2025 Fantasy Football IDP Rookie Rankings (Pre-NFL Draft) -Abdul Carter, Jalon Walker, Travis Hunter, and more

RotoBaller's 2025 fantasy football IDP rookie rankings. These early IDP rookie rankings are from before the NFL Draft and include edge, safety, linebacker, and cornerbacks.

IDP fantasy football is a niche that grows every year, a genuinely untapped fantasy market.

As the top IDP prospects finish off their final visits and begin making their way to Green Bay and the NFL Draft, I attempt to decipher the noise around social media, what we are hearing, and how I view prospects to give fantasy managers the upper hand ahead of their fantasy football drafts.

This is the quiet before the storm. Whether you play in IDP leagues or you love consuming everything NFL Draft, we've got you covered with the top 10 IDP rookies for the 2025 season predraft edition.

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NFL Rookie Rankings for Fantasy Football (Pre-NFL Draft)

Rookie rankings are from before the NFL Scouting Combine and before the NFL Draft

Pre-Draft Top 10 Fantasy Football Rookie IDP Picks

10. Mykel Williams, Edge, Georgia

Suppose you are looking for a high-upside play. In that case, it's Georgia's Mykel Williams, who some have forgotten about due to his lack of production last season while being limited by an ankle injury. Williams has all the physical traits needed to be an elite edge-rusher, and on April 24, he should also have the draft capital as he is projected to be a first-round selection.

Against Texas, Williams' freakish abilities were on full display as he dominated the Longhorns offensive line and recorded four sacks in the two contests. He has a prototypical build, is seasoned in the SEC, and doesn't even turn 21 until June; it's safe to say he is one player who needs to be on IDP managers' radars.

9. Donovan Ezeiruaku, Edge, Boston College

The 2025 NFL Draft is loaded with pass-rushers, and Donovan Ezeiruaku was one of the best finishers last season, recording 16.5 sacks in his final season at Boston College. Ezeiruaku has all the tools needed to be a dominant force off the edge. The tape does lie, and neither does the production. Ezeiruaku is a beautiful blend of burst, flexibility, and length that will certainly give NFL tackles issues this upcoming season.

My first draft profile of the offseason: Boston College DE Donovan Ezeiruaku. Link below pic.twitter.com/s9b2cyDnle

— Mark Bullock (@MarkBullockNFL) March 24, 2025

Ezeiruaku is always around the quarterback. Not only was the sack production there, but he also had 60 pressures, showing off what a disruptive force he can be and how his presence can affect every snap.

8. Nick Emmanwori, S, South Carolina

If you want to talk about ideal size/speed combination or physical freaks, then Nick Emmanwori is your guy. It's easy to get caught up in the perfect relative athletic score, but Emmanwori is a safety who can line up in multiple spots, such as strong safety, nickel, or linebacker in sub packages. He shows some aggression and possesses elite ball skills and instincts. 

Positional flexibility is a bonus for fantasy managers. If Emmanwori is playing some linebacker, and you can drop him into a defensive back spot, that's called winning right there.

7. Carson Schwesinger, LB, UCLA

Carson Schwesinger is a player who has been moving up to the NFL Big Boards but should also be making some noise in the fantasy realm. Schwesinger can play sideline-to-sideline and is a reliable tackler. The former Bruin plays with speed, energy, and next-level instincts, allowing him to flourish against the run while in coverage.

As a senior, Schwesinger racked up 90 solo tackles and 136 total while adding nine tackles for loss, a pair of interceptions, and four sacks. Again, production matters. In fantasy, we don't ask how; we ask how many.

Great example of Carson Schwesinger's lateral movement skills vs the run #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/MljNCKIIQ5

— Matt Holder (@MHolder95) April 1, 2025

6. James Pearce Jr., Edge, Tennessee

James Pearce Jr. is among the most explosive pass-rushers this year. In 2024, Pearce led all edge defenders with a 23.3 percent pressure rate, and for the last two seasons, Pearce has accumulated 17.5 sacks and over 100 pressures.

Compared to some of the elite pass-rushers during their college stints, Pearce sits second to Micah Parsons in pressure rate and second to Nick Bosa in win rate. Pearce has elite explosiveness off the ball, especially within those first three steps, and has the potential to be a double-digit sack producer.

5. Mike Green, Edge, Marshall

Mike Green led the FBS with 17 sacks in his final season at Marshall. While the sack total is impressive, he closed out the campaign with 38 solo tackles, 84 combined tackles, a dominant performance at the Senior Bowl, and put on a show at the combine in Indianapolis. Green also boasted a 20.1 percent pass rush win rate over his final two seasons at Marshall.

Green is ultra-explosive in every sense of the word -- just ask Ohio State. That outside spin had guys grabbing at air. With each snap, Green plays with bad intentions and converts speed into power as well as anyone.

4. Jihaad Campbell, LB, Alabama

If you play in a tackle-heavy scoring league, Jihaad Campbell may be the top IDP player on the draft board. In 13 contests last season, Campbell racked up 117 tackles. Campbell also had five sacks and 12 tackles for loss, showing that he can patrol sideline-to-sideline, get into the backfield, and make some plays.

The Athletic's Dane Brugler put it best when he said, "Freaky burst for his size. Speed for days," when referencing the future All-Pro linebacker.

3. Jalon Walker, LB, Georgia

Much like Campbell, Jalon Walker can work sideline-to-sideline and get after the quarterback off the edge. While Walker's production was not on par with Campbell's, his traits suggest that he projects to be the better pass-rusher of the two and the next level.

Walker has the speed necessary in today's game to play the cat-and-mouse game with quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson, Jayden Daniels, and Justin Fields, who can mirror their movements, close in, and make plays.

2. Abdul Carter, Edge, Penn State

There are two blue-chip prospects in this year's draft, and Abdul Carter happens to be one of them. The word "generational" is thrown around too loosely these days, but that is what Carter is. Last season, Carter finished with 12 sacks, 24 tackles for loss, and 68 total tackles. Heck, he even has 13 career passes defensed in 32 career games.

Carter is going to "get his" in the NFL. His aggressive playstyle and explosiveness around the edge lend themselves to big-time production. There is literal proof showing Carter accelerates around the edge at a rate of 5.4 yards per second squared.

I wasn't sure what that meant, but YouTube football personality Brett Kollmann said, "For context, that's 20% higher than Saquon Barkley's highest peak acceleration when he got the corner on that 55-yard touchdown against the Giants."

How's this for some @NextGenStats goodness.

As Abdul Carter was rounding the corner on his sack against Ohio State, he was accelerating at a staggering 5.4 yards per second squared.

For context, that's about 20% higher than Saquon's highest peak of acceleration (4.43 yps2) when… pic.twitter.com/sHXLMhUBiJ

— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) April 9, 2025

1. Travis Hunter, CB, Colorado

The other blue-chip prospect is Travis Hunter, who has the potential to be a fantasy football cheat code. Hunter will come in and make an impact on both sides of the ball. I'm not sure what that looks like yet, but assuming he averages three catches and 40 yards receiving per game, that is seven more fantasy points than any other defenders are going to get.

In two seasons at Colorado, Hunter accounted for seven interceptions, 17 passes defensed, and 66 total tackles. Hunter's playmaking skills and elite ball skills make him a threat to score on either side of the ball. It probably didn't hurt having Coach Prime as a mentor, either.

Just Missing: Nic Scourton (Edge), Malaki Starks (S), Danny Stutsman (LB), Demetrius Knight Jr. (LB), Shemar Stewart (Edge), Mason Graham (DT), Landon Jackson (Edge)

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