The Fantasy Footballers BOLD Predictions for 2025 (Fantasy Football)

We’re mere days away from getting fantasy football back into our lives, so what better time to step out on a ledge and make some strong stances ahead of the 2025 season! Andy, Mike, and Jason got into the kitchen and pulled out their entire stock of spices to give some of their boldest takes for this fantasy year.

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To get all the hot takes in video form, check out the episode on YouTube!

JASON:

The Falcons win the division on the back of #1 RB Bijan, top 5 WR Drake London, top 10 TE Kyle Pitts, and top 15 QB Penix balling out.

Jason kicks things off with a hot take for Hot-lanta, predicting that the Falcons will be fantasy darlings for managers producing top options at each fantasy position this season. While there are certainly players who should be considered high-end fantasy assets on the Falcons roster, the team as a whole hasn’t had much success and isn’t favored in a game until Week 8 in 2025.

For his argument, Jason works to remind us how sneaky good the Atlanta offense was last season, despite receiving subpar QB play for the majority of the season. The Falcons finished last year ranked 6th in total yards per game, which is a great mark to hit considering they had a first-year play-caller in Zac Robinson. Nearly half of the Falcons’ plays went for 5+ yards, putting them at 5th in the league. Meanwhile, Atlanta’s defense was not great, and they haven’t made massive improvements on that side of the ball either. Having an offense with high-end potential paired with a defense that can’t get to the QB seems like a combination that’s exactly what fantasy managers would want.

While fantasy managers know what they’re getting out of the indestructible Bijan Robinson and Drake London in Atlanta, the real wildcard in this scenario is second-year QB Michael Penix Jr. Penix only started three games last season, but the numbers from that small sample size are encouraging if they continue in 2025. In those three games with Penix as a starter, the Falcons averaged 67 offensive plays per game and 32 points, which ranked 5th and 6th in the NFL, respectively.

What’s more interesting is the mix of a high average depth of target with a low time to throw that Penix had in his starts. Penix ranked fourth in the league in air yards, with 15.2% of his attempts going for 20+ yards. The only real comparison for this “ball out quickly while taking deep shots” approach in the passing game is Tua in the Miami offense. As fantasy managers have seen, that combination can have some extremely volatile results.

While having a full season of a Penix-led offense in Atlanta is a large unknown, there’s a real chance of this hitting at all levels of the offense and returning some great fantasy value.

ANDY:

Matthew Stafford stays healthy for 17 games and Puka Nacua becomes the first player in NFL history with 12 or more 100 yard games in a single season.

Andy’s first bold prediction for the season deals with one of the biggest storylines of the offseason of Matthew Stafford’s health. The rumors surrounding the health of the Rams’ QB have caused panic among fantasy managers, who have relied on one of the more valuable offenses over the last several seasons. What Andy is betting on is Stafford playing a full season to give Puka Nacua the high-end fantasy ceiling that warrants being one of the top picks in leagues this season.

There is some precedent for Puka eclipsing the 100+ yard mark at a historic rate this season. In the history of the NFL, there have been WRs who have gotten close to posting a dozen 100+ yard receiving games, with the record sitting at 11 games from Calvin Johnson in 2012, Michael Irvin in 1995, and Cooper Kupp in 2021. Stafford was the QB for two of those three WRs and has already gotten close to this historic mark with Puka during his rookie season, when he finished with nine games over 100 receiving yards.

While Puka may have felt disappointing for fantasy managers last season, that was completely due to injury. When Puka returned after Week 8, in the ten games he played, he had five games over 100+ receiving yards and had two more that were just shy of the century mark at 98 and 97 yards. The advanced metrics for Puka support just how good he really was when healthy last season. Puka’s 3.59 yards per route run from 2024 is the third-highest in the last 19 years, behind only Steve Smith in 2008 and Tyreek Hill’s 2023 season.

The real risk with this bold prediction hinges completely on whether Stafford’s health can keep him on the field consistently for the Rams in what feels like one last ride with this version of the team together in Los Angeles.

MIKE: 

Austin Ekeler is a top-20 RB.

There has been more than enough attention in the Washington RB room leading into fantasy drafts, but most of it has been on the departure of Brian Robinson Jr. and the emergence of BILL Croskey-Merritt. Mike’s first bold prediction highlights the forgotten piece of the Commanders’ backfield, calling for Austin Ekeler to return to the top-20 RBs this season.

As Andy covered in the YouTube miniseries recently, the stickiest stats for RBs from year-to-year are opportunities, targets, and carries inside the five, and Ekeler checks most of those boxes for fantasy managers this season. 

Last year, Ekeler averaged 15 opportunities per game when Brian Robinson was missing from the lineup, so the team looked to him when their lead RB was out. In those games, he finished as the RB28, RB16, and RB6. 

When it comes to targets, Ekeler is one of the best RBs in fantasy to bet on seeing the ball come his direction. Ekeler averaged over three targets per game last season and averaged 1.84 yards per route run, which ranked 4th-highest among all RBs. More importantly, Ekeler saw 8.4% of the Commanders’ first-read targets in 2024, which puts him among the elite receiving RBs when it comes to being involved in the passing game.

While Brian Robinson was the bigger back in Washington, his absence opens the door for Ekeler to eat into those valuable touches. Robinson saw 13 carries inside the five last season that turned into 4 TDs. Ekeler was much more efficient with his carries near the goal line, converting three of his five carries into TDs, something he’s been sneaky good at for a while. Over the last three seasons, Ekeler has turned 53.8% of his carries inside the five into TDs, behind only Bijan Robinson, Gus Edwards, and Kyren Williams during that stretch.

The biggest part of Mike’s argument is the massive draft value that Ekeler could be for fantasy managers. Currently, Ekeler is being drafted in the 10th round of drafts and should have every opportunity to outperform that cost this season. 

JASON:

Will Shipley, Sean Tucker, & Trey Benson all win people championships in 2025.

While it may be an unpopular opinion, Jason’s second bold prediction calls for some backup RBs to play a major role in determining fantasy championships this season. 

The 2024 season was an outlier for fantasy RBs when it comes to health across the league, with only three RBs who were drafted in the top-24 missed more than three games due to injury. Over the last decade, only the 2017 season had a “healthier” season in terms of percentage of games played.

While Jason was careful to note he’s not projecting injuries to players, he does point out that the odds for RBs and their health are a factor that could easily swing the other direction this year. As Jason noted on the “Tips and Tricks” episode of the podcast, the pendulum swings every year in fantasy. Last season, the first round was filled with WRs, pushing stud RBs down into the late 1st and early 2nd rounds of drafts. This season, things are more balanced, and a swing back towards inconsistent RB health could prove costly for teams that invest in the high draft capital RBs.

The three RBs in particular that Jason mentions each will have a real opportunity ahead of them if they’re thrust into the starting role.

Will Shipley should be the clear RB2 in Philadelphia behind Saquon and already got a chance to show his pass-catching ability down the stretch last season, making an impact in the NFC Championship game with a 57-yard run and goal-line TD. If there is a situation where Saquon isn’t healthy, Shipley becomes a must-have RB in one of the best offenses in the league.

Sean Tucker was a great prospect coming into the league, but got taken off draft boards because of a heart condition that was found during the draft process. Tucker held onto a spot in Tampa Bay and was solid on a per-touch basis last season. Among 72 RBs with 60+ opportunities, Tucker ranked second in yards per touch, averaging 7 yards every time he touched the ball. Fantasy managers even got to see Tucker as the lead back in Week 6 of 2024, where he finished as the RB1 on the week. Tucker could already be the RB2 for the Buccaneers to start the season, and any missed time from Bucky Irving could be his time to shine.

Finally, Trey Benson had a disappointing rookie season as he was unable to take over any of the work in the Cardinals’ backfield from James Conner. Unbelievably, Conner played every game last season, something he’d never done previously. The chances of Conner repeating a full season of games aren’t likely, and the positive drumbeat for Benson has gotten louder throughout the summer. Even without a Conner injury, there is a good chance for Benson to eat into the Arizona RB work and become a fantasy contributor with high upside.

ANDY:

These three WRs outside the top 50 wideouts in ADP finish in the top 25: Keon Coleman (#50), Dont’e Thornton Jr. (#64), and Josh Downs (#54 ESPN).

For Andy’s final bold prediction, he’s looking for a trio of WRs to be huge values for fantasy managers.

Over the last five seasons, there have been seven WRs on average each year to score 10+ fantasy points per game that were drafted as the WR45 or later. Just last season, fantasy managers benefited from guys like Brian Thomas Jr. (WR47), Jameson Williams (WR48), and Courtland Sutton (WR49) all posting 12+ fantasy points per game after being late-round picks in drafts. Keon Coleman, Dont’e Thornton Jr, and Josh Downs all fall into that draft category, and Andy believes they’re the guys to target with later-round picks this season.

Starting with Keon Coleman, the Bills’ WR wasn’t able to return the high expectations for fantasy managers in one of the best offenses in the league. Still, Coleman has the opportunity to become the main receiving option on a team that’s still searching for its go-to option on the outside. Coleman had a stretch before his wrist injury in Week 9 of 2024 that saw him miss five games, where he finished as the WR7 and WR22 in consecutive weeks. With a full offseason of positive vibes, Coleman could prove to be a fantasy difference maker.

While the Raiders drafted a pair of WRs, it’s the latter of the two picks in Dont’e Thornton Jr who fantasy managers should be keeping an eye on. As a 4th-Round pick, Thornton has been involved with the starters since he got to Vegas and was on the field with them throughout the preseason. At 6’5” and 205 pounds while running a 4.3 40-yard dash, Thornton has the physical tools that we have seen Geno Smith make use of in the past. If Thornton can continue to develop his route tree to add to his deep ball prowess, getting him late in drafts could be a huge boost to fantasy rosters.

Finally, even with a questionable QB situation in Indianapolis, Josh Downs has a chance to outproduce his current WR54 draft position. Downs’ usage from last season suggests he’s a WR1 for an NFL team. Last season, Downs saw a 26% target share (Ja’Marr Chase had a 26.4% target share) and saw a target on 30% of his routes (just behind Drake London’s 30.1%). While we aren’t overly excited about the offense in Indianapolis, if Downs continues to be the main WR target for the Colts, he’s got weekly FLEX play written all over him with high upside.

MIKE:

JJ McCarthy is a top-12 QB – outscores Brock Purdy and Caleb Williams.

The final bold prediction for Mike revolves around the youngest starting QB in the league to start the season in JJ McCarthy. 

Fantasy managers haven’t gotten to see McCarthy take an NFL snap yet, so really they’re betting on what they saw in college and (more importantly) Kevin O’Connell producing yet another fantasy-relevant QB. Over the last three seasons, the Vikings QB has been a great bet for fantasy managers to be a productive piece of their rosters:

Overall, Minnesota QBs have scored the 8th-most fantasy points at the QB position over the last three years.

The Vikings have also worked to improve their offensive line, drafting Donovan Jackson with their first-round pick and adding a starting guard in Will Fries and center Ryan Kelly in free agency. When you add in that McCarthy has already got one of the best WRs in the league and a great cast of skill position players behind him, if McCarthy is the real deal, he’ll have every opportunity to be a strong fantasy asset and outperform his ADP.