📛 Best Football Names of the 2025 NFL Draft

A dynasty segment, too

Author

Jen of Deep Dive Fantasy
April 02, 2025

In partnership with

Happy Wednesday, and welcome to this week’s Deep Dive Fantasy Newsletter. With some space between now and the upcoming NFL Draft, it’s time to get a little weird around here.

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Since we have a slight lull until the 2025 NFL Draft, let’s go over some of the best names in this year’s draft class. Here’s a position-by-position look at some of the football-iest names who could grace the NFL with their presence at the end of April.

💪🏼 Quarterbacks

Jaxson Dart, Mississippi (PFF Rank: 146, Underdog ADP: QB33, 225.6)- A QB with the last name Dart is pretty much perfection.

🤲🏼 Wide Receivers

Matthew Golden, Texas (PFF Rank: 22, Underdog ADP: WR44, 80.9) - While his first name is pretty run of the mill, his speed is not, and entering the NFL with the last name Golden is pretty, well, golden.

Jaylin Noel, Iowa St (PFF Rank: 32, Underdog ADP: WR73, 178.0) - Insert some sort of Santa Claus coming to town and bringing presents jokes.

Efton Chism lll, Eastern Washington (PFF Rank: 228) - I don’t really have anything too pun-like to say here, but Efton Chism is just a cool name.

🦵🏼 Running Backs

Cam Skattebo, Arizona State University (PFF Rank: 50, Underdog ADP: RB36, 115.3 - Skattebo, the somewhat skat back.

Jayden Blue, Texas (PFF Rank: 126, Underdog ADP: RB70, 229.9) - You’re my boy, Blue!

Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Arizona (PFF Rank: 144, Underdog ADP: RB96, 239.8) - He just sounds like some sort of nursery rhyme character.

🍑 Tight Ends

Gunnar Helm, Texas (PFF Rank: 116, Underdog ADP: TE56, 240.0) - The name doesn’t really fit a TE, it seems more fitting for a QB, but Gunnar Helm is still a fantastic football name.

Rivaldo Fairweather, Auburn (PFF Rank: 326, Underdog ADP: NA) - I hope he’s productive because if not, fans will turn on Fairweather really quickly.

🙅🏽‍♂️ Secondary

Jahdae Barron, Texas (PFF Rank: 7) - Barron is regal and implies some sort of excellence.

Shavon Revel, East Carolina (PFF Rank: 43) - His first name is not pronounced how it looks, but Revel is, and what a great name to celebrate picks.

Lathan Ransom, OSU (PFF Rank: 94) - He’s intercepting that ball and holding it for Ransom.

Dorian Strong, Virginia Tech (PFF Rank: 105) - This is pretty self-explanatory.

Mello Dotson, Kansas (PFF Rank 120) - His government name is Ra’Mello, which just adds to the sweetness. It’s not a random nickname.

Upton Stout, Western Kentucky (PFF Rank: 165) - He sounds like an uppity beer snob, but nope. He’s just a safety prospect in 2025.

🛑 EDGE

Nic Scourton, Texas A&M (PFF Rank: 31) - He’s scouring the field for that sack.

Princely Umanmielen, Mississippi (PFF Rank: 44) - This may not be a football-related name, but I couldn’t just ignore it.

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One of the DLF OGs, Ken Kelly, has been documenting his off-season, and like most dynasty managers, he is firmly focused on the incoming rookie class. In his latest, Ken documents his top rookie running backs. Here’s an excerpt from My Dynasty Off-Season: 2025 Dynasty Rookie Running Back Rankings…

2. Omarion Hampton, North Carolina

The next runner on my list is none other Hampton, who, much like Jeanty, was spectacular in 2023, posting 1,504 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns, while catching another 29 passes for 222 more yards and another score. In 2024, it was rinse and repeat at North Carolina as he recorded 1,660 rushing yards, 38 catches, 373 receiving yards and 17 total touchdowns. He checks out as an elite-level prospect and while most have Jeanty penciled in as the RB1 in the class, there are rumblings that a number of teams have Hampton ranked higher. It would be no surprise to see him taken ahead of him in the NFL Draft at this point and dynasty managers need to have an open mind to pivot, if needed. For example, if Hampton went to Denver and Jeanty went to a place like the Chargers, it’s going to be hard to have Jeanty ranked higher. There really isn’t a big gap between these two and dynasty managers should think about keeping them in the same tier.

3. Quinshon Judkins, Ohio State

Judkins is one of so many in the class who changed schools, starting at Ole Miss. Unlike many of this year’s prospects, he was successful at his first school. For those not paying attention to his talent this season (he posted his third straight 1,000-yard season on 5.5 yards per carry), it didn’t take long in the National title game for people to take notice. All he did was score three times and dash the hopes of Notre Dame in the process. Judkins is a rare three-year prospect who should still have a lot of mileage left in him based on a modest workload, and his athletic profile makes him look like a potential first-round draft pick. He’s not in the same category as Jeanty or Hampton at the moment, but this is a deep running back class, and Judkins could be the RB1 in a lot of drafts we’ve seen over the past decade.

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