Fantasy football rookie sleepers for 2025

Fantasy football draft season is in full gear and many of you will have important roster decisions to make ahead of Thursday’s season opener between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles.

In re-draft leagues, selecting rookies for your rosters can be a risky proposition considering that you’re putting your faith in unproven commodities who have yet to take a single snap of regular-season NFL football. Even top projected rookies for this season like Ashton Jeanty or Omarion Hampton comes with a bit of risk because we simply do not know how they will perform or what their usage will be until season begins.

That is especially true for lower ranked first-year players and whether you scoop them up late in your draft or out of the free agent pool, there is no better feeling than an under-the-radar rookie breaking out. Puka Nacua entered his rookie season with an ADP (average draft position) of 293 overall in PPR leagues and he ended the year as a top-five fantasy wideout. Bucky Irving was on average the 52nd running back being selected last year and he ended the campaign in the top 15.

Below, we’ll shout out a handful of potential rookie sleepers that you should keep an eye out for in your respective drafts. We’re not saying to bank on them having a historic first year like the aforementioned Nacua. But if you’re filling some roster needs towards the end and you come across one of these names, just give it some thought. We’ll use PPR rankings for reference. Let’s dive in.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Washington Commanders

ADP: RB31, 104 overall

The secret may be out about Croskey-Merritt’s potential as a rookie breakout for the Commanders and he could end up playing a big role for a team looking to get back to the NFC Championship Game. The seventh-round pick was so impressive during training camp that the organization made the decision to trade lead running back Brian Robinson Jr. to San Francisco. It is unclear how many touches JCM will get as a rookie, but there are some clues that he could be in line for plenty of work out the gate. Washington decided to sit both him and presumed starter Austin Ekeler in their preseason finale against the Baltimore Ravens, possibly indicating that he is second on the depth chart. And there’s a chance that he can even eventually cement himself as the team’s first and second-down back with the 30-year-old Ekeler primarily being used in passing situations.

Dylan Sampson, Cleveland Browns

ADP: RB54, 179 overall

The Browns are a mess for a variety of reasons as usual and that presents some opportunities for some unexpected faces to step up. Case in point the rookie Sampson, who appears to be the team’s RB2 ahead of their season-opener against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Tennessee product was selected in the fourth round of this year’s draft and was expected to be slotted behind second-round pick Quinshon Judkins out of Ole Miss. However, Judkins’ offseason contract/legal situations opened the door for Sampson to get extra reps in training camp and he made the most of it. Jerome Ford will enter the year as RB1 in Cleveland, but it would not be a shock to the rookie splitting carries with him.

Isaac TeSlaa, Detroit Lions

ADP: WR68, 220 overall

TeSlaa is another rookie that put himself on fantasy radars during training camp and the entire football world may know his name soon enough. The 6’4” third-round receiver from Arkansas was a big-play weapon for the Lions all throughout the preseason, recording 10 receptions for 146 yards and three touchdowns through three exhibitions. Not only did he make the 53-man roster, the team trading veteran Tim Patrick is a possible indicator that the staff plans on getting him on the field a lot this year. He’ll obviously sit behind Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams on the depth chart, but he should quickly emerge as yet another dangerous pass-catcher within the Detroit offense.

Elic Ayomanor, Tennessee Titans

ADP: WR85, 281 overall

Ayomanor was taken in the fourth round of this year’s draft after a college career at Stanford where he combined for 1,844 yards of 125 receptions and 12 touchdowns through two seasons. If his name sounds vaguely familiar for you, he notably dominated Travis Hunter in 2023 during the Cardinal’s dramatic 46-43 double-overtime comeback victory over Colorado that season. The Canadian-born wideout has been building chemistry with No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward throughout the offseason and have potential to be a viable duo in the AFC South for years to come. Even with veterans like Calvin Ridley and Tyler Lockett present, he’s bound to get plenty of snaps throughout the season and could be a savvy pickup towards the end of drafts.

Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland Browns

ADP: TE35, 292 overall

As mentioned with Sampson, there are opportunities out there for young Browns players to step up this year in the midst of so much personnel turmoil and Fannin fits into that category. The 6’3”, 241-pound target was taken in the third round after a historic 2024 season at Bowling Green where he led all of FBS in receiving with 117 catches for 1,555 yards and 10 touchdowns. His skills as a tight end/receiver hybrid has turned heads throughout training camp and even Joe Flacco thinks that he’ll play a big role in the offense. Cleveland is poised to run more 12 personnel like it did early in Kevin Stefanski’s tenure, creating opportunities for the rookie to see the field alongside starter David Njoku. And with Njoku being 29 with injury history, there is great breakout potential for Fannin right out the gate.