2025 Fantasy Football Rookie Sleepers: Late-Round Prospects With Immediate Upside

Players who are thought of as less likely to succeed in the NFL are typically selected later in drafts. When a player falls through the rounds, it's generally because teams have doubts about their ability to produce. It takes a specific family of skill sets to succeed in the big leagues.

But sometimes, players fall through the cracks. There are steals in the NFL Draft every year, which means there can be steals in both dynasty and redraft fantasy football leagues if you're able to identify players who are likely to outperform their draft capital. Or at least can do so.

This isn't an easy thing to do, and it's difficult for many not to fall victim to confirmation bias. You have to prevent yourself from becoming infatuated with certain players and focus purely on what you think will happen at the next level. It's a somewhat philosophical debate to have and something I've pondered for well over a year now. I'll give my unbiased takes on who could immediately make an impact and be productive in fantasy football out of the 2025 NFL Draft class.

• 2025 fantasy football rankings (redraft)
• Dynasty fantasy football rankings
• 2025 NFL rookie fantasy football rankings
• Best ball fantasy football rankings
• Quarterback fantasy football rankings
• Running back fantasy football rankings
• Wide receiver fantasy football rankings
• Tight end fantasy football rankings

RB Jaydon Blue

Texas Longhorns running back Jaydon Blue is the latest of a long line of elite RB prospects from down south, and Blue is easily the fastest of the group of him and Jonathon Brooks, Bijan Robinson, and Roschon Johnson. The other three have a home in the league, and Blue will, too.

Jaydon Blue has a clear opportunity to give The University of Texas it's 3rd straight #1 Running Back in the NFL draft

I said. He would be the best Running Back in the country this year. If he gets a handle on his ball security

-Bijan Robinson #1 2023
-Johnathon Brooks #1 2024 pic.twitter.com/B6syjmxlvx

— Coach Scott "New Muscle" (@Dewayne42005783) August 7, 2024

He only started for one season at Texas, given that Brooks did in 2023 and Robinson did so in 2022. While he produced quite well, he's now being handily overlooked in a deep RB class. That's probably not a great idea if you're a fantasy manager looking for an edge.

My favorite play of the season by a landslide

It my not have been the best play

But the entire fanbase had Jaydon Blue’s back, and we all blew up with this play

Despite all of the backlash from the fumbles, he stuck with it and broke out in the playoff

#23, TEXAS legend 🤘🏻 pic.twitter.com/A7YXka4Yse

— One Stop Texas (@OneStopHorns) February 9, 2025

He's 6-foot and 200 pounds, and size wasn't a problem for Miami Dolphins running back De'Von Achane, so it won't be a problem for the much heavier Blue, either. There's a real cognitive dissonance that fantasy managers have when it comes to running backs, too.

You can write endlessly about how Blue started only one year, he's not the most agile or productive, he might have problems with vision or cutback ability, etc, etc. But the moment he breaks off a long touchdown run, which is likely to happen at some point in 2025, the tune completely changes to "Wow, he could be great in fantasy!"

This is something that should've already been accepted because he has fantastic acceleration and blazing speed. You can't argue with elite speed, and you especially can't argue when a player rips off a long touchdown and starts getting more volume once his coaches realize what he can do.

I initially questioned Jaydon Blue’s decision to declare for the 2025 NFL Draft.

Upon further review, I get it. He’s the fastest back in the class, has one of the best receiving skill sets, and *should* be a day-two pick, even in a loaded class. pic.twitter.com/6NhzMx0pHx

— Christian Williams (@CWilliamsNFL) January 19, 2025

And Blue is a good receiving back as well. While in a class this deep, he'll fall to the later rounds, but he can immediately pick up chunk gains, be a reliable pass-catcher, and handle a big workload should he need to. The ridiculous athleticism simply gives him a higher ceiling than many other players.

The "what if he can develop" attitude is inconsistently applied to players. Blue may be the most explosive back in the class, yet his ADP suggests he'll never make an impact. If he does develop, he could easily be one of the best backs in this class. You can argue with that all you want when he's streaking past a defensive back for a 70-yard touchdown next season.

RB Bhayshul Tuten

UPDATE: Please note that Tuten's elite combine performance means he probably won't be going on Day 3 anymore. This piece was originally written before the combine. 

Virginia Tech Hokies running back Bhayshul Tuten is one of the best RBs in this year's class and is being overlooked mostly because he went to Virginia Tech. He had elite production in his senior season despite very poor run-blocking by his offensive line.

He rushed 183 times for 1,159 yards (averaging 6.3 yards per carry) and scored 15 rushing touchdowns in just 11 games. He also caught 23 passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns. He wasn't used much as a receiver but was very capable in that area. But what stands out the most about Tuten is that he's an elite athlete with elite speed and is good at basically everything running backs need to do.

Virginia Tech RB Bhayshul Tuten had one of the highest explosive run rates in this draft class.

183 carries 1159 yards 6.3 avg, 15 rushing TDs and 62 missed tackles forced in 2024. And he's expected to run in the 4.3 range. He's been clocked at 23.15 mph ✍️ pic.twitter.com/WXhaLIRx2E

— Matt Owen (@ProfessorO_NFL) February 22, 2025

One of the bigger criticisms of him that I've seen is the same old, tired excuse that he isn't a good pass-protector (which is objectively not true). And they said the same about Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown, but look what happened. Tuten is faster than Brown and has better contact balance.

Taking a direct hit from a linebacker, bouncing off it like it's nothing, and quickly reaccelerating to a speed faster than the defensive back runs on the play in the above X clip should tell you all you need to know. There's plenty of other great tape out there as well.

Tuten is highly underrated. He's another player you need to draft in all your leagues this season. There are quite a few in this rookie class because it's so stacked at RB. And at his ADP, you'll be getting him for free.

RB Brashard Smith

SMU Broncos running back Brashard Smith has a complete skill set for a running back and used to play receiver, so it's puzzling to see him rated behind so many other inferior prospects.

He has great vision, footwork, short-area quickness, and change-of-direction ability. He's also an elite accelerator, and when he turns on the jets, he severely punishes defenders who don't have good angles on him.

SMU RB Brashard Smith is a name that I was frankly ignorant on coming into today.

Not anymore. His tape shows an extremely versatile back who is a major threat as receiver. Very good speed & elite change of direction.

Excited for another look tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/F5naJvi0mC

— Justin Apodaca (@JustinApod) January 28, 2025

His long speed is fantastic, and he's in a dense cluster with Tuten, Blue, and Tennessee Volunteers running back Dylan Sampson at the least. While for running backs, 0-60 is far more important, Smith has plenty of burst. There are very few RBs in the league who hit more than a handful of home-run touchdowns each season.

Instead, being able to exploit small gaps in the defense by bursting past crashing linebackers and forcing defensive backs to chase you down can help you end up with consistent extra yardage. Speed and acceleration are both functions of time, and if defenders don't have enough time to close gaps, it can lead to big plays.

Brashard Smith

✅Elite athlete
✅Elite receiving back

- 1,300+ yard rusher
- Polished route tree
- Explosive runner

Dynamic skillset and elite receiving threat.

Converted WR -> RB and has a full route tree + explosiveness. High end change of pace traits. pic.twitter.com/WvhW5dDcDp

— Snoog's Fantasy HQ (@FFSnoog) February 21, 2025

He also has a very elite receiving ability for a running back, as many converted WRs do. The upside in PPR is massive, and you should draft him in all your leagues.

WR Tez Johnson

You can ignore a lot of "negatives" when you find a consistently good separator of a wide receiver. Oregon Ducks WR Tez Johnson is exactly that. He's Tank Dell 2.0, yet he probably won't be drafted in the first three rounds due to his diminutive size.

Okay. I might be in on Tez Johnson. pic.twitter.com/XuznxvbLvr

— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) January 29, 2025

Today's NFL features plenty of two-high safety shells and formations designed to take away deep passes. So, WRs who can thrive in the intermediate areas of the field can be difference-makers immediately at the next level. It also really helps when they're good at dodging defenders after the catch, which can help them pick up crucial first downs more consistently.

Tez Johnson = Human Joystick after the catch.

He’s built to win in today’s modern NFL style of play.

Yes he’s “undersized” but the kid can play ball, take all the discounts we will get due to it.pic.twitter.com/LPqQpg164d

— Snoog's Fantasy HQ (@FFSnoog) February 3, 2025

Johnson doesn't need to be a WR1 or an "X" receiver to make a quick impact. He just needs to do what he's always done -- get open, get open quickly, make catches, and make guys miss after the catch to pick up more yards. He will do those things from Day 1. So, you should draft him as well. He'll be a steal in all formats.

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