“Take A Look At The 2025 Fantasy Football Rookie Wide Receiver Pre-Draft Rankings With Sr. NFL Analyst Justin Mark!”
Ranking rookies is difficult without knowing what team they land on. Wide receivers are sometimes a little easier though, just based on talent. Though, don’t tell that to Marvin Harrison drafters. Some drafts have started already and you need to know where these guys rank! Let’s take a look at the 2025 Fantasy Football rookie wide receiver pre-draft rankings!
1. Tetairoa McMillan (Arizona)
The first player on the 2025 fantasy football rookie wide receiver pre-draft rankings is Tetairoa McMillan. He’s a 6-5 receiver who has great athleticism and a high football IQ.
Even with defenses knowing he was the focal point of the offense in 2024, he finished with 84 receptions for 1,316 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. He was third in the league in forced tackles missed with 29 and seventh in the NCAA in contested catches won.
He’s lined up all over the field, both out wide and in the slot, and has excellent versatility. He received 34% of the target share last year at Arizona and still couldn’t be stopped or slowed easily. His pro-comp is Drake London and he’ll be a fantasy football star no matter where he ends up.
More Fantasy Football And Draft Advice
2. Travis Hunter (Colorado)
I know a lot of people are going to scoff at me for this. At number two, and not number one, on my 2025 fantasy football rookie wide receiver pre-draft rankings is Travis Hunter. If I knew he was going to play the majority of his snaps at wide receiver, then I may set him at number one.
However, we don’t know how he’ll line up in the NFL. he wants to play both sides of the ball at both wide receiver and cornerback. Hunter is incredibly talented and has elite ball skills. He has good play-making abilities, but I worry about his lighter frame holding up in the NFL as a receiver.
I get it, he’s probably going to be an All-Pro but will that be for receiving, or as a cornerback? He had an excellent catch rate at Colorado, despite not running many deep routes. I like Hunter and I hope he can play both sides just like he wants.
However, with his size and the rigorous pace of the NFL, I can’t help myself but put him at number two, and not at number one like others are listing him. Sorry, Travis.
3. Tre Harris (Mississippi)
I already know some of you will say Tre Harris at third on the 2025 fantasy football wide receiver pre-draft rankings is too high. That’s fine. It just means I’ll get him at a steal in some of my drafts because this 6-2 receiver has the size and speed to really excel in the NFL.
Harris had 5.12 yards per route run last year. Not yards per catch, yards per route run. His yards per catch were 17.2, dropping just slightly from 2023’s 18.3 yards per catch. Just to put how insane 5.12 yards per route run is, no other receiver in this draft is over 3.79. The majority are in the two to three range.
Harris only played eight games this season but finished with 1,030 receiving yards on 60 receptions and seven receiving touchdowns. He’s bog big play written all over him. He also averaged 7.7 yards after the catch. In the right offense, Harris could flourish and put up some of the best numbers among this rookie class in just Year 1.
4. Luther Burden (Missouri)
Next on our 2025 fantasy football rookie wide receiver pre-draft rankings is Luther Burden III. You’re going to look at his stats from 2024 and see they don’t exactly compare to others. However, that’s not going to stop him from succeeding in the NFL.
In 2024 Burden played the majority of his snaps out of the slot and had 676 yards and six receiving touchdowns. This was good enough for 11.1 yards per reception. It was a big step down from 2024 where he had 1,209 yards and 9 receiving touchdowns.
Still, even for the smaller slot receiver with smaller hands, he had a 54.5% contested catch rate. He’s also good with the ball in his hands, tying for first in the NCAA in missed tackles forced among wide receivers. His aDOT (average depth of target) was 395th among receivers in 2024, which could explain the dip in numbers.
Burden could land on a team like the Chicago Bears and step right into the slot receiver spot and flourish though. While he steps in and utilizes his athleticism on the field, it’ll be great for your fantasy football teams.
5. Emeka Egbuka (Ohio State)
The fifth guy on the 2025 fantasy football wide receiver pre-draft rankings is also a slot receiver. That would be Ohio State receiver Emeka Egbuka. Egbuka played 343 of his 423 snaps out of the slot in 2024.
In those 423 snaps, he had 1011 receiving yards and 10 receiving touchdowns. Good numbers for a guy playing out of the slot on a team that had a lot of weapons. Egbuka has a high floor in the NFL as well as on your fantasy football team, no matter where he lands.
Even with the short-range average depth of target, he made big plays. He’ll also be utilized in sweeps and the run game as well as the return game. He’ll have plenty of interested teams come draft day. That goes for both the NFL and for your fantasy football drafts.
6. Matthew Golden (Texas)
Our next receiver on the 2025 fantasy football rookie wide receiver pre-draft rankings played more wide snaps in college. However, he may be utilized in the slot because of his size in the NFL. Matthew Golden out of Texas is a speedy 6-0, 195-pound receiver.
He had the top 40 speed among receivers at the combine and will beat press coverage easily. He also has great after-the-catch ability and will be able to compete as a kick returner. Last year Golden had 58 receptions for 987 yards and nine touchdowns.
He is somebody who could be impacted by his landing spot. If a Josh Allen-type quarterback is throwing to him he could be great right away. If a Deshaun Watson-type quarterback is throwing to him, numbers could be slim for a while.
7. Elic Ayomanor (Stanford)
The next player on the 2025 fantasy football rookie wide receiver pre-draft rankings is Elic Ayomanor. Over the next month, you’re going to hear so many different opinions on this receiver’s future success in the NFL and how he could impact your fantasy football team.
He’s got a super high football IQ and is a strong player. He’s 6-2, 210 pounds, and is very diverse in his route running and releases. The problem is that he was hindered by Stanford’s offense. Therefore, it’s going to be hard to gauge exactly how he’ll do in a successful NFL offense.
One positive he has going for him is not only is he a good receiver, he’s an excellent run-blocker. This means he’ll be on the field more often than not. In 517 run-blocking snaps over the last two years, he had zero holding penalties.
Personally, I’d love to see this Canadian-born receiver join the CFL. However, I think somebody in the NFL will draft him and give him his shot.
8. Jayden Higgins (Iowa State)
Look out, the next player on my 2025 fantasy football rookie wide receiver pre-draft rankings is a player from Iowa. Well, Iowa State anyways (if you didn’t know, I’m born and bred in Iowa). Jayden Higgins, the 6-4, 215 pounder, was a reliable receiver for the Cyclones.
He only had two drops on 129 targets last year on his way to 1,185 receiving yards and nine receiving touchdowns. He also had a 58.3% contested catch rate in 2024, putting his big body to use. The craziest thing about this guy is his 80-inch wingspan.
He’s no stranger to being relied on, dominating the target share at Iowa State, and he’s a reliable first-down conversion target. Higgins should be able to carve out some nice playing time right away and could eventually become a star in the NFL.
9. Savion Williams (TCU)
When you get closer to the 10th spot on the 2025 fantasy football rookie wide receiver pre-draft rankings, there are a lot of guys that you could swap in and out. However, at number nine I have to go with Savion Williams.
We’ve moved past the trend of slot receivers and are getting some big guys now. Williams is 6-3 and 222 pounds. I’ve heard some talk about his potential at tight end, however, I feel it’s a little insulting. In addition to 87 targets, he had 51 carries for 322 yards and six rushing touchdowns.
He can be used as a rusher, receiver, and returner, and putting him at tight end would rob him of some of his talent. On top of his rushing performance, he had 611 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns. His average depth of target was pretty low.
Williams’ biggest issue is his drops. Out of 83 targets, he dropped 8 of them. I still think he’ll be able to carve out a Cordarelle Patterson-type role on a team where he’s a do-it-all guy and can rack up some fantasy football points for you.
10. Isaiah Bond (Texas)
Isaiah Bond out of Texas is 10th on my 2025 fantasy football rookie wide receiver pre-draft rankings. There’s a possibility in a few years we look back and either say he should have been listed higher or not at all.
Bond is one of the youngest wide receivers in this draft class and is going to need development time. However, he has top-end speed and change of direction speed that will be coveted by NFL general managers.
He’ll be able to come in for vertical play calls for now but will need to keep developing to gain consistent playing time. Still, in the NFL and fantasy football, we chase speedy guys and Bond is a super speedy guy.
The Rest:
11. Jalen Royals (Utah State)
12. Xavier Restrepo (Miami)
13. Jack Bech (TCU)
14. Jaylin Noel (Iowa State)
15. Tory Horton (Colorado State)
16. Tez Johnson (Oregon)
17. Nick Nash (San Jose State)
18. Kyle Williams (Washington State)
19. Kobe Hudson (UCF)
20. Pat Bryant (Illinois)
Don’t forget to check out our other great Fantasy Football and NFL Betting content before you go! Thanks for reading my 2025 Fantasy Football Rookie Quarterback Rankings article!
