Fantasy Football Sleepers 2025: Year 2 Breakout Candidates

Breakdown of 2025 fantasy football sleepers, highlighting undervalued players to help you build a smarter draft strategy.

Updated on July 14, 2025 2:30PM EST

Fantasy Football Sleepers 2025: Year 2 Breakout Candidates

By:

Jerry Donabedian

Updated on July 14, 2025 2:30PM EST

Fantasy Football Breakout Candidates

Welcome to the first article in RotoWire's annual series on fantasy football sleepers and potential breakout players. Before we get started, I want to warn everyone that this isn't necessarily intended as a "draft these guys" list, nor is it meant to identify the players most likely to live up to their draft/auction costs. The idea here is to cast a wide net and create a list of players that have some chance — even a small one — to vastly outperform the acquisition cost. We're looking for high ceilings, not steady floors, and we're starting with a broad survey of the possibilities.

Our survey will be divided into three articles/categories that cover nearly all the viable fantasy football breakout candidates, starting below with second-year players. The next article (July 21) will cover third-year pros, and then the final one (July 28) will discuss players that stand to benefit from playing for new teams and/or coaches.

That's not to say it's impossible for an older player to break out under the same team and coach he's always played for, but it doesn't happen often. If you look back through recent years, nearly all the guys who took a big step forward into fantasy stardom were in the early part of their careers and/or playing under new coaches.

Some of the breakout candidates fit multiple categories. Drake Maye, for example, is a second-year pro under a new coaching staff. In these cases, we'll put the player in whichever category carries

Some of the breakout candidates fit multiple categories. Drake Maye, for example, is a second-year pro under a new coaching staff. In these cases, we'll put the player in whichever category carries more weight (by my subjective estimation). You'll find Maye below, because I think his continued personal progression as a talented young player is more relevant for his breakout case than New England's likely upgrade in coaching staff — though both factors help, which explains why Maye is among my favorite NFL fantasy football sleepers for 2025.

Come August, we'll have additional sleeper/breakout-themed articles that narrow things down to focus on other players like Maye, i.e., the best of the best in terms of fantasy upside relative to ADP.

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Quarterback

QB Caleb Williams (Round 9 ADP)

The only real positives from Williams' rookie season were frequent scrambling and a lack of interceptions (six). But he didn't get much help, dragged down by both a bad coaching staff and poor blocking, with the insult to injury being that a seemingly talented group of pass catchers didn't actually play well. The Bears got some insurance there, drafting TE Colston Loveland (first round) and WR Luther Burden (second round) in case DJ Moore, Rome Odunze and Cole Kmet don't bounce back. They also got the most prized coaching hire of the past half decade in Ben Johnson, who teamed up with GM Ryan Poles to completely renovate the interior offensive line by acquiring G Joe Thuney, C Dre Dalman and G Jonah Jackson. If Williams doesn't play well this year, it means he's simply not any good. If he does play well, he's in a situation where the stats could really pop.

QB Drake Maye (Round 10 ADP)

The Patriots are at least another offseason away from building a strong roster, but they at least got Maye some real help this spring, adding WR Stefon Diggs, WR Kyle Williams (third round) and OT Will Campbell (No. 4 overall pick). They also brought Mike Vrabel and Josh McDaniel back to town, which may or may not work out in the long run but at least figures to provide a quick upgrade on last year's coaching staff led by Jerod Mayo and Alex Van Pelt.

As awful as the Patriots were last year, Maye provided hope for the future, showcasing fearlessness and impressive scrambling ability in addition to the strengths that were already known (namely, size and arm strength). He's not quite Josh Allen from an athletic standpoint, but Maye might just be the next best thing, and starting from a higher point in terms of his passing polish upon arriving in the NFL. Fun fact: Maye had the third-most scramble yards (407) in the league last year, despite taking just 681 snaps. In his 10 full games, he had 15 touchdown passes and two rushing scores.

QB J.J. McCarthy (R10)

McCarthy doesn't necessarily need to be a real-life superstar to become a fantasy standout, given that he'll likely provide some rushing stats and is being dropped into one of the most production-friendly environments in the league. It's unclear if LT Christian Darrisaw (ACL) and WR Jordan Addison (possible suspension) will be available at the beginning of the season, but once those two are suited up, McCarthy's setup could be even better than the one that helped Sam Darnold throw 35 touchdown passes last year.

The Vikings signed C Ryan Kelly and G Will Fries away from the Colts this offseason, later adding G Donovan Jackson with the 24th overall pick to complete an interior-line overhaul. That's one area of likely improvement; another is tight end, where T.J. Hockenson justifiably wasn't at his best last year after returning from a late-2023 ACL tear. Even the wideouts may be improved, considering Addison is only 23 years old and third-round pick Tai Felton could push Jalen Nailor for the No. 3 job.

QB Michael Penix (R12)

Last year's sample of 105 pass attempts is too small for any definitive judgments, but there were plenty of encouraging signs, especially once we add context to some of Penix's less impressive stats, including his 58.1 completion percentage. That's an ugly number at first glance, but it isn't so horrible in light of his sky-high 10.5 aDOT, not to mention six drops pushing the number down even further. Two of those drops ended up in the hands of a defender, including one play where Kyle Pitts muffed a possible TD, which explains how Penix finished with the same number of touchdown passes and interceptions (three). He averaged 7.4 yards per attempt even with the low completion rate, and the Falcons scored at least 24 points in each of his three starts (albeit against shaky defenses).

Looking at what Penix did in college and then last year, there's a strong probability he's at least competent as a passer, with some chance to be among the best. The problem for fantasy is that he'll likely need to be among the very best to post high-end QB1 numbers, as he doesn't offer much on the ground (11 yards, one TD last year) and isn't likely to rank among the league leaders in passing volume (unless things go horribly wrong for the Falcons, in which case Penix's efficiency will also suffer). Bijan Robinson got 22 or more carries in five of Atlanta's final six games last year, including career highs of 28 rush attempts and 170 rushing yards Week 18 against Carolina.

Running Back

RB Tyrone Tracy (R9)

Thirteen running backs were drafted before Tracy last spring, but none of them ended up starting more games, and only Bucky Irving had more touches and yards. Tracy averaged 4.4 YPC across 192 attempts despite playing in a terrible offense with poor blocking, and he did it in just his second full season as a running back after playing wide receiver for most of his college career.

With 4.48 speed and a 40-inch vertical at 210 pounds, Tracy unquestionably has lead-back-caliber athleticism. It's less clear if he'll polish his game enough to meet lead-back standards long term, as he's already 25 years old, and his strong showing in 2024 was somewhat marred by five fumbles and five drops. Rookie fourth-round pick Cam Skattebo is much slower and never played wide receiver in college, but he may nonetheless prove superior to Tracy in the passing game.

These guys were taken in the third or fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, and all now look to be second on their respective teams' depth charts behind quality, veteran starters. They're also in offenses that should be friendly for RB production, apart from maybe Allen, putting each of them just one injury away from fantasy relevance. These are exactly the types of RBs we want on our benches.

RB Blake Corum (R19)

Corum kind of fits with the category above, but I'm putting him separate because his ADP sunk after the Rams drafted Jarquez Hunter in the fourth round a couple months ago. While he didn't play much as a rookie, Corum was a fantastic college player and a third-round draft pick, which means it's too early to bury him entirely. It might be Corum rather than Hunter who takes over the backfield this year if Kyren Williams gets injured.

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Wide Receiver

WR Marvin Harrison (R3)
WR Xavier Worthy (R4)
WR Rome Odunze (R6)
WR Ricky Pearsall (R7)

These wideouts were all 2024 first-round picks, and each had some big moments during their rookie seasons, especially Harrison and Worthy. Last year, Harrison was essentially drafted at his ceiling, going around the 1/2 turn. Now he's a a third-round pick, or occasionally a late-R2 guy, which creates room for a sizable profit if the WR1 expectations come to fruition. Worthy, Odunze and Pearsall are all cheaper, to varying extents, but they also face tougher target competition on rosters with no shortage of pass-catching alternatives. My personal take is a boring one: I think all four of these guys are more or less priced correctly in early drafts, with ADP accurately reflecting the breakout potential and bust risk.

WR Keon Coleman (R9)

Coleman was the first pick of the second round last year, 33rd overall, despite running a 4.61 40 on the heels of a somewhat disappointing final collegiate season. His penultimate season was better, to be fair, and he also had youth working in his favor, turning 21 a few weeks after being drafted. The Bills used him on a lot of a clear-out routes, which led to a 15.2 aDOT, 50.9 percent catch rate and 19.2 yards per catch. Coleman will need a very different role in order to achieve fantasy success, running shallower routes where he can use his strength and YAC skills to add value. The first question is whether the Bills give him that opportunity. The second question is whether he's good enough to take advantage if they do.

WR Xavier Legette (R14)

I nearly forgot about Legette, which is probably fair after he managed just 497 yards in 16 games (13 starts) as a 23-year-old rookie. He was drafted at the end of the first round, 32nd overall, yet ended up getting outplayed by undrafted rookie Jalen Coker. I'm actually a big fan of Coker, but Legette is the one with the raw physical tools to become a star if he can "figure it out". Carolina's selection of Tetairoa McMillan suggests the team will be surprised if Legette truly blossoms, but it would be far from the oddest thing that's happened.

WR Adonai Mitchell (R20)
WR Jordan Whittington (R20)
WR Roman Wilson (R20)

These are the true dark horses, often going undrafted even in 20-round best ball leagues. Mitchell was a second-round pick, and Wilson a third-rounder, but it was Whittington — a sixth-round selection — who arguably had the most encouraging rookie season. The problem for Whittington is that the Rams signed Davante Adams and gave Tutu Atwell a surprising $10 million guarantee, which suggests the team isn't quite sold on Whittington's strong per-route numbers on a small sample last year.

Wilson, meanwhile, barely played as a rookie, with ankle and hamstring injuries (plus a few healthy scratches) limiting him to just one appearance. He was a solid prospect, however, and now has weak competition for the No. 2 WR job in Pittsburgh. Mitchell, on the other hand, may have a tough time getting on the field in Indianapolis, where Michael Pittman, Josh Downs and Alec Pierce are all returning. Mitchell showed some ability to get open while working as the No. 4 receiver last year, but he struggled to make difficult catches (and also dropped a few easy ones).

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Tight End

This is admittedly a thin group, in large part because just three tight ends were taken before Day 3 in last year's draft. One of those is Brock Bowers, and another (Tip Reiman) is on the same team as Trey McBride. The other is Sinnott, who barely played as a rookie behind Zach Ertz and John Bates, both of whom re-signed with Washington this offseason. That obviously doesn't bode well for Sinnott, but he's a physical freak (40-inch vertical at 250 pounds) who had 1,123 yards over his final two seasons at Kansas State, not some low-end prospect who has no chance whatsoever to unseat Ertz.

Johnson and Sanders were somewhat less promising as draft prospects, but they both got some run last season and now have clear paths to continued playing time. Their target rates weren't encouraging, which explains why they're being drafted outside the Top 200 despite the promising physical traits and potential to get a lot of snaps. Both make sense as high-ceiling, low-floor TE3 picks in deeper formats, as does Sinnott.

So those are the top second-year fantasy football sleepers. For rookie sleepers, check out this video:

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