Fantasy football rankings 2025: Sleepers, busts, breakouts via NFL model that called C.J. Stroud's tough year
SportsLine simulated the new NFL season 10,000 times and identified 2025 Fantasy football sleepers, breakouts and busts for upcoming drafts

The 2025 NFL Hall of Fame Game is slated for July 31, which means 2025 Fantasy football drafts will begin ramping up soon. Evaluating 2024 player performances compared to 2025 ADP data is one key to developing a winning Fantasy football strategy. Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba led Seattle with 100 receptions, 1,130 receiving yards, and six touchdowns, finishing as the WR9 in Fantasy points per game. DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett are no longer on the roster, but Smith-Njigba could still be one of the Fantasy football sleepers with an ADP outside the top 15.
Seattle replaced starting quarterback Geno Smith with Sam Darnold, and it also signed former Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp to a three-year deal. How should you approach Seattle's new-look offense with your 2025 Fantasy football picks? 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: Raiders quarterback Geno Smith, who has an over/under of 3,575.5 passing yards this season. The Raiders traded a third-round draft pick for Smith in March, signing him to a two-year contract extension. He will be playing in a new-look offense under offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, who has utilized an up-tempo pace throughout his coaching career.
Smith has some intriguing weapons in Las Vegas, including rising star tight end Brock Bowers and dependable veteran Jakobi Meyers. The Raiders also added rookie running back Ashton Jeanty in the draft to provide some balance. Smith was the QB13 in Fantasy scoring last year, and the model has him as a top-20 quarterback this season despite his ADP of 25. See more Fantasy football sleepers 2025 here.
Top 2025 Fantasy football breakouts
One of the 2025 Fantasy football breakouts the model is predicting: Giants wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson. The 24-year-old receiver enters his fourth NFL season, so although he's later in his career than your typical breakout, Robinson isn't much older than the incoming rookie class. Robinson played his entire rookie season at 21 years old, whereas many of the top rookie receivers are entering this season at 22. Robinson had more receptions (93) and targets (140) last year than in his first two seasons combined.
Robinson was a second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft after having 104 receptions for 1,333 yards in 13 games as a junior at Kentucky. He was used more in New York as the season progressed, including 10 receptions in the final game of the season. With offensive head coach Brian Daboll remaining in place, that involvement could continue to rise. The model has Robinson in the range of more high-profile receivers like Rome Odunze, Chris Olave and Jayden Reed in its 2025 Fantasy football rankings as it projects Robinson to be a more reliable Fantasy football receiver this year. 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. Taylor averaged 28.4 carries for 144.6 yards and 1.2 touchdowns over the final five games of last season, averaging 25.6 Fantasy points per game during that stretch. He was only averaging 14.2 Fantasy points up to that point, and his rate of gaining at least three yards per play ranked in the bottom third of all NFL running backs.
Health is always a concern with Taylor too, as he has missed at least three games in each of the last three years. He has dealt with ankle, thumb, toe, ribs, knee and shoulder injuries, which is enough to make Fantasy owners cautious about him heading into the 2025 season. Taylor is the 11th running back off the board in average Fantasy drafts, but the model barely has him cracking the top 20 in its rankings. 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.