• Malik Nabers can have a monster sophomore season: Get this man an actual quarterback and he’ll put up league-high receiving yards on the excessive goal quantity he earned as a rookie.
• Bijan Robinson is the highest possibility at 1.01 in 2025 fantasy drafts: Robinson scored 20-plus factors in all however two video games from Week 6-18 and averaged 26.8 factors per recreation with Michael Penix Jr. because the Atlanta Falcons’ beginning quarterback.
• 2025 NFL Draft season is right here: Strive PFF’s best-in-class Mock Draft Simulator and study 2025’s high prospects whereas buying and selling and drafting on your favourite NFL crew.
Estimated Studying Time: 7 minutes
The 2024 fantasy soccer season is over. It’s time to flip the web page to 2025. What higher manner to do this than with some spicy daring predictions? Beneath are my high 5 boldest fantasy takes for the 2025 fantasy season.
Malik Nabers will lead the NFL in receiving yards with Kirk Cousins underneath middle for the New York Giants in 2025
The Giants did the fitting factor and moved on from Daniel Jones, however they nonetheless have to discover a succesful quarterback to convey into the constructing this offseason — as a result of it definitely isn’t Drew Lock, Tommy DeVito or Tim Boyle. It’s particularly essential to search out somebody sooner quite than later since they now have a stud large receiver on his rookie contract.
As a rookie, Malik Nabers had the second most targets (170) within the NFL behind solely Ja’Marr Chase (175) … however Chase had over 500 extra receiving yards than Nabers in 2024. There have been 10 situations of a participant having 170-plus targets in a season since 2019, solely Nabers (1,204 yards) and Davante Adams in 2023 (1,114 yards) and 2022 (1,516 yards) had fewer than 1,700 receiving yards in that season. Regardless of horrible quarterback play, Nabers nonetheless joined Anquan Boldin and Puka Nacua as the one rookie large receivers in NFL historical past with 100-plus receptions and 1,200-plus receiving yards.
As loopy because the Atlanta Falcons regarded this previous offseason, the Giants may need to take into account following their path. They may commerce for Cousins on a budget and in addition use their early draft decide on a quarterback. Not solely would Cousins assist with the rookie’s progress, however these strikes would additionally give the Giants two probabilities to have a reliable quarterback to place underneath middle in 2025.
Bijan Robinson needs to be chosen 1.01 in 2025 fantasy soccer drafts
Bijan Robinson didn’t have an electrical begin to his second season, however he has been on fireplace since Week 6. No operating again has scored extra fantasy factors per recreation than Robinson (22.8) since Week 6. Sure, he even outscored Saquon Barkley in factors per recreation from Weeks 6-18 regardless of having 43 fewer touches than Barkley throughout that span. Robinson has completed as a top-three fantasy scorer on the operating again place in six of his final 12 weeks performed and has scored 20-plus fantasy factors in all however two of these 12 video games.
With over 20 touches in every of the final six video games, the Atlanta Falcons are lastly beginning to use Robinson because the workhorse again he was meant to be. Robinson has been a touchdown-scoring machine with Michael Penix Jr. underneath middle — Robinson scored two speeding touchdowns in every of the final three video games that Penix Jr. began.
Barkley, Jahmyr Gibbs, Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson will all seemingly be thought of on the 1.01 in 2025 fantasy soccer drafts, however I consider Robinson would be the most secure of the bunch to repay the 1.01 price.
Dallas Cowboys RB Ashton Jeanty finishes as a top-10 fantasy RB in his rookie season
We’re lower than 4 months away from listening to, “With the twelfth general decide within the 2025 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys choose Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State”
For some odd cause, the Dallas Cowboys ignored the operating place final offseason. That bit them within the behind this yr and so they can’t make that mistake once more this offseason. In 2024, the Cowboys ranked twenty seventh within the NFL in rush yards, thirtieth in yards per carry and final in speeding touchdowns with simply six all season lengthy — no different crew had fewer than eight.
The Cowboys have been the one crew to have zero rushes of 30-plus yards in 2024. To essentially perceive simply how unexplosive their speeding assault was in 2024, 45 particular person gamers throughout the NFL had a number of 25-plus yard runs in 2024, whereas the Cowboys had only one carry of 25-plus yards as a crew. Derrick Henry had 13 extra carries of 25-plus yards all by himself than the Cowboys had as a crew this yr.
Ashton Jeanty can remodel the Cowboys’ rush offense rapidly. Jeanty had an absurd season at Boise State with 374 carries, 2,601 rush yards and 29 speeding touchdowns in 14 video games performed in 2024. He provides the explosion that the Cowboys have been lacking this yr and has confirmed he can deal with an enormous workload all through a full season.
Baker Mayfield might be broadly overdrafted in 2025
There are few quarterbacks extra enjoyable to observe than Baker Mayfield attributable to his gun-slinging mentality, and he had each a implausible real-life and fantasy season. Nonetheless, landing regression is certain to hit Mayfield subsequent season.
Mayfield had a 7.2 go landing proportion in 2024, the second-highest amongst 36 certified QBs, behind solely Lamar Jackson. It is extremely dangerous to draft a quarterback excessive in fantasy drafts based mostly on their excessive landing proportion from the season prior, particularly when they don’t seem to be an elite operating QB. Solely two quarterbacks in NFL historical past have had 500-plus go makes an attempt with a seven-plus go landing proportion in a number of seasons of their profession. These two guys have been Aaron Rodgers and HOF Dan Marino (Rodgers is the one one to do it in back-to-back seasons.
Mayfield had by no means had a go landing proportion increased than 5.6 in any season in his profession earlier than this yr, and he was at simply 4.9% in 2023. It’s life like to anticipate his go landing proportion to fall again all the way down to his 2023 price as the typical amongst all certified QBs was 4.8% in 2024. He was a strong fantasy asset in 2023 however not price a high seven-round price ticket, which he’ll seemingly price in 2025 fantasy drafts.
The San Francisco 49ers offense, together with Christian McCaffrey, will bounce again after an injury-riddled 2024 season
The 49ers had an insane quantity of huge accidents to their offense this yr — Christian McCaffrey missed all however 4 video games, WR Brandon Aiyuk missed the final 10 video games attributable to an ACL tear, and LT Trent Williams missed the final seven video games attributable to an ankle harm. That’s not even together with their first-round rookie WR, Ricky Pearsall, who was shot within the chest earlier than the season and wasn’t in a position to escape till the top of the yr. Or the opposite three 49ers operating backs behind McCaffrey that every one handled accidents and time missed. Or Brock Purdy, who performed threw an harm to his throwing shoulder for the second half of the yr. It was actually only a depressing season throughout for the well being of the crew.
Regardless of all of that, the 49ers nonetheless put up the fourth most complete yards and passing yards within the NFL in 2024. They struggled to search out the top zone constantly all year long, however that’s cheap as they have been lacking their star RB1, WR1 and LT for a big a part of the season. Kyle Shanahan will make the required adjustments to repair the problems throughout the offense, and getting again key gamers would be the cherry on high for the 49ers to bounce again huge time in 2025.
