Rookie WR Expectations Pre-Draft 2025

The leap from college to the pros is giant. Most college players fail when trying to reach the next level. Handicapping the chances of the top rookie WRs is very difficult, especially before the NFL Draft. 

This year, The Professor has challenged me to put my handicapping skills to the test by setting the Morning Line Odds for each player, showing how many dollars from a fictitious $100 bank roll I am willing to wager on each player to be the top scorer in Fantasy Football among this rookie class at WR. 

In addition, I will show the forecast of my percentage chances of each player finishing at various levels in Fantasy Football scoring this season. Here are my pre-NFL draft expectations for the rookie WR class. 

Definitions

Top Scorer at Position Among Rookies- While weekly values are more critical in Fantasy Football success, for this experiment, I am attempting to forecast which rookie player has the most total points for the 2025 season at each position. 

Top 12, 18, or 24: Total Fantasy Football points will also be used for each level for the 2025 season. 

FIELD- Indicates all players at the position other than those mentioned directly in the article. 

Historic Values

Before preparing an actual forecast, we need to understand the range of possible outcomes for rookies at the WR position based on the most recent 10 seasons.

Conclusion

The last two seasons have shown us how vital landing position is for Fantasy Football success in year one at WR. Jaxon Smith-Njigba was a better prospect than Puka Nacua but was behind two very good WRs in Seattle in 2023, whereas Nacua had no competition for targets in LA. Last year, Rome Odunze was a better prospect than Brian Thomas Jr, but joined a Chicago team with DJ Moore and Keenan Allen, while BTJ only had to deal with Gabe Davis.

Last year, I was higher on BTJ than most, and this year I am lower pre-draft on Matthew Golden than most are in Fantasy Football. Landing position will be very important once again this season. This WR class has some interesting talent but is not that deep. It’s also harder to figure out the second tier after the obvious top three.