The 2025 rookie class brings a lot of fantasy football uncertainty. Having a new pool of players to plug into fantasy football lineups is exciting, but their immediate usage and trends may not display their full fantasy potential just yet. Here, I aim to give you an update on how rookies are doing and their fantasy values. Now that we have completed the second quarter of the fantasy football season, the roles and abilities of the 2025 rookies are becoming more defined.
Rookie Quarterback Check-In
The 2025 rookie quarterback class has now added more starts to the mix with Jaxson Dart officially taking over for the Giants and Dillon Gabriel getting a shot with the Browns. The results have been mixed so far, but there is plenty of action to break down for Dart, Gabriel, and No. 1 pick Cam Ward.
Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans
Since the first quarter of games, the Titans have fired head coach Brian Callahan and the offense has continued to struggle. Ward has posted a 57.8 PFF grade, good for No. 34 among qualifying quarterbacks. He has exactly one touchdown and one interception in each of his last three games as the Titans offense has scored over 20 points just once, in a wild Week 5 comeback win over the Cardinals. For fantasy purposes, Ward is No. 35 in fantasy points per game and should not be rostered in redraft formats.
It’s been a rough start to Ward’s career. The Titans offense is anemic, and he will be getting a new head coach next season. Perhaps Ward can turn it around with Tyjae Spears healthy and rookie speedster Chimere Dike coming on as a playmaker. For now, he is a Dynasty-only fantasy asset.
Jaxson Dart, New York Giants
Arguably the most successful rookie quarterback, Jaxson Dart has led a competitive Giants team to a 2-3 record over his starts. He is completing just 59.9 percent of his passes, but has thrown 8 touchdowns to 3 interceptions with wins against the Chargers and Eagles without WR Malik Nabers (torn ACL). Dart averaged 8.4 yards per attempt over Weeks 7 and 8 and has just lost RB Cam Skattebo (ankle) for the season, but he has established himself as the Giants’ franchise quarterback.
With a 76.9 PFF rushing grade, Dart is No. 8 among quarterbacks and has shown he can make plays with his legs. He has four rushing scores in five games and has a stable ceiling as a fantasy quarterback. Dart is in the borderline QB1 range for the rest of the 2025 season.
Dillon Gabriel, Cleveland Browns
The Browns’ third-round pick got the chance to start in Week 5. Gabriel has made four total starts since then, tallying a league-worst 47.6 PFF passing grade. He is averaging a feeble 4.9 yards per attempt and is just not making plays in the Browns offense. Gabriel favors tight ends heavily, rendering the Browns wide receivers irrelevant for fantasy. He is not a runner at quarterback, keeping his fantasy value low. Gabriel should not be rostered in redraft leagues and could very well be replaced as the Browns starter later this season.
The Rest
The next rookie quarterback to be promoted to starter is the Saints’ Tyler Shough. He threw for 128 yards on 30 pass attempts in Week 8 and is the team’s starter moving forward. Shough is not yet roster-able for 1QB leagues, but has low-end QB2 upside the rest of the way, depending on what the Saints do with their two wideouts at the trade deadline.
We could very well see Shedeur Sanders sooner rather than later with Gabriel’s struggles in the Browns offense. The rookie fifth-rounder has yet to see the field but Cleveland could be making stark changes to the offense coming out of a Week 9 bye.
Running Backs
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Workhorses
Ashton Jeanty is still the top workhorse rookie back for the Raiders, seeing 18 touches over the last four games. Cam Skattebo was the Giants’ No. 1 and tallied 22 touches per game from Weeks 4 through 7. He had the looks of a league-winner before a brutal ankle injury took him out for the season. Omarion Hampton similarly suffered an ankle injury in Week 5, though it is still possible for him to return later this season. When healthy, Skattebo and Hampton have the RB1 roles in their offenses, but fantasy managers will have to do without them for now. Quinshon Judkins is the final rookie workhorse back for the Browns, but just suffered a shoulder injury heading into the Browns’ Week 9 bye. When healthy, this group of backs are in the fantasy RB2 range or higher.
Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders
111 carries, 445 rushing yards, 15 receptions, 86 receiving yards, 5 total touchdowns, 13.7 PPR FPPG
Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland Browns
118 carries, 486 rushing yards, 12 receptions, 60 receiving yards, 5 total touchdowns, 13.8 PPR FPPG
Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers
66 carries, 314 rushing yards, 20 receptions, 136 receiving yards, two total touchdowns, 15.4 PPR FPPG
Cam Skattebo, New York Giants
101 carries, 410 rushing yards, 24 receptions, 207 receiving yards, seven total touchdowns, 16.0 PPR FPPG
Starters
A few rookie running backs are not automatic lineup-locks but can be starts based on matchup and situation. RJ Harvey has had only boom or bust games for the Broncos, most recently scoring three touchdowns in Week 8 against the Cowboys. Jacory Croskey-Merritt has the starting job in Washington, but no passing game usage, tallying three straight games of under 70 total yards after a 150-yard, two-touchdown Week 5. The Texans have Woody Marks getting more opportunities with three games of at least 13 touches over his last four.
RJ Harvey, Denver Broncos
44 carries, 200 rushing yards, 18 receptions, 115 receiving yards, five total touchdowns, 9.9 PPR FPPG
Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Washington Commanders
82 carries, 402 rushing yards, 7 receptions, 60 receiving yards, four total touchdowns, 9.2 PPR FPPG
Woody Marks, Houston Texans
57 carries, 214 rushing yards, 13 receptions, 165 receiving yards, three total touchdowns, 9.8 PPR FPPG
Handcuffs
Backup running backs are always one injury away from getting increased opportunities. Several rookies have the handcuff role this year, the most prominent right now is the Browns’ Dylan Sampson. Quinshon Judkins is dealing with a shoulder issue, so Sampson is slated to start if Judkins misses any time after the Browns’ Week 9 bye. Kyle Monangai is getting more run for the Bears, splitting backfield snaps with D’Andre Swift to the tune of a 45-percent snaps share in Weeks 7 and 8. Meanwhile, TreVeyon Henderson has seen a stark decrease in his snaps. He has just 42 total snaps over his last three games and two total designed rush attempts over 15 yards, according to PFF. Henderson is Rhamondre Stevenson’s handcuff until further notice.
Kyle Monangai, Chicago Bears
TreVeyon Henderson, New England Patriots
Brashard Smith, Kansas City Chiefs
Dylan Sampson, Cleveland Browns
Ollie Gordon, Miami Dolphins
Bhayshul Tuten/LeQuint Allen, Jacksonville Jaguars
DJ Giddens, Indianapolis Colts
Jaydon Blue, Dallas Cowboys
Wide Receivers
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On Your Mind Now
Rookie wide receiver trajectories continued in the second quarter of the season. Emeka Egbuka is hampered by a hamstring injury but has a stronghold on the WR1 Bucs job with Chris Godwin and Mike Evans out. His 24-percent target share is encouraging despite scoring under 10 PPR fantasy points each of his last three games. Fellow Bucs rookie Tez Johnson has 15 total targets in Weeks 7 and 8 amidst the pass-catcher injuries. Tetairoa McMillan is still the Panthers’ top guy as the only receiver over 200 receiving yards in Carolina (he has 512 yards total). Travis Hunter broke out with an 8/101/1 line in Week 7 and is firmly on fantasy radars with Brian Thomas Jr.’s roller coaster season for the Jaguars. Matthew Golden’s role in the Packers offense will be impacted by Christian Watson’s return while Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike are relevant pass-catchers in a low-opportunity Titans offense. Lastly, Texans rookies Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins are slowly getting more opportunities due to injuries to the Texans’ wide receiver group.
Egbuka and McMillan are the only weekly starts in this group. Hunter (knee) has just been placed on injured reserve while Johnson, Golden, Ayomanor, Dike, Noel, and Higgins are occasional starts based on matchup and depth chart situations.
Emeka Egbuka, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
17.8 PPR FPPG, caught 34-of-63 targets for 562 yards and five touchdowns
Tetairoa McMillan, Carolina Panthers
12.5 PPR FPPG, caught 37-of-63 targets for 512 yards and two touchdowns
Travis Hunter, Jacksonville Jaguars
9.1 PPR FPPG, caught 28-of-45 targets for 298 yards and one touchdown
Matthew Golden, Green Bay Packers
7.3 PPR FPPG, caught 21-of-26 targets for 253 yards and zero touchdowns
Elic Ayomanor, Tennessee Titans
9.8 PPR FPPG, caught 23-of-47 targets for 277 yards and two touchdowns
Chimere Dike, Tennessee Titans
5.8 PPR FPPG, caught 20-of-30 targets for 189 yards and one touchdown
Jaylin Noel, Houston Texans
5.3 PPR FPPG, caught 14-20 targets for 162 yards and one touchdown
Jayden Higgins, Houston Texans
5.8 PPR FPPG, caught 13-of-21 targets for 155 yards and two touchdowns
Tez Johnson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
7.0 PPR FPPG, caught 15-of-25 targets for 213 yards and two touchdowns
Notable non-starters
Several wideouts are burgeoning talents either struggling to earn opportunity or still carving out roles. The Bears’ Luther Burden is the main receiver to eye out of this group. He has just two games over 50 receiving yards splitting time out wide and in the slot, but is the primary beneficiary of any injury to one of the Bears’ top-three wideouts. Isaiah Bond has a 10.5-percent target share but wide receivers are not Dillon Gabriel’s strong suit in Cleveland. The rest of this group has seen the occasional splash play and/or touchdown but none of these receivers should be startable for fantasy purposes just yet.
Luther Burden, Chicago Bears
Isaiah Bond, Cleveland Browns
Jaylin Lane, Washington Commanders
Tory Horton, Seattle Seahawks
Tre Harris, Los Angeles Chargers
Pat Bryant, Denver Broncos
Savion Williams, Green Bay Packers
Tight Ends
Rookie tight ends have flashed plenty of potential through the first eight weeks of the season. First-rounder Tyler Warren was already producing for the Colts, but fifth-rounder Oronde Gadsden has had a massive breakout for the Chargers. These two lead the pack heading into the second half of the fantasy season.
Starters
Tyler Warren, Indianapolis Colts
Warren continues to be the top rookie tight end and one of the best tight ends in the entire fantasy landscape. He has caught 37-of-50 targets for 492 yards for a 7-1 Colts team. His 13.9 PPR Fantasy Points per Game are good for No. 5 among all tight ends. He still leads all tight ends in receiving and is difficult to take off the field due to his versatility. The Colts have used Warren in the slot, in-line, and even in the backfield and out wide. Warren is a top-five tight end the rest of the season.
Oronde Gadsden, Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers have a very fantasy-friendly passing game and fifth-round pick Oronde Gadsden has emerged at the heart of it. After being inactive for the first two games of the season, the rookie has caught 27-of-33 targets for 385 yards with a 12.6 PPR Fantasy Points per Game, good for No. 7 among tight ends. boasts an 83.1 PFF receiving grade, best among tight ends. Gadsden is in the low-end TE1 range heading into the second half of the fantasy season.
Streamers & Stashes
Outside of the tight ends you can start regularly, there are a few rookies who are key streamer or stash options for the 2025 season. Harold Fannin Jr. is squarely in the high-end TE2 range with Dillon Gabriel almost exclusively only completing passes to tight ends. If the Browns decide to make a quarterback change out of the bye, Fannin’s value could decrease slightly, but he is a significant part of a young offense. Mason Taylor is a boom-or-bust candidate in the 1-7 Jets offense. Colston Loveland is fighting for opportunities in a deep Bears pass-catching room, while Gunnar Helm has emerged as an option in an ambiguous, young Titans pass-catching group.
Fannin and Taylor are weekly streaming options while Loveland and Helm are stashes.
Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland Browns
10.7 PPR FPPG, caught 38-of-51 targets for 352 yards and two touchdowns
Mason Taylor, New York Jets
7.7 PPR FPPG, caught 29-of-42 targets for 242 yards and one touchdown
Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears
3.8 PPR FPPG, caught 11-of-18 targets for 116 yards and zero touchdowns
Gunnar Helm, Tennessee Titans
5.3 PPF FPPG, caught 19-of-24 targets for 172 yards and one touchdown