2025 NFL Draft Grades By Team - NFC West Draft Reactions
The 2025 NFL Draft is in the rearview mirror so we’ve had a little bit of time to process the chaos. Who got aggressive, who stood pat, who won, who lost. And, most importantly to us, what the impact will be in our 2025 fantasy football leagues and dynasty leagues.
Now that the dust has settled, I’m taking the time to highlight one key implication from the 2025 NFL Draft for every NFL in terms of fantasy football. The good, the bad, and the ugly. The San Francisco 49ers have already moved forward with operations, signing George Kittle to a massive four year extension as we’ll detail below. So it’s time for us to move forward as well and get ready to win some leagues!
Arizona Cardinals - Cards Go Defense heavy
Last year the Arizona Cardinals drafted the top WR and the second running back off the board. This year they leaned into the defense to give Jonathan Gannon some options. There stars like Marvin Harrison Jr, Trey McBride, and James Conner are safe but we would have liked to see them do more on the offensive line.
As we noted in our offseason study on Marvin Harrison Jr., Murray did not seem to have the trust in his line to get through his read progressions. Everyone knows of his willingness to scramble but he was also a top three quarterback in getting the ball out of his hands in under two seconds. For MHJ to thrive on his later developing routes, Murray needs to find a way to be more patient.
Los Angeles Rams - Terrance Ferguson TE1?
It’s no secret that the Rams have a “different” draft process than everyone else. They pay minimal attention to the combine. They don’t take top 30 visits. They don’t seem to really even care that much about their picks. If they aren’t trading for players they aren’t shy about trading back as they once again did this with the Atlanta Falcons.
Yet they continue to hit on players. And their front office pieces, like Brad Holmes (Lions GM) and James Gladstone (Rams GM) often get sniped by other teams. So Les Snead is certainly doing something right.
This year they used their very first draft pick on Terrance Ferguson. Ferguson impressed at the combine with a 4.64 forty yard dash, leading all players who participated. The Rams decided to make him the fourth tight end off the board with pick 46. After watching Colby Parkinson and Davis Allen struggle to get anything going in the absence of Tyler Higbee, Ferguson has a pretty clear path to the TE2 job. But Tyler Higbee is now 32 years old with some pretty serious injuries on his resume. Is that TE1 job potentially in play?
San Francisco 49ers - Confident In Their Offense
Early in the offseason, the 49ers moved on from wide receiver Deebo Samuel via trade with the Washington Commanders. Fellow wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is expected to miss a good chunk of the season. They also traded running back Jordan Mason to the Minnesota Vikings. Meanwhile, their starting tight end George Kittle will be turning 32 years old this season. That had folks speculating that the 49ers would be in play for some high end weapons here.
Instead they decided to use their first five picks of the draft on defense. And, after bringing back fullback Kyle Juszczyk on a new deal during free agency. They just decided to give George Kittle a 4 year, $76.4 million contract today. They did decide to add a couple day three position players in WR Jordan Watkins and RB Jordan James. But the lack of action in the first few rounds bodes well for the fantasy football values of guys like Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Jauan Jennings, and Ricky Pearsall. At least until Brandon Aiyuk gets back to full speed.
Seattle Seahawks - Klint Kubiak Got His Fullback
Klint Kubiak told us at his introductory press conference that he would use the fullback. And he stayed true to his word in the draft. In the fifth round of the draft the Seahawks selected Robbie Ouzts from Alabama who they immediately categorized as a fullback. And he’s a big fella at 6’4”, 274 pounds.
Why do we care in fantasy football? For a number of reasons. The obvious one is the running game. We saw last year that Alvin Kamara under Klint Kubiak, with help from fullback Adam Prentice, was on pace for his first 1,000 yard season before getting hurt. Fullbacks and blocking tight ends are a running backs best friend.
The other reason is a little more sneaky. When you use that fullback (and/or blocking tight ends), who comes out of the game? It’s not the tight end or running back so it’s almost always one or more of the wide receivers. That can highly consolidated the targets among a few players. Obviously Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp are in a good spot but it can also help the tight end as we’ve seen in San Francisco and Miami. There are rumors that Noah Fant could be cut with Elijah Arroyo and AJ Barner on the roster but whoever the starter is there will be in a good position.
Player News
NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe reports “nothing is imminent” regarding a Jalen Ramsey trade.
Wolfe noted June 1st as a date to keep in mind when looking at a potential trade. Miami would take a cap hit of over $25 million if they move Ramsey before then. That number falls below $7 million after the date. Despite the lack of urgency from Miami, it sounds like Ramsey is as good as gone. Ramsey isn’t attending OTAs and Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver simply said, “Relationships are hard,” when asked about the star corner’s upcoming departure. Wolfe mentioned the Rams, Panthers, and Falcons as teams to look out for. Ramsey has played under a member of each team’s coaching staff in the past.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports Saints QB Jake Haener suffered an oblique strain and is expected to miss “a couple of weeks.”
As Schefter notes, Haener was one of three quarterbacks vying for the starting gig in New Orleans. Haener was unlikely to overtake both Spencer Rattler and second-round rookie Tyler Shough on the depth chart and missing time in practice will put him even farther behind. Per Schefter, Haener is expected to miss the remainder of OTAs but should be back for training camp.
Vegas Nation’s Vinny Bonsignore reports that “the feeling” is that DT Christian Wilkins (foot) “should be ready by August” after suffering a setback in his recovery.
Bonsignore’s sources were unable to identify the exact nature of Wilkins’ Jones fracture setback, but Bonsignore says “it essentially comes down to the screw breaking or (in the rare case) he rebroke the bone.” That’s not good. Earlier today, Raiders head coach Pete Carroll told reporters that “this has been a difficult recovery” for Wilkins and he is, unfortunately, “not ready” to resume practicing. Carroll provided an ambiguous expected return date, , “there’s a lot of time—and we’re going to take every bit of it.”
NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe reports Dolphins assistant HC and RB coach Eric Studesville said the team is “preparing” to give De’Von Achane “more work” this season.
Per Wolfe, Achane asked Studesville for more touches in 2025 after racking up a career-high 281 touches in 2024. When discussing whether Achane (5'9/188) can handle the workload required of the “clear No. 1 player in that backfield,” Studesville reportedly said, “yes,” before adding, “he can handle whatever we give him.” Achane has reportedly set his sights on clearing 1,000 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards in a single season. He accomplished the latter feat with 592 receiving yards last season, but topped out at 907 yards on the ground. All signs point to Achane repeating as a fantasy football RB1 in 2025.
ESPN reports that the “NFL is introducing the Protector of the Year Award, which will be given to the league’s best offensive lineman.”
NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent credits Bills LT Dion Dawkins and retired OT Andrew Whitworth for the award’s creation. Per ESPN, the “winner will be decided by a panel that includes a number of former offensive line greats.” Whitworth adds that Protector of the Year Award “isn’t just about stats—it’s about the mindset, grit, and leadership it takes to be the foundation of a football team.” The phrasing indicates that all offensive line positions will be eligible for the award, not just the high-value left tackle position that stars in today’s pass-heavy league.
Colts owner Jim Irsay has died at the age of 65.
The cause of death has not yet been released, but Irsay reportedly dealt with a severe respiratory illness in 2024. Irsay assumed control of the Colts organization when his father, Robert, passed in 1997. Jim signed on as a Colts staffer in 1982, quickly joining the scouting department while being trained in administrative duties. He was named vice president and general manager in 1984, at just 24 years old. We wish the Irsay family well.