RELATED: See Ideal Fits for IDP Rookies here

The big day(s) in Green Bay are almost here.

We're less than a week away from the 2025 NFL Draft. After months of ruminating on how this year's rookie class stacks up against one another, where their professional careers will begin, and what that means for their fantasy value, the time for speculation will finally, blissfully come to an end.

Just kidding. That speculation will just shift. Rather than wondering where Running Back X (his friends call him RBX) will land in the NFL, fantasy pundits will transition to what Landing Spot A means for their fantasy fortunes.

There's good reason for that—talent may reign supreme in fantasy football, but situation freaking matters. Saquon Barkley with the New York Giants from 2020 to 2023 vs. Barkley with the Philadelphia Eagles last year is all the evidence you need of how much.

The reality is that not every rookie will win the situation lottery. It is 127 percent certain that there will be quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends who will elicit groans next week when their teams are announced. Running backs will land somewhere with more established options ahead of them (hello, RBBC). Wideouts will land with shaky quarterbacks or murky paths to targets. It happens.

But while hope is still alive, let's take a look at some of this year's top fantasy-relevant rookies and imagine scenarios that will elicit cheers—landing spots that are more boon to their fantasy value than bane.

There's one caveat here, though. All of these landing spots are at least somewhat realistic. We'd all like to imagine Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty starting his career behind a top-five offensive line.

It ain't happening, Jack.

Ideal Landing Spots for Quarterbacks

Cam Ward – Tennessee Titans

This isn't an ideal landing spot. It's just the landing spot that appears 99 percent certain for the Miami standout. In fact, it's anything but ideal—the Titans were a bottom-five offensive line last year per Footballguys, and the depth chart at wide receiver gets shaky quickly behind Calvin Ridley. Ward will be the first rookie quarterback drafted in redraft formats just because he's going to start from the jump, but expectations need to be tempered in 2025—considerably.

Shedeur Sanders – New Orleans Saints

For all the talk about Sanders potentially falling in this year's draft, this writer doesn't think he makes it past the Saints at No. 9 overall. Derek Carr and New Orleans appear headed for a messy divorce, and we've seen enough of Spencer Rattler to know he isn't the guy. This isn't a bad landing spot for Sanders, really—the cupboard at wide receiver isn't completely bare in the Big Easy, and Saints head coach Kellen Moore has had success working with accurate passers with limited athleticism (see Prescott, Dak).

Jaxson Dart – Pittsburgh Steelers

I've been wrong before, but I believe that Dart will be the third of four quarterbacks drafted in Round 1—and that the Pittsburgh Steelers are growing weary of waiting on Aaron Rodgers to finish consulting his swami before deciding whether to play or not in 2025. Dart isn't lacking for confidence—he told CBS Sports that he believes he's the best quarterback in the Class of 2025. That may be pushing it, but if Dart can beat out Mason Rudolph (not exactly a Herculean task), he could easily be the highest-scoring first-year quarterback this year.

Jalen Milroe – Cleveland Browns

Milroe isn't going to drop to Cleveland at No. 33, because nothing good ever happens to the Clowns. But Cleveland tops the list of teams who could look to trade back into Round 1 to get an option year on a quarterback. If the Browns take Travis Hunter at No. 2 overall, Milroe would have the rookie, Jerry Jeudy, and David Njoku at his disposal in the passing game, and the offensive coordinator for the Browns just so happens to be Tommy Rees, who coached Milroe in his best collegiate season in 2023.

Ideal Landing Spots for Running Backs

Ashton Jeanty – Las Vegas Raiders

This landing spot has been popular in the mock draft community since 2018 (kidding), and it's not bad from a fantasy perspective at all. Yes, the Raiders were bad last year, but the team fielded a top-10 run-blocking offensive line. Pete Carroll is likely going to lean on the run game given the Raiders' relative lack of pass-catching talent, and Geno Smith could be the best quarterback Vegas has had in—a while. Jeanty's likely going to be a top-10 running back in terms of redraft ADP this year, and Sin City would give him a real chance to actually live up to most of the hype.

Omarion Hampton – Denver Broncos

It's going to be interesting to see where Hampton is drafted—for every pundit who has the 221-pounder as the second Round 1 back in the NFL Draft, there's one that has him falling well into Round 2. But what fantasy managers should want for Hampton is a clear path to touches after what he did in a workhorse-type role the past two years with the Tar Heels. One quick glimpse at Denver's depth chart in the backfield is all it takes to see plenty of daylight for Hampton in the Mile High City.

Quinshon Judkins – Dallas Cowboys

Were Judkins to fall to the early part of Round 3, this Browns fan would likely need a defibrillator. But Judkins is just too talented and too well-rounded as a prospect to make it out of Round 2—he checks every box as a potential three-down back in the pros. The presence of Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders might cause concerns about workload, but I'd counter that we've seen Williams and Sanders—by October one would get a series or two spelling Judkins and the other would hold down a bench with his butt.

TreVeyon Henderson – Chicago Bears

A healthy Henderson is as talented and explosive as any running back in this class (That's right, I said it). He has a turbo mode that can't be taught—you either have it or you don't. Given Henderson's durability issues at Ohio State and small(ish) size, though, he'll likely be viewed as the "Lightning" half of a backfield duo by NFL teams. Assuming that's the case, it's not hard to get excited about new Bears head coach Ben Johnson viewing Henderson as his Jahmyr Gibbs and D'Andre Swift as David Montgomery. It's also not hard to imagine Henderson quickly becoming the 1A in that scenario.

Kaleb Johnson – Cleveland Browns

That's right—we're fixing the Browns! (Like any mortal is actually capable of that). Johnson isn't a burner, but the 6-0, 225-pounder topped 1,500 rushing yards, averaged 6.4 yards per carry at Iowa in 2024, and scored a whopping 21 times on the ground. Cleveland still has Jerome Ford on the roster to handle the passing-down work, and while the offensive line in Cleveland isn't what it was, it's still pretty good. Saying that Johnson could be the next Nick Chubb is hyperbolic. Saying that Johnson could make some real hay in Chubb's role with the Browns? Not so much.

Ideal Landing Spots for Wide Receivers

Tetairoa McMillan – Dallas Cowboys

There's some question as to whether McMillan, who is regarded by many as this year's top receiver prospect who doesn't also play cornerback, will even be there at No. 12 overall. What cannot be questioned is his fit in Dallas opposite CeeDee Lamb. He's an ideal big-bodied complement to Lamb, and while the latter is of course the top dog in Big D, McMillan would benefit both from all the defensive attention Lamb will see and from playing with a quarterback the caliber of Dak Prescott.

Matthew Golden – Arizona Cardinals

There are those who believe Golden is the best wide receiver prospect in the Class of 2025—he can play inside or on the boundary, runs crisp routes, has good hands, and ran a 4.29-second 40-yard dash at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine. Marvin Harrison Jr. may have disappointed as a rookie, but he's still a star in the making, and he and Golden could combine to form quite a one-two punch for Kyler Murray in the desert. Throw in tight end Trey McBride, and the Cardinals could be on to something.

Emeka Egbuka – Buffalo Bills

Frankly, there is no "best" landing spot for Egbuka. While the 6-1, 202-pounder may not have the highest ceiling, he has the highest fantasy floor of any rookie receiver in the class—and that may well include Travis Hunter. Egbuka isn't super explosive, but he's an excellent route runner who just has a knack for getting open. Ohio State's all-time leading receiver in terms of catches has a lot of Jaxon Smith-Njigba in his game, and last year JSN finished the season as a top-15 receiver in PPR points.

Luther Burden III – Los Angeles Rams

This isn't a spot I've seen Burden mocked to very much, but after seeing it happen the other day, it's stuck in my head just how sneaky-good a landing spot for the mercurial slot receiver this could be. The mid to late-20s feels like where Burden will go after his numbers dropped significantly in 2024, but in the hands of the right offensive coordinator, Burden could be absolutely lethal. He'd be an ideal target for the 49ers if they weren't picking so early, but a Davante Adams/Puka Nacua/Burden trio for Sean McVay is intriguing, even if Burden's early target share could be high-variance as a result.

Jayden Higgins – Tennessee Titans

With the Titans about to make a massive investment in Cam Ward, the team's next order of business should be improving his passing-game weapons. With a 6-4 frame and 4.47-second speed, Higgins is a prototypical "X" receiver who has evoked comparisons to Nico Collins of the Houston Texans. Ward's not a sure bet under center, but Calvin Ridley could be the perfect fantasy batterymate for Higgins—good enough to draw coverage away from the youngster without being a dominant "alpha" receiver sure to dominate target share.

Ideal Landing Spots for Tight Ends

Tyler Warren – New York Jets

Stop me if you have heard this before, but the New York Jets are overhauling the offense (again), and with Davante Adams and Tyler Conklin no longer in town, the pass-catching depth chart for Justin Fields consists of Garrett Wilson, the recently re-signed Allen Lazard (not making that up) and, um, well, wanna play for the Jets? Warren was a Swiss Army knife for the Nittany Lions in 2024 (Over 100 catches and 12 total scores) and could immediately become New York's primary weapon underneath. If a rookie tight end leads the position in points for a third straight season, Warren's the best bet to do it.

Colston Loveland - Indianapolis Colts

Here's a fun fact. Last year, over two dozen tight ends had more receiving yards individually than the Colts had at the position as a team. No, really. There's admittedly uncertainty under center in Indianapolis, but whether it's Danny Dimes or Anthony Richardson (Probably Jones—sigh) at quarterback, the Colts have to get more out of both the tight position and the passing game as a whole. Loveland didn't post the kind of numbers in college that Warren did, but there could be more than a little fantasy upside present there were he to become Indy's safety valve this season.  

Gary Davenport is a two-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Football Writer of the Year. Follow him on Twitter (Can't make him call it X) at @IDPSharks.