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2025 Post-Combine Dynasty Fantasy Football Rookie Draft Tiers

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Ashton Jeanty | Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Tim Riordan Posted On March 11, 2025
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With the NFL Combine in the rearview mirror, the dynasty off-season has officially kicked off. We know so much more about these prospects right now than we did in mid-February. While many of the high-end prospects didn’t do much at the Combine, some sleepers have emerged from the week in Indianapolis, as have some concerns.

Rookie Ranking Tiers

Ranking tiers are important in any fantasy draft, but especially in dynasty rookie drafts. The game is all about maximizing the value of these picks and making the most of them. There is more trading in rookie drafts than there is in any other fantasy draft, so you need to know where the drop-offs are and when to jump on your favorite sleepers. Maybe you find yourself sitting right at the point of a major drop-off, and it’s time to start working on trade offers to move up. Maybe you hold the last pick in a certain tier, and you know your fellow managers will be desperate to move up into that tier once you’re on the clock.

The 2025 Dynasty Rookie Draft

This is a great year to need a running back or a tight end in your rookie drafts. There’s plenty of talent to be had at those two positions. It’s a bit atypical, as recently it’s been the quarterbacks and the wide receivers that have dominated headlines.

That isn’t to say that there aren’t some exciting wide receivers in this class, but it’ll take a bit more skill and luck to find the diamonds of this class. Last year, there were four or five obvious names at the top. This year, that tier of receiver doesn’t exist.

Without further ado, here are the DLF Dynasty Rookie Rankings broken up into tiers.

Tier One

1.01 – Ashton Jeanty, RB

All but one of our expert rankers have Jeanty as the number one pick off the board, and he should be. Jeanty dominated the college game, and the only thing that kept him from being the first running back Heisman Trophy winner since Derrick Henry was an other-worldly season from Travis Hunter. Jeanty is a lock to be a first-round pick, and will likely be a top ten pick. Bijan Robinson and Saquon Barkley are the only top ten picks at running back since 2017.

Tier Two

1.02 – Tetairoa McMillan, WR

1.03 – Omarion Hampton, RB

1.04 – Luther Burden, WR

Hampton dominated the NFL Combine and was one of the winners of the running back position. After his 4.46 40-yard dash, and some dominant jumps, he should be locked into a first-round pick, if not a very early second-round pick. Right now, I would personally take him over both of the wide receivers in this tier.

McMillan and Burden both saw their stocks fall at the NFL Combine while some of the other wide receivers looked more impressive. Some mock drafts have moved McMillan off of the top wide receiver spot, and knocked Burden outside of the first round. Their tape and college production is the best of the group though, keeping their ranking this high for now. But, if we see them slip in the NFL Draft, there could be a chance the top wide receivers in this draft class dip even lower.

 

 

Tier Three

1.05 – Quinshon Judkins, RB

1.06 – Kaleb Johnson, RB

1.07 – Emeka Egbuka, WR

1.08 – TreVeyon Henderson, RB

The third tier of this class has to be called the Ohio State tier, even though Kaleb Johnson sneaks his way in there at six overall. The three Ohio State prospects are bunched together here, with the transfer out of Ole Miss Judkins getting the edge. He’s the most exciting of the group for me. He is built like an every-down running back and he ran like one at Ole Miss. He joined a committee backfield at Ohio State last season, which could actually do wonders towards saving his legs for the pros. Getting Judkins at five overall seems like a winning pick to me.

Johnson and Henderson represent a massive tier drop at running back for now. After Henderson is ranked at eight, we don’t see another back in the rankings until Dylan Sampson at pick 18. If you’re at the end of the first, and you need a high-end running back on your team, you may need to trade up into the top eight to make that happen.

Tier Four

1.09 – Tyler Warren, TE

1.10 – Colston Loveland, TE

1.11 – Matthew Golden, WR

1.12 – Elic Ayomanor, WR

2.01 – Tre Harris, WR

2.02 – Travis Hunter, WR/CB

2.03 – Jayden Higgins, WR

Tier four starts with the first two tight ends in the rankings, followed by a bunching of interesting names at wide receiver. Warren was a beast for Penn State last season, and made himself into a household name during the College Football Playoffs. He’s a do-it-all type of player, Taysom Hill with six times the talent. Loveland is an elite pass-catcher who is still only 20 years old. He’ll develop with his NFL team and could have a similar ceiling to Trey McBride or Sam LaPorta. With several elite options at tight end starting to age out, it’s a great year to get younger at that position and go for one of these guys in the first round.

Of the wide receivers in this tier, Travis Hunter stands out the most. It is my opinion that Hunter will not sniff the second round in any post-draft rookie drafts. So, if you’re in a pre-draft one, and you can get Hunter at this spot, it’s a great value. Hunter is the best wide receiver in this class, and he’s most valuable to whatever NFL team takes him playing wide receiver primarily. He was listed as a defensive back at the Combine, but I believe the team that uses a top five pick on him will target him to be a key offensive weapon on their team. My personal rankings would have him at number two right now, behind Jeanty.

 

Tier Five

2.04 – Cam Ward, QB

2.05 – Jalen Royals, WR

2.06 – Dylan Sampson, RB

2.07 – Cam Skattebo, RB

2.08 – Isaiah Bond, WR

Finally, our first quarterback enters the conversation at pick 16 in our rankings with Cam Ward out of Miami. Ward seems to have separated himself from Shedeur Sanders in the pre-draft conversations, and he’s now the favorite to be taken with the first-overall pick. We’re not sure if that will be the Titans making that pick, but he’ll enter the league as somebody’s brand-new franchise quarterback. This quarterback class may not have the high-end talent that last year’s did, but that won’t stop the expectations for Ward being equally as high. He’s got a really great arm, but he’s going to have to make some stylistic changes to survive an NFL pass-rush.

Isaiah Bond was one of the wide receiver losers of the NFL Combine. He promised to break Xavier Worthy’s 40-yard dash record, and he didn’t even come close, running a 4.39. It’s still a great 40 time, but it’s much slower than he promised, and it was slower than his teammate’s Matthew Golden. Bond had some holes in his production profile, relying far too heavily on screen passes to rack up his yards. He’s fallen all the way down to 20th overall, and he could continue to fall.

 

Tier Six

2.09 – Savion Williams, WR

2.10 – Shedeur Sanders, QB

2.11 – Harold Fannin, TE

2.12 – Devin Neal, RB

Here’s a tier of the draft that I would personally rather trade out of. None of these names move the needle enough for me to make a pick, and I like several of the tier seven options more than these players in tier six. I was excited about Devin Neal going into the Combine, but his athletic testing left a lot to be desired.

 

Tier Seven

3.01 – Xavier Restrepo, WR

3.02 – Ollie Gordon, RB

3.03 – Jaylin Noel, WR

3.04 – Mason Taylor, TE

3.05 – RJ Harvey, RB

3.06 – Jack Bech, WR

3.07 – Bhayshul Tuten, RB

Jaylin Noel, RJ Harvey and Bhayshul Tuten are three of the biggest winners of the NFL Combine, and they can all be found here in tier seven. Right now, the start of the third round is a sweet spot of the rookie draft for high-upside, exciting players. We just need to see if their draft capital lives up to their combine production.

 

Jack Bech is another player who has risen in the ranks of the pre-draft process, but that was because of his inspiring MVP performance at the Senior Bowl. Bech caught the game-winning touchdown in Mobile with just seven seconds left on the clock. That occurred only about one month after his brother was killed 150 miles away in the New Orleans terrorist attack. He had a good Combine, despite average measurements, and should hear his name called on day two of the NFL Draft.

 

Tier Eight

3.08 – Jalen Milroe, QB

3.09 – Tez Johnson, WR

3.10 – DJ Giddens, RB

3.11 – Elijah Arroyo, TE

3.12 – Jaxson Dart, QB

Tez Johnson was probably one of the biggest losers of the NFL Combine, only running a 4.51 40-yard dash at 154 pounds. He tested well in some of the other drills, but that 40 time and his weight are going to be massive red flags for his NFL value, and could push him off of several teams’ boards. Scouts who studied his film were quick to come to his defense, saying he played much faster on the field than his 40 time indicated. He also had a great week at the Senior Bowl, so maybe this is all just another NFL Combine overreaction.

Jaxson Dart had the best Combine performance of all of the quarterbacks, and has now found himself garnering first-round buzz around the league. He’s a really exciting player who improved every season in college. He has a strong football IQ, and showcased his accurate arm on the field during Combine drills. I’d be surprised to see him going this late in rookie drafts come May.

Tim Riordan
Latest posts by Tim Riordan (see all)

With the NFL Combine in the rearview mirror, the dynasty off-season has officially kicked off. We know so much more about these prospects right now than we did in mid-February. While many of the high-end prospects didn’t do much at the Combine, some sleepers have emerged from the week in Indianapolis, as have some concerns.

Rookie Ranking Tiers

Ranking tiers are important in any fantasy draft, but especially in dynasty rookie drafts. The game is all about maximizing the value of these picks and making the most of them. There is more trading in rookie drafts than there is in any other fantasy draft, so you need to know where the drop-offs are and when to jump on your favorite sleepers. Maybe you find yourself sitting right at the point of a major drop-off, and it’s time to start working on trade offers to move up. Maybe you hold the last pick in a certain tier, and you know your fellow managers will be desperate to move up into that tier once you’re on the clock.

The 2025 Dynasty Rookie Draft

This is a great year to need a running back or a tight end in your rookie drafts. There’s plenty of talent to be had at those two positions. It’s a bit atypical, as recently it’s been the quarterbacks and the wide receivers that have dominated headlines.

That isn’t to say that there aren’t some exciting wide receivers in this class, but it’ll take a bit more skill and luck to find the diamonds of this class. Last year, there were four or five obvious names at the top. This year, that tier of receiver doesn’t exist.

Without further ado, here are the DLF Dynasty Rookie Rankings broken up into tiers.

Tier One

1.01 – Ashton Jeanty, RB

All but one of our expert rankers have Jeanty as the number one pick off the board, and he should be. Jeanty dominated the college game, and the only thing that kept him from being the first running back Heisman Trophy winner since Derrick Henry was an other-worldly season from Travis Hunter. Jeanty is a lock to be a first-round pick, and will likely be a top ten pick. Bijan Robinson and Saquon Barkley are the only top ten picks at running back since 2017.

Tier Two

1.02 – Tetairoa McMillan, WR

1.03 – Omarion Hampton, RB

1.04 – Luther Burden, WR

Hampton dominated the NFL Combine and was one of the winners of the running back position. After his 4.46 40-yard dash, and some dominant jumps, he should be locked into a first-round pick, if not a very early second-round pick. Right now, I would personally take him over both of the wide receivers in this tier.

McMillan and Burden both saw their stocks fall at the NFL Combine while some of the other wide receivers looked more impressive. Some mock drafts have moved McMillan off of the top wide receiver spot, and knocked Burden outside of the first round. Their tape and college production is the best of the group though, keeping their ranking this high for now. But, if we see them slip in the NFL Draft, there could be a chance the top wide receivers in this draft class dip even lower.

 

 

Tier Three

1.05 – Quinshon Judkins, RB

1.06 – Kaleb Johnson, RB

1.07 – Emeka Egbuka, WR

1.08 – TreVeyon Henderson, RB

The third tier of this class has to be called the Ohio State tier, even though Kaleb Johnson sneaks his way in there at six overall. The three Ohio State prospects are bunched together here, with the transfer out of Ole Miss Judkins getting the edge. He’s the most exciting of the group for me. He is built like an every-down running back and he ran like one at Ole Miss. He joined a committee backfield at Ohio State last season, which could actually do wonders towards saving his legs for the pros. Getting Judkins at five overall seems like a winning pick to me.

Johnson and Henderson represent a massive tier drop at running back for now. After Henderson is ranked at eight, we don’t see another back in the rankings until Dylan Sampson at pick 18. If you’re at the end of the first, and you need a high-end running back on your team, you may need to trade up into the top eight to make that happen.

Tier Four

1.09 – Tyler Warren, TE

1.10 – Colston Loveland, TE

1.11 – Matthew Golden, WR

1.12 – Elic Ayomanor, WR

2.01 – Tre Harris, WR

2.02 – Travis Hunter, WR/CB

2.03 – Jayden Higgins, WR

Tier four starts with the first two tight ends in the rankings, followed by a bunching of interesting names at wide receiver. Warren was a beast for Penn State last season, and made himself into a household name during the College Football Playoffs. He’s a do-it-all type of player, Taysom Hill with six times the talent. Loveland is an elite pass-catcher who is still only 20 years old. He’ll develop with his NFL team and could have a similar ceiling to Trey McBride or Sam LaPorta. With several elite options at tight end starting to age out, it’s a great year to get younger at that position and go for one of these guys in the first round.

Of the wide receivers in this tier, Travis Hunter stands out the most. It is my opinion that Hunter will not sniff the second round in any post-draft rookie drafts. So, if you’re in a pre-draft one, and you can get Hunter at this spot, it’s a great value. Hunter is the best wide receiver in this class, and he’s most valuable to whatever NFL team takes him playing wide receiver primarily. He was listed as a defensive back at the Combine, but I believe the team that uses a top five pick on him will target him to be a key offensive weapon on their team. My personal rankings would have him at number two right now, behind Jeanty.

 

Tier Five

2.04 – Cam Ward, QB

2.05 – Jalen Royals, WR

2.06 – Dylan Sampson, RB

2.07 – Cam Skattebo, RB

2.08 – Isaiah Bond, WR

Finally, our first quarterback enters the conversation at pick 16 in our rankings with Cam Ward out of Miami. Ward seems to have separated himself from Shedeur Sanders in the pre-draft conversations, and he’s now the favorite to be taken with the first-overall pick. We’re not sure if that will be the Titans making that pick, but he’ll enter the league as somebody’s brand-new franchise quarterback. This quarterback class may not have the high-end talent that last year’s did, but that won’t stop the expectations for Ward being equally as high. He’s got a really great arm, but he’s going to have to make some stylistic changes to survive an NFL pass-rush.

Isaiah Bond was one of the wide receiver losers of the NFL Combine. He promised to break Xavier Worthy’s 40-yard dash record, and he didn’t even come close, running a 4.39. It’s still a great 40 time, but it’s much slower than he promised, and it was slower than his teammate’s Matthew Golden. Bond had some holes in his production profile, relying far too heavily on screen passes to rack up his yards. He’s fallen all the way down to 20th overall, and he could continue to fall.

 

Tier Six

2.09 – Savion Williams, WR

2.10 – Shedeur Sanders, QB

2.11 – Harold Fannin, TE

2.12 – Devin Neal, RB

Here’s a tier of the draft that I would personally rather trade out of. None of these names move the needle enough for me to make a pick, and I like several of the tier seven options more than these players in tier six. I was excited about Devin Neal going into the Combine, but his athletic testing left a lot to be desired.

 

Tier Seven

3.01 – Xavier Restrepo, WR

3.02 – Ollie Gordon, RB

3.03 – Jaylin Noel, WR

3.04 – Mason Taylor, TE

3.05 – RJ Harvey, RB

3.06 – Jack Bech, WR

3.07 – Bhayshul Tuten, RB

Jaylin Noel, RJ Harvey and Bhayshul Tuten are three of the biggest winners of the NFL Combine, and they can all be found here in tier seven. Right now, the start of the third round is a sweet spot of the rookie draft for high-upside, exciting players. We just need to see if their draft capital lives up to their combine production.

 

Jack Bech is another player who has risen in the ranks of the pre-draft process, but that was because of his inspiring MVP performance at the Senior Bowl. Bech caught the game-winning touchdown in Mobile with just seven seconds left on the clock. That occurred only about one month after his brother was killed 150 miles away in the New Orleans terrorist attack. He had a good Combine, despite average measurements, and should hear his name called on day two of the NFL Draft.

 

Tier Eight

3.08 – Jalen Milroe, QB

3.09 – Tez Johnson, WR

3.10 – DJ Giddens, RB

3.11 – Elijah Arroyo, TE

3.12 – Jaxson Dart, QB

Tez Johnson was probably one of the biggest losers of the NFL Combine, only running a 4.51 40-yard dash at 154 pounds. He tested well in some of the other drills, but that 40 time and his weight are going to be massive red flags for his NFL value, and could push him off of several teams’ boards. Scouts who studied his film were quick to come to his defense, saying he played much faster on the field than his 40 time indicated. He also had a great week at the Senior Bowl, so maybe this is all just another NFL Combine overreaction.

Jaxson Dart had the best Combine performance of all of the quarterbacks, and has now found himself garnering first-round buzz around the league. He’s a really exciting player who improved every season in college. He has a strong football IQ, and showcased his accurate arm on the field during Combine drills. I’d be surprised to see him going this late in rookie drafts come May.

Tim Riordan
Latest posts by Tim Riordan (see all)

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