8 Writers Share Who They Think Will Be The NFL's Best Rookie in 2025

Shoutout to all of the writers who helped me with this one

Huge thank you to all of the writers who collaborated with me!

Jack Zucker - Jack’s Thoughts

There are many great rookie prospects heading into this NFL season. Now that they’re with their new teams, you can already get a sense of who will thrive—and who might just end up being one of those guys. Take Buccaneers receiver Emeka Egbuka, for example. With Chris Godwin and Mike Evans—plus plenty of other receivers already on the roster—it felt like a questionable decision. I mean, sure, maybe Tampa Bay thinks Godwin won’t bounce back from his big injury. But even then, it’s still a puzzling move. Except we’re not talking about one of those guys. We’re talking about a player who will thrive. So, the best rookie is an easy pick for me. It’s gotta be the man in the Big Apple: Abdul Carter. He’s honestly a clone of Micah Parsons—someone you do not want to get hit by.

Now, I know what you might be thinking: “Seriously, Jack? Not an offensive player?” And yeah, I get it. Travis Hunter, who plays both sides of the ball, is going to be great. Jeanty on the Raiders is another stud. But Abdul Carter is just on another universe.

Not only do I think he’ll put up a 7.5+ sack season, but learning from guys like Brian Burns and Dexter Lawrence is going to be huge for him. He already has all the tools—and now he’s learning from the best. That’s scary to think about.

Mike Tanier - Mike Tanier’s Too Deep Zone

Ashton Jeanty is going to have Saquon Barkley's rookie season. Saquon gained over 2,000 scrimmage yards and scored 20 touchdowns for the Giants in 2018. The Giants went 5-11, but general manager Dave Gettleman (and many fans who loved the Saquon pick) flexed and dunked on analytics experts who said that the Giants picked a running back too soon. You know the rest of the story: the Giants STILL don't have a quarterback -- they could have drafted Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson in 2018 -- and Saquon battled injuries and terrible offensive lines for years before escaping to an Eagles team that already had a Super Bowl caliber roster in place and needed a missing piece.

That's what will happen with Jeanty. He's going to rush for over 1,200 yards this year. He will help win some fantasy leagues. But the Raiders are going to go from being a last place team to a slightly more competitive last place teams. That's the nature of running backs, they can only help a team win if that team is already set at quarterback and other key positions.

The Raiders are only really set at edge rusher. But Jeanty is likely to win Offensive Rookie of the Year and generate lots of highlights in a year in which most rookies will have trouble standing out.

Steve Lichtenstein - Steve’s Newsletter

In a league where offense rules the day, 2025’s top NFL rookies will predominantly come from the other side of the ball. Several experts have opined that Tennessee’s Cam Ward, the No. 1 overall pick, would have ranked well below the quarterbacks selected in the first round of last year's Draft. No other QB was taken until 25, and there was relatively light activity at the other skill positions in the top 20. Instead, I’m going with edge rusher Abdul Carter, the Giants’No. 3 overall pick out of Penn State, to win the Pro Football Writers ofAmerica Rookie of the Year honor. The Micah Parsons comparisons are on the money in terms of Carter’s bend and relentless nature getting after QBs and ballcarriers. He’s a difference maker.

Though Carter might have to initially share reps with 2022’s first-round pick Kayvon Thibodeaux, it will soon be clear that Carter brings more of a consistent motor to the job. And when you factor in the attention opposing offensive lines must pay to Dexter Lawrence inside and Brian Burns on the opposite edge, Carter might not see a ton of double teams.

Not unless offenses are only sending two receivers out on pass patterns for max protection. Defense is about generating negative plays, and no college player did it better than Carter last season. He led the nation in tackles for loss while registering 12 sacks. I’m predicting double digit sacks and bundles of general wreckage for his rookie season. While I think dual threat Travis Hunter will eventually be a star, I don’t trust Jacksonville’s organization to manage him properly out of the gate. Carter is my favorite for ROY.

Smayan Srikanth - Sports Square

More than who would be the best rookie next year, I want to talk about who would be the most impactful one. That award is going to have to go to Matthew Golden. The Packers had absolutely no passing attack last year, and they depended quite a bit on the running game and Josh Jacobs. Plus, Golden adds a sort of firepower to the team.

Jacobs will wear the defense out in the first half of the game, and then Golden would pounce at throws in the 2nd half, making him a clutch WR for the Packers, which is not only what Jordan Love needs but what the Packers need to get some playoff runs started.

Another thing that we all need to note about Golden is that the other teams in the NFC North don’t have good passing defense, meaning that Golden will be able to get his way through the secondary and make some stellar plays.

Matt Lombardo - Between The Hashmarks

So much of the success of incoming rookies in the NFL is the situation that they walk into the league into, and while Ashton Jeanty and Abdul Carter might be the early-line favorites to run away with Offensive and Defensive Rookie of The Year honors, there's another first-round pick who could be primed to have the best season of anyone chosen in this year's class.

Denver Broncos cornerback Jahdae Barron lands in arguably the NFL's top defense, lining up opposite defending Defensive Player of The Year Patrick Surtain. During his swan song in Austin, Barron held opposing quarterbacks to a ludicrous 34.2 passer rating, according to Pro Football Focus, while picking off five passes and forcing 10 incompletions in 16 games. The Broncos might have just forged the stingiest cornerback duo in the sport, and given that Surtain is on the other side of the field, Barron may have plenty of opportunities to flash his elite ball skills and coverage ability this season.

Robbie Marriage - Sports Passion Project

I want to start off by saying rookies are notoriously hard to predict. In the 2024 NFL season for example, despite there being 20 offensive players drafted in the first round, the best rookie in the NFL was none of them. The best rookie in the NFL was a fourth round draft pick, Tampa Bay Buccaneer RB Bucky Irving. Bucky was the sixth RB taken last year. I would like to go back to before last season and find a single soul predicting him to be the best.

What I’m saying is that there’s a 100 percent chance that we’re going to be wrong, no matter who we pick, because forecasting rookie performance based on nothing but college performance is hard. However, there are a few historical trends we can follow to help us out a little bit.

First and foremost, the best rookie when taking into account positional value is often a QB these days. This is how Jayden Daniels won OROTY when he was not even the best rookie in his own conference. However, when not taking into account positional value, it’s almost never a QB. That’s just a position that’s just too hard for rookies to play. The same goes for several other positions, like OL, ILB, and Safety. You can be a great rookie at these positions, but you can never be the best rookie in the NFL at these positions, because college kids are so good these days that being the best rookie in the NFL basically requires you to come into the NFL as a top five player at your position. History also tells us that the best rookie does tend to come out of the first round, although Bucky Irving in 2024 didn’t and Puka Nacua in 2023 didn’t, but about 60 percent of the time they do. This leaves my choices as 2025 first rounders that are not QBs, OTs, ILBs, or safeties. From here, I further narrow it down based upon the fact that players that tend to perform well as rookies are those that get drafted to units that are good already. DEs on good defensive lines. WRs in good passing offences, and etcetera.

If I run this process of elimination, restricting myself to first rounders on units that are already good, at positions where it’s possible for a rookie to make an impact, I leave myself with DT Mason Graham, WR Emeka Egbuka, CB Jahdae Barron, DT Derrick Harmon, RB Omarian Hampton, and WR Matthew Golden. These guys would be my short list if I were looking strictly for guys who will be really good as rookies.

Out of these options I’ve left myself, I really like the chances of Mason Graham and Jahdae Barron to be productive as young players. They’re not necessarily any more talented than anybody else, but they’re both going to get chances to show what talent they have, because teams will be running plays away from star players on the other side of the field on their defensive units. Mason Graham in Cleveland and Patrick Surtain in Denver.

If these rookies stink, this constant targeting will cause them to get exposed, but if they’re very good, it will cause them to get recognition very quickly, and as such, I like them as answers to a question like this. I’ll use Mason Graham as my final pick, because interior defensive line has proven throughout history to be one of the easier positions for rookies to pick up, but watch out for both these guys.

Grant Shortz - Jack’s Thoughts

Ashton Jeanty is poised to be the best rookie in the 2025 NFL season due to his exceptional college career, elite athleticism, and immediate impact potential with the Las Vegas Raiders. Jeanty concluded his collegiate career at Boise State with one of the most dominant seasons in college football history. Rushing for 2,601 yards, while scoring 29 touchdowns, Jeanty led the nation in both categories. In that season, the new Las Vegas running back averaged 185.8 rushing yards per game, the highest in the FBS. Earning the Doak Walker Award (nation's top RB), Maxwell Award (player of the year), and was an All-American. Also finished as the Heisman Trophy runner-up, to Travis Hunter.

Selected by the Las Vegas Raiders with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Jeanty is expected to step in as the team's lead running back. His skill set aligns perfectly with the NFL's evolving offensive strategies, emphasizing dynamic and versatile running backs.

His ability to contribute both in the running game and as a receiving threat makes him a standout prospect with the potential to make an immediate impact at the professional level. He will be this year’s best rookie.

Frank Cooney - Hall of Football

I think Ashton Jeanty should have a great season. One of top 3 college runners I ever saw. After OJ and Barry. Not a great OL, which is why Carroll will use plenty of running to set up play action to take heat off QB. Watch the Raiders last two picks to be surprises.

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