The 2025 NFL Draft is in the books, and your rookie draft season is likely heating up. Over the rest of the week, and a couple of pieces, I will be looking at winners and losers from the draft. We’ll start with rookies and continue through veterans whose situations improved, solidified, or crumbled over a wild three days in Green Bay. Today, it’s veterans whose prospects suffered by what their team didn’t take in the draft. Each piece will give two at each of the four major positions—quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end. Let’s dive in.
Quarterbacks
Spencer Rattler, New Orleans Saints
About: The Saints’ quarterback room is an open question mark. The team still has veteran Derek Carr on the roster, but reports are that he has an injury that will keep him out all season. Last year, the team snagged Rattler in the draft. He started several games in 2024 but didn’t look great as the team lost all of them. Then the Saints spent a second-round pick on Tyler Shough in the draft. It’s the highest they’ve drafted a quarterback since Archie Manning in the 1970s. That can’t be ignored. Someone will have to start games. Before the draft, it looked like that could be Rattler. It seems more likely to be the highly drafted rookie taken by a new coaching staff.
Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston
About: Wilson was the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers last season. Winston was the QB2 in Cleveland who started a number of games after Deshaun Watson was lost for the year. Both signed this off-season with the Giants, giving them two experienced options. It figured to be a battle between them in 2025. Then the Giants traded up to select Jaxson Dart in the first round of the NFL Draft. That leaves the Giants with three potential options and plenty of questions. The team has suggested Wilson heads into the off-season program as the starter, and Dart is likely to sit and learn in 2025. But we all know plans change. Either way, it doesn’t look great for Wilson and Winston in 2025 or long-term.
Running Backs
Najee Harris, Los Angeles Chargers
About: Harris was once a first-round draft pick. After putting up four solid years where he had at least 1,000 yards rushing each season, he hit the free agent market. He signed with the Chargers and seemed to have an opportunity to be a great volume back. Then the Chargers took Omarion Hampton in the first round of the draft. The coaches have said that Harris and Hampton are co-starters, which means a split workload at best. With Harris on a one-year deal, it’s less than ideal for his dynasty prospects.
Jerome Ford, Cleveland Browns
About: Ford has been a reliable piece of the Browns’ backfield for the past two seasons. He heads into the final year of his contract with an uncertain future. Heading into the draft, he was one of just two running backs on the roster. In the draft, the Browns spent a second-round pick on Ohio State back Quinshon Judkins and a fourth-round pick on Tennessee back Dylan Sampson. That creates a committee at best, one that could see Ford with a diminished role in his final year in Cleveland. That’s not idea for those that roster him in fantasy.
Wide Receivers
Quentin Johnston, Los Angeles Chargers
About: Johnston was once a first-round pick meant to boost the Chargers’ receiving room. Through two seasons, it hasn’t happened. He flashed at times in 2024, but the team brought back veteran Mike Williams this offseason and snagged Tre Harris in the draft. They’re also reportedly still mulling bringing back Keenan Allen. All that spells a murky path to targets at best for Johnston, whose inconsistencies hurt the Chargers down the stretch in 2024. If you are looking for production at receiver, looking elsewhere is best.
Dyami Brown, Jacksonville Jaguars
About: For a minute there this off-season, Brown stans had some hope. After he signed with a Jaguars team that traded Christian Kirk, it looked like Brown might have a path to targets. Instead, the team drafted Travis Hunter with the second overall pick. With Brian Thomas, Jr. entrenched as the clear WR1 and Hunter being a weapon for the Jaguars’ offense, Brown is fighting for targets with Gabe Davis, Parker Washington, and tight end Brenton Strange.
Tight Ends
Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears
About: Kmet has long been the ultimate boom-bust player at the position. He’s capable of putting up huge games, but getting consistent targets has been a problem. That won’t be any easier in 2025. The Bears drafted wide receiver Luther Burden and tight end Colston Loveland. They also still have D.J. Moore and second-year receiver Rome Odunze. All that leaves a crowd for Kmet, who wasn’t a reliable week-to-week start even before the draft. If Kmet is your tight end, it’s time to look for some backup.
Noah Fant, Seattle Seahawks
About: Fant has had promise and talent since being drafted as a receiving tight end. That hasn’t always worked out for fantasy. He had uneven quarterback play with the Denver Broncos and has faced serious target competition since arriving in Seattle. Now, ahead of a contract season, the team spent a draft pick on Miami’s Elijah Arroyo. While Arroyo probably won’t usurp Fant in 2025, he’ll likely be why the tight end is back on the market in 2026. All that leaves his long-term value very much up in the air.
Matthew Fox is a die-hard NFL fan and Broncos’ homer. He’s a member of the FSWA. You can find more from him on Twitter @knighthawk7734 or as co-host of the Fantasy Football Roundtable Podcast, a part of the Campus2Canton Network.
