NFL Expert Picks: Best Fantasy Football Breakout Candidates for 2025

Ain't no high like a hitting on a breakout high.

When you snag a player who hits it big in fantasy football, you not only get a leg up on your competition, but you also get to look like a genius all year long. Those players who show their true ceiling can be league-winners, single-handedly carrying you to a championship.

Which players are primed to break out in 2025?

We polled our FanDuel Research writing staff to see who their favorites were. Let's see which players they think could move the needle in a big way for your drafts this summer.

Fantasy Football Breakout Picks

Austin Swaim

Breakout Pick: Dalton Kincaid

From an efficiency perspective in 2024, Dalton Kincaid did his job. He was ninth among tight ends who saw at least 50 targets in yards per route run (YPRR) at 1.73. However, he was 70th in catchable target rate (66.7%) among those that saw at least 10 looks, according to FantasyPros. That led to his being being Pro Football Focus' 15th-highest underperformer in expected fantasy points at all flex positions despite running just 58.9% of the Bills' routes. He's improved luck and a decent participation rate away from firmly being a top-10 fantasy tight end.

Austan Kas

Breakout Pick: Ricky Pearsall

Ricky Pearsall checks a lot of boxes. He was a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and got a delayed start to the season due to injury. He started emerging late in the year, blowing up for 8 catches, 141 yards and a touchdown in Week 16 before totaling 6 grabs, 69 yards and a score in Week 17.

Heading into this season, Pearsall's path to targets has cleared up. Not only is Deebo Samuel in Washington, but Brandon Aiyuk is reportedly "not anywhere close" to a concrete return date while Jauan Jennings is currently banged up (or possibly holding in). There's a chance Pearsall is the top wideout for a San Francisco 49ers team that has the league's easiest schedule and that our Jim Sannes projects to score the eighth-most points.

Although non-receivers Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle will hog plenty of looks, Pearsall looks like a strong breakout candidate.

Annie Nader

Breakout Pick: Keon Coleman

We didn’t get any true breakouts among the Buffalo Bills' receivers in 2024, but Keon Coleman could break the mold in his sophomore effort.

Coleman totaled 556 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns through 13 games in his rookie season. Notably, he put up three top-25 weekly finishes at his position before a wrist injury sustained in Week 9 partially derailed his campaign.

Although drops were an issue, that’s not abnormal for a rookie, and he flashed upside by logging 19.2 yards per catch (third-most in NFL) and 7.4 yards after catch per reception (seventh-most; minimum 25 catches). The Bills replaced Amari Cooper and Mack Hollins with Josh Palmer and Elijah Moore this offseason.

It’s still an annoying corps to navigate, but Coleman leads the way in untapped potential.

Riley Thomas

Breakout Pick: Marvin Mims Jr.

The Denver Broncos had few productive fantasy pieces a season ago, but the team took a step in the right direction by making the playoffs for the first time since 2015. Bo Nix had a successful rookie season, and he could continue to make strides as we saw him rapidly develop in the later years of his collegiate career. While Courtland Sutton remains the clear top target, Marvin Mims could provide terrific value with his average draft position (ADP) of WR56 and 157th overall in half-PPR leagues, according to FantasyPros.

Over the final five games of the 2024 season, Mims produced three top-10 weekly finishes; he even finished in the top six in the final two games. Paired with a jump in snap rate late in the season, Mims enjoyed a 29.5% target rate while scoring five touchdowns in the final five games. Following that production to end 2024, Mims should become a more consistent contributor.

Skyler Carlin

Breakout Pick: Drake Maye

Although it's easy to see second-year quarterback Caleb Williams excelling under Ben Johnson in a revamped offense, Drake Maye is another signal-caller entering his sophomore campaign who can experience a breakout season.

Even with seemingly everything working against Maye as a rookie, he managed to finish as the QB16 or better in 8 of his 12 starts to finish the year. Among quarterbacks with seven-plus starts a season ago, Maye averaged the most rushing yards per attempt (7.8) and produced 32.4 rushing yards per game despite getting only 0.6 designed rushing attempts per game, according to NextGenStats.

In addition to expecting new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to call more designed runs for Maye to maximize his rushing ability, the New England Patriots did enough along the offensive line and receiver room this offseason to suggest we should see improvements across the board from the offense in 2025.

Jim Sannes

Breakout Pick: Bryce Young

We gave a lot of helium to Bryce Young's improved efficiency last year, but his rushing gives him the path to a ceiling in fantasy.

After Young regained the starting job, he averaged 22.3 rushing yards per game, maxing out at 68 in a Week 16 overtime win. His volume picked up near the goal line as he had 6 rushing attempts inside the 10, seventh among quarterbacks in this span.

Now, Young's efficiency could creep up even more with Tetairoa McMillan in the mix. The Carolina Panthers' offensive line is decent enough, and the defense could funnel them into shootouts. Young has the building blocks for upside you want from someone who goes undrafted in most single-quarterback leagues.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.