Rookies are one of the last remaining edges to exploit in 2025 fantasy football drafts. Average draft position (ADP) lags. Upside is hard to contextualize for some, and plenty of people will shy away from drafting them because “they haven’t seen them produce yet.”
Not me.
Give me all the late-season rookie hammers, especially the undervalued ones. These are my favorite fantasy football values and rookies to target in 2025 drafts.
Rookie Sleepers to Target
Harvey is set to explode in his rookie season. The runway is clear for takeoff. Sean Payton just put second-round capital behind a back that enters a room with Audric Estime, Jaleel McLaughlin, and J.K. Dobbins. No, I’m not worried about Estime or McLaughlin when they couldn’t carve out consistent roles last year with only the ghost of Javonte Williams standing in their way. Dobbins will assist Harvey on early downs so Denver doesn’t run their talented rookie into the ground, but I don’t project him taking away passing down work or high-leverage opportunities.
It’s hard not to love a player like Harvey, who has 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 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 a strong RB2 who could finish as an RB1 this season.
Kaleb Johnson is seen as a middling RB3, and I think it’s wrong. The Steelers jettisoned Najee Harris and drafted his replacement as their lead back in the third round of the NFL Draft. Last year, Harris operated in an offense that was fourth in rushing attempts as Harris soaked up 299 touches (10th-most). Even if we lower those year-one expectations for Johnson, even 250 touches would have ranked 21st in the NFL.
Johnson brings a big-play ability that has been lacking over the last 2-3 years in Pittsburgh. Last year, not only did he rank fifth in breakaway percentage, but he was also eighth in yards after contact per attempt and 14th in elusive rating, per PFF. My love for Jaylen Warren hasn’t dissipated, but we have to listen to the Steelers with their move to acquire Johnson’s services.
Warren will likely operate in his usual role while Johnson does the heavy lifting for Arthur Smith’s run-centric offense. Johnson is an RB2 who could be an RB1 down the stretch in 2025 if he can distance himself further from Warren better than Harris ever could.
If you believe, like I do, that it’s not if, but when Cam Skattebo takes over the Giants’ backfield, then this ranking is too low. The Giants added Skattebo to the backfield via the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. He should be considered the early favorite to be the team’s workhorse after Tyrone Tracy‘s inconsistent rookie season and the team shelving any thought of Devin Singletary as their leading back.
Skattebo was a volume monster during his final season in college and a true three-down back. He ranked 21st in yards after contact per attempt and 11th in elusive rating while also sitting inside the top 10 in receiving grade and yards per route run, per PFF. It could take some time for Skattebo to wrestle 60-65% of the snaps away from the other players in this backfield, but it does feel like the eventual reality. Skattebo is a strong RB3 who could easily vault into an every-week top 15 running back.
Yes, we have reached the final round of your draft value section of the article. Brashard Smith was another talented victim of this deep running back class. He dropped to the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft, which was surprising. The Chiefs added him to their already overstocked backfield. The Chiefs are no strangers to allowing a seventh-round running back a legit shot at starting (hi, Isiah Pacheco), so we can’t say that Smith has zero shot.
I was enamored with Smith’s receiving ability as a converted wide receiver, his lightning quickness, and his possible upside as a rusher for a player who is still getting acclimated to the position. Last year, Smith ranked 34th in breakaway percentage, second in receiving grade and 22nd in yards per route run, per PFF. Smith’s skill set is different from every other back in this depth chart. He could easily carve out a stand-alone role as Kansas City’s new Jerick McKinnon.
Jarquez Hunter is arbitrage Bhayshul Tuten in fantasy football drafts. Hunter, much like Tuten, is headed to the NFL (Rams) via the fourth round of the draft. Also, like Tuten, Hunter finds himself possibly buried for 2025 behind two veterans, but he also possesses the talent and pathway to surpass one or maybe both of them in the running back pecking order.
Kyren Williams is a free agent after this season. The Rams thought so much of Blake Corum‘s rookie season that they addressed running back again this year. Hunter is incredibly talented. Hunter has ranked inside the top 24 in yards after contact per attempt in each of the last three seasons while also sitting in the top 22 in breakaway percentage in two of three years, per PFF.
Hunter offers the Rams an explosive element that neither Williams nor Corum has. Last year, among 46 qualifying backs, Williams ranked 44th in explosive run rate, 37th in missed tackles forced per attempt and 40th in yards after contact per attempt, per Fantasy Points Data. Hunter could be one of the best values of the fantasy football draft season.
Tre Harris, the soul-snatching route savant, should quickly become Justin Herbert‘s trusted second option in the passing game opposite Ladd McConkey. Yes, Harris will have to hop Mike Williams 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 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 could easily finish this season as a top-36 fantasy wide receiver in his rookie season and crush his current fantasy football ADP.
Jayden Higgins got the capital I was hoping for as the fifth wide receiver selected in the 2025 NFL Draft at the top of the second round. Higgins should immediately file in as the starting outside receiver opposite Nico Collins.
Higgins was an underrated player during the entire draft process after ranking 27th and 16th in yards per route run and first and 18th in receiving grade during his final two collegiate seasons, per PFF. With Tank Dell likely out for the entire 2025 season, Higgins has a clear path to playing time with the talent to put up strong WR3 numbers in 2025.
Jack Bech enters the Raiders’ depth chart with the ability to push Jakobi Meyers quickly for the No. 2 WR role on the team behind Brock Bowers. He should be a starter immediately, with only those two players to compete with for a hefty target share. Geno Smith will love the route running, tenacity and sure hands (fourth in contested catch rate, minimum 20 contested targets) that Bech brings to the table.
In his final season in college, Bech ranked 17th in receiving grade and 22nd in missed tackles forced, per PFF. The former tight end plays with an infectious physicality and passion. Bech is a wonderful value in drafts, and because of the stink around the Raiders’ offense, he’ll likely remain one during the entire redraft season.
Pat Bryant could be a steal this redraft season if he’s able to secure a starting job on the Broncos’ offense. Last season, behind Courtland Sutton, Denver operated with a wide receiver by committee approach.
That could change in 2025. If Bryant has a strong camp, he could cement a starting job opposite Sutton. Bryant quietly checks the analytical boxes that we look for, ranking 18th in yards per route run and seventh in receiving grade in his final collegiate season, per PFF. He’s worth tossing a dart at in the final round of your redraft leagues.
Mason Taylor represents a huge value in redraft for early and often volume. Unless we are projecting him only to be a part-time player in his rookie season, I don’t know why he is being valued as a TE3. Taylor could become the No. 2 target in the passing attack quickly, with only Josh Reynolds and Allen Lazard as his closest competition for targets.
I wasn’t nearly as enamored as many with Taylor as a prospect, but the landing spot is too juicy not to invest in him heavily now. Even if we project the Jets to be run-heavy, the passing volume should still be there in this offense.
Even if the Jets finish with 500 passing attempts in 2025 (this would have been the fifth-fewest passing attempts in 2024), and if Taylor can secure a 17% target share in an uninspiring depth chart, he would finish with 85 targets (this would have been the 11th-most last year). Grab Taylor in every draft as your free TE2. He could be your starting tight end early in the season.
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