With the NFL offseason in the rearview mirror, Fantasy football draft season is in full swing. History has proven that hitting on one of the top Fantasy football sleepers and avoiding drafting players that go down as Fantasy football busts is the key to finishing at the top of your league’s standings. Last year’s top sleepers and breakouts included wide receivers Brian Thomas Jr. and Ladd McConkey and running backs Chuba Hubbard and Bucky Irving, while the top fantasy busts included running backs Breece Hall and Travis Etienne Jr.
Who will be the top Fantasy football sleepers and breakout candidates in 2025? And which players should be on your list of potential Fantasy football busts? 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.
Now, SportsLine has simulated the entire NFL season 10,000 times and released its latest 2025 Fantasy football rankings for PPR and non-PPR leagues, 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: Browns tight end David Njoku. The 29-year-old is coming off the best per-game season of his career, finishing as the TE4 in Fantasy points per game. He missed seven games with hamstring and ankle issues, which have kept him under the radar heading into the 2025 season.
Njoku ranked fifth in target share and seventh in receiving yards per game among 47 qualified tight ends, per Fantasy Points Data. He was the TE2 in PPR Fantasy points per game in five appearances with quarterback Joe Flacco in 2023, and Flacco is set to be the starter in Cleveland this season. The model has Njoku ranked ahead of tight ends like Mark Andrews, Darren Waller and T.J. Hockenson, who are all going off the board before him in average Fantasy drafts. See more Fantasy football sleepers 2025 here.
Top 2025 Fantasy football breakouts
One of the 2025 Fantasy football breakouts the model is predicting: Bears receiver Rome Odunze. Drafted No. 9 overall in 2024, Odunze disappointed as rookie with a stat line of 54-734-3. He was a clear third in the Bears’ pecking order, but with Keenan Allen’s departure, Odunze moves up a spot. He did excel in one aspect and that’s getting downfield as his average depth of target of 13.9 yards was second-best in the NFL amongst those with 50-plus receptions.
Part of Odunze’s underwhelming stats came from a disjointed Bears offense, but that should be improved with Ben Johnson’s arrival and Caleb Williams having a year under his belt. Odunze was targeted 15 times in the endzone in 2024, which was seventh-most in the NFL, despite him ranking 37th in total targets, so Williams clearly likes him in that all-important area. The biggest progression in an NFL player’s career is often between his first and second seasons, so this combo of factors makes Odunze a 2025 Fantasy football breakout candidate. See more Fantasy football breakouts 2025 here.
Top 2025 Fantasy football busts
As for players to avoid, the model lists Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle as one of its biggest Fantasy football busts. Waddle broke out as WR8 in 2022, he led all wide receivers in yards per catch and yards per target. He’s been a top-24 wide receiver per game in three of his first four NFL seasons, but Miami’s offense features a plethora of weapons that eat into Waddle’s Fantasy production.
The Dolphins feature Tyreek Hill, De’Von Achane, and Jonnu Smith in the passing game, and Waddle’s target per route run rate declined sharply to 17.4% in 2024. In addition, Waddle is coming off his worst season as a pro, having failed to reach the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his NFL career. The model ranks Waddle behind receivers like Darnell Mooney, Travis Hunter and Jauan Jennings, making him one of the top 2025 Fantasy football busts to avoid. 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.
