The 2025 NFL Draft comes to a close today with the final four rounds. Follow along for analysis of the opening round’s impact on fantasy football plans for the upcoming season and beyond.
Fantasy draft season may not be close to hitting its crescendo, but hardcore gamers have been selecting players prior to the conclusion of the collegiate bowl season. It’s time to let the real fun begin!
Also see: Day 1 | Day 2
Round 4 fantasy football notables
103) WR Chimere Dike, Tennessee Titans: The former Florida Gator is a big play in the making, thanks to 4.34 speed to burn. He remains raw as a route runner and will need time to develop. Dike (pronounced Dee-kay) will be eased into action through selected shots down the field. The Titans have older starters to help him learn the ropes, and gamers will have a vertical threat to consider perhaps as soon as 2026.
104) RB Bhayshul Tuten, Jacksonville Jaguars: The 5-foot-9, 206-pounder is quicker than fast, was highly productive at Virginia Tech, and offers exceptional receiving skills out of the backfield. He’ll be worked in as a change of pace to Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby, but it’s difficult to envision a fantasy-relevant role in Year 1 without the help of an injury.
105) RB Cam Skattebo, New York Giants: A dazzling battering ram, Skattebo (pronounced Scat-e-boo) joins Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Devin Singletary in an already capable backfield. Skattebo prefers to go through than around a defender but has pretty quick feet and is capable of contributing across the board. While he may see specialty touches to mix things up, it will require an injury to get him onto the field with regularity. Tuck away his name, which sounds like something out of an Andy Reid commercial, as a possible waiver pick.
108) WR Dont’e Thornton Jr., Las Vegas Raiders: The prototypical Al Davis selection, Thornton is a freaky blend of size and speed with a lethal vertical element the Raiders can utilize as early as Week 1. Expecting frequent fantasy contributions in 2025 is asking a bit much, though, barring an injury between now and opening day.
110) WR Arian Smith, New York Jets: The skinny wideout has a north-south nature about him and could develop into a worthwhile pro one day, but he needs to expand his routes and, most importantly, improve at catching the ball. Smith is irrelevant at this time, though the Georgia product’s upside is evident with proper coaching.
114) RB Trevor Etienne, Carolina Panthers: Consider him an insurance policy entering 2025. Jonathon Brooks re-tore his ACL last year and probably will miss this season. Chuba Hubbard was dinged late in the year, so Carolina added Rico Dowdle via free agency. Etienne isn’t quite as talented as his brother in Jacksonville, but the rookie could find himself a role with some assistance. Watch-list material for now….
116) RB Woody Marks, Houston Texans: There’s a future for this USC product in the NFL and fantasy, but it will require an injury to at least Joe Mixon for Marks to be relevant in 2025.
117) RB Jarquez Hunter, Los Angeles Rams: This rookie brings some much-needed juice to the LA backfield, offering a very different skill set from Kyren Williams and Blake Corum. Expect a role for Hunter in 2025, albeit as a change-of-pacer, making him no better than a waiver option.
120) TE Gunnar Helm, Tennessee Titans: No tight end in Texas school history was more productive over a single season than Helm’s 2024 campaign. He offers size, movement traits, crisp routes, and capable hands — there’s TE1 potential here in time, but he enters the season buried on the depth chart.
126) RB Dylan Sampson, Cleveland Browns: A smaller back with explosiveness, Sampson should operate as the lightning to Quinshon Judkins‘ thunder, provided the Tennessee product looks the part in camp. There’s potential for PPR fantasy utility early in the season, and we’ll closely monitor his role during the summer, but he’s absolutely worthy of a late-round fantasy flier.
128) WR Jaylin Lane, Washington Commanders: Lane is adept at making people miss in space and creating yardage for himself. He’s undersized for the outside but has slot utility. Finding him a role in 2025 is unlikely when considering the weapons around him. This one is all about building for the future.
133) WR Jalen Royals, Kansas City Chiefs: Cue the MLB jokes. Immediate access to acceleration, a compactly built frame (6-foot, 205 pounds) that helps him break tackles, and a natural feel for exploiting zone coverage, Royals has long-term potential in fantasy. KC sports a bunch of options in the passing game, so something has to give on that front to get Royals into the Kansas City lineup.
136) WR Elic Ayomanor, Tennessee Titans: Heady, tough, and a nifty route runner, Ayomanor’s glaring weakness: catching the ball. Not ideal for a wide receiver. The long-term outlook isn’t great, but size and strength could keep him around as a blocking receiver. The fantasy appeal is scant.
138) WR Jordan Watkins, San Francisco 49ers: The passing game remains in flux with the trade of Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk trying to recover from a devastating injury. Watkins could emerge as an early-season contributor with a strong offseason, and he makes for an ideal fit in a Kyle Shanahan offense. Keep tabs on his summer progress.
Round 5 fantasy football notables
144) QB Shedeur Sanders, Cleveland Browns: The wait is over, and Sanders is now the second quarterback drafted by Cleveland this year. He enters a crowded room with multiple veterans ahead of him, so he’ll need to prove his worth. Sanders is extremely accurate, good at distributing the ball, and tough as nails. Conversely, the former Colorado star lacks mobility and takes far too many hits. Can he win the starting job in 2025? Sure. Will he? Remains to be seen, of course. He’s a good fit for this offense, but there’s no guarantee Sanders starts a single game this year.
147) RB Jordan James, San Francisco 49ers: At best, James enters as the third-stringer, but he has a chance to ascend with Christian McCaffrey‘s injury concerns. For now, this Oregon back is a late-round curiosity for deep fantasy leagues, but he fits the offense well and could shine if given a chance.
149) RB Jaydon Blue, Dallas Cowboys: Small and fast, Blue will compete for change-of-pace work with Deuce Vaughn. There’s virtually no chance of a primary role for the 196-pound Texas product, but Blue is a fine contrast to the less explosive Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders.
151) RB DJ Giddens, Indianapolis Colts: Teams tend to draft similar players when they find something that works, and Giddens reminds of Jonathan Taylor in many ways. He’s a bigger back with plus speed and gamebreaking ability once he gets into the third level. The Kansas Stater heads to Indy as a fine backup candidate and eventual replacement for Taylor, who has been no stranger to injuries in recent years, so maybe that happens sooner than expected. Khalil Herbert will have something to say about that, however, at least in the short term.
165) TE Oronde Gadsden II, Los Angeles Chargers: Son of a former NFL wide receiver, Gadsden brings an athletic playmaker to the TEs room in LA. He’ll start on the pine learning behind Tyler Conklin and Will Dissly, so playing time in 2025 may not be there, but Gadsden presents some intrigue for future fantasy use.
Remaining fantasy football notables
179) RB Ollie Gordon II, Miami Dolphins: A powerful back, who led FBS play in rushing yards in 2023, comes to South Beach as a nice complement to the more dynamic De’Von Achane. However, Gordon may have to wait with the likes of Alexander Mattison and Jaylen Wright ahead of him on the depth chart. In time, fantasy gamers could be happy to insert Gordon into their lineups.
184) RB Devin Neal, New Orleans Saints: Rarely does a sixth-rounder get a legit opportunity to make a dent as a rookie, but Neal enters a prime situation. Alvin Kamara is getting up there in age, and backup Kendre Miller cannot stay on the field long enough to do damage to anything but his own body. Neal offers some of the same traits as Kamara, and he was quite productive at Kansas the last few years. He’ll be a worthwhile gamble late in 2025 fantasy drafts.
185) QB Will Howard, Pittsburgh Steelers: It took until Round 6 before Pittsburgh added a quarterback, but they found a local favorite and national champion in Howard. Reports point to Aaron Rodgers signing soon … since he has probably has only a year left in him, Howard may have to wait for his time. Once granted a chance, the Ohio State alum brings moxie, rushing skills, and enough aerial traits to mold him into a fringe starting fantasy quarterback in time.
189) QB Riley Leonard, Indianapolis Colts: Given the shaky quarterback situation ahead of him with Daniel Jones battling Anthony Richardson, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if we get a late-season look at Leonard. He’s athletic and more than capable of chewing up yardage with his feet, which helps for fantasy purposes. In dynasty formats, he has slight appeal as a flier if you carry over an entire roster.
193) RB Tahj Brooks, Cincinnati Bengals: Chase Brown stole the show in 2024 but ended the year on the mend, though it shouldn’t carry over into this season. Nevertheless, it could be a sign of things to come, and Brooks was added as insurance. He’s a thickly built 5-foot-9, 214 pounds, and Texas Tech’s all-time leading rusher should be worked in to help spell Brown. Zack Moss and Samaje Perine stand in his way, but for how long if Brooks shines in the offseason?
231) QB Quinn Ewers, Miami Dolphins: The front office finally did something to address the backup position in this draft, and Ewers has only Zach Wilson standing in front of him as Tua Tagovailoa‘s primary reserve. We all know Tua’s storied injury history, and one more severe hit could spell the end of his career. Ewers is more talented than being a Round 7 pick, but that also makes him easily expendable should the NFL not come easily to the Texas starter.
