- A personal pre-draft fantasy big board: I sort this year’s class into tiers and rankings for both 1-QB and superflex fantasy formats, with IDPs included.
- Pre-draft is the time to call your shot: Before official draft capital and landing spots are solidified and influence rankings even more, this is the time to sort personal favorites over those we have less faith in.
- 2025 NFL Draft season is here: Try PFF's best-in-class Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2025's top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.
Estimated reading time: 14 minutes
The 2025 NFL Draft is right around the corner and before landing spots and draft capital are locked in, it's a helpful exercise to provide a framework for how we’re valuing these incoming rookies and see where they stack up heading into the draft.
There are two separate rankings tables here — one for one-quarterback leagues and another for superflex/tight end-premium leagues. Consider this my personal pre-draft big board for fantasy purposes. Understanding that some expected NFL draft capital will play a part in these rankings, there isn’t an over-reliance on that alone. Pre-draft rankings are a great time to call out shots on players, and considering so much will change with landing spot and draft capital post-draft, this is more to do just that before we actually start drafting in earnest for fantasy purposes. Cornerbacks will also be excluded from this board due to their draft capital and opportunity being the only way we really need to sort them for fantasy purposes.
There aren’t going to be specific write-ups on each player within this piece, but there is much more context provided on why I like or dislike each player in the many articles written on this class (see below), as well as links to a lot of the data and research done on each positional class for these 2025 rookies.
Links to all pre-draft fantasy content:
- A personnel-adjusted analysis of the 2025 wide receiver class
- Rookie wide receiver prospect model
- How the 2025 NFL Draft wide receiver class performed by situation
- Analytics strengths and weaknesses for the top 2025 rookie wide receivers
- Analytical sleepers for the 2025 rookie wide receiver class
- Rookie running back prospect model
- How the 2025 NFL Draft running back class performed by situation
- Analytics strengths and weaknesses for the top 2025 rookie running backs
- Analytical sleepers for the 2025 rookie running back class
- Rookie tight end prospect model
- Analytics strengths and weaknesses for the top 2025 rookie tight ends
- Analytics strengths and weaknesses for the top 2025 rookie quarterbacks
- Rookie edge defender prospect model
- Rookie linebacker prospect model
- Rookie safety prospect model
- Analytical IDP sleepers from the 2025 rookie class
- PFF Fantasy Podcast: Rookie linebacker rankings
- PFF Fantasy Podcast: Rookie running back rankings
- PFF Fantasy Podcast: Rookie edge defender rankings
- PFF Fantasy Podcast: Rookie wide receiver and tight end rankings
1-QB PPR pre-draft rookie rankings
| Rank | Position | Player | Team | Projected Pick |
| 1 | RB | Ashton Jeanty | Boise State | 7th overall |
There shouldn’t be much question about the top fantasy option in this class, and the gap between Ashton Jeanty and the next player puts him on an island as the clear-cut 1.01 in all formats.
| Rank | Position | Player | Team | Projected Pick |
| 2 | WR/CB | Travis Hunter | Colorado | 3rd overall |
| 3 | RB | Omarion Hampton | North Carolina | 25th overall |
| 4 | WR | Tetairoa McMillan | Arizona | 11th overall |
| 5 | TE | Tyler Warren | Penn State | 9th overall |
Travis Hunter is the biggest question mark in this class, as his positional designation is going to change his value significantly for fantasy. He’s likely to get usage on both sides of the ball, but depending on league scoring, he may not be as valuable for certain formats, especially if designated as a cornerback in non-IDP formats and those that don’t score offensive points for defensive players. As a wide receiver, Hunter is arguably the best in this class, and for those leagues that can utilize his dual designation to their advantage, he is very much in play as the second player off the board.
| Rank | Position | Player | Team | Projected Pick |
| 6 | RB | TreVeyon Henderson | Ohio State | 42nd overall |
| 7 | WR | Emeka Egbuka | Ohio State | 33rd overall |
| 8 | WR | Luther Burden III | Missouri | 34th overall |
| 9 | TE | Colston Loveland | Michigan | 18th overall |
The third tier of fantasy options for this rookie class is pretty clear right now, as there are fringe first-round wide receivers and running backs who should be immediate impact players in the NFL. Colston Loveland also fits into this tier as TE2 and is set to be a Year 1 contributor for fantasy based on his draft capital and likely good landing spot.
| Rank | Position | Player | Team | Projected Pick |
| 10 | ED | Abdul Carter | Penn State | 2nd overall |
| 11 | RB | Cameron Skattebo | Arizona State | 83rd overall |
| 12 | RB | Quinshon Judkins | Ohio State | 53rd overall |
The first non-Hunter IDP of this rookie class comes off the board just inside the first round, as Abdul Carter represents the best long-term option for NFL and IDP purposes. Carter offers elite physical traits, underlying metrics and draft capital to be worthy of a late first-round pick in rookie drafts, as he’ll likely start on IDP rosters for several years to come.
| Rank | Position | Player | Team | Projected Pick |
| 13 | LB | Jihaad Campbell | Alabama | 19th overall |
| 14 | RB | Bhayshul Tuten | Virginia Tech | 122nd overall |
| 15 | RB | Kaleb Johnson | Iowa | 57th overall |
| 16 | QB | Cam Ward | Miami (FL) | 1st overall |
While the running backs continue to come off the board, so does the top linebacker and quarterback in this class to start the second round of rookie drafts. Campbell is primed to go in the first round of the draft, which puts him in a strong position to succeed for IDP. While Campbell is a strong option at a rarer first-round position, Ward represents a weaker option for a position that typically goes in the first round, and specifically, first overall. Ward can be a fine fantasy option, but there’s no rush to reach and grab him earlier than this spot, and potentially a bit later as well.
| Rank | Position | Player | Team | Projected Pick |
| 17 | WR | Tre Harris | Ole Miss | 60th overall |
| 18 | WR | Jayden Higgins | Iowa State | 50th overall |
| 19 | WR | Matthew Golden | Texas | 20th overall |
| 20 | ED | James Pearce Jr. | Tennessee | 31st overall |
| 21 | ED | Mike Green | Marshall | 17th overall |
| 22 | QB | Shedeur Sanders | Colorado | 4th overall |
| 23 | LB | Carson Schwesinger | UCLA | 51st overall |
| 24 | LB | Demetrius Knight Jr. | South Carolina | 72nd overall |
To close out the second round of rookie drafts, there are options at several positions depending on roster needs, with some personal favorites at each position to choose from. Both Tre Harris and Jayden Higgins are two Day 2 wide receivers that I have more faith in for fantasy than first-round Matthew Golden, with reasons highlighted in content listed at the top of this piece. Similar feelings for James Pearce Jr. and Mike Green over Shemar Stewart, Jalon Walker, and Mykel Williams who are all ranked after them.
Click here for more draft tools:
NFL Draft Big Board | Mock Draft Simulator | NCAA Premium Stats
2025 PFF Draft Guide | Mock Draft Hub | Prospect Data Profiles
Draft Position Rankings
Superflex PPR pre-draft rookie rankings
| Rank | Position | Player | Team | Projected Pick |
| 1 | RB | Ashton Jeanty | Boise State | 7th overall |
The choice at 1.01, even in superflex formats, should not be overthought here, at least as far as I’m concerned, since the quarterbacks in this class are not on par with quarterbacks of years past, especially when compared with an elite running back prospect like Jeanty.
| Rank | Position | Player | Team | Projected Pick |
| 2 | WR/DB | Travis Hunter | Colorado | 3rd overall |
| 3 | QB | Cam Ward | Miami (FL) | 1st overall |
| 4 | RB | Omarion Hampton | North Carolina | 25th overall |
| 5 | WR | Tetairoa McMillan | Arizona | 11th overall |
| 6 | TE | Tyler Warren | Penn State | 9th overall |
| 7 | QB | Shedeur Sanders | Colorado | 4th overall |
Both Ward and Shedeur Sanders can be picked anywhere amongst this tier, including to start or finish off this group. As mentioned earlier, there shouldn’t be the same value placed on these two quarterbacks as in previous years, so that will push their value down somewhat. Depending on league scoring and roster needs, feel free to sort this group however makes the most sense.
| Rank | Position | Player | Team | Projected Pick |
| 8 | RB | TreVeyon Henderson | Ohio State | 42nd overall |
| 9 | WR | Emeka Egbuka | Ohio State | 33rd overall |
| 10 | WR | Luther Burden III | Missouri | 34th overall |
| 11 | TE | Colston Loveland | Michigan | 18th overall |
Nothing changes with this tier, other than a couple of quarterbacks now having gone ahead of them. This becomes a nice value tier for those rosters who don’t need quarterback help in superflex and can benefit from offensive skill players who naturally get pushed down by superflex draft tendencies.
| Rank | Position | Player | Team | Projected Pick |
| 12 | QB | Jaxson Dart | Ole Miss | 27th overall |
| 13 | ED | Abdul Carter | Penn State | 2nd overall |
| 14 | RB | Cameron Skattebo | Arizona State | 83rd overall |
| 15 | RB | Quinshon Judkins | Ohio State | 53rd overall |
Jaxson Dart has moved into first-round consideration for both the NFL Draft and rookie superflex drafts. Depending on need, landing spot and confidence in Dart, he doesn’t have to be the first pick in this tier, but he’ll likely be in play here based on the expected capital and better college metrics than even those quarterbacks drafted ahead of him.
| Rank | Position | Player | Team | Projected Pick |
| 16 | LB | Jihaad Campbell | Alabama | 19th overall |
| 17 | RB | Bhayshul Tuten | Virginia Tech | 122nd overall |
| 18 | RB | Kaleb Johnson | Iowa | 57th overall |
| 19 | WR | Tre Harris | Ole Miss | 60th overall |
| 20 | WR | Jayden Higgins | Iowa State | 50th overall |
| 21 | WR | Matthew Golden | Texas | 20th overall |
| 22 | ED | James Pearce Jr. | Tennessee | 31st overall |
| 23 | ED | Mike Green | Marshall | 17th overall |
| 24 | LB | Carson Schwesinger | UCLA | 51st overall |
| 24 | LB | Demetrius Knight Jr. | South Carolina | 72nd overall |
This group was broken into two separate tiers in 1-QB format rankings, but with no quarterbacks in the mix, it makes sense to blend them together to let other expected first-round options be in play amongst some highly-ranked running backs and wide receivers that are on par with the top-ranked IDPs.
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