A number of factors go into building a winning 2025 Fantasy football strategy. Injuries are nearly always the main reason a season can be derailed. One can look no further than last year when San Francisco running back Christian McCaffrey missed all but four games. He was coming off a monster year in 2023, which saw him pile up 1,459 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns. In 2024, however, he ended up rushing for just 202 yards and zero touchdowns.
Despite all of the injury pitfalls, there are ways to avoid potential disaster by knowing how to balance risk and reward. One such way is with the help of SportsLine’s Fantasy football cheat sheets and rankings. Who are this year’s players you need to avoid, and what minor injuries may turn out to be disastrous to your Fantasy football team? Before finalizing 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, and get your first month at SportsLine for $1 when using promo code CHAMPIONSHIP.
Last year, the model accurately predicted that Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert would fall well short of his ADP (RB23). The result: A season after rushing for over 1,000 yards and scoring 21 total touchdowns despite sharing time with De’Von Achane, Mostert fell out of favor in Miami and finished as RB60 after managing only 439 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns.
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 correctly predicting C.J. Stroud would take a step back in 2024. Additionally, it’s 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 Fantasy football rankings 2025, along with plenty of sleepers, breakouts and busts. Head to SportsLine now to see them.
Top 2025 Fantasy football busts
One of the 2025 Fantasy football busts the model is predicting: Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert. Last year’s QB14 in Fantasy points per game is hoping for a faster start to the 2025 season after he was just the QB27 from Weeks 1-6 in 2024. Herbert was the QB11 from Weeks 7-18, ranking seventh in passing yards per game during that stretch.
However, his environment is not conducive to huge Fantasy numbers, as the Chargers ran the ball at the tenth-highest rate in the league last year. They also played at the second-slowest pace in the NFL, and Herbert averaged fewer than 30 passes per game. SportsLine’s model has Herbert ranked behind quarterbacks like Matthew Stafford, Caleb Williams and Tua Tagovailoa, who are all available later in average Fantasy drafts.
Another bust that SportsLine’s Fantasy football rankings 2025 have identified: Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman. The model suggests he is primed to take a step back in production. Last year was the first time in his career that he was healthy for an entire season, playing in all 17 games. Despite his availability, his productivity was up and down. In nine of his 17 games, he was held below 50 receiving yards and just two touchdowns.
Injuries have hampered his career. Through his first three seasons, he was limited to 35 games and 93 receptions for 1,167 yards and four touchdowns before breaking out last year. In 2024, Bateman caught 45 passes for 756 yards (16.8 average) and nine touchdowns. Can Bateman repeat last season’s success? Fantasy owners should beware, according to SportsLine’s model. The model ranks Wilson behind options like Xavier Worthy and DeVonta Smith that are available at least two rounds later on average. See which other Fantasy football busts 2025 to pick here.
How to find proven 2025 Fantasy football rankings
SportsLine is also fading one of the first five running backs off the board in early 2025 Fantasy football drafts. The model ranks this player falling outside the top 10 entirely and failing to live up to his first-round price tag. You can only see who it is, and the 2025 Fantasy football rankings for every player, at SportsLine.
So which 2025 Fantasy Football busts should you be steering clear of? And which first-round RB shockingly falls out of the top 10 of the positional rankings? Visit SportsLine now to get 2025 Fantasy Football cheat sheets for every single position, all from the model that helped managers avoid a disastrous Raheem Mostert season in 2024.
2025 Fantasy football ADP
(PPR, via CBS)
1. Ja’Marr Chase (1.67)
2. Bijan Robinson (2.54)
3. Saquon Barkley (3.16)
4. Jahmyr Gibbs (3.91)
5. CeeDee Lamb (7.23)
6. Justin Jefferson (7.50)
7. Derrick Henry (7.93)
8. Christian McCaffrey (8.90)
9. Ashton Jeanty (11.66)
10. Josh Jacobs (11.95)
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