A couple of weeks ago, I published my way-too-early top 50 rankings for 2025 fantasy football leagues. As we move into the offseason, I'll update and flesh out my rankings, which you'll be able to find in our Fantasy Life Rankings Hub.

No. Days. Off.

In this piece, I want to focus on 2025 fantasy football breakout candidates for redraft, best ball, and Guillotine Leagues.

What Is a Fantasy Football Breakout?

What constitutes a breakout?

Everyone has their own distinct definitions, but I think that in most cases a breakout candidate is someone who is …

  • Yet to have a truly difference-making fantasy season.
  • About to have a difference-making season.
  • Probably undervalued relative to the upside impact he could make.

Of course, there are always exceptions.

In one case, a guy could've already had a difference-making season—but now he's ready to have another one at an even higher level. In another case, a guy could be fairly valued (because the market appropriately expects him to progress), and yet he could still reasonably be called a breakout candidate (because he hasn't had a big season yet but is primed to go off).

So without further ado, here are some guys I think have a good chance to break out in 2025 (and in most cases do so at a discount to their average draft positions).

2025 Fantasy Football Breakout QBs

Drake Maye (Patriots)

Here's how well Drake Maye played last year as a rookie: First-year HC Jerod Mayo got fired, and the Patriots went 3-9 in Maye's starts … and yet not one draftnik or mock drafter has come remotely close to saying anything like, “The Patriots should try to take a QB at No. 4.”

Everyone knows that the Patriots have their man.

If we remove the Week 8 game Maye exited early due to injury and the meaningless Week 18 game in which he played just three snaps, he averaged 36.3 yards rushing across 10 starts.

Whether they add pass catchers via free agency or the draft, the Patriots seem highly unlikely in 2025 to have a three-wide trio as uninspiring as that of WRs DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte, and Kendrick Bourne.

Maye showed promise last year with his 66.6% completion rate, which he has a reasonable chance to improve upon this year as he progresses in his second season, and his cheap acquisition cost in fantasy drafts will make him a desirable upside option for practitioners of the late-round QB strategy.

J.J. McCarthy (Vikings)

Because J.J. McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee injury last year in the preseason, we can't point to any production he accumulated last year on the field and say, “See, he looks like a guy who could go off.”

But it's worth noting that the Vikings seem more than willing to let QB Sam Darnold walk away in free agency after having a breakout season of his own. That speaks to the confidence the team probably has in McCarthy.

And let's look at Darnold. He entered last season with a subpar career 6.0 AY/A, and then for the campaign he had a career-best mark of 7.9. That speaks to the infrastructure the Vikings have built and the supportive environment McCarthy will have around him this year, especially HC Kevin O'Connell and WRs Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.

With his draft pedigree (No. 10 pick), athleticism (6.82-second three-cone drill), college production (72.3% completion rate, 9.8 AY/A in final season), and winning makeup (CFB and HS national champion), McCarthy has the potential to have a 2024 Darnold-esque season, even in his first year as a starter.

McCarthy will be a viable option in 2QB/superflex leagues.

2025 Fantasy Football Breakout RBs

Ashton Jeanty (Rookie)

I don't care if it's obvious. Ashton Jeanty's gonna go off.

In my top 50, I currently have him ranked as my No. 9 RB, and I'm worried that's too low. 

We don't know yet where Jeanty will be drafted, but he's a lock for Round 1. Check out my most recent mock draft, where I have him slotted to the Cowboys at No. 12. He'll almost certainly go in the top 16.

Check out our NFL Draft Hub for more content.

What Saquon Barkley (2,028 yards, 15 TDs in 16 games) and Ezekiel Elliott (1,994 yards, 16 TDs in 15 games) did as rookies, Jeanty has a chance to do this year.

And it would be an outright shock if he didn't at least match the rookie output we saw two years ago from Bijan Robinson (1,463 yards, 8 TDs in 17 games).

As great as WR/CB Travis Hunter was last season in his Heisman Trophy-winning season, I believe staunchly that Jeanty (374-2,601-29 rushing, 23-138-1 receiving) was the best player in college football, and he seems poised for a seamless transition to the NFL.

Close your eyes. Think of 2026 fantasy football drafts. Now ask yourself this question: Can you imagine Jeanty being the consensus 1.01 selection?

I can. And if he is, it will likely be because he produced like a guy worthy of the 1.01 pick this year.

Chase Brown (Bengals)

There's nothing heroic about saying that a dude who had 1,350 yards and 11 TDs in 16 games in the prior season will have a good upcoming season.

But, baby, there's room for more.

In Weeks 1-3, Chase Brown was a rotational player, but in Week 4 he began to assume control of the backfield, and from that point to the end of the season Brown had 1,227 yards and 11 TDs in 13 games.

And in his final eight games, he had 930 yards, 6 TDs, and a position-best 9.5 Utilization Score (per our industry-leading Fantasy Life Utilization Report). 

As a heavily used No. 1 RB in a top-five offense, Brown has the potential to go off with a top-three campaign, but it will likely be easy to acquire him outside of the top 10 at the position.

2025 Fantasy Football Breakout WRs

Marvin Harrison (Cardinals)

Last year, Marvin Harrison was being drafted as a top-12 WR. Now, he might be available in some leagues as a high-end WR3.

But he's still the No. 1 WR in his offense. He had a livable rookie season with 885 yards and eight TDs receiving. He entered the league as the No. 4 overall pick. He has a reasonable chance to improve in his second season. And QB Kyler Murray is an above-average passer.

It's incredibly rare to get the opportunity to invest in a second-year breakout candidate at a post-hype discount.

This is that opportunity.

Ricky Pearsall (49ers)

As a rookie, Ricky Pearsall did little last year (31-400-3 receiving, 3-45-0 rushing).

But he could take a big step forward in 2025.

No. 1 WR Brandon Aiyuk (knee) suffered a season-ending injury last year and could be slow to start the campaign. And No. 2 WR Deebo Samuel is a legitimate cut/trade candidate after failing to live up to the highs of his 2021 All-Pro performance over the past three years.

As a result, Pearsall could be a full-time starter this season—and in his four starts last season, he accumulated the supermajority of his season production with 22-321-3 receiving on 28 targets with 3-45-0 rushing and an incomplete pass attempt.

As the team's 2024 first-rounder, Pearsall has the real potential to be a big-time contributor in HC Kyle Shanahan's offense this season.

2025 Fantasy Football Breakout TEs

Tyler Warren (Rookie)

I have Warren projected to go to the Colts at No. 14 in my most recent mock, but regardless of where he lands, I expect him to get a full-time role, which will give him the upside to have a Brock Bowers-lite impact as a rookie.

Years ago, I used to be skeptical about first-year TEs, but after what we saw out of Bowers last year and Sam LaPorta the year before that, I'm increasingly optimistic that we can see rookies put up meaningful numbers at the position.

The Mackey Award winner as the best TE in college football last year, Warren broke out in a big way as a redshirt senior with 104-1,233-9 receiving and 26-218-4 rushing … as well as 35 yards and a TD on 3-of-6 passing.

There's only one Taysom Hill—but given his rushing ability, Warren could potentially be used in a Hill-like running role in short-yardage and goal-line situations in the NFL, and then (unlike Hill) he also has the potential to function as a traditional pass-catching TE.

Given how well Penn State football players normally test, I expect Warren to show well at the combine—and if you give me the opportunity to invest in an athletic and productive TE with a full-time role and a multidimensional skill set, I'll be tempted to do it, especially if there's a chance that the market will be too low on him because he's a rookie.

If I miss out on a top-tier TE and feel situationally unable to draft a mid-tier TE at a discount, then Warren is a player I won't mind waiting for and selecting later.

Ben Sinnott (Commanders)

Veterans Zach Ertz and John Bates are both set to hit free agency this offseason. 

That leaves Sinnott, the team's No. 3 TE and a 2024 second-rounder, as the presumptive 2025 starter.

We saw little out of Sinnott this past year (5-28-1 receiving).

But he was productive in college (49-676-6 receiving in final season) and athletic at the combine (4.68-second 40-yard dash, 6.82-second three-cone drill at 6'4" and 250 lbs.), and he's beneficially tied to QB Jayden Daniels.

Sinnott intrigues as a deep-league flier in Commanders stacks.