Tue May 6th 2025

10 Rookies I Rank Higher Than Others

This is the week that most of my rookie drafts kick off. I have one that started on Saturday and two that began on Monday. I used the last week to finalize my rookie rankings, and after studying the class one last time by listening to and reading NFL scouts and General Managers talk about the players they drafted, my rookie rankings are final and ready for my rookie drafts. The final article I like to write before rookie drafts begin is about where my rookie rankings differ from the pros at Dynasty League Football (DLF).

As a last step in preparing for rookie drafts, I compare my rankings with other analysts' rankings. I do this to see how my dynasty league-mates, who likely follow the rankings of more well-known analysts, may rank players when drafting against me. The process gives me an idea about which players I am more likely to add to my rosters, given that I rank them higher than consensus.

This year, I found ten rookies that I have ranked five or more spots higher than the pros at DLF, which means I may reach these players and get a lot of shares, or I may benefit by them falling back to me in the draft. Either way, these are ten guys I would like to add to my rosters, and I expect I will often draft if my opponents are using DLF's rankings instead of my own.

RJ Harvey

• Harvey is my 8th-ranked rookie in the class, while he is ranked 14th by DLF.
• His landing spot in Denver and his significant draft capital (2.28) have moved Harvey up into the late first round in my mind. Coach Payton raved about Harvey in his post-draft press conference. He spoke about him as if he settled on drafting Harvey early in the process and told his staff to keep their lips sealed about him. He's an older back who did not play at a top-tier program, but he's an excellent runner who can also be effective in the passing game. He averaged nearly seven yards per carry over his last three seasons and caught 20 passes per season. He's Payton's man. While Payton is one of the most upbeat and positive coaches about his players, I still buy the hype and hope to draft Harvey often late in round one.

Cam Skattebo

• Skattebo is my 15th-ranked rookie in the class, while he is ranked 19th by DLF.
• I've been higher on Skattebo for the entire scouting season, and his landing with the Giants made me like him even more, even if he fell to the fourth round. He only has Tyrone Tracy ahead of him in the lineup. Tracy and Skattebo are excellent pass catchers, but Tracy is far better at pass protection at this early point of their careers, so Tracy will hold down the passing downs role for this year while Skattebo adjusts to the NFL. Still, Skattebo is a far bigger and tougher runner and will instantly become their short-yardage back, possibly taking over the running-down role as the season progresses. He will grow in pass protection and become a reliable running back two for dynasty managers in the future. He's one of the most fun players to watch in this year's class as well as one of the easiest to root for, so I hope I add him to a lot of my teams at the top of the second round or that if league mates use DLF's rankings, I can pick him up in the middle of the second round.

Devin Neal

• Neal is my 22nd-ranked rookie in the class, while he is ranked 43rd by DLF.
• So it looks like Neal is the player I am the most in love with compared to consensus. His sixth-round draft capital should concern dynasty managers, but his landing spot in New Orleans is ideal. Neal was the epitome of consistency in college, touching the ball more than 200 times in each of his last three seasons and totaling more than a thousand yards rushing in each. Plus, he averaged 23 receptions per year over his last three seasons. He's an all-around back I have loved since I started my scouting process. On February 18th, I wrote about him as a player I liked more than others and compared him to Alvin Kamara. Now he's his backup and poised to take over as Kamara ages out in the next year or so. I am not at all surprised that I have him ranked higher than others, but I am very surprised that others have him ranked as low as they do. If my league mates do, too, I will draft Neal in every single league.

Pat Bryant

• Bryant is my 25th-ranked rookie in the class, while he is ranked 31st by DLF.
• Bryant's draft capital, pick 3.10, and coach Payton's comparing him to Michael Thomas caused me to study him again and reconsider his ranking. He scored 17 touchdowns over the last two years, so he's a good red zone weapon, and he's one of the few tall receivers in this year's class at 6'3". The depth chart in Denver is murky but not difficult for him to climb. It will take time for him to establish himself as the WR-2 behind Courtland Sutton, but I believe he can do it. He's a player I'm willing to draft and wait on, primarily given his size, draft capital, and coach Payton's reach on him in the draft. It's as simple as that to me.

DJ Giddens

• Giddens is my 30th-ranked rookie in the class, while he is ranked 37th by DLF.
• Overall, I was disappointed with Gidden's landing spot in Indianapolis. I liked him more than most and wanted him to land on a team where he could compete for the starting job. Jonathan Taylor's presence rules that out. However, if he was drafted as a depth piece to back up an RB-1, I can think of fewer teams I'd rather have to draft him. Taylor gets injured often, making me confident that Giddens will get several starts this year and may prove himself to be the next guy up behind Taylor, though he's not nearly as close to approaching the age cliff as Alvin Kamara. Giddens is a well-rounded back who, like Devin Neal, was highly consistent and well-rounded as a runner and pass catcher at Kansas State. He'll make for a solid backup and an instant starter in dynasty lineups on the weeks that Taylor cannot play. I value that more than the pros at DLF and would draft him in the middle of the third round instead of the top of the fourth, as they suggest. 

Jarquez Hunter

• Hunter is my 31st-ranked rookie in the class, while he is ranked 36th by DLF.
• The Rams drafted Hunter in round four, a round later than they drafted Blake Corum last year, but the fact that they drafted a running back so early has me concerned that they are not as confident in Corum to be Kyren William's backup as I had hoped. Corum did not get many chances last season, but when he did, he didn't do anything outstanding. In February, a college football fantasy guy I follow listed Hunter as his top sleeper at running back, so he has been on my radar. Over the last two weeks, I learned that he was one of the most effective backs in this class in breaking tackles, and one scout I follow said his best trait is that he runs straight ahead and falls forward for a few more yards at the end of almost every run. That's the type of runner coach McVay loves, and he has a plan for Hunter should Williams get hurt, or he may even see him as their future starter. Williams is in the last year of his contract, so I would love to draft a lot of Hunter, just as I did with Corum last year. May the best man win!

Isaac TeSlaa

• TeSlaa is my 36th-ranked rookie in the class, while he is ranked 44th by DLF.
• I'm calling TeSlaa the most confusing pick of the NFL draft and one of the most difficult rookies to rank in this class. He started college at Hillsdale College, where he dominated for two years with 118 receptions for 2116 yards and 19 touchdowns. He played well enough to transfer to Arkansas, where his production significantly dropped to about 30 catches and 500 yards per season. Even so, the Lions drafted him earlier than anyone expected at 3.6. Not only that, they traded two third-round picks to move up to get him. The draft capital is tremendous, but his landing spot is questionable, given the many other weapons in Detroit's passing game. Still, in the end, I could not argue with the draft capital and the fact that the coaching staff will be out to prove something with him since they gave up so much to draft him. I'm banking on the draft capital and am willing to gamble on TeSlaa at the three-four turn rather than at the end of the fourth round, as the pros at DLF suggest.

Tory Horton

• Horton is my 37th-ranked rookie in the class, while he is ranked 46th by DLF.
• After transferring from Nevada, Horton had two very productive seasons at Colorado State, but his last season ended with an injury. Otherwise, he would have stacked up a third productive season at Colorado State and been drafted higher than he was. Still, his landing spot with Seattle is excellent, with only Marques Valdez-Scantling to jump for a starting role in three-receiver sets, and Cooper Kupp is on his last leg. Seattle drafted Ricky White late, too, but a full two rounds later than Horton. In normal-sized dynasty leagues, I'd be glad to draft Horton at the three-four turn and let him wait on my bench while the Seattle wide receiver depth chart gets sorted out this year, and the path is more clear for Horton beyond 2025.

Ollie Gordon

• Gordon is my 41st-ranked rookie in the class, while he is ranked 48th by DLF.
• I hated Gordon's draft capital and landing spot, and I moved him way down my rookie rankings after the draft, but not nearly as far as the pros at DLF did. As a result, I may get a few shares of Gordon in the fourth round of my rookie drafts. He has a steep depth chart to climb, with Devon Achane and Jaylen Wright ahead of him. Alexander Mattison is a proven NFL player, and they picked him up this year, too. Still, late in the draft, I'd be willing to take a chance on the NCAA's leading rusher in 2023. Coach McDaniel comes from the Shanhan tree, which means he's happy to give touches to any running back and stick with the hot one. Gordon's skill set is a difficult match for the kind of running backs that succeed with McDaniels, but I'm willing to draft him late to see if the other guys in front of him fail. After all, only Achane has proven himself to be an NFL starter, and he gets injured often.

Jacory Croskey-Merrit

• Croskey-Merrit is my 42nd-ranked rookie in the class, while he is ranked 56th by DLF.
• Finally, there is my super sleeper, but I assume other savvy managers will see Croskey-Merrit as their sleeper too. I must be higher on him than most if I'd be willing to take a flyer on him in the fourth round instead of the fifth. I love that the Commanders only drafted one running back, Croskey Merrit, and only added Jeremy McNichols in free agency. Brian Robinson was one of the biggest winners after the draft since they did not bring any top-tier competition as many draft analysts predicted they would. Instead, they took a flyer at the end of the last round of the draft, but he has some excellent tape from college, albeit from a few years ago. He's a perfect player to stash on taxi squads or hold through the preseason before the cut day in leagues without taxi squads. He is many other dynasty managers' sleeper pick, though, so I'll have some competition with others and will see who pays up first.

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