Marvin Harrison Jr. was the first non-quarterback selected in the 2024 NFL Draft, going No. 4 overall to the Arizona Cardinals, and he was a top 24 selection in the majority of Fantasy football drafts. However, it was a reminder that no rookie is as much of a certainty as they may seem on draft night. Harrison averaged just 52.1 yards per game for 885 yards with eight touchdowns to finish as WR30. Meanwhile, Brian Thomas Jr. and Malik Nabers both finished as top-six wide receivers in Fantasy football as rookies, so how should this affect how you view rookie wideouts in 2025 Fantasy football drafts?
Only three wide receivers were selected in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft in Tetairoa McMillan (Panthers), Emeka Egbuka (Buccaneers) and Matthew Golden (Packers). McMillan was the Panthers’ second first-round wide receiver taken in the last two years after selecting Xavier Legette No. 32 overall last year. Where will Carolina’s young receivers land in the 2025 Fantasy football rankings? 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 Bills running back James Cook would comfortably outperform his ADP (RB14). The result: Cook rushed for 1,009 yards and 16 touchdowns while adding 32 receptions for 258 yards and two more scores as a receiver. He finished as RB8 in CBS Sports PPR leagues and his maturation into a scoring threat cemented his status as a Fantasy football superstar.
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 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 sleepers
One of the 2025 Fantasy football sleepers the model is predicting: Cowboys running back Javonte Williams. Dallas has been rumored to be in the running back market all offseason after letting 1,000-yard backs Tony Pollard and Rico Dowdle walk in successive years. However, they were relatively quiet on that front, spending fifth and seventh-round draft picks on Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah while spending minimally to add Williams and fellow veteran Miles Sanders.
Those four backs and Deuce Vaughn will now compete for reps, and Williams might have the edge on everybody because of his versatility. He’s had at least 40 receptions in all three of the seasons where he was healthy since being drafted in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft and he was given at least 191 touches in each of those years. The Cowboys will ride the hot hand from this unit, but the model favors Williams as the early starter and ranks him ahead of Najee Harris and Zach Charbonnet, who are going at least one round earlier on average.
Another sleeper that SportsLine’s Fantasy football rankings 2025 have identified: 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy. The 25-year-old may never be able to shake off the Mr. Irrelevant title as the final selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, and similar to 2022, Purdy continues to go later than he should in Fantasy football drafts. Purdy was fourth in the NFL MVP voting in 2023 and last year, he threw for the fifth-most yards per game (257.6) of quarterbacks who played multiple games. Purdy was QB11 on a points-per-game basis among starters quarterbacks last year despite battling injuries and San Francisco playmakers missing multiple weeks as well.
The model projects Purdy as a top 10 Fantasy football quarterback, despite him being selected outside the top 12 at his position in early ADP for the 2025 Fantasy football season. Christian McCaffrey should be healthy, and despite losing Deebo Samuel, the 49ers still have a strong skill position group, including receivers Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall. The 49ers ranked 14th in scoring last year after being the No. 2 scoring offense in 2023, and the model projects a closer to the 2023 season from Purdy and his playmakers. See which other Fantasy football sleepers 2025 to pick here.
How to find proven 2025 Fantasy football rankings
SportsLine is also extremely high on a veteran wide receiver to surprise with his production. The model says this wideout is a shocking top-10 option ahead of younger stars like A.J. Brown and Drake London. You can only see who it is, and the 2025 Fantasy football rankings for every player, at SportsLine.
So which 2025 Fantasy Football sleepers should you target? And which wide receiver 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 James Cook’s huge season, and find out.