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With the NFL preseason in the books, it's officially time for Fantasy football managers to finalize their 2025 Fantasy football draft prep. Building a winning team this year will largely depend on crafting a 2025 Fantasy football draft strategy that correctly identifies breakout stars, under-the-radar sleepers and avoiding potential fantasy busts. In 2024, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill was a consensus first-round pick, but fell short of expectations, missing the 1,000-yard mark for the first time since 2019. On the flip side, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley exceeded all projections in his first year with Philadelphia, exploding for over 2,000 rushing yards and 15 total touchdowns.

So, who are the breakout stars and deep sleepers to watch in 2025, and which players could underperform and belong on your "do not draft" list? 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: Raiders quarterback Geno Smith. The veteran quietly had career highs in passing yards and completion percentage last year while tossing his second-most touchdown passes. He ranked 14th amongst quarterbacks in Fantasy points and was then traded from Seattle to Las Vegas. He'll reunite with Pete Carroll, who Smith had his two best statistical seasons under, and he'll get to play for new OC and offensive guru, Chip Kelly.

Despite a lack of success last year, the Raiders still managed to rank 13th in passing offense, even with a trio of backup-caliber quarterbacks starting for them. Brock Bowers may already be the best receiving tight end in the league, while the offense added a potentially generational running back talent in Ashton Jeanty. Out wide, Jakobi Meyers is coming off a 1,000-yard season, and rookie Dont'e Thornton is an explosive playmaker who led all of FBS with 25.4 yards per catch at Tennessee a year ago. The model puts Smith on par with C.J. Stroud in its 2025 Fantasy football rankings, despite Smith being drafted multiple rounds later on average.

Another sleeper that SportsLine's Fantasy football rankings 2025 have identified: Pittsburgh Steelers receiver DK Metcalf. After four consecutive seasons as a top-20 Fantasy wide receiver, Metcalf slid to WR34 last year and was dealt from Seattle to Pittsburgh this offseason. He'll now be catching passes from future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers. While Rodgers isn't at his peak, the four-time MVP still helped Davante Adams produce WR5 numbers over a 12-game stretch in New York.

With George Pickens now in Dallas, Metcalf steps in as the clear No. 1 option in Pittsburgh, no longer sharing targets like he did with Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba in Seattle. Even in a "down" 2024 campaign, Metcalf managed to produce 66 catches for 992 yards and five touchdowns. He remained a big-play threat as well, ranking top five in both average depth of target (13.1) and yards before catch per reception (11.0) among players with 60+ receptions. Currently being drafted as WR24, Metcalf offers strong sleeper potential, with the model projecting him as WR16. 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 (1.72)
2. Bijan Robinson (2.61)
3. Saquon Barkley (3.16)
4. Jahmyr Gibbs (3.94)
5. CeeDee Lamb (7.33)
6. Justin Jefferson (7.48)
7. Derrick Henry (8.49)
8. Christian McCaffrey (9.23)
9. Ashton Jeanty (11.67)
10. Josh Jacobs (12.11)