The 2025 fantasy rookie class offers a fascinating contrast to last year’s group. Where 2024 was generational at QB and WR but weak elsewhere, 2025 shapes up as possibly the strongest RB class ever and has depth across the board, although far fewer top end talents.

With so much depth and a small group of truly elite talents, landing spot and draft capital will be vitally important to many of the players in this class. Some will likely rise above any situation, but many have skillsets that will translate significantly better in certain environments.

Team-Proof Studs

Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State

This one needs the least amount of explanation. Jeanty is one of the best collegiate running back prospects of all-time, having amassed more rushing yards than anyone other than Barry Sanders in FBS history. He’s also versatile, with solid pass-catching ability he mostly benched in 2024 in order to chase history. He’s both guaranteed to get first-round draft capital and totally situation-proof. Any backfield that adds him would immediately be blown up in his favor. He’s the top pick in rookie drafts of all formats

Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona

McMillan has largely topped the rookie WR class for the entirety of the offseason thus far. There’s more doubt about that after McMillan didn’t test at the combine and others at the position did, but McMillan remains a lock first rounder. His landing spot has a ton of variability; he could go as high as No. 4 to the Patriots or fall to the mid-20s. His skillset, however, as a tall, smooth leaper with elite hands, is one that will play no matter where he’s drafted. He should go no later than 4th overall in rookie drafts at the moment.

Omarion Hampton, RB, North Carolina

The RB2 in the 2025 class was a matter of significant debate for the first part of the offseason, but after the combine, it’s clearly Hampton. He led the class in relative athletic score (RAS) at the showcase in Indianapolis, highlighted by a 4.48 40-yard dash at 221 pounds. There are definitely certain situations where Hampton would benefit from going the most, such as the Cowboys at 12, the Broncos at 20 or the Chargers at 22, but Hampton seems like a darn good pure runner who will get solid draft capital and succeed regardless.

Matthew Golden, WR, Texas

A month ago, there’s no chance I would’ve listed Golden as the second WR in this group. Heck, his college teammate Isaiah Bond was supposed to be pace-setting speedster at the combine. But after Golden’s 4.29 40-yard dash, he’s now the standout athletic tester of this position. That performance likely locks him into at least the latter half of the first round, where there are tons of attractive land spots. A guy with that kind of speed and an intriguing breakout season in college will fit basically anywhere. He’s the film watchers favorite receiver prospect in this draft with the testing to match. He’s so toolsy that he’s worth drafting with a late first round rookie pick in any situation.

Cam Skattebo, RB, Arizona State

Going to go a ways down the board for this next one. Skattebo runs like an angry rhino and produced like crazy in college, frequently making big plays in big games. Whether that translates to the pros doesn’t feel situation dependent. Either the skills translate, or they don’t. Sure, one of the running back needy teams taking him in the second or third round would help his draft stock in rookie drafts. But with Skattebo choosing not to run the 40-yard dash at the combine, the lingering questions about his speed remain. If his unique skillset and competitive fire translate well to the NFL, he’ll make a significant impact no matter where he lands.

Situation-Dependent Rookies

Cam Ward, QB, Miami

Ward has emerged as clearly the best QB prospect in this year’s draft. Very rarely do top QB prospects start as FCS players, which underscores some of the variability in Ward’s pedigree. He’s an insanely prolific collegiate passer, and he has a ton of physical traits that make him a high-ceiling passer at the next level. His main weakness is that he’s erratic and turnover prone, and his profile will require significant organizational support for success. Ward isn’t a QB I’d trust to transcend the teams that always screw up their QBs like the Browns and Jets, who are two of the possible landing spots for him. You’d hope Ward lands with a team that generally knows what they’re doing, although that seems fairly unlikely given the candidates to draft him. He’s still worth a first-round rookie pick on principle though.

Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Colorado

Hunter’s situation is pretty straightforward. He’s the best WR in this class, but he might not play much WR in the NFL. If he’s primarily a CB, even if he sees significant time at WR, he’s going to be an inconsistent fantasy asset if he’s not full-time on offense. So Hunter is the most team-dependent fantasy rookie, because his value would skyrocket, arguably to a Top 2 asset in the class, were a team to draft him in the top five and make him a primary WR. There are indications the Browns primarily view Hunter as a WR, and the Patriots could be another WR primary spot for him, since their best player is shutdown corner Christian Gonzalez. Hunter is situation-proof as long as he plays primarily WR, but his situation will dictate his position.

Luther Burden III, WR, Missouri

Burden was a five-star high school recruit, and deserves credit for sticking with his hometown school in Missouri, despite the ding their crappy QB situation had on his production in 2024. I’m convinced Burden will play a dynamic NFL role regardless of where he lands, but he would thrive in a system that will manufacture touches for him. He profiles similarly to a player like Deebo Samuel, who thrives as an underneath playmaker. A team willing to run sweeps, screens and crossers with Burden, as well as a team whose other main option is a more traditional downfield receiver, would accentuate Burden’s abilities.

Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State

I don’t think Warren needs to go to a certain team in order to succeed as an NFL player. However, his value as a fantasy asset will fluctuate depending on how his team deploys him. Warren fits the George Kittle mold as a traditional blocking tight end who also excels as a receiver. Most of the better fantasy tight ends in the NFL are more pure receiving types than Kittle and Warren, so this isn’t exactly the conventional fantasy TE profile. But where Warren excels in a unique way is almost as a Taysom Hill-like Swiss Army Knife. He can line up anywhere TEs and H-backs line up, and something I’m particularly going to keep my eye on with Warren is if he’s drafted to a team without a Tush Push quarterback, provided the play isn’t outlawed. He could pick up regular cheap fantasy points on short yardage plays, similar to how the Ravens began using Mark Andrews. If the team that drafts Warren truly taps into his versatility, that’s a game changer.

Bhayshul Tuten, RB, Virginia Tech

Tuten was the big winner of the combine at the RB position, as he vaulted from the depths of the position to somewhere around the back half of the top ten in this loaded RB class. Tuten has track star speed and explosiveness but below-average size. His impressive combine, which included a 4.32 40-yard dash, has vaulted him firmly into Day 2 consideration, but that draft capital is a new enough concept that it’s worth wondering if Tuten will get a clear path to starter reps or not. He’s got the skillset to form an awesome complement to a more powerful runner, but his situation dependence revolves around whether he’ll get three-down opportunity.