The RADical Report: Post 2025 NFL Draft Top 25 Rookies (25-13)

Post Draft Top 25 Rookies

Just like that, another NFL Draft has come and gone. The NFL Draft is almost like an annual holiday for football fans, and one can argue that fans look to the draft weekend more than they do the NFL playoffs or even the Super Bowl! Why? Unlike the postseason, where only a certain number of teams qualify and will play beyond the season’s final week, the NFL Draft represents hopes and dreams for all 32 teams. Each team’s respective class is players that they (and the fanbase) believe can be franchise cornerstones and help to elevate their team to become a championship contender. No player in the draft is irrelevant, not even the final player selected for whom there is a special award. Whether you are the final selection, the top overall selection, a compensatory pick, or sign on with a team as an undrafted free agent, each player beginning his NFL career will have his chance to contribute to his new ball club.

This is true even more so in fantasy football. Rookies are becoming more prominent in fantasy football leagues and are key to many championship teams. Think Jayden Daniels, Puka Nacua, Sam LaPorta, Ja’Marr Chase, and many others who recently became First-year fantasy superstars in Year 1. Some of them you can grab right away in drafts, and others need some time before they get their opportunity.

Who will be the fantasy rookie darling that will be the linchpin to fantasy football glory in 2025? Let’s take a look at some young guns that you should be paying close attention to.

25. Tyler Shough (Louisville) Round 2, Pick 40: New Orleans Saints

The uncertainty of Derek Carr’s Shoulder injury prompted the Saints to take Shough early in the second round. Shough has the prototypical QB look: 6’5″, 219 lbs. Shough also has major collegiate experience, playing at 3 different schools for seven years. He enters the season as the oldest rookie in the league at 25 years old, but with only Spencer Rattler as competition, he has a real shot to win the job on opening day. 

24. Jalen Royals (Utah State) Round 4, Pick 133: Kansas City Chiefs –

In October of 2024, Royals suffered a deltoid tear that cost him the rest of the season, but note what he had accomplished to that point. Royals had 55 receptions for 834 yards with six touchdowns with five games to play. The year prior, Royals finished second in the country with 15 Touchdowns, behind only Brian Thomas at LSU. Royals clearly has talent, and depending on his recovery timetable (he was limited at his pro day because of it), he should push for playing time in the Chiefs’ up-and-down offense. Keep an eye on him because any receiver paired with Patrick Mahomes as his quarterback is worthy of being fantasy-relevant.

23. Elic Ayomanor (Stanford) Round 4, Pick 136: Tennessee Titans

The Titans need help at wide receiver. We have been saying that for years, but they continue to refuse to answer that question. (They had one but then traded him away to my Eagles.) So they turned to Ayomanor, the standout from Stanford who holds the school record for most yards in a game. The team also signed Tyler Lockett just days before the draft. Lockett is 33 and is not the same caliber of player he once was. The Treylon Burks experiment looks to be all but exhausted, and Van Jefferson is nothing more than a career journeyman who is good for a four or five-game-a-year of decent production. Despite being a fourth-round pick, Ayomanor will get his chances to be a go-to receiver for new franchise QB Cam Ward.

22. Harold Fannin (Bowling Green) Round 3, Pick 67: Cleveland Browns

Fannin was one of the most productive Tight Ends in college football last year. In fact, his numbers were better than all of the other Tight Ends in the NFL: 117 Receptions, 1755 yards, and 10 touchdowns. Those are ridiculous numbers for any player, but for a Tight End in College, you rarely hear of that production. While he will almost certainly start as the TE2 behind David Njoku as a rookie, that does not mean he should be ignored completely. For a player who is a hometown hero, dominated his conference, and was named MVP of his bowl game, Fannin is someone who, at the very least, should be on dynasty rosters.

21. Trevor Etienne (Georgia) Round 4, Pick 114: Carolina Panthers

Chuba Hubbard is the unquestioned number 1 player in the backfield for the Panthers in 2025, coming off a career year. Etienne has a direct path to the #2 job with the departure of Miles Sanders, and second-year back Jonathan Brooks is slated to miss a significant amount of playing time due to a second consecutive ACL tear. 

20. Will Howard (Ohio State) Round 6, Pick 185: Pittsburgh Steelers

This fall, it will have been 4 years since Ben Roethlisberger last played for the Steelers, and the team has not found a suitable replacement for him, let alone a Franchise Quarterback. Howard, fresh off a national championship campaign with the Buckeyes, has a chance to step in and be the starter on opening day despite being taken late on Day 3, especially when you consider that the unimpressive Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson are his only competition for the job.

19. Emeka Egbuka (Ohio State) Round 1, Pick 19: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

From a technical standpoint, Egbuka is the best receiver in this class. Between his route-running, sure hands, and pinpoint footwork, there is nothing that he can’t do. The concern however, is his landing spot in Tampa Bay; Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are still one of the best 1-2 punches at receiver in the league, and Jalen McMillan will only improve on his promising 37-461-8 rookie campaign. Factor in Cade Otton and backfield tandem Bucky Irving and Rachaad White, who each had at least 47 receptions in 2024, and one can only wonder how much Emeka Egbuka will be a factor in his rookie year. If anything, from a fantasy perspective, QB Baker Mayfield stands to benefit the most from this selection.

18. Tre Harris (Ole Miss) Round 2, Pick 55: Chargers

Last year, the Chargers hit on Ladd McConkey big time. Unfortunately, McConkey was their only consistent receiver the entire season. Despite a career 9-197-1 against the Texans, the team still lost 20, in part because of an unreliable second option. Harris will look to fill that void for the team. This selection is noteworthy because Quentin Johnston, the team’s first-rounder from two years ago, is terribly inconsistent and has not developed into the big-play threat they hoped for. Perhaps Harris’ selection will light a fire under him, or maybe Harris comes in and takes over as the team’s second option.

17. Mason Taylor (LSU) Round 2, Pick 42: New York Jets

Having Hall of Fame roots in the NFL is a good reference point for any young player to have to begin his career. The son of Hall of Famer Jason Taylor and nephew of Hall of Fame Linebacker Zach Thomas, Mason Taylor doesn’t have to look far for the blueprint on what it takes to be successful in the NFL. Being selected in the 2nd round, the Jets want him to be a featured part of their new-look offense, and if he can hit the ground running and establish a good rapport with QB Justin Fields, Taylor has the tools to quickly be a prominent part of the passing game.

16. Luther Burden III (Missouri) Round 2, Pick 39: Chicago Bears

The Bears are doing everything they can to help Caleb Williams be a success, and they added several offensive stars who are potential game-changers in the draft. After their first round tight end pick (more on him shortly), they added Burden, the hard-nosed receiver who specializes in yards after the catch. Burden, who many had pegged as first-round talent, joins a receiver room with DJ Moore and Rome Odunze, two strong possession receivers in their own right. His fantasy value is a bit clouded right now, but he has the talent to emerge and have some productive games as a rookie.

15. Jayden Higgins (Iowa State) Round 2, Pick 34: Houston Texans

With no Tank Dell available because of his knee injury until sometime in 2026, the Texans needed another receiver to take pressure off Nico Collins. In Higgins, the Texans get another big-bodied receiver who can also stretch the field like Dell can. Higgins was the first receiver off the board in round 2, which means the team thinks highly of him and expects him to complement Collins and be another reliable target for CJ Stroud. Higgins has some flex appeal for the moment, but keep an eye on him as the season progresses and he settles into his role on the team.

14. Colston Loveland (Michigan) Round 1, Pick 10: Chicago Bears

The fact that new coach Ben Johnson made Loveland the first Tight End off the board tells me that he has big plans for him to be an immediate contributor in the offense. Cole Kmet operates as the traditional in-line Tight End, while Loveland is a joker who lines up everywhere in the formation: out wide, offset, some in-line, and maybe even in the backfield. The Bears may employ a lot of “12 personnel” in 2025 (one running back, two tight ends), and should they do that, Loveland will get chances to truly show his skill, which he was not always capable of doing during his days playing for the run-oriented Michigan offense.

13. Jack Bech (TCU) Round 2, Pick 58: Las Vegas Raiders

Selected in the late second round, the path to playing time for Jack Bech is wide open in the Raiders receiving room. Jakobi Meyers is the only established receiver from last season. But even then, Bech has a solid chance to supplant him as the teams new number one target. Raiders quarterback Geno Smith is the new “kid” on the block and will need time to develop chemistry with his new teammates, and the leading receiver from TCU, who is still enduring a terrible family tragedy, will be motivated to be first in line to help his new quarterback’s transition.