Early-round Fantasy football draft strategy is always largely dependent on where you’re drafting and what your league settings are, but durability should be a general focus. Drafting 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey early has been a tricky proposition in recent history, as he’s had three seasons in the last five years where he’s played seven games or fewer. The value he provides when healthy is well-documented, but at what point does the risk become worth the reward as you prepare for your 2025 Fantasy football drafts? According to the latest 2025 Fantasy football ADP, McCaffrey, who rushed for just 202 yards and zero touchdowns last season, is being drafted in the second round on average.
A reliable set of live-updated 2025 Fantasy football rankings can help you react to all the latest NFL news and make an informed decision regardless of when you’re drafting. They can also help you identify potential 2025 Fantasy football sleepers, breakouts and busts to help guide you towards building a deep roster capable of withstanding the grind of the season. 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. Anybody who banked on players like those made a run at their league title.
The model is powered by the same people who generated projections for all three major Fantasy sites, and it beat human experts last season when there was a big difference in ranking. The 2025 Fantasy football PPR rankings and 2024 Fantasy football standard projections update multiple times daily, so you’re always getting the best Fantasy football advice.
Now, SportsLine has simulated the entire NFL season 10,000 times and released its latest 2025 Fantasy football rankings, 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: Vikings running back Aaron Jones, who has an ADP of 59. The veteran running back will start the season at that dreaded 30-year-old age and turns 31 in December, but Jones proved even after his 30th birthday last year that he has plenty of burst left. Jones had at least 75 total yards in each of his five regular-season games played as a 30-year-old and he rushed for a career-high 1,138 yards in his eighth NFL season.
Jones was a free agent this offseason, so the Vikings could have gone with a younger, cheaper running back if they wanted, but Minnesota decided to bring back Jones on a two-year, $20 million deal with $13 million guaranteed. He had his second-most yards from scrimmage (1,546) over his career last year and although Sam Darnold signing with the Seahawks means a significant change for Minnesota, not many people were optimistic about Darnold and Minnesota last year. Those underestimating the Vikings and their offensive pieces like Jones could be second-guessing themselves as the season unfolds yet again, as the model projects Jones as a top running back sleeper for 2025 Fantasy football drafts. See more Fantasy football sleepers 2025 here.
Top 2025 Fantasy football breakouts
One of the 2025 Fantasy football breakouts the model is predicting: Broncos running back RJ Harvey. After beginning his collegiate career as a quarterback at Virginia, Harvey transferred to UCF and made the move to running back in 2020. He played sparingly in 2020 and then took a medical redshirt year when he tore his ACL in 2021, but returned in 2022 and worked his way into a starring role.
Over the next three years, he rushed for 3,792 yards and 43 touchdowns while adding 61 receptions for 720 yards and four more scores. After a strong performance at the NFL Combine, the Broncos selected Harvey in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and he’ll compete with the oft-injured J.K. Dobbins for reps at running back. Ultimately, the model thinks Harvey winds up getting a lot of touches given Dobbins’ injury history and ranks Harvey as a top-25 running back in his rookie season. See more Fantasy football breakouts 2025 here.
Top 2025 Fantasy football busts
As for players to avoid, the model lists Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson as one of its 2025 Fantasy football busts. The fourth-year receiver will be playing for his third different QB1 over the last three years with Justin Fields expected to start Week 1 for the Jets. Even with all the changes at quarterback, Wilson has more than 1,000 receiving yards in all three NFL seasons, and he had a career-high 1,104 yards with Aaron Rodgers as his quarterback last year.
Fields is a significant downgrade in terms of pure passing ability though, and with Wilson being selected among the top 15 wide receivers in 2025 Fantasy football drafts, the model views this as a significant bust potential, having Wilson barely ranked inside the top 25 at the position. Fields averages 155.6 passing yards per game over his career, which is even fewer than Zach Wilson did in New York. Fields can elevate an offense with teams needing to account for his legs, which can help the Jets possibly win a few more games, but for Wilson’s Fantasy football value at receiver, the model projects Wilson as a 2025 Fantasy football bust. 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.
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