Fantasy Football: Winners and losers from Day 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft

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The first round of the 2025 NFL Draft is complete, and the fantasy football landscape is already shifting. From top rookie picks finding ideal landing spots to veterans suddenly facing new competition, Round 1 offered several key developments that will impact draft boards this summer.

Here’s a breakdown of the biggest fantasy football winners and losers after Day 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft.

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Winner: RB Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders

Jeanty is the best running back in the class and landed on the team that needed a running back the most. The Raiders rotated between four different running backs last season and ranked last in terms of PFF rushing grade. Most potential landing spots would have left Jeanty in some kind of committee, but in Las Vegas, Jeanty will receive as many touches as he can handle. His primary backup is free agent addition Raheem Mostert, who is 33 years old. While the Raiders have tight end Brock Bowers and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers, Jeanty should finish in the top three or four in targets on the team.

The main concern in Las Vegas is the offensive line, which is just average. This could prevent Jeanty from being the top overall running back in his rookie season. However, three-fifths of the line has a positive run-block rate, and those are the kind of plays that lead to long gains. Ideally, the young line can take a step forward with Jeanty. He remains the clear top prospect in both dynasty rookie and dynasty rookie superflex drafts, but should also be a first-round pick in single-quarterback redraft leagues.

Winner: WR Tetairoa McMillan, Carolina Panthers

Recently, most mock drafts had McMillan landing with the Dallas Cowboys or Jacksonville Jaguars. He would have been the second receiving option at best with either team, given the presence of CeeDee Lamb and Brian Thomas Jr. There were also plenty of mocks who had McMillan falling to the second half of the first round. Instead, McMillan is selected with a top-10 pick on one of the few teams that could use a No. 1 receiver.

The Panthers rotated Xavier Legette, Adam Thielen, Jalen Coker and David Moore last season, depending on who was healthy. McMillan is a prototypical X receiver, and the Panthers didn’t have a clear X receiver last season. Moore began the season as their X receiver with Legette at Z, and halfway through the season, they flipped roles in preparation for Thielen’s return after missing the first half of the season. Carolina can put McMillan at the X receiver spot and let the other players rotate in the other two places.

While there is always a chance McMillan will start the season as part of the rotation, this was still one of the top potential landing spots for a high target ceiling.

Winner: RB Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers

Hampton spent his 2022 season in a five-way committee at running back, followed by two years as the every-down back. His volume improved each season. There wasn’t a significant improvement in his rushing between 2023 and 2024, outside of a few longer runs, which helped boost his volume stats and EPA. He similarly made more big plays as a receiver out of the backfield, even though his receiving grade didn’t necessarily improve. Hampton is among the top-10 FBS running backs over the last eight seasons in terms of his average max speed based on PFF’s tracking data. Breece Hall and Keaton Mitchell are the only current running backs faster in the NFL.

He lands with a Los Angeles Chargers team that would love to run the ball. They’ve spent recent drafts investing heavily in the offensive line, as Rashawn Slater, Zion Johnson and Joe Alt are all first-round picks. They added Mekhi Becton in free agency. The Chargers should be running the ball a lot and finding success doing so.

The only problem is that the Chargers added running back Najee Harris in free agency. However, Harris was only signed to a one-year, $5.25 million contract. He received less guaranteed than players like Devin Singletary or Antonio Gibson received in free agency last season. While Harris will still receive playing time and could be the starter at the beginning of the season, it shouldn’t take long for Hampton to receive a clear majority of touches, allowing him to become a fantasy starter. 

Winner: WR Matthew Golden, Green Bay Packers

While the Panthers were one of the teams most in need of a potential top receiver, the Packers were another. They used a rotation of Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson and Dontayvion Wicks on the outside and Jayden Reed in the slot. Watson has dealt with injuries throughout his career and is expected to miss a significant part of the season. Golden joins the rotation with Doubs and Wicks to begin the season.

In the short term, Golden might be stuck in a rotation, playing 60-70% of Green Bay’s offensive snaps. That won’t be enough to be a fantasy starter, but if he proves he’s the best option in the room, 

Winner: The Dallas Cowboys Day 2 RB

Many expected the Cowboys to select a wide receiver with their first pick, but instead, they added Alabama guard Tyler Booker. He was listed as the interior lineman with the best run-blocking strength in our offensive line superlatives article. He fills in for a retired future Hall of Famer, Zack Martin. The Cowboys have invested heavily in the offensive line in recent drafts. Adding Booker should ensure the Cowboys’ line remains strong this year and could be among the best in the league soon.

Dallas lost Rico Dowdle in free agency but brought in Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders. The Cowboys are expected to pick a running back who will likely be the starter on the team at some point during their rookie season. Any running back landing in Dallas was already expected to be a winner, given the lack of depth at the position. Now, they will be even more of a winner with the reinforcements on the offensive line.

Loser: WR/DB Travis Hunter, Jacksonville Jaguars

In the days leading up to the draft, Hunter seemed destined to be on the Cleveland Browns. General manager Andrew Berry had been adamant that Hunter would be primarily a wide receiver and secondarily a defensive back. Cleveland’s top wide receiver is Jerry Jeudy, and there was a reasonable enough chance Hunter could surpass Jeudy to be the top target earner in Cleveland as a rookie.

Now, he is with the Jaguars. The good news is that at the Jaguars’ Day 1 press conference, head coach Liam Coen said he would be a wide receiver first but would also get plenty of reps in practice on defense. There was also an emphasis on staying fluid. The projected usage sounds similar to how Berry has been speaking since the combine.

Last season, Jacksonville used Montaric Brown, Tyson Campbell and Ronald Darby on the outside. None of the cornerbacks had a PFF coverage grade above 65.0, and Darby wasn’t re-signed. At wide receiver, Brian Thomas Jr. is the top target earner, which is unlikely to change. The team retained Parker Washington and Gabe Davis and added free agent Dyami Brown. There is a need at both positions.

The main reason he’s here is that the Jaguars have more depth at wide receiver than the Browns. Cleveland needed to keep Hunter on the field on offense as much as possible, while Jacksonville can survive with Hunter being in more of a rotation if need be. His target ceiling is also lower in Jacksonville because Thomas takes a high percentage of targets.

There is still a chance Hunter can be a regular fantasy starter this season. Coen had Mike Evans and Chris Godwin last season, and when both players were healthy, they were both fantasy starters. However, landing with the Jaguars instead of the Browns increases the odds that his playing time on offense is relatively limited compared to most usual fantasy starting wide receivers.

Loser: TE Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears

The Bears spent the 10th overall pick on Michigan tight end Colston Loveland. Kmet had spent a few years as one of the top tight ends in offensive snaps, as his PFF grade was slowly rising. Last season was a step back for Kmet. He was a backup at the start of the season in a rotation with Gerald Everett. His receiving grade also declined.

Kmet should still play plenty of snaps as the Bears’ primary blocking tight end, but he is unlikely to be fantasy-relevant in Chicago with Loveland likely to take the passing down snaps. Kmet’s presence also makes it challenging to call Loveland a winner, despite being the first overall tight end picked. While there is a chance Loveland will be Chicago’s top target in the middle of the field, there is also a chance he only plays 50-60% of the team’s offensive snaps due to his lack of blocking mixed with Kmet’s experience as a blocker. He will be a high-risk, high-reward option, while fellow rookie tight end Tyler Warren, who was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts at 14, will be the safer rookie option.

Loser: WR Emeka Egbuka, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

If you ranked the teams that needed a wide receiver the most heading into the draft, the Buccaneers would be near the bottom of the list. They retained future Hall of Famer Mike Evans, were able to re-sign Chris Godwin, and 2024 third-round pick Jalen McMillan began to shine late in his rookie campaign. This move is particularly puzzling because Egbuka played nearly three-fourths of his snaps out of the slot at Ohio State. The Buccaneers have Chris Godwin, who has been one of the most prolific slot receivers of the last decade and was a top wide receiver in fantasy points per game last season.

If no one in Tampa Bay is injured, it’s hard to imagine Egbuka becoming a fantasy starter in the near future. Even if Evans retires after the season, Godwin, McMillan and Egbuka all are more slot receivers or Z receivers, and not X receivers, making it challenging for the three to coexist. Both Godwin and McMillan will be on the roster for a minimum of two seasons.

While there is always a chance Egbuka’s talent pushes to be a fantasy starter, the road to get there will be much more challenging during his rookie contract compared to if he landed with nearly any other team.

Loser: RB Najee Harris, Los Angeles Chargers

Typically, when a rookie is picked in the first round, the previously projected starter is a loser. Most first-round skill players landed on teams where we already expected that team to pick a player. Harris is the most significant exception in the group. Harris has never missed a game in his NFL career, but he has never been an efficient runner.

Harris can be a dependable early down running back or backup, but Harris constantly lost playing time to Jaylen Warren and stayed fantasy-relevant by constantly getting the ball when he was on the field. Omarion Hampton will take more playing time from Harris than Warren did, and it’s unlikely his touches per snap numbers will remain elite.

While there is always a chance the Chargers make their rookie option wait to see significant playing time, all signs point to Harris being more of a handcuff for fantasy football purposes.

This news was originally published on this post .

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