Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, the No. 12 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, was QB6 in Fantasy football in his rookie season, the second-highest scoring rookie quarterback behind Jayden Daniels. Last year was the second straight season multiple quarterbacks finished in the top six in Fantasy football scoring during their first full seasons as the team’s starting quarterback. There are a few candidates who could emerge to continue that trend this year with Michael Penix Jr. expected to start Week 1 after starting the final three games for the Falcons last year, J.J. McCarthy likely to start for the Vikings after missing all of last season with a torn meniscus, and Cam Ward going No. 1 overall to the Titans in the 2025 NFL Draft.
How should the recent Fantasy football breakouts at quarterback affect your 2025 Fantasy football strategy? Does this mean you should fade the elite quarterbacks like Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson and focus on other positions in your 2025 Fantasy football draft? Before crafting 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 Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels would comfortably outperform his ADP (QB13). The result: Daniels threw for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns with only nine interceptions and added 891 rushing yards with six more scores on the ground to take home NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. He finished as QB5 in CBS Sports PPR leagues and was a great addition to 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 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. 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 Football sites, and it beat human experts last season when there was a big difference in ranking. The 2025 Fantasy football PPR rankings and 2025 Fantasy football standard rankings 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 Fantasy football rankings 2025, along with plenty of sleepers, breakouts and busts. Head to SportsLine now to see them.
Top 2025 Fantasy football breakouts
One of the 2025 Fantasy football breakouts the model is predicting: Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III. The third-year receiver should finally have continuity at quarterback for the first time in his Steelers career, and it comes via a future Hall of Fame quarterback. The Steelers have had five different quarterbacks play at least four games over the last two years, but after signing Aaron Rodgers this offseason, Pittsburgh has a clear QB1.
Despite a poor season by Rodgers’ standards, he still threw for 3,897 yards and 28 touchdowns last year for the Jets, more than 200 yards more than the Steelers did last year and 400 more than the year before. Austin had 36 receptions for 548 yards last year, doubling his rookie receptions total and tripling his yardage. The Steelers traded for DK Metcalf, but also traded away George Pickens, so Austin could emerge as the No. 2 pass-catcher in the Pittsburgh offense.
Another potential breakout that SportsLine’s Fantasy football rankings 2025 have identified: Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter, who has an over/under of 750.5 receiving yards. A lot is being made about how much he’ll play on both sides of the ball and how it may cut into his production offensively. However, Hunter regularly handled well over 100 snaps per game at Colorado and the Jaguars desperately need a receiver opposite Brian Thomas Jr. to balance the passing attack.
Hunter led the Big 12 in receptions (96) and receiving touchdowns (15) while also ranking second in the conference and fifth nationally in receiving yards (1,258). He’s got high-level body control and proven athleticism, and the model predicts that he outperforms receivers like Jameson Williams and Darnell Mooney, who both finished top 25 in the NFL in receiving yards last season. See which other Fantasy football breakouts 2025 to pick here.
How to find proven 2025 Fantasy football rankings
SportsLine is also extremely high on a rookie running back to make an immediate impact. The model ranks this player as a top-10 option ahead of more established stars like Christian McCaffrey and Bucky Irving. You can only see who it is, and the 2025 Fantasy football rankings for every player, at SportsLine.
So which 2025 Fantasy Football breakouts should you target, and which RB shocks the NFL with a top-10 performance? Visit SportsLine now to get 2025 Fantasy Football cheat sheets for every single position, all from the model that called Jayden Daniels’ breakout rookie season, and find out.
2025 Fantasy football ADP
(PPR, via CBS)
1. Ja’Marr Chase (1.81)
2. Bijan Robinson (2.25)
3. Saquon Barkley (3.69)
4. Jahmyr Gibbs (4.81)
5. CeeDee Lamb (5.88)
6. Justin Jefferson (6.25)
7. Christian McCaffrey (9.31)
8. Ashton Jeanty (10.62)
9. De’Von Achane (10.75)
10. Amon-Ra St. Brown (10.75)
