NFL Rookie of the Year Predictions 2025
While devout college football fans will already be looking ahead to the 2026 NFL Draft odds, here, the focus is on the most recent class of draftees.
Each year, several rookies break out to change the fortunes of their teams, and here, we’re homing in on those who look set to make the biggest impact on either side of the ball.
Below, we’ve collected the top ten rookies (five defensive, five offensive) who look to have strong seasons ahead of them. Combining raw talent, lofty pre-draft grades and stats, and advantageous landing spots, these are our NFL Rookie of the Year predictions for 2025.
Defensive Rookie of the Year Predictions
Edge rushers headline this NFL defensive draft class, but there’s also set to be a challenge from a strong defensive tackle and a cornerback who’ll often find himself playing on offence next season.
Abdul Carter
Leading in the Defensive Rookie of the Year odds is, quite rightly, the first out-and-out defensive pick of the 2025 Draft.
Abdul Carter is in a great situation and plays the position that always demands attention. He joins the New York Giants as a 6’3’’ wrecking machine who amassed 68 tackles in 16 games, landed 12 sacks, and won the Ted Hendricks Award as the top college defensive end.
Last season, a defensive front headlined by Brian Burns and Dexter Lawrence ranked eighth in sacks with 45. Throw in Kayvon Thibodeaux and the dynamic talents of Carter, and defensive co-ordinator Shane Bowen should have a lot of fun mixing it up to exploit any weakness at the edge of any team.
Expectations for the No. 3 overall pick are, naturally, very high. He’s in a good situation and poised to make one of the few bright spots of the Big Blue even brighter. Not only is Carter expected to hit the ground running, but he’s also tipped to break the franchise record for rookie sacks, which currently stands at 8.0.
Jalon Walker
Jalon Walker lands with the Atlanta Falcons as a very athletic, 6’1’’ edge rusher out of Georgia. Over the last three years, he’s gradually increased his sacks and tackles tallies, boasting the tied team lead of 6.5 sacks and leading with 10.5 tackles for a loss. Ultimately, his efforts earned him the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker.
The hybrid rusher, who thrives in just about any role on the edge thanks to his incredible closing burst and coach-dazzling work ethic, may not be deployed as a dynamic piece right away. The Falcons need to improve their pass rush more than anything else on defence, so he’ll more likely slot into a more straightforward role to start with.
From there, we’ll get to see his talent for closing the distance and getting around tackles while he levels up his game for the NFL stage. In the odds, he’s looking strong to land the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, which is second only to fellow edge rusher Abdul Carter.
Mason Graham
The Cleveland Browns had the No. 2 overall pick to pull in the top-rated talent of Abdul Carter or the two-way talent of Travis Hunter, but they saw enough in Mason Graham to happily trade down. The 6’3’’, 296lbs defensive tackle landed First-team honours in 2023 and 2024 and was the Rose Bowl Defensive MVP in 2023.
With the Cleveland Browns, the No. 5 overall selection will benefit from offensive lines needing to keep all eyes on the one-man wrecking crew, Myles Garrett. Potentially, this will give Graham that extra split second to utilize his quick feet and strength from the tackle position.
Being a top-five pick, and one whom the Browns went for by essentially passing on the likes of Carter and Hunter, expectations are exceedingly high for Graham. In a decent situation and with the right kind of skills to find early success in the NFL trenches, Graham finds himself as the fourth-favourite in the Defensive Rookie of the Year odds.
Travis Hunter
Travis Hunter boasts an uncanny talent for distorting his body into catch zones and bringing in almost anything that comes into his radius. On the defensive side of the ball, his efforts won just about every college football honour going.
As for stats, he led Colorado with four interceptions, 11 pass breakups and only allowed 23 catches and one touchdown on 41 targets in coverage. The hype around Hunter as a two-way talent in the NFL is absurdly high. The Jacksonville Jaguars, forever clawing for whatever talent they can get, will tap into this, but likely not immediately.
The reported plan for Hunter is to utilize his offensive skills from the off in the 2025 NFL season, then ease him into the secondary as the season goes on. So, despite his defensive prowess, he’s probably at odds that are a bit short for the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year winner, given how the Jags plan to use him.
Mykel Williams
Standing 6’5’’ and 260lbs with over 34’’ arms, Mykel Williams was taken 11th overall, and yet, he might just have the highest expectations of all of the edge rushers featured here. In 2024 with Georgia, he wasn’t unleashed as a rusher, but collected 21 tackles, five sacks, and two forced fumbles. He also only started six of his 12 games.
This was down to an ankle injury. If his playing through it from the season opener last season didn’t cause too much lasting damage, it’s thought that his ceiling is much higher than the hard stats show. Importantly, he comes to the San Francisco 49ers in a situation that should cultivate early success for the rookie.
Williams fits the bill as a destructive edge rusher who essentially just needs to fill out his hefty frame a bit to become more of a wrecking ball. Within the defence of the 49ers, he’ll almost never face a double team, either, what with Nick Bosa prowling on the other side. At current odds, Williams is a sneaky dark horse contender for the Defensive Rookie award.
Offensive Rookie of the Year Predictions
With a wide receiver who can play cornerback, a clear top quarterback, a near record-breaking rusher, and a 25-year-old rookie slinger, there’s a lot of variety in the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year candidates in 2025.
Travis Hunter
The Heisman Trophy-winning two-way star is earmarked to at least begin his time in the NFL as a wide receiver. His offensive role has taken priority in preseason work, but he will get defensive reps along the way. On the attacking side of the ball, he looks to form a particularly potent duo with Brian Thomas Jr.
At 6’0’’ and under 200lbs, Hunter more than makes up for his slight frame with his absurd athleticism, bendiness, and rare ball skills. His route running to get to the NFL tier needs the most work, but when he’s out there, Hunter has an uncanny knack for getting up and making the big plays that simply aren’t expected of receivers.
He’s got Trevor Lawrence slinging to him next season, but once again, the QB will be under early and often again due to the weak offensive line. This might end in more desperation throws to Hunter, though, allowing his talent to shine through in otherwise unideal situations.
So, will he excel enough in both roles to be a contender for both awards, or will he struggle to cover both duties in each game, ultimately falling short in one or both NFL Rookie of the Year categories? Right now, he’s more of a favourite in the Offensive Rookie of the Year odds.
Cam Ward
The consensus No. 1 quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft, Cam Ward, has skyrocketed in recent years to earn the prestigious spot. In 2020, he was a zero-star recruit. By the end of the 2024 campaign, he had collected First-team honours across the board, put up 4,313 passing yards, a school-record 39 passing TDs, an NCAA career record for 158 passing TDs, and averaged 3.4 rushing yards per game from 60 attempts.
Ward lands in Tennessee, but he isn’t enough to make them any better than the outright underdogs in the AFC South odds. While the offensive line is showing improvements, it’s still among the bottom ten in the NFL. As for weapons, Ward will enjoy tapping into the raw speed of Calvin Ridley and the safe hands of Tyler Lockett, while the presence of Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears should keep defences honest.
Titans fans merely want to see an improvement on last year’s debacle, so expectations aren’t overly high for Ward. Only marginally behind the draft class’s headline running back, the quarterback rocks up to the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award as the second favourite.
Ashton Jeanty
Taken with the sixth overall selection, if it wasn’t for Hunter’s freakish two-way play, Ashton Jeanty would be a Heisman winner. The Doan Walker Award winner – given to the nation’s top running back – led the NCAA with 2,601 rushing yards (28 yards short of the record set in 1988) for 7.0 yards per carry and 29 rushing touchdowns.
Usually, these top-pick running backs end up on teams that are floundering in all regards. While the Las Vegas Raiders were dead last in the run game last year, that’s largely being put down to a backs issue. Their offensive line is at least middling. With Kolton Miller and Dylan Parham on the left, Ashton Jeanty should find plenty of gaps.
Jeanty is hailed as the "ultimate yardage creator", being adept on the ground with his speed, vision, contact balance, and elusiveness, while also being happy to take passes. Under centre, Geno Smith will welcome this additional weapon to his rather thin arsenal. Expected to be leaned on, Jeanty leads the Offensive Rookie of the Year odds.
Omarion Hampton
A hard-running battering ram of a running back out of North Carolina, Omarion Hampton was taken 22nd overall by the Los Angeles Chargers. In college, it was all about putting his head down and daring defensemen to stop him rather than looking for better running lanes.
This style earned him 2,033 yards from scrimmage and 17 TDs, boasting 5.9 yards per carry across his 281 pickups. He’s ready for the big leagues and landed in a glorious situation. Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh has brought back the running game for the Bolts and has brought in Najee Harris to work as the early-down, grinding back.
Hampton is much more versatile than Harris and more effective despite having a somewhat similar approach. As the featured back, he’ll get plenty of opportunities rushing through the top-ten-ranked offensive line while Justin Herbet under centre will keep defences guessing. At +1200 to win the Offensive Rookie award, Hampton is a dark horse worth watching for the contenders in the AFC West odds.
Tyler Shough
The New Orleans Saints waited until the eighth pick in the second round to heat up their latest quarterback battle by taking 25-year-old, 6’5’’ slinger Tyler Shough. For Louisville in 2024, he put up 3,195 yards, 23 TDs, and six interceptions in 12 games, earning the nod for one of the national Comeback Players of the Year.
For Shough, 2021, 2022, and 2023 were blighted by major injuries, but the pocket passer is very experienced. This puts him in the unique position to, perhaps, be more prepared for the rigours of the NFL than many rookie QBs. He’ll be behind a high-ceiling, but currently middling, offensive line with plenty of weapons to help him excel.
The Saints’ depth chart still boasts the ball-hogging talent of Alvin Kamara out of the backfield as well as the big-play-loving Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed out wide. Brandin Cooks should also provide some reliable hands closer to home, should Shough need it. Plus, there’s “tight end” Taysom Hill, Juwan Johnson, and Foster Moreau in the mix.
With all that said, at the time of writing, the quarterback currently at +1200 odds to claim the NFL’s 2025 Offensive Rookie of the Year Award is reportedly in a close three-horse race for the starting spot. Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler are said to also be in with a shot, but most expect Shough to shine through eventually.