Every August, Fantasy Football takes over like a national holiday. Fantasy drafts are being planned at this exact moment, and managers are sweating over who to build their teams around. Once the early round excitement passes, the real work begins.
Finding a late-round stud is like winning the lottery, and finding a rookie stud is even harder. Brock Bowers was a breakout in his rookie season last year, while Rome Odunze was less than stellar in Chicago’s flawed offensive schemes. 2025 will certainly follow a similar pattern, so who will be the Odunze, and who will be the Bowers?
The Houston Texans selected Iowa State’s Jayden Higgins with the 34th overall pick in the NFL Draft. This comes after Houston parted ways with Stefon Diggs, and Tank Dell is still on IR for the foreseeable future.
The Texans have struggled with building a top-tier receiving corps for C.J. Stroud. Nico Collins is the clear number one, but he can’t always carry the offense. Higgins is a tall receiver who can win in jump-ball scenarios, and he can be slotted inside or outside.
The Stroud-Collins connection will still be number one, but Higgins has tremendous upside. While defenses are focused on Nico, the rookie could be a quiet killer with a ton of production.
In no way should this imply that Travis Hunter will be a bust in the NFL, but in terms of fantasy, don’t count on it. Hunter is set to be a number two receiver to Brian Thomas Jr., but the Jacksonville Jaguars aren’t in a position to make him a fantasy stud yet.
The Jags have a loaded running back room and a new head coach in Liam Coen. Coen did a terrific job in Tampa Bay as the Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator, but turning this team around will be a project.
Travis Hunter is also expected to play both offense and defense this year, testing the waters on where he excels. His rookie season is more of an experiment than anything else. The Heisman winner has the talent to be a superstar in dynasty leagues, but he’s too risky in 2025 redrafts.
The New England Patriots are making all the right moves right now. They hired Mike Vrabel as their head coach and found a stud in second-year QB Drake Maye. The mission now is to build a championship roster.
The Pats drafted Ohio State star TreVeyon Henderson in the second round, and he’s already impressing. In two preseason games, he has five carries for 38 yards, averaging 7.6 yards per carry. He also has a rushing touchdown and a 100-yard kick return touchdown.
Henderson is quickly coming for the RB1 spot in New England. Mike Vrabel knows how to coach talented running backs. Just look at Derrick Henry. Henderson has already proven he can do a lot with a little, and his volume is about to skyrocket.
Bhayshul Tuten was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars 104th overall in April. The 22-year-old Virginia Tech product impressed in the draft process with his agility and elusivity, but he’s not going to light up fantasy boards in 2025.
Tuten joins a crowded backfield in Jacksonville with Travis Etienne Jr. and Tank Bigsby. Etienne saw a decline in production last season, and Bigsby turned heads instead. 2025 will likely see them splitting the backfield, leaving Tuten to be a plug-in kind of guy.
Volume is everything in fantasy football, and in an already crowded room, Tuten simply won’t have that in his rookie year. He’s an interesting prospect in dynasty leagues, but in redrafts, he’s an extremely late-round pick at best.
Every year, there are rookies who break out in the NFL and become fantasy studs. Brock Bowers, Malik Nabers, and Brian Thomas Jr. were all examples of that in 2024. The situation a player starts in is extremely important. Anyone who is drafted to the NFL has the talent to succeed, but their environment needs to be encouraging for growth.
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