Fantasy football rankings 2025: Sleepers, busts, breakouts from simulation that predicted Stroud’s tough year
Rookie tight ends are having elite success in Fantasy football like never before. A rookie has been the TE1 in Fantasy football back-to-back years, beginning with Sam LaPorta for the Lions in 2023 then Brock Bowers for the Raiders last year. It’s hard to expect that to occur again, but should your 2025 Fantasy football strategy include eyeing a rookie tight end later in 2025 Fantasy football drafts for potential upside? Two tight ends were selected within the first 15 picks of the 2025 NFL Draft with the Bears selecting Colston Loveland at No. 10 overall and Tyler Warren going to the Colts at No. 14 overall.
You can’t think about Fantasy football tight ends without Travis Kelce coming to mind. Even with his declining production compared to his Hall of Fame standard, Kelce has still been a top-five Fantasy tight end in each of the last two seasons. He turns 36 in early October, so with an influx of young talent at tight end throughout the NFL, how should Kelce factor into your 2025 Fantasy football strategy? Before setting your 2025 Fantasy football draft strategy, be sure to check out the 2025 Fantasy football rankings and cheat sheets from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
Last year, the model accurately predicted that Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud might take a step back in his second season. He finished as QB18 and anybody who avoided drafting him early dodged a major headache in their Fantasy football lineups.
The same model has a proven track record providing Fantasy football tips, identifying A.J. Brown as a sleeper in 2020, nailing Jonathan Taylor’s monstrous season in 2021 and calling Rachaad White’s breakout in 2023. Additionally, it has called past Fantasy football sleepers like Derrick Henry in 2019, Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara in 2018, and Davante Adams in 2017.
Now, SportsLine has simulated the entire NFL season 10,000 times and released its latest 2025 Fantasy football rankings for PPR and non-PPR leagues, along with plenty of sleepers, breakouts and busts. Head to SportsLine now to see them.
Top 2025 Fantasy football sleepers
One of the 2025 Fantasy football sleepers the model is predicting: Commanders wide receiver Deebo Samuel. His hybridized usage in San Francisco led to one of the great seasons in recent Fantasy football history when he caught 77 passes for 1,405 yards and six touchdowns while adding 59 carries for 365 yards and eight touchdowns in 2021. However, as the 49ers added weapons, his usage dropped off, and he’s also had to fight through injuries in recent years, missing eight games the last three seasons and playing through several more while hampered.
Now he’ll have a chance for a career reset in Washington with NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels, and he could begin the season as Washington’s No. 1 receiver. Terry McLaurin is in a serious contract dispute and has been the constant subject of NFL trade rumors all offseason. Even if McLaurin’s situation gets sorted, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury should have plenty of wrinkles for Samuel, and the model predicts that he far exceeds expectations as the No. 39 wide receiver off the board on average. See more Fantasy football sleepers 2025 here.
Top 2025 Fantasy football breakouts
One of the 2025 Fantasy football breakouts the model is predicting: Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter. The two-way star at Colorado may be one of the biggest risks in Fantasy football, as despite the Jaguars saying everything you’d hope to hear to signal Hunter will be heavily involved in the offense, there’s no way of knowing his offense vs. defense split with certainty until play begins. The model, however, views Hunter as too talented a pass-catcher to not be involved in the offense, and the Jaguars gave up many assets to move up to No. 2 to select him for a reason.
Hunter had 96 receptions for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns last year while being a shutdown corner. He won the Biletnikoff Award, presented to the top wide receiver in college football, as well as the Heisman Trophy last year. The Jaguars lost Christian Kirk and Evan Engram this offseason, so Trevor Lawrence will be building relationships with new pass-catchers, and the model expects Hunter to excel in any way he’s used in the offense. See more Fantasy football breakouts 2025 here.
Top 2025 Fantasy football busts
As for players to avoid, the model lists Ravens receiver Rashod Bateman as one of its 2025 Fantasy football busts. The 2021 first-round pick finally broke out in his fourth season with a 45-756-9 stat line as his nine touchdowns were over twice as many as the four scores he had over his first three years combined. However, that screams outlier after Bateman never had more than two touchdowns in any previous season, and his number of touchdowns wasn’t in line with his number of catches or yards.
Bateman was tied for ninth in the NFL in TD receptions but was tied for 95th in receptions and 43rd in receiving yards. There’s also the fact that Zay Flowers is Baltimore’s clear-cut top wideout, DeAndre Hopkins was just added into the fold, and the team has arguably the best tight end tandem in the league with Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely. That’s lots of mouths to feed for Lamar Jackson, and the model sees statistical regression for Bateman as a result. Bateman’s 2025 Fantasy football ADP has him being drafted as the WR26, but the model slots him as the WR35, making Bateman one to avoid. See more Fantasy football busts 2025 here.
How to find proven 2025 Fantasy football football rankings
SportsLine is also extremely high on a surprising wide receiver you aren’t even thinking about being taken in the early rounds of 2025 Fantasy football drafts. This wide receiver is listed as a shocking top-15 option ahead of stars like A.J. Brown and Tyreek Hill. You can only see who it is, and the 2025 Fantasy football rankings for every player, at SportsLine.
So which 2025 Fantasy Football sleepers, breakouts and busts should you target and fade, and which WR shocks the NFL with a top-15 performance? Visit SportsLine now to get 2025 Fantasy Football cheat sheets for every single position, all from the model that called C.J. Stroud’s disappointing sophomore season in 2024, and find out.
