- Quinshon Judkins has a path to significant production in Cleveland: Judkins, the third running back drafted, is the projected lead back in the Browns' offense and could immediately take over Nick Chubb's workload.
- Don't be hypnotized by Travis Hunter's two-way odds: While Hunter is +1000 to win Defensive Rookie of the Year and +750 to win Offensive Rookie of the Year, he may not get enough volume to secure either award.
- Subscribe to PFF+: Get access to player grades, PFF Premium Stats, fantasy football rankings, all of the PFF fantasy draft research tools and more!
Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes
Fantasy football rankings and draft preparation aren't the only things that come into focus following the NFL draft. With landing spots decided and rookie roles being speculated about, the Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year betting markets are open for business.
Here are three players to keep an eye on as value bets, as well as three who are enticing picks but are more so traps. Odds are sourced from FanDuel Sportsbook.
Values
While Ashton Jeanty, Cam Ward and Abdul Carter are deserving favorites to win their respective Rookie of the Year awards, their current odds (+270, +310 and +250) don’t present enough value to be included in this section. Instead, we'll focus on players whose odds provide better upside.
RB Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland Browns (+1600 OROY)
The Browns selected Quinshon Judkins with the 36th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, making him the third running back off the board. With Nick Chubb no longer on the roster and only Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong Jr. in the room before the draft, running back was a position of need, and Cleveland wasted no time addressing it with Judkins and, eventually, Dylan Sampson in the fourth round.
Judkins enters as the projected lead back in the Browns' offense, with Ford expected to rotate in. It’s no stretch to call him the heir to Nick Chubb’s role, as the two tested similarly athletically at the NFL Scouting Combine, with Judkins even clocking in a bit faster.
| Player | 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Split | Vertical Jump | Broad Jump |
| Nick Chubb | 4.52 seconds | 1.56 seconds | 38.5 inches | 10 feet, 8 inches |
| Quinshon Judkins | 4.48 seconds | 1.51 seconds | 38.5 inches | 11 feet |
But Judkins' combine numbers aren't the only positive to his profile. He forced 199 missed tackles over the past three seasons, the third most among FBS running backs, and earned a 90.0 PFF grade in 2024, the highest mark among Big Ten running backs.
With a clear runway to volume and the skill set to capitalize, Judkins at 16-1 to win Offensive Rookie of the Year is a bet worth sprinkling.
EDGE Mike Green, Baltimore Ravens (+1500 DROY)
The Ravens selected Marshall‘s Mike Green with the 59th overall pick, after he slipped in the draft due to lingering off-field concerns. But based purely on talent, this was a massive steal. Green ranked 10th on PFF's big board, and the Ravens landing him nearly 50 spots later offers a lot of upside.
Baltimore has consistently been a playoff team in the Lamar Jackson era but has struggled to generate impact plays on defense in the postseason, forcing just three turnovers in the playoffs since 2019. Enter Mike Green.
Green is a disruptive force. He was the only edge defender in college football in 2024 to post 90.0-plus PFF grades in both pass rushing and run defense, and he tallied 17 sacks in his final year at Marshall. He is expected to rotate alongside Odafe Oweh and Kyle Van Noy, but even in a shared role, his explosiveness should flash early and often.
If he stays on the field, Green at 15-1 to win Defensive Rookie of the Year could look like a steal by Week 8 of the 2025 season.
TE Tyler Warren, Indianapolis Colts (+2500 OROY)
Heading into the 2025 NFL Draft, Tyler Warren's floor seemed to be pick No. 10 to the Bears, but they went in another direction at tight end with Colston Loveland, which let Warren fall right into the Colts' lap at pick No. 14.
Indianapolis had a glaring need at tight end heading into the draft, with Mo Alie-Cox slated to be the starter, despite his not surpassing 20 catches, 200 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns in any of the past three seasons. Warren is now the clear TE1 in the Colts' offense and will be a safety blanket for either quarterback Anthony Richardson or Daniel Jones in 2025.
Warren is a weapon after the catch, with 693 yards after the catch in 2024, the second most ever by a tight end in the PFF era. The Colts' receiving corps last season only produced 1,521 yards after the catch (31st in the NFL), so Warren's skill set fits in perfectly for 2025 and beyond.
With the Lions‘ Sam LaPorta finishing in the top four in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting in 2023 and the Raiders‘ Brock Bowers finishing second in 2024, sprinkling Warren at 25-1 feels like a no-brainer with the way rookie tight ends have been performing as of late. The fit is good, and he has the immediate opportunity to be the alpha tight end in the Colts' offense.
Traps
WR/CB Travis Hunter, Jacksonville Jaguars (+750 OROY/+1000 DROY)
Hunter is currently the third favorite in both Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year odds, and for good reason. He is elite on both sides of the ball, with only three drops on 194 career targets at Colorado and no touchdowns allowed in press coverage in 2024.
While there is no denying that Hunter is a generational talent, there is an argument to be made that his odds are currently based on name value. Bettors will see he is not the favorite for either award and will want to get in on it. However, Hunter may not see enough volume on either side of the ball to warrant a bet.
Based on the Jaguars' post-draft interviews, the team seems to be planning on relying more on Hunter on offense with some defensive work mixed in. With Hunter slotting in behind second-year star Brian Thomas Jr. on offense and likely playing limited snaps on defense, this is not enough value to pick him to win either award.
EDGE Mykel Williams, San Francisco 49ers (+1100 DROY)
Williams comes in right behind Travis Hunter, with the fourth-best odds to take home Defensive Rookie of the Year (11-1). That seems to be more due to his draft position than pure talent.
The 49ers selected the Georgia product with the 11th overall pick, and he is a much better run stuffer than a pass rusher. Williams earned an 86.6 PFF run-defense grade since 2022, good for second best among SEC edge rushers during that span. However, he graded out to only the mid-70s in PFF pass-rush grade during that same time frame, and managed only five sacks last season.
Overall, Williams — the 38th overall prospect on PFF's big board (second-round value) — was a bit of a reach by the 49ers. While he can be a productive player in his rookie season, his sack and pressure production likely won't be enough to secure Defensive Rookie of the Year.
RB Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers (+1400 OROY)
If the landing spot were different, Hampton could have been a strong candidate for the value section of this article. However, joining the Chargers complicates his path to significant early-season production. The team recently signed Najee Harris and still could re-sign J.K. Dobbins after placing the unrestricted free-agent tender on him following the draft, which gives them exclusive negotiation rights.
There's no ignoring Hampton's ability: He racked up 2,330 yards after contact over the past two seasons, ranking second among all college football running backs. He consistently powers through first contact and has the potential to be a star in the Chargers' rushing attack for years to come.
However, with Harris already in place and a potential Dobbins reunion on the horizon, I’m skeptical that Hampton will get the early-season opportunities he needs to emerge as a frontrunner for Offensive Rookie of the Year, even if he eventually earns the starting job midseason.
© 2025 PFF - all rights reserved.