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How to Value 2025 Rookie Picks

Trading 2025 Rookie Picks

As we approach the end of the season, developing a plan for the offseason is crucial

Should you trade away your 2025 rookie picks to bolster your roster for next year?

Or is this a rookie class worth investing in?

You may be rebuilding or stuck in the middle and need to make some moves to gain future value. 

That assessment should dictate upcoming moves, and rookie picks must be a central part of the plan.

How to Value Picks

Whether rebuilding and gathering more picks or contending and using them to strengthen your team, looking forward to the rookie class can help determine when to move those picks -- and for how much.

Rookie picks will generally increase in value over the offseason, peaking right after the Combine when rookie hype hits the masses.

This helps rebuilding teams get value by trading for picks at the beginning of the offseason. Trading away an older performing player for a pick helps a rebuild in two ways:

1. Gain value for the future with additional rookie picks
2. Make your team worse to possibly achieve a higher pick

Contenders may be tempted to upgrade their roster sooner rather than later, but patience in letting those picks gain value will help. Knowing the value of your 2025 rookie picks to get impact players is key to building a championship team at the right time.

Even so, you want to get the best value for your picks compared to the future help that a rookie selection at that pick will get you.

Let’s dive into the 2025 class and break down the pick values from our Trade Value Chart.

Early First-Round Rookie Picks 

Our PPR Trade Value Chart has a 2025 early first-round pick valued at 55.

The 2025 class at the top has many similarities to the 2024 group, except there is an elite RB this time around.

Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty profiles as the style of player fantasy managers will love. Explosive and shifty as a runner, he will top 2,500 yards rushing this season.

But even better is Jeanty's receiving. Though the Broncos used him less this season, he has high-end receiving skills coming out of the backfield both in route running and catch awareness. 

Elite WR prospects like Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan and Missouri’s Luther Burden are high-end athletes who will boast top production and analytics in the class. McMillan is a fringe top-10 NFL Draft pick, while Burden should end up in the middle of the first for immediate fantasy relevancy.

If drafted that high, they are the favorites for the 1.02 and 1.03 after Jeanty.

If you have what looks like an early first-round pick, hold it until at least the NFL Combine. There will be elite talent, and most leaguemates won’t pay early first-round prices early in the offseason.

Mid-First-Round Rookie Picks

Our PPR Trade Value Chart has a 2025 mid-first-round pick valued at 46.

RB depth will be the mark of the 2025 class. North Carolina's Omarion Hampton and Iowa's Kaleb Johnson have both emerged as a top-50 NFL Draft picks. Hampton is a well-rounded athlete who can run outside and catch the ball, while Johnson is the old school bruiser through the middle.

We also can't leave out underperforming talents like the Ohio State duo of Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson as well as Oklahoma State's Ollie Gordon, who all still have NFL starter potential.

As we learned in 2024, however, the NFL Draft doesn’t always go as planned. RB-needy teams like the Cowboys sometimes just pass altogether, while a team like the Jets with one of the best RBs in the league can draft one in the top 140 picks.

Luckily, there appear to be enough RBs that even if a surprise one or two go back to school, we should have a few top landing spots that match the talent.

WR Talent

With increased passing in college football, WR is also ripe with talent. Potential first-round pick Emeka Egbuka of Ohio State will be a high floor choice, while third-year players like Oregon’s Evan Stewart and Texas’ Isaiah Bond bring the upside. 

That being said, the safety of moving a mid-first for an established fantasy WR like Jaylen Waddle is worthwhile

If the hype for the WR class grows during the offseason, shop your mid-first to bolster your core starters.

Improving your 3D+ Value in the offseason gives you an edge both short and long-term.

Late First-Round Picks

Our PPR Trade Value Chart has a 2025 late first-round pick valued at 39.

Contenders looking to move their first-round pick for a run at the championship can do so without worrying about missing out on rookie value.

With the elite WRs and talented RBs in good situations likely gone by the end of the first round, the players left will have some red flags.

For RB, it is likely situations where they are stuck in a committee with an established runner or a Day 3 pick that has a path to playing time.

WRs in this range are likely older players, helped by the additional COVID years, such as Oklahoma’s Deion Burks or LSU’s Kyren Lacy.

TE is also on the weak side, and there may not be one worth a first-round rookie pick. Penn State's Tyler Warren is the early favorite, but he really didn't break out until his fourth and final season.

Trading To Win Another Championship

Offering up a late first-round pick has plenty of trade allure, and if your leaguemates haven’t studied the draft yet, they may give you a key producer for what will be a dart throw. A late first likely won’t differ much from a mid-second when we get to rookie drafts in May.

For rebuilding teams acquiring late firsts from contenders, know the risk and ensure you aren’t putting a premium on the pick just because it is labeled a first-rounder.

Second Round Picks

Our PPR Trade Value Chart has a 2025 mid-second-round pick valued at 32.

This is the final season for players using the extra eligibility year they were granted in 2020 due to COVID.

That should make the depth of this class strong (though underclassmen declaring will continue to be down).

This helps the value of second-round picks to be on par with late first-rounders.

The depth at WR and RB will trickle down to the second round, with an upside TE here and there.

One position that hasn’t been noted yet is QB, which still looks like one of the weakest in years. Miami's Cam Ward and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders may be drafted highly, but they have their own warts.

Alabama's Jalen Milroe has tons of fantasy rushing potential, but his passing is a work in progress.

Second-rounders don’t look as good in a trade proposal as a late first, but a late second can be enough to acquire older fantasy starters like RB James Conner

Rebuilding teams can acquire second-rounders much cheaper than late firsts and may find a similar return regarding rookie talent. Late seconds also can be critical during the rookie draft to help you move up for that stud that falls too far.

Third & Fourth Round Picks

Our PPR Trade Value Chart has a 2025 mid-third-round pick valued at 22.

Even with added depth, thirds and fourths are long shots even to make a dynasty roster, let alone be hits.

One or two a year will break out, but the odds are slim.

If adding a third or fourth-rounder helps get a deal done, toss one in. 

For third-round picks, finding a future top-24 RB/WR or top-12 QB/TE has about a 15% hit rate, while fourth-round picks drop as low as 7%.

In deeper-roster dynasties where you can let players sit on a taxi squad or end of the roster for a few years, having a bunch of third/fourth dart throws has a little more value. But even then, you will draft far more busts than hits.

Superflex Rookie Picks

Our PPR Trade Value Chart has a 2025 mid-first-round pick in Superflex valued at 42.

Right now, the QB position looks pretty rough for the 2025 NFL Draft. No doubt players like Ward and Sanders will get pushed up, but they won't feel as safe as Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams last year.

If we do get a rushing QB like Milroe taken in the top five of the NFL Draft, then he will be a smash high first-round pick in superflex.

If the NFL does not pursue the position or selects less talented QBs based on need, Superflex drafters will need to avoid landmines.

This situation makes Superflex picks slightly overvalued by consensus due to the risk of no QB emerging as a top option.

Contending teams shouldn’t blink an eye to trade away their first to strengthen their championship chances.

More Dynasty Fantasy Football Tools

This short video previews the Draft Sharks tools ready to help you dominate your dynasty league year after year. 

Shane Hallam, Writer

Shane has over 20 years of experience creating content and playing every fantasy football format including redraft, dynasty, devy, IDP, and more. He is a multi-year winner of $500 dynasty leagues on the FFPC and utilizes deep film and scheme study to enhance his fantasy performance.