It’s that time again. Dynasty rookie draft fever SZN is here. The 2025 NFL Draft will be here before we know it, and rookie drafts will start flying daily. Before you dive head-first into our fantasy football mock draft simulator and run 3,000 rookie drafts in preparation, please read up on this talented prospect class as I roll through my quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end dynasty rookie draft positional primers. Below you can find snippets of my primers along with my dynasty rookie draft rankings and tiers.
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Dynasty Rookie Draft Primer
Let’s dive into my dynasty rookie draft content to help you prepare for your drafts!
Dynasty Rookie Draft Quarterbacks
Stats:
- 2024 (minimum 150 dropbacks)
- PFF passing grade: 2nd
- Adjusted completion rate: 16th
- Yards per attempt: 4th
- Big-time throw rate: 12th
- Deep passing (minimum 20 deep passing attempts)
- Adjusted completion rate: 15th
- Deep throw rate: 48th
- Pressured passing (minimum 50 pressured dropbacks)
- Pressured adjusted completion rate: 22nd
- Clean pocket adjusted completion rate: 32nd
- Clean pocket passer rating: 2nd
Scouting Report:
- When Cam Ward is locked in, he looks like a Pro Bowl-level/difference-making quarterback. He has a rocket arm with easy velocity. He can reach back and chuck it through a brick wall. Ward likely enters the NFL immediately knocking on the door of the top 12 ranks for strongest arm in the league.
- When Ward is on, he is lacing well-timed ropes to every level of a defense. He has some of the prettiest layered second-level and deep throws you’ll see. His high-end flashes are exquisite, with on-the-money ball placement and the velocity to fit it in any tight window. Ward has a quick release and can access multiple arm angles.
- The problem is his accuracy can be erratic. There are plenty of times when he needs to take something off the fastball in the short and intermediate areas of the field. Ward’s ball placement can be erratic. There are plenty of throws where he tosses it at a receiver’s back shoulder when he should have led them further down the field or a crosser or out route will be out of the reach of his receiver. Ward will also sail throws at times as he tries to fastball it to a receiver. He has to improve his down-to-down consistency and accuracy to reach his ceiling.
- Ward is also inconsistent with moving through his progressions. There are plenty of reps where he moves seamlessly to his third option or check down. He also has several plays where he feels a tick behind and misses an open receiver running across the field. Some of this is tied to his aggressive nature. Ward will take what a defense gives him with underneath routes, but he is also always a big-play hunter. This aggression is nice when he is dialed in, but it can also get him into trouble and impact his field vision. Ward plays with a swagger and has obvious confidence he can fit throws into any small window.
- He is a creative player who can craft some off-script wizardry. Ward will stand tall, cool and collected in the face of pressure. When he is locked in, he never looks rattled against pressure. When he is off and missing throws, things can pile up for him. This all goes back to the need for his play-to-play consistency floor, which needs to be raised.
- Ward has short-area agility that allows him to move well in the pocket. He will primarily be a pocket passer in the NFL, but he can take off and gain some yards with his legs if needed. Ward shouldn’t be considered a rushing quarterback or hyper mobile.
Player Comp: Jordan Love
Check out my complete Dynasty Rookie Draft Quarterback Primer
Dynasty Rookie Draft Quarterback Rankings
Dynasty Rookie Draft Running Backs
Stats:
- 2024 (minimum 100 carries & 20 targets)
- Yards after contact per attempt: 8th
- Breakaway rate: 5th
- PFF elusive rating: 14th
- PFF receiving grade: 58th
- Yards per route run: 47th
Scouting Report:
- Kaleb Johnson is a fluid mover. He glides across the field with good bend around the edge. Some have questioned Johnson’s speed, but I have no worries about his raw speed. Johnson hits the gas as soon as he sees a sliver of daylight and can hit dingers.
- Johnson has a great feel for pressing and flowing through a run in sync with his offensive line. He can stop on a dime in the second level, pivoting and then hitting the gas again as he blows past a defender. He can make people miss in a phone booth.
- Johnson can stiff-arm a defender into the ground, but he isn’t a dominating physical runner. He excels with vision, footwork, bend and speed. He isn’t a pile-pushing physical presence as a rusher, but he does keep his legs moving through contact.
- Johnson is still a work in progress in pass protection, but he has all the tools to become a serviceable option in this realm. His hands are strong like magnets. Once he gets his mitts on a rusher, he isn’t letting go of them. He needs to improve his pass-blocking technique by utilizing his lower half and setting up lower, but the raw intangibles are there.
- Johnson was utilized as a receiving option in a limited capacity. He was a trustworthy option, though, with only two drops in his collegiate career. He mostly was used as a check-down option running flat or swing routes from the backfield. He did get the occasional angle route or outside alignment with a slant route. His loose hips and short-area agility give hope that he offers more in the NFL as a receiver than he showed in college.
Player Comp: Joe Mixon
Check out my complete Dynasty Rookie Draft Running Backs Primer
Dynasty Rookie Draft Running Backs Rankings
Dynasty Rookie Draft Wide Receivers
Emeka Egbuka (WR – Ohio State)
Stats:
- 2024 (FBS WRs, minimum 50 targets)
- Yards per route run: 38th
- PFF receiving grade: 19th
- YAC: 16th
- 2023 (FBS WRs, minimum 50 targets)
- Yards per route run: 113th
- PFF receiving grade: 90th
- 2022 (FBS WRs, minimum 50 targets)
- Yards per route run: 11th
- PFF receiving grade: 12th
- YAC: 12th
- Career
- 73.2% slot rate
- Dealt with an ankle injury in 2023 that required a tightrope procedure in December.
Scouting Report:
- Emeka Egbuka’s 2023 and (early) 2024 seasons were impacted by his ankle injury and subsequent tightrope procedure. Egbuka still produced in 2024, but this has to be mentioned when discussing his analytics and overall performance.
- Egbuka has underrated speed. While he isn’t a burner by any stretch of the imagination, he can get downfield and create YAC with his legs. I don’t foresee Egbuka making a living off of YAC ability in its purest form or his skills as a field stretcher, but he does offer some value in these areas.
- Egbuka isn’t an elite YAC threat or tackle-breaker. Since 2022, he never eclipsed 7.1 yards after the catch per reception or 10 missed tackles in any season. That’s not to say he is a zero in either category, but these traits are more of a thin sliver of icing on the cake of his skillset.
- Egbuka is a route-running wizard. He has the necessary strength, speed, release package and savvy to win from the perimeter, but that’s not where you want him playing from for most of his snaps. Egbuka plays through contact well in his routes while offering the hand fighting and upper body strength to deal with physical corners.
- Egbuka has the quick feet to dice up corners in the short and intermediate areas of the field. His fluid hips, bend and laser-sharp feet allow him to carve up zone coverage with slants, crossers, out routes, deep overs and more.
- Egbuka’s hands are quite good. While he has a 5.5% drop rate in college, I think his 54.3% contested catch rate is more indicative of his trusty mitts.
Player Comp: faster Keenan Allen
Check out my complete Dynasty Rookie Draft Wide Receivers Primer
Dynasty Rookie Draft Wide Receivers Rankings
Dynasty Rookie Draft Tight Ends
Stats:
- 2024 (FBS TEs, minimum 20 targets)
- Yards per route run: 23rd
- PFF receiving grade: 21st
- YAC per reception: 2nd
- Career
- 2024: 56.1% of his snaps from the slot or the perimeter
- ACL tear in 2022
Scouting Report:
- Elijah Arroyo is an athletic move tight end who can be a mismatch for any pass defense. Arroyo was utilized in motion, up the seam and on screens a ton in 2024. This was done to maximize his after-the-catch abilities, give him free releases off the line and hide some of the route-running growth he still needs to achieve.
- Arroyo is an upright runner and long strider who can chew up space quickly in the open field. He has 4.5/4.6 40-yard speed. He has surprisingly good deceleration and nice footwork for his size. He doesn’t use his plus feet enough in his route running or off the line to this point. Linebackers that are physical and can run with him don’t have a hard time staying with him. Arroyo’s routes lack that added nuance that can allow him to separate early and late, and his release package is limited. Arroyo can succeed against zone coverage with a decent feel for finding the holes in the coverage, but he’ll need to grow his game if he hopes to become a true mismatch weapon that can match with man coverage and good coverage linebackers.
- Arroyo uses his speed well after the catch, but he needs his play strength to show up more consistently. He forced only five missed tackles in college. He has the athleticism and upper body strength (as exhibited in his blocking) to improve in this area. I’d love to see Arroyo stiff-arm defenders in the NFL.
- Arroyo is a functional blocker. He has a decent anchor, can set the edge in run blocking and can operate as a puller. He displaces defenders but isn’t an overwhelming people mover.
Player Comp: Evan Engram
Check out my complete Dynasty Rookie Draft Tight Ends Primer
Dynasty Rookie Draft Tight Ends Rankings
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