agility and burst improved toward the end of the 2024 season. After watching some of his early-season games, I questioned his long speed, initial burst and lateral agility. All of those improved as the 2024 season moved along. While he might not be a home run hitter in the NFL (he gets caught from behind plenty), he should have the ability to break off chunk runs.
- He has a good feel for when to press and flow with outside-zone runs. He can get tentative at the line with some inside zone and interior runs. His vision isn’t horrible by any stretch of the imagination, but when the picture is muddier, his feet can get choppy. Needs to be more willing to bounce runs at times.
- Harvey’s grit shows in pass protection. He’s a willing and able blocker who can stick his nose in there and get physical. His strong lower half serves him well here.
- As a receiving option, he is nothing more than a dump-off option at this juncture. Harvey was tasked with only leaking out the backfield for check-downs in college. He does have moments as a receiver where he has concentration drops when he gets ahead of himself and worries too much about what he is about to do with the ball in his hands before securing the pass.
Player Comp: Aaron Jones
Check out my complete Dynasty Rookie Draft Running Backs Primer
Dynasty Rookie Draft Running Backs Rankings
Dynasty Rookie Draft Wide Receivers
Harris, the soul-snatching route savant, lands with the Bolts in the second round of the NFL Draft and should quickly become Justin Herbert’s trusted second option in the passing game opposite Ladd McConkey. Yes, Harris will have to hop either Mike Williams or Quentin Johnston to crack the starting lineup, but I’m not worried about his ability to do so. We’re discussing a player who has ranked first and ninth in Yards per route run over the last two years, stacked up against arguably a former first-round bust and a veteran who looked like he was running on empty last year (per PFF). The Chargers are looked at as a run-heavy team, but that isn’t necessarily true and might not be in 2025. Last year, after Week 7, the Bolts ranked 11th in neutral passing rate and seventh in pass rate over expectation (per Fantasy Points Data). Harris sits atop my Tier 3 of rookies and should be considered a borderline first-round rookie draft selection. Yes, I know I’m aggressively above consensus depending on which ADP of other ranking set you’re looking at, but I want to be with a player who was my WR2 predraft and is my WR3 post-draft with the new addition of Travis Hunter in my wide receiver rankings. Harris is set to smash in his rookie season.
Stats:
- 2024 (FBS WRs, minimum 50 targets)
- Yards per route run: 1st
- PFF receiving grade: 4th
- Yards per route run vs. man coverage (minimum 15 targets): 1st
- YAC per reception: 19th
- 2023 (FBS WRs, minimum 50 targets)
- Yards per route run: 9th
- PFF receiving grade: 6th
- Yards per route run vs. man coverage (minimum 15 targets): 18th
- Career
- A groin injury ended his 2024 season
Scouting Report:
- Tre Harris is a nasty route runner. He has a deep release package with pacing variations and a bevy of in-route nuance. Harris plays 4D chess while corners are still playing checkers. He invites indecision into corners’ heads every snap. He gears down well at the top of his stem and can drop his hips easily.
- Harris has numerous moments in his film where he will set up corners for a later move. He will threaten deep or burn them on a double move when the play isn’t designed to come his way. That rep made the defender guard against getting burned deep as Harris snapped off a hitch route with razor-sharp precision.
- Harris isn’t a burner. He likely has 4.5 40-yard dash speed. I worry if he has enough raw speed to stack corners on go routes consistently, but that doesn’t mean he is slow, nor that he can’t get free downfield with his requisite juice and route running. Harris is the “Postmaster General.” He excels at using his big frame, route running and speed to burn corners on posts deep.
- Harris offers YAC upside with his blend of speed and play strength. He has the necessary lower and upper body strength to run through tacklers, stiff-arm them or shed them easily when they aim high.
- The highlight reel catches from Harris where he skies above a defender or adjusts to a back shoulder ball are glorious. Harris is a ball-winner at the catch point with contested catch rates north of 60% in two of his last four collegiate seasons.
Player Comp: Allen Robinson
Check out my complete Dynasty Rookie Draft Wide Receivers Primer
Dynasty Rookie Draft Wide Receivers Rankings
Dynasty Rookie Draft Tight Ends
Arroyo is headed to Seattle after the team called his name in the second round of the NFL Draft. The former Miami Hurricane is an athletic mismatch weapon who will push Noah Fant for snaps from the jump if his blocking is up to snuff. Fant is an unrestricted free agent after this season, so while the outlook for 2025 has its worries, it should be wheels up for Arroyo in 2026. If Copper Kupp also proves in 2025 that he doesn’t have much left in the tank, Kupp could be gone, which would leave Arroyo as the second target in the passing attack behind only Jaxon Smith-Njigba. In his final season in college, Arroyo ranked 23rd in Yards per route run and second in yards after the catch per reception among tight ends (minimum 20 targets, per PFF). Arroyo is a late second-round selection in dynasty rookie drafts that will occasionally fall into the third round.
Stats:
- 2024 (FBS TEs, minimum 20 targets)
- Yards per route run: 23rd
- PFF receiving grade: 21st
- YAC per reception: 2nd
- Career
- 2024: 56.1% of his snaps from the slot or the perimeter
- ACL tear in 2022
Scouting Report:
- Elijah Arroyo is an athletic move tight end who can be a mismatch for any pass defense. Arroyo was utilized in motion, up the seam and on screens a ton in 2024. This was done to maximize his after-the-catch abilities, give him free releases off the line and hide some of the route-running growth he still needs to achieve.
- Arroyo is an upright runner and long strider who can chew up space quickly in the open field. He has 4.5/4.6 40-yard speed. He has surprisingly good deceleration and nice footwork for his size. He doesn’t use his plus feet enough in his route running or off the line to this point. Linebackers that are physical and can run with him don’t have a hard time staying with him. Arroyo’s routes lack that added nuance that can allow him to separate early and late, and his release package is limited. Arroyo can succeed against zone coverage with a decent feel for finding the holes in the coverage, but he’ll need to grow his game if he hopes to become a true mismatch weapon that can match with man coverage and good coverage linebackers.
- Arroyo uses his speed well after the catch, but he needs his play strength to show up more consistently. He forced only five missed tackles in college. He has the athleticism and upper body strength (as exhibited in his blocking) to improve in this area. I’d love to see Arroyo stiff-arm defenders in the NFL.
- Arroyo is a functional blocker. He has a decent anchor, can set the edge in run blocking and can operate as a puller. He displaces defenders but isn’t an overwhelming people mover.
Player Comp: Evan Engram
Check out my complete Dynasty Rookie Draft Tight Ends Primer
Dynasty Rookie Draft Tight Ends Rankings
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