Fantasy football rankings 2025: Sleepers, busts, breakouts by computer that predicted C.J. Stroud’s off year
The Pittsburgh Steelers sent shockwaves through the NFL landscape in the offseason after trading for wide receiver DK Metcalf, who has been one of the most consistent Fantasy football wide receivers over the past few seasons. Metcalf has recorded seven or more touchdown receptions in four of his first six seasons in the NFL, and now he’ll team up with quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The veteran signal caller has thrown over 500 passing touchdowns in his career and is coming off a season in which he threw for 3,897 yards and 28 TDs.
Will Rodgers’ presence help Metcalf be one of the top wide receivers in the 2025 Fantasy football rankings, or will he be among the top Fantasy football busts? Those are the types of questions owners are asking themselves when crafting their 2025 Fantasy football draft strategy ahead of the upcoming 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: Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed. Reed has only seen 169 targets in his first 33 games in a Packers passing attack that has spread the ball around. However, he has been extremely productive when targeted, especially in the red zone.
Reed has recorded 14 receiving touchdowns in his first two seasons in the NFL, and he has an 11.3% touchdown rate on his touches. He has eight games with at least 18 PPR Fantasy points since he entered the NFL, the same number as Drake London. Green Bay’s selection of Matthew Golden in the first round is a cause for concern for some Fantasy managers, but SportsLine’s model is calling for Reed to be more productive than receivers like Jaylen Waddle, Stefon Diggs and Chris Olave, making him one of the top 2025 Fantasy football sleepers to target. See more Fantasy football sleepers 2025 here.
Top 2025 Fantasy football breakouts
One of the 2025 Fantasy football breakouts the model is predicting: Chargers running back Omarion Hampton. Jim Harbaugh has always been heavily committed to running the football authoritatively, so it stands out when he spends first-round draft capital on a running back. Los Angeles selected Hampton No. 22 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft after back-to-back 1,500-yard seasons at North Carolina, and the eventual expectation is that he’ll step into a three-down role with the Chargers, though he’ll face some early competition for reps.
Hampton piled up 4,200 scrimmage yards and scored 40 touchdowns in three seasons with the Tar Heels and then cemented his status as an NFL-caliber running back with an impressive showing at the NFL Combine. He ran a 4.46-second 40-yard dash at 221 pounds while also registering a 38-inch vertical leap and 10-foot-10 in the broad jump. Now the model ranks him as a top-30 Fantasy football running back ahead of established veterans like Isiah Pacheco and teammate Najee Harris. See more Fantasy football breakouts 2025 here.
Top 2025 Fantasy football busts
As for players to avoid, the model lists Colts running back Jonathan Taylor as one of its 2025 Fantasy football busts. Despite racking up 1,431 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns last year, along with modest receiving numbers (18 catches for 136 yards and a score), Taylor is flagged as a potential bust by SportsLine’s model. He’s ranked just 19th among running backs for 2025, behind names like Ashton Jeanty, Chase Brown, and Bucky Irving, suggesting his production may not match his name value.
One major red flag is Taylor’s injury history, which has haunted him throughout his career. Combine that with the uncertainty at quarterback in Indianapolis, and his upside becomes much more volatile. The model projects Taylor to finish outside the top 15 at his position, making him a risky investment at his ADP, which is inside the top 20 as of late July. For fantasy managers hoping to avoid landmines in the early rounds, Taylor might be better left on someone else’s roster. 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.
