Kendall Valenzuela grades out the rookie winners, losers, and sleepers for fantasy football after the completion of the 2025 NFL Draft.

The NFL Draft has come and gone, but now the real fun begins. While we spent months analyzing where certain rookies would land, we now get to project just how good they are going to be on their respective teams. There were obvious winners from NFL Draft weekend and some obvious, obvious losers (Cowboys, you good?).

Nevertheless the fantasy football landscape has definitely changed for the 2025 season. Now it's time to figure out which rookies we should begin to target in our fantasy football drafts. Below are the biggest winners from the NFL Draft, sleepers to remember and guys we just have to pour one out for, because their landing spots were less than ideal.

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Biggest Fantasy Football Winners

Tetairoa McMillan (WR)—Panthers

The Carolina Panthers are not one wide receiver away from winning a Super Bowl, but they did fill a big need on the first night of the NFL Draft and got Bryce Young a nice weapon for 2025 and beyond. 

The Panthers have added Fantasy Life's top wide receiver prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft, and drafted Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan with the No. 8 overall pick on Thursday. Yeah, sure, it's the Panthers and that's not usually a team that we get overly excited about for fantasy football, but McMillan is going to be peppered with targets and that kind of volume is something to chase. 

Panthers wide receivers and tight ends ranked dead last in average "Open Score" in 2024, just to remind you of how badly they needed a good pass catcher in this offense. McMillan is coming in as a big-bodied (6-foot-4, 219 pounds) X receiver who can really thrive in contested situations—according to PFF, 54.7% contested-catch percentage over the past two years ranked in the 86th percentile for the position. McMillan is going to come in and immediately take over and have elite route participation, but the bigger question here is which version of Young are we going to get?

Overall, there's virtually no competition for Tetairoa McMillan, so he's going to be an immediate impact player and a low-end fantasy WR2 target in fantasy football.

Fantasy Life Projections: 123 targets, 80 receptions, 979 receiving yards, 5.1 receiving touchdowns, 168.5 fantasy points

RJ Harvey (RB)—Broncos

The Denver Broncos were one team where we just circled them before draft night because we knew any running back added to this team would immediately be fantasy relevant. Harvey is short (5-foot-8), but at 205 pounds he’s well-built. At the NFL Combine he ran a 4.40 40 with a 38-inch vertical, and while he will be 24.6 years old when the NFL season starts he definitely has the traits we want to target. One of those traits? He's a skilled pass catcher. According to Thor Nystrom, Harvey is one of three FBS running backs in this class to catch at least 19 balls with at least 1.25 YPRR each of the last two years. One thing head coach Sean Payton does is create more targets for his running backs. 

The other nice thing you get with Harvey is that 21% of his carries went for 10+ yards, which is something Denver really needs. So should we assume that Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estime are going to completely disappear? 

We are going to keep a close eye on this running back room during training camp, but Harvey should be the lead in this committee with Estime being next in the pecking order. Let's unlock this pass-catching role in the NFL and the upside is palpable. I really like this landing spot for Harvey. 

Tre Harris (WR)—Chargers

If you told me just months ago that Ladd McConkey wouldn't get any company until the second day of the NFL Draft in 2025 I would have bet against you. The Chargers finally added another weapon for Justin Herbert and drafted Ole Miss receiver Tre Harris with the No. 55 overall pick.

Overall, this was probably the best-case scenario for Harris, who slots in as the WR2 in this offense immediately. Dwain McFarland said during our recap podcast that he gave Harris a 70% route participation with Quentin Johnston getting 55% and Mike Williams coming in at 50%. 

This was like a lottery landing spot for Harris because he jumps onto a team with a huge hole at receiver that he can fill. A boom-bust WR4 doesn't sound super sexy, but there's room for these projections to continue getting better. I think in this offense with Herbert that Harris could outperform these early projections and be a receiver we're all wishing we drafted more of by October.

Fantasy Life Projections: 81 targets, 52 receptions, 645 yards, 4 touchdowns, 114.5 fantasy points

Matthew Golden (WR)—Packers

This might not have been the best year for the Packers to draft a wide receiver in the first round for the first time since 2002, but here we are! Matthew Golden was taken by the Green Bay Packers with the No. 23 pick of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Could he be the big-play element that we're looking for? Some people don't like this pick and I understand because this team loves to rotate its wide receivers. With the draft capital, he should have the inside track to get more routes—this is a good complement to what you have with Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed, and I really don't hate this pick like some others might. 

I'll be splitting my picks with Reed and Golden—I won't go as far to say Golden is the first receiver we should be taking off the board for the Packers, but I really like this offense and I trust quarterback Jordan Love and this scheme. Because if Golden can live up to his film and pre-draft process heights, Golden is a bet I'm willing to take this year. 

Fantasy Life Projections: 88 targets, 57 receptions, 792 receiving yards, 5.4 touchdowns, 142.7 fantasy points

Keep An Eye On These Sleepers

Omarion Hampton (RB)—Chargers

We knew that the Najee Harris hype train wouldn't last forever, but it sure was fun while it lasted. With the No. 22 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Los Angeles Chargers selected former North Carolina Tar Heel Omarion Hampton on Thursday night and he immediately became a fantasy football target. 

Could this be a cheap version of the Detroit Lions' duo of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs? 

With the first-round draft capital for Hampton and the fact that Harris signed only a one-year deal worth up to $9.25 million it looks like eventually this will be Hampton's backfield. To start, though, this really feels like it could be a true split backfield. Where you could find value in drafting Hampton is the idea that by Week 9 he could completely take over the backfield because he has more big-play ability, but that's a big if. 

Remember, Harris has never missed a game in his career and is coming off his fourth-straight 1,000-yard season. Long term this feels like a good move—this might actually be a better move for dynasty rather than redraft (80% of his comps went on to post a Top-12 running back finish within their first three years). We just have to watch the ADP on Hampton. Right now he is going as RB13 on Underdog and going in the fourth round, which is a tad rich for this landing spot, but things should even out. There's a wide range of outcomes for Hampton, but I'm going to want a piece of this Chargers offense and that will include the rookie. 

Fantasy Life Projections: 785 rushing yards, 5.5 rushing touchdowns, 181 receiving yards, 148 fantasy points

Travis Hunter (WR/CB)—Jaguars

Oh, the curious case of Travis Hunter continues. The Jacksonville Jaguars traded up to acquire the No. 2 pick Thursday and went on to select two-way star Travis Hunter, who really should change the direction of the franchise.

The big question still remains: How do we draft a player who might be in a true split role between receiver and cornerback? Adam Schefter tweeted this after Hunter was drafted, which does give fantasy managers a little hope for 2025:

"Jaguars are expected to play their first-round draft pick Travis Hunter on offense and defense. They will on-board him by giving him a heavy dose of the wide receiver position while still playing him at his more natural position on defense. Two positions for pick No. 2."

The upside is hard to ignore—Dwain McFarland said in our recap podcast that Hunter grades out as the fifth-best wide receiver prospect ever because of his landing spot and draft capital. He's being projected for 75% route participation in 2025 with 21% targets per route run and overall comes out as WR50 in PPR. But what if we're wrong about his usage? If this Jaguars team decided to play Hunter on defense only 30% of the time, then there's a huge upgrade. 

This is one of the hardest players ever to project for 2025. The best-case scenario here is Hunter is a borderline WR2 and worst-case a WR4/WR5. Yeah, that's a big range! We know the talent is there, but this is a big bet to make. I think he has a chance to pay off as a low-end WR2, but let's see what the offseason brings and if the Jaguars give us more clarity on his role. 

Fantasy Life Projections: 98 targets, 66 receptions, 809 receiving yards, 4.3 touchdowns, 142.1 fantasy points

Well, That Sucks: A Fantasy Loser in Tampa

Emeka Egbuka, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Well, Baker Mayfield could finish as the overall QB1 after this move. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka with the No. 19 pick on the first day of the NFL Draft, adding another body to an already-loaded room. 

The optimist in me says there is a path here, but this landing spot really hurts Egbuka's overall fantasy value. Mike Evans has one year left on his deal and Chris Godwin just agreed to a new three-year deal worth $66 million that includes $44 million guaranteed. This seems like a better long-term move for Egbuka than an immediate fantasy star (go get him in dynasty). Overall this is a better NFL move for the Buccaneers than fantasy. 

We never want injuries, but both Evans and Godwin were hurt last season. Godwin suffered a left ankle injury in Week 7 and while it has been reported that he should be on track for the 2025 season, any setback would immediately vault Egbuka into a bigger conversation. And then there's Jalen McMillan, going into his sophomore season after closing out the season with 24 catches, 316 yards, and 7 TDs in his final five games of the regular season.

Fantasy Life Projections: 80 targets, 56 receptions, 639 receiving yards, 3.8 touchdowns, 114.7 fantasy points

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