Fantasy football rankings 2025: Best sleepers by NFL model that predicted James Cook's huge season

With the NFL regular season just a few days away, Fantasy football managers are beginning to formulate their draft strategy as they look for good value picks and outright steals. Rookies and first-year standouts such as running back Ashton Jeanty of the Las Vegas Raiders and wide receiver Emeka Egbuka of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers created a preseason buzz, but are players like that truly draft board worthy, especially early on? Jeanty is being projected as a first-round pick on many boards, according to the latest 2025 Fantasy Football ADP, while Egbuka is an eighth-rounder.

Other intriguing rookies to monitor include Los Angeles Chargers running back Omarion Hampton, Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan and Chicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland. Which of them are going to become Fantasy football breakout stars? Which other rookies should you target as potential 2025 Fantasy football sleepers? 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.

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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.

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: Browns tight end David Njoku. The 29-year-old is coming off the best Fantasy per-game season of his career, finishing as the TE4 in Fantasy points per game. He missed seven games due to hamstring and ankle injuries though, which have kept him under the radar in Fantasy football drafts this year.

Njoku ranked fifth in target share and seventh in receiving yards per game among 47 qualified tight ends last season, per Fantasy Points Data. He was the TE2 in Fantasy points per game across five outings with Joe Flacco at quarterback in 2023, and Flacco is set to start for the Browns this season. The model has Njoku ranked ahead of five tight ends who are going off the board before him in average Fantasy drafts, making him a Fantasy football sleeper to target.

Another sleeper that SportsLine's Fantasy football rankings 2025 have identified: Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who is being picked outside the top 40 according to the latest ADP data. The defending Super Bowl champion and Super Bowl LIX MVP ranked just eighth in positional Fantasy points in 2024. A big part of that was the talent that surrounded him, especially running back Saquon Barkley, who rushed for over 2,000 yards. But with the return of all of his weapons, Hurts could be poised for an even bigger statistical season.

Hurts can get Fantasy owners points both through the air and on the ground. Hurts finished with 18 touchdown passes in just 15 games last season, while adding 14 rushing touchdowns. He is an accurate passer, completing 68.7% of his passes for 2,903 yards, and was picked off just five times. He also carried 150 times for 630 yards, an average of 4.2 yards per tote. 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.

2025 Fantasy football ADP

(PPR, via CBS)

1. Ja'Marr Chase (1.70)
2. Bijan Robinson (2.59)
3. Saquon Barkley (3.15)
4. Jahmyr Gibbs (3.91)
5. CeeDee Lamb (7.23)
6. Justin Jefferson (7.44)
7. Derrick Henry (8.28)
8. Christian McCaffrey (9.14)
9. Ashton Jeanty (11.63)
10. Josh Jacobs (12.05)