Ultimate Rookie Report week 0 2025

Welcome back to another year of the Ultimate Rookie Report! There is an overwhelming number of players that could legitimately make an impact on a week to week basis for their teams, which means fantasy points galore! It is going to be a busy season tracking 59 different players (and that’s before undrafted kids start popping off), so I’ll be brief here, but I truly believe we’re in for a fun season.

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Quarterbacks

QB	ESPN	Sleeper	NFL	Avg
Cam Ward	162.57	162.1	164	162.89
Shedeur Sanders	166.91	209.5	206	194.14
Jaxson Dart	168.8	248.2	248	221.67
Jalen Milroe	169.76	none	286	227.88
Tyler Shough	170.09	none	342	256.05
Dillon Gabriel	170.06	none	474	322.03

For now, there’s only one quarterback even worth looking at and that’s Cam Ward. He is one of the least talked about first overall picks from the draft that I can remember. Personally, I don’t love the situation at wide receiver in Tennessee, but I didn’t like Washington’s last year either, so what do I know? Dart is a decent stash on the bench if you want. He looked very good in the preseason and didn’t even have Malik Nabers to throw to and Malik Nabers made Daniel Jones and Drew Lock look good. I’ve also heard a rumor that Seattle wants to use Jalen Milroe in a Taysom Hill-like role but I have to see it before I believe it. Anyone else isn’t worth the virtual bench space.

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Wide Receiver

WR	ESPN	Sleeper	NFL	Avg
Travis Hunter	76.13	66.8	61	67.98
Tetairo McMillan	83.67	61.7	73	72.79
Matthew Golden	99.92	96.2	120	105.37
Emeka Egbuka	127.35	101.4	146	124.91
Jayden Higgins	140.78	114.1	205	153.29
Tre Harris	170.03	148.3	161	159.78
Luther Burden	167.53	155.2	210	177.58
Kyle Williams	169.65	167.5	222	186.38
Dont’e Thornton	170.36	180.3	219	189.89
Jack Bech	169.64	187.3	235	197.31
Isaac TeSlaa	169.64	244.3	237	216.98
Jimmy Horn	169.87	none	304	236.94
Elic Ayomanor	170	233.3	327	243.33
Tory Horton	169.86	246.2	344	253.35
Pat Bryant	170.67	226.3	384	260.32
Jaylin Noel	170.15	253	368	263.71
Jalen Royals	169.93	234	436	279.98
Tai Felton	169.95	none	457	313.48
KeAndre Lambert-Smith	169.93	none	464	316.97
Jaylin Lane	169.96	none	506	337.98
Jordan Watkins	169.97	none	698	433.99
Savion Williams	169.97	none	764	466.99

There is a lot to like on the wide receiver front. Travis Hunter won a Heisman last year playing two sides of the ball, but that’s precisely why I am fading him. It’s just too risky not knowing how much he’ll play offense versus defense every week, and the more you’re on the field the higher chance you have to get hurt. I REALLY like the kid and hope he does well, but I just don’t see him as fantasy viable, especially at his ADP. Tetairoa McMillan is GIANT and catches everything around him and,  as a Panthers fan, I sure hope he becomes the true number one this team has needed since Steve Smith left. Matthew Golden ran a 4.29 40 in the combine and has looked like he could be THE guy in a Packers room full of pretty good guys. I hated seeing Emeka Egbuka drafted to the Buccaneers because he was another great player in a crowded wide receiver room UNTIL Jalen McMillan got hurt. Chris Godwin still hasn’t practiced from an ankle injury he sustained last season, so Egbuka could easily take the WR2 job in Tampa and never give it back. I am personally excited about Dont’e Thornton. The only player as big (6’5) and as fast (4.3 40 yard dash) has been Calvin Johnson. I liked his prospects a lot better before the Raiders signed Amari Cooper, but there’s still hope he could surprise people. Tory Horton is also a name to watch in deep drafts. Had he not had a season ending knee injury last year, he would have easily been drafted significantly higher than the fifth round. This is a very fun group with a lot of possibilities.

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Running Back

RB	ESPN	Sleeper	NFL	Avg
Ashton Jeanty	10.2	11.8	12	11.33
Omarion Hampton	45.81	41.4	48	45.07
TreVeyon Henderson	65.72	64.4	63	64.37
RJ Harvey	91.23	62.3	72	75.18
Kaleb Johnson	101.53	79.1	81	87.21
Quinshon Judkins	129.89	76.7	93	99.86
Cam Skattebo	123.3	99	99	107.1
Jaydon Blue	162.18	145.8	152	153.33
Bhayshul Tuten	169.17	172.5	159	166.89
Dylan Sampson	165.65	174.1	256	198.58
Jacory Croskey-Merritt	170.22	212.2	221	201.14
Trevor Etienne	170.18	none	260	215.09
Ollie Gordon	170.17	255.1	290	238.42
Kyle Monangai	170.15	230.5	319	239.88
DJ Giddens	170.44	235.8	317	241.08
Jordan James	170.12	269	325	254.71
Woody Marks	170.65	215.4	385	257.02
Brashard Smith	170.1	254	369	264.37
Damien Martinez	169.97	none	395	282.49
Tahj Brooks	170.12	250.3	434	284.8
Jarquez Hunter	170.31	233	555	319.44
Devin Neal	170.18	236.6	595	333.93
Kalel Mullings	169.99	none	890	530

THERE ARE SO MANY POTENTIAL STARTERS HERE. Personal side story: Last year in my dynasty league, I was literally scouring the waiver wire for fullbacks hoping to get 2 points in a week (shout out to my personal hero Hunter Luepke). I drafted 5 RBs this year and I cannot begin to explain how excited I am about that. Everyone already knows about Ashton Jeanty. Pairing him with head coach Pete Carroll only makes him more enticing. Omarion Hampton is in position to lead the Chargers. TreVeyon Henderson has looked electric in the preseason. RJ Harvey goes to a Broncos team who desperately needed some juice in the backfield. Kaleb Johnson will be the big back grinding it out for the Steelers. Jacory (Bill) Croskey-Merritt only has a 30 year old Austin Ekeler in his way, who looked like a shell of his former self last season. I even lowkey like Kyle Monangai being the David Montgomery role in Ben Johnson’s Bears offense. Cam Skattebo and Bhayshul Tuten both have the chance to steal starting jobs as well if you want to gamble a little. So so so much potential here, I can’t even stand it.

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Tight Ends

TE	ESPN	Sleeper	NFL	Avg
Tyler Warren	127.14	92.4	105	108.18
Colston Loveland	125.64	104.1	113	114.25
Elijay Arroyo	169.83	187.3	270	209.04
Mason Taylor	170.23	204.2	267	213.81
Terrance Ferguson	169.93	262.1	356	262.68
Harold Fannin	169.91	265.3	435	290.07
Gunnar Helm	169.94	none	552	360.97
Mitchell Evans	169.91	none	753	461.46

As fantasy managers, do we even really expect anything out of this position? If it’s not the top 3 guys, it’s a dart throw. Warren, Loveland, and Ferguson are all decent darts. Arroyo, Taylor and Fannin could be fun gambles. Choose your own adventure here, but after two seasons of having incredible rookies come out at this position, I just don’t see it happening again.

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Kickers

I’ll look into this once the season starts. I still laugh about the Buccaneers trading up to draft Roberto Aguayo.  

I am just incredibly excited to see how this season turns out. There’s so many players that could legitimately have big weeks and I cannot wait to see how it all shakes out. I really don’t know what to expect, but here is my attempt at the top 20 rookies for next year. Good luck to all the fantasy managers out there (but especially to those who read this article every week).

20	Tre Harris
19	Terrance Ferguson
18	Tyler Warren
17	Tory Horton
16	Dylan Sampson
15	Jayden Higgins
14	Travis Hunter
13	Colston Loveland
12	Jaydon Blue
11	Dont’e Thornton
10	Emeka Egbuka
9	Kaleb Johnson
8	Jacory Croskey-Merritt
7	TreVeyon Henderson
6	RJ Harvey
5	Matthew Golden
4	Tetairoa McMillan
3	Cam Ward
2	Omarion Hampton
1	Ashton Jeanty

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