Top 70 dynasty rookie rankings for 2025

The 2025 NFL season is closing in on us, and if you have a dynasty startup or rookie draft coming up, you’ll need to do some research. We don’t need dynasty rookies to be top fantasy players by Week 1, but it’s always nice to have a rookie who gets on the field and competes for touches early on. There are plenty of strong prospects in this crop of rookies, so let’s get down to business.

If you were drafting rookies for your year long redraft leagues, there are only a handful you can count on to start Week 1 and put up usable numbers. But, there are a few.

Jeanty is a unique talent who should be able to overcome even the Raiders’ ineptitude. Raheem Mostert could cut into his work, but they aren’t going to hold their first round pick back. All signs point to him being worth a first round pick in redraft this season.

A running back taken in the first round will see playing time and Hampton is no different. If the team had a starter they were happy with, they wouldn’t use such high draft capital. The Chargers did add Najee Harris in free agency, which has Hampton set to split carries, but Harris has yet to practice due to a fireworks mishap that injured his eye. And now, even when (or if) Harris returns, Hampton may have already won the lead job. We also know that Jim Harbaugh loves running the football and his teams are usually quite adept at doing so. Don’t worry too much about Harris when drafting Hampton in your redraft leagues and only Jeanty is higher on my list than Hampton in dynasty.

As the eighth overall pick in the draft and the de facto No. 1 receiver in a weak Panthers receiving room, McMillan is set up to succeed early on. We saw Bryce Young improve late last season, and Dave Canales has a good track record, so I’m not too worried about Tet this season. There will likely be a bumpy learning curve, but his usage should help him overcome any lack of efficiency early on.

As we all know, the biggest question for fantasy players in regard to Hunter is how much he’ll play on defense vs. offense. It is still a question and one you really need to grapple with in dynasty leagues. But, so far it appears Hunter will see more usage on offense than defense. In his first preseason game he was on the field with the offensive starters, while he came in a drive later on defense. He’s the WR3 at the moment, but head coach Liam Coen uses three receiver sets at a high rate and Hunter could end up moving into the WR2 spot at some point as well.

I’ve given this Jaguars offense a big bump with Coen at the helm this season. He turned Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers offense into fantasy machines the last couple years and that wasn’t an easy task. Hunter is talented enough to win targets over Dyami Brown while stud receiver Brian Thomas Jr. takes on the brunt of the defensive focus.

Henderson has the talent to have an immediate impact, but his pathway to touches is a little obscured by Rhmandre Stevenson. The team would love to have a one-two punch with Stevenson and Henderson, which could make for some inconsistent fantasy scoring. But, the talent is there and Stevenson’s fumbling trouble could pop back up and push more work Henderson’s way. He’s a good upside pick in redraft leagues and a great pick in dynasty.

Finding fantasy value in rookie tight ends has always been a losing proposition, but recently the tide has turned. The top fantasy point accumulators in 2023 and 2024 were both rookie tight ends, Sam LaPorta and Brock Bowers. Oh, and guess who the Bears first round tight end pick has as his head coach? That’s right, Ben Johnson, who helped LaPorta to that coveted fantasy finish. I don’t expect Loveland to keep the rookie tight end streak going, but he is a player that won’t need to be an adept NFL blocker to get on the field. He can be used as an offensive weapon from Week 1 on.

Sean Payton makes rookies earn their playing time and the current RB1, J.K. Dobbins, has a good track record in pass protection. We also know that Dobbins has had catastrophic injuries that have slowed him down, while R.J. Harvey has not. I don’t expect Harvey to be the lead back to start the season, but as long as he progresses well, there is a very good chance he overtakes Dobbins to lead the team in touches at some point.

The Bucs have two great receivers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. They also have a good young receiver in Jalen McMillan, but injuries to both Godwin and McMillan have opened the door for Egbuka. At this point, the health of Godwin is still in question as he returns from a gruesome ankle injury suffered in Week 7 of last season. He reportedly will return in October, which would have him miss the first 4-6 games. Add in the neck injury for Jalen McMillan, which will keep him out around half the season, and there will be plenty of playing time for the rookie.

The Packers receiver room has plenty of talent, but injuries and inconsistency continue to plague their pass catchers. Golden could end up as just another talented receiver that gets bogged down in Green Bay, but he has proven in camp that he has the best hands of the bunch. He’s not a lock for big production, but if he can stay healthy, he should have plenty of opportunities to prove himself this season.