How to Crush Your Rookie Dynasty Draft in 2025

With the 2025 NFL Draft safely in the rearview, it’s time we turn our attention to our dynasty rookie drafts. Much like me, many of you have probably already completed yours, but for those who still have their rookie drafts ahead of them, this article is for you.

I have completed eight rookie drafts and believe my ranks are complete and battle-tested. For the sake of this article, let’s assume this is a 12-person league. I will cover the first two rounds or the first 24 picks. Scoring will assume half-PPR and superflex; there is no TE Premium, but I will address that when the time comes. 

What is the most accurate ranker thinking during dynasty rookie drafts? Let’s dive in.

How to Crush Your 2025 Rookie Draft

Tier 1 — 1.01

Ashton Jeanty sits in this tier alone at 1.01, even in superflex leagues. I don’t need to spell this one out for you. There isn’t a single blemish on his prospect profile; my only slight knock on him is his level of competition. Even so, I don’t dare leave him out of my top five in my running back dynasty ranks. 

If you are truly a tanking team with an absolute zero for a roster, you will feel the need to move Jeanty. Don’t. If Jeanty is the back we expect him to be, assuming 5-6 years of elite production is safe. And if you can’t turn around a dynasty team in two years, you need to come into the FTN Discord and get some help.

Any team should consider adding Jeanty with the 1.01. If you absolutely need to move this pick, I would take at least three firsts.

Tier 2 — 1.02-1.04

This tier is wide open. Landing the 1.02 this year is rough, since the value difference between 1.02 and 1.04 is minimal. This tier consists of Omarion Hampton, Tetairoa McMillan and Travis Hunter. 

This comes down to need and preference — Hampton at 1.02 is completely acceptable if you need a running back, as is either McMillan or Hunter if you need a wide receiver. Given any options, I would lean McMillan over Hampton, but I can’t fault you for chasing Hunter’s upside. I just had McMillan ahead of Hunter the entire 2024 season and am sticking to my guns. 

Tier 3 — 1.05-1.08

This is a great tier of players. Cameron Ward sticks out here. If you have a quarterback-needy team, by all means — if he makes it this far — grab him. However, I don’t like Ward, and I don’t think he will ever be more than a mid-range QB2 in fantasy. He doesn’t rush, the offense is bad, and he showed plenty of red flags in college. But he holds value, and that is something people will trade for. 

This is a prime range to need a running back because you can choose either TreVeyon Henderson or Quinshon Judkins — two very good running backs landing in solid spots with great opportunities. I prefer Henderson over Judkins, as I view the Patriots’ offense as ascending. I expect Rhamondre Stevenson to get beat out, and I see Henderson as a diet Jahmyr Gibbs. Judkins is great, but the offense likely needs a year or two, and I could easily see him losing some pass work to Sampson and/or Ford.

One of my most rostered players thus far is Emeka Egbuka, as he is always here at the 1.08. Before we knew Hunter would play wide receiver, Egbuka was my WR2 in this class, and I’m betting on the talent long-term by drafting him here. Let’s get something out of the way. I have zero concerns about Jalen McMillan. He was being overdrafted this offseason, and he is a good, not great, wide receiver. Egbuka is already the WR3 on this offense. Think anything you want — the Bucs front office indirectly made this statement. 

Think of Jaxon Smith-Njigba. While JSN is a better prospect than Egbuka, it took JSN a year for things to settle down and for him to break out. This could easily happen with Egbuka, but it’s dynasty, and we are playing the long game. Fair to say Egbuka isn’t a huge contributor in 2025 if Evans and Godwin stay healthy, but he has it in him to be a locked and loaded top 24 wide receiver in fantasy for years to come.

Tier 4 — 1.09-2.02

This is my favorite tier, as you can get a quality player at 1.09 or 2.02. Early second-round picks are an absolute gold mine this year. If your draft hasn’t started, go do what you have to do to acquire 2.01 or 2.02 right now. Kaleb Johnson is the only running back in this tier and is your last shot to get a quality running back prospect in this draft. Johnson is a fine consolation if you miss out on Henderson and Judkins. 

Jaxson Dart lands in this tier — a guy I’ve taken multiple times in the late first. I won’t bore you with more Dart talk, but if this is your first time reading my stuff, go back and find any rookie QB article, and you will find my take. Dart is the best quarterback in this fantasy class, and you can easily land him in this range. The one blow here is if you need a QB for this year, I am not convinced we get a full season out of Dart, but if you can afford to wait, you need to grab this dude. 

Matthew Golden and Tre Harris find themselves in this tier as well. I have seen both these guys and Dart fall to the 2.02 this year, and that is part of the reason I love the start of the second round. Both prospects have some flaws, but both land in good offenses with good quarterbacks and an opportunity to be a top-two wide receiver on their team. I lean Golden, even though I liked Harris more as a prospect, just because of that first-round draft capital.

Finally, we get to this class’s top tight ends: Colston Loveland and Tyler Warren — both great prospects with strong draft capital, just stuck in subpar situations. Loveland’s does look a bit better as the offense is doing everything to get on the right track. I also had Loveland ranked ahead of Warren going into the draft, so it’s not really that difficult to prefer Loveland over Warren. I think either could be taken as early as 1.06 in TE Premium leagues, but I like both these guys in the back of the first. If either guy fell to 2.01 or 2.02, I would have no issue moving a 2026 first to grab one of these dudes if tight end was an issue for you. 

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Tier 5 — 2.03-2.04

The small tier here consists of RJ Harvey and Luther Burden III, two prospects on whom I was completely out on. Harvey was my RB12 going into the NFL Draft. I have to respect the draft capital and the opportunity, so I have moved him to RB6, but I can’t go much further; I need to stick to my evaluation to a certain point. It’s fair to say I won’t be drafting much Harvey. Let’s see if I end up regretting that.

I did not think Burden was a very good wide receiver in college, nor do I think he’ll be one in the NFL. My NFL comp for Burden is Laviska Shenault Jr. However, I have been wrong before. Burden has great draft capital and heads to an ascending Bears offense with the former No. 1 overall pick in Caleb Williams and offensive wizard Ben Johnson leading the team. Burden could be better in real-life football than fantasy, but unlike Harvey, Burden has been available at the 2.04. 

Tier 6 — 2.05-2.08

We’ve got two quarterbacks here: Jalen Milroe and Tyler Shough. Yes, I know. Derek Carr retired, and with second-round draft capital, Shough is poised to start. The issue is that he is not very good. I have never seen it, and my spreadsheets don’t like him. It’s tough to paint the upside picture here for Shough. He feels a lot like Davis Mills. Take him if you need to, but I wouldn’t expect much.

I’m not expecting much from Milroe either, but nothing indicates he’ll start. However, he can break fantasy football if he finds himself on the field. Yes, he has much to work on as a passer, but as a rusher, he is more explosive than Lamar Jackson. Milroe might be the best rushing QB in the NFL the moment he steps on the field, and we have to respect that — a luxury pick of sorts, but the ideal taxi squad player in this class. 

Toss in Jayden Higgins, who is likely penciled in as the starter on a Houston Texans offense that should be better this year. I am feeling pretty whelmed on Higgins as a prospect, but he isn’t bad, the offense is good, and the opportunity is there. Bhayshul Tuten, who I know the Jaguars are high on — first-year GM James Gladstone named Tuten as a player he would like to draft in the interview process. Jaguars have zero ties to Travis Etienne Jr., and Tank Bigsby is just another guy. He offers an explosive skill set that this running game lacks, and this is exactly the type of player to bet on in the mid-second round. 

Tier 7 — 2.09-2.12

To close out the second round and this article, we have a trio of wide receivers and a running back. 

Let’s start with Jack Bech. Bech certainly got the draft capital and will have a serious opportunity to see major snaps; I just don’t know what he offers as a fantasy asset. The Raiders took Jeanty and will certainly establish the run while they have Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers in the pass game. Bech feels like a guy who will get snaps and run routes but will have very little fantasy impact. 

Seeing Elic Ayomanor fall to the fourth round as a Day 3 selection crushed me, as he was one of my favorite prospects in this class. The draft capital and the landing spot hurt, but there is a serious opportunity if Ward and this offense can turn things around. I would rather bet on Ayomanor than spend the capital to take Ward. 

Kyle Williams was a late riser for many. I begrudgingly moved Williams to WR15 in the predraft process and moved him up to WR10 after the draft. I don’t get it, but some really smart people like him, the draft capital is good, and there is clearly an opportunity. I am generally in on the Patriots offense this year, so I can’t simply ignore Williams. 

Finally, we have our favorite plodder, Cam Skattebo. To be clear, Skattebo belongs at the beginning of this tier. I have even taken Skattebo at 2.09 on an RB-needy team. I don’t really think he is a plodder; I just don’t think he is necessarily going to be great at anything at the NFL level. He should certainly earn some reps, but I think he is more of a Devin Singletary replacement than a Tyrone Tracy Jr. replacement. The Tracy trade window is open for you.