3 Rookies With Fantasy Football Value Entering the 2025 NFL Season

The 2024 NFL draft class ruled fantasy football last season.

Jayden Daniels, Brian Thomas Jr., Malik Nabers, Ladd McConkey, Brock Bowers, and Bucky Irving were some of the top rookies who managed to massively outperform their average draft position (ADP) and earn league-winner status.

This year's rookie class is jam-packed with talented skill players. We saw eight wide receivers, five running backs, and five tight ends get taken off the board in the first two rounds of last spring's NFL Draft. Which first-year players are primed to make an immediate impact this season?

Let's check out rookies who carry fantasy football value for the 2025 season.

Note: All ADPs come from FantasyPros' Consensus ADP for half-PPR leagues.

Rookies With Fantasy Football Value in 2025

RJ Harvey, RB, Denver Broncos

ADP: 55.3 Overall (RB21)

There are a staggering seven rookie running backs currently being drafted in the top-100 picks.

For reference, Jonathon Brooks was the earliest first-year running back plucked off the board last season with an ADP of RB34 at pick 97. Where can we find value in this year's class?

Six rookie RBs have outperformed their ADP and finished in the top 25 at the position across the last four seasons -- the aforementioned Irving, Jahmyr Gibbs, De'Von Achane, Kenneth Walker III, Najee Harris, and Javonte Williams. Is it any mistake that all but one of those backs (Williams) was on a postseason-bound team that season, and four of those five remaining backs were on a top-nine scoring offense?

Opportunity is king, but environment matters, too. That's part of the reason why I see value in draftingRJ Harvey at his current ADP.

The Denver Broncos likely won't be one of the top-scoring teams this season, but their -130 NFL playoff odds have much to do with this offense. Bo Nix and company are backed by a second-ranked offensive line, per Pro Football Focus, and the team earned the league's ninth-best red zone scoring percentage a season ago.

Denver has upended the once weak running back room, replacing Javonte Williams with J.K. Dobbins and nabbing Harvey in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Dobbins' injury history alone -- he's played just 32.3% of games (22 out of 68 contests) across the past four seasons -- adds intrigue to Harvey's outlook. That aside, we have a real reason to be excited after seeing Harvey play 67.0% of Denver's first-team snaps in the first preseason game.

Our Jim Sannes considers Harvey's preseason Week 1 showing one of the key fantasy football takeaways from the NFL preseason.

With so many rookie backs being swiped early, the door for disappointment is wide open. Harvey's role and environment, however, make him a solid target at his ADP.

Matthew Golden, WR, Green Bay Packers

ADP: 105.7 Overall (WR45)

Matthew Golden might just be the most overlooked wide receiver in the 2025 draft class.

Selected with the 23rd overall pick by the Green Bay Packers, Golden instantly enters a prime environment for fantasy. Green Bay picked up the eighth-most points and fifth-most yards in 2024. The Pack ranked fifth in passing efficiency and are on track to be one of the highest-scoring NFL teams this season, per Sannes' projections.

The notion that Golden will be quelled by in-team competition might be an overstatement. Sure, Jordan Love has a ton of mouths he could feed, but Dontayvion Wicks and Romeo Doubs may take a firm back seat now that Golden is in town.

Considering Golden's upside and environment, we shouldn't be surprised if he ends up pacing the 2025 WR class in fantasy this season. That's notable at his ADP, especially seeing that Tetairoa McMillan is currently being drafted as the WR27 at pick 62.

FantasyPros' consensus projections forecast Golden to finish as the WR40 with 153.0 half-PPR points, barely behind McMillan at WR34 (157.2 half-PPR points).

Our Skyler Carlin has Golden as one of this year's league-winning wide receivers.

Tyler Warren, TE, Indianapolis Colts

ADP: 112.7 Overall (TE11)

We just saw Brock Bowers churn out an overall TE1 finish in his rookie season, making him the second straight rookie to earn the TE1 title after Sam LaPorta did so in 2023.

Can Tyler Warren make it a hat trick?

There are only two rookie tight ends being taken seriously in fantasy football drafts -- Warren and Colston Loveland. Has the Indianapolis Colts' quarterback situation caused Warren's stock to take an unnecessary hit?

Warren and Loveland join Bowers, Kyle Pitts, and T.J. Hockenson as the only tight ends to be selected in the top-15 overall of the NFL Draft in the last decade. Things turned out pretty well for Bowers and Pitts in their opening campaigns despite poor and inconsistent quarterback play, and there's at least some hope Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson can piece something manageable together this year for the Colts.

In his final season at Penn State, Warren commanded a 31.6% target share to earn 1,451 scrimmage yards and 12 scores. It'd be hard for him to have less competition for playing time than what he has in Indy's tight end room, and he has a chance to become a Bowers-level target monster from the jump.

Futures Day is coming August 26th. Learn more here.

The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.