Ranking 2025 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year candidates, plus best bets: Who can challenge Ashton Jeanty?

Seeing as though we only had two first-round quarterbacks, neither of whom enter the NFL with the traditional Round 1 hype/excitement, we’re probably all expecting someone other than a quarterback will win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2025. 

The setup feels very similar to 2022 when Garrett Wilson took home the hardware as part of a down rookie quarterback class. 

I used recent historical trends as a guide in creating these rankings, and these trends are worth mentioning before we get started.

• Five of the past nine OROYs have been quarterbacks
• Dak Prescott (2016) and Alvin Kamara (2017) are the only two non-top 10 picks to win this award in the last decade
• Only one tight end has ever won the award: Mike Ditka in 1961 
• Two non-first-round running backs won the award in the 2010s: Kamara and Eddie Lacy (2013)
• Anquan Boldin (2003) is the last non-first-round receiver to win OROY

With those in mind, here are my rankings, which of course are based on my thoughts on the rookie and his situation in Year 1 in the NFL. Beneath these rankings are my favorite value picks based on current OROY odds at Caesars Sportsbook.

The Broncos went the second-round route at running back instead of prioritizing one in Round 1. To me, that’s the right way to navigate the draft. Plus, Harvey is a big-time talent who shouldn’t feel like a consolation prize for Denver. There’s plenty of Bucky Irving to his profile — he’s short and explosive with loads of between-the-tackles efficiency on film, and he’s tremendous in space due to his long speed and side-to-side wiggle. Remember, Harvey ran a 4.40-second 40-yard dash with a 38-inch vertical jump and a broad jump in the 97th percentile at the position at the NFL Scouting Combine at a chiseled 5-foot-8 and 205 pounds. 

Without a true bellcow on the Broncos roster, Harvey has a clear path to 200-plus touches in Year 1 behind a quarterback in Bo Nix who should keep the chains moving. Plus, the Broncos defense should be one of the best in the league, and therefore Nix and Harvey will get the ball back often. Harvey, at +2200, feels like a massive steal. 

The only reason Hunter isn’t a few places higher is that we don’t know how much he’ll be utilized in the Jaguars offense. Jacksonville’s brass hasn’t shied away from the idea of him playing on both sides of the ball. In fact, we should expect him to; he has an offensive-minded head coach, after all. 

But will he see enough reps as a receiver to garner serious OROY consideration? Even if he helps unlock a new level of production for Trevor Lawrence, we can’t forget about Brian Thomas Jr., who was sensational — and if I had a vote, would’ve placed him on an All-Pro team — a season ago. Then again, there are 212 “available” targets from 2024’s numbers in Jacksonville. 

Hunter is as advertised as an athlete, and he demonstrated magnificent polish as a receiver in 2024. He also has the best ball skills of any wideout in the class. 

4. TreVeyeon Henderson, RB, Patriots (+2000)

History suggests being a Day 2 running back does not stop you from winning Offensive Rookie of the Year. And even though I was a bit underwhelmed with Henderson’s film relative to what amounted to massive hype for him pre-draft, his situation in New England is tantalizing. 

Rhamondre Stevenson has no ties to the current regime, and Drake Maye should garner most of the defensive game plan attention in 2025. Henderson is a stocky but versatile back with stellar pass-blocking skill and receiving talent, so even if he doesn’t receive 200-plus carries in Year 1, he should become a central figure in this new-look New England attack as a rookie. 

While never the true feature back at Ohio State, Henderson averaged a whopping 6.4 yards per carry in his four seasons in Columbus, and he averaged 11.1 yards per reception and scored a seismic 48 touchdowns on 667 career touches. The Patriots offensive line is a tick worrisome, but tackle Will Campbell, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, should help solidify the left side for Maye, Henderson and Co. 

A top-three pick at quarterback has won OROY six times since the start of 2010, so there is a draft-status precedent for Ward. He certainly developed a new-age style during his three seasons at the major college level, but there are times when he trusts his athleticism and arm too much. 

In the Pac-12 and then ACC, Ward typically got away with that. In the NFL, it could be a different story, because Ward doesn’t have prodigious athleticism or arm strength. And for as much as the Titans made a concerted effort to improve the offense this offseason, it’s still one of the most barren rosters in the NFL, which very well could hold back the No. 1 overall pick from erupting instantly and emerging as a clear OROY candidate. 

The Panthers have 124 “available” targets based on last year’s numbers, and all of them could go to McMillan in Year 1. As someone who operated as the clear top option in college, predominantly played on the outside and had almost identical seasons in his final two campaigns, McMillan is ready for the challenge as a No. 1 in an NFL offense. 

And I never thought I’d write this, but I’m looking forward to Year 3 of the Bryce Young era in Carolina. He was abysmal as a rookie, and his second professional season started horrendously. Post-benching, he was the Young many expected him to be after a fantastic career at Alabama. 

McMillan isn’t going to get open on a regular basis. That’s just not him. He’ll win with body positioning, routinely winning at the catch point and, for me, most vitally, after the catch. 

I’m compelled to go chalk here with Jeanty, even at +290. He has the best contact balance I’ve ever scouted, which will be critical in Year 1 in this completely revamped Raiders offense. The draft analyst in me is bummed we never got a full pre-draft workout from the Heisman runner-up, but Jeanty ran away from everyone in college on a regular basis. 

With Chip Kelly calling plays in Vegas, Jeanty should have ample space to operate, and once he gets a full head of steam, look out. Averaging 7.0 yards per carry with 29 scores on nearly 375 carries is absolutely absurd. That’s what Jeanty did in 2024. 

With Geno Smith in the shotgun, Brock Bowers over the middle, Jakobi Meyers moving the chains and fellow rookie Dont’e Thornton Jr. stretching the defense vertically, it’s going to be a super-fun Offensive Rookie of the Year-caliber season from Jeanty in 2025. 

How good will Ashton Jeanty be? Best bets for Raiders top pick; Fantasy projections for other rookie RBs

Josh Edwards

Other value bets

If there’s one thing we can be absolutely certain about with the 2025 NFL season, it’s that the Chargers are going to run the rock … a lot. That’s what Greg Roman-coordinated offenses do. And if you liked Hampton more than I did as a prospect, the +1200 for his odds probably look darn good to you, and rightfully so. 

Najee Harris complicates things a bit, but it feels like the classic scenario when a team signs a veteran as backfield insurance, only to draft a highly coveted runner in the draft, with the latter bound to assume feature-back duties sooner than later in Year 1. 

Hey, it’s another first-round quarterback, the status that has taken home the award in four of the past six seasons. We aren’t quite sure right now if Dart will play out of the gates — in fact, it’d be a sizable surprise if that happens given the gimmicky offense he hails from and the presence of Jameis Winston and Russell Wilson on the Giants roster. 

But if Dart takes over in late September or early October, and New York’s offense experiences a discernible jump in efficiency while rattling off four or five straight wins, he’ll absolutely get consideration for OROY. Nothing about his past suggests head coach Brian Daboll will be averse to designing an offense around familiar concepts for Dart — plenty of RPOs — and Malik Nabers feels ready to enter his name in the best-receiver-in-football conversation with two other LSU wideouts. 

Yes, a tight end winning the award would represent a massive historical outlier. Of course in today’s NFL, the tight end resembles a receiver more than ever, and Loveland wasn’t selected at No. 10 overall by the Ben Johnson-led Bears to block. I was much lower on Loveland as a prospect than most analysts, but am completely fine acknowledging his final-year injury slightly clouded the evaluation, because we didn’t get to see him for a full slate of games. 

I didn’t include Loveland above because there are plenty of mouths to feed in Chicago for Year 2 of the Caleb Williams era, as D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, Cole Kmet and Luther Burden III will all be vying for the football. And, heck, Kmet played 87.5% of the offensive snaps in 2024. 

However, there are 152 “available” targets this season within the Bears, based on last year’s figures, so Loveland has somewhat of a hidden opportunity relative to the names in Chicago’s offense. Plus, Johnson was integral in Sam LaPorta’s monstrous rookie season in Detroit just two years ago. Loveland is a similarly sleek, explosive mover. At +2500, you’re getting tremendous value for an uber-talented pass-catching tight end in an offense coordinated by a brilliant schemer (Ben Johnson) with the former No. 1 overall pick at quarterback (Williams).

I have to include Tuten because he was my RB2 in the 2025 class. Stocky, outstandingly elusive, with legitimate burner speed? Yeah, the Virginia Tech star emphatically checked most of the boxes for me. 

And sure, it’d be crazy for the Jaguars to have a rookie other than Hunter win OROY, but wouldn’t that be vintage NFL? Travis Etienne is a talented but ultimately inefficient producer — back-to-back years under 4.0 yards per carry — and the current regime has no previous ties to him. Tuten has the goods to emerge as a splash-play creator on what should be an improved Jaguars offense in 2025. If he’s seen as one of the consistent drivers of that, there could be OROY talk for him, and at +8000, there’s incredible value with this selection.