2025 Fantasy Football: Best and Worst Picks from Each Round

I love Malik Nabers. I think there’s a good chance he’s the WR1 at this time next year. He sees tons of targets and has no competition for them. Even though Russell Wilson isn’t very good, he’ll be a big upgrade over what Nabers had to work with at the end of the 2024 season, which was Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito. Nabers had the fourth-most unrealized air yards as a rookie, so that’ll improve with upgraded quarterback play. I would take Nabers fifth overall after Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, Saquon Barkley, and Bijan Robinson.

Christian McCaffrey has great upside based on what he’s accomplished in the past, but he’s now an older running back with an extensive injury history. I always say that you can’t win your fantasy drafts in the first couple of rounds because half the league will draft a stud, but you can lose you fantasy draft by selecting a bust. No one in the first round has greater bust potential than McCaffrey, who hasn’t been able to finish three of his previous five seasons.

A.J. Brown was a first-round pick last year. Despite nothing changing, Brown is now being chosen in the middle of the second round. Brown has great upside and will continue to be the No. 1 receiver in an explosive offense, so he’s a bargain at ADP 2.07.

Trey McBride is a great tight end, but he shouldn’t be going in the same round as Brock Bowers. Simply put, McBride doesn’t have the scoring upside Bowers possesses, so he should be going in the fourth round with George Kittle. Something else that terrifies me is Kyler Murray’s poor durability.

It was a close call between Chase Brown and Jaxon Smith-Njigba as far as the best pick in the third round. I’m leaning toward Brown because of his position and how explosive he is. He also owns the backfield to himself, which is a rarity these days.

Speaking of explosive players, Tyreek Hill was once described as such. It appears as those days are over. Hill is now in his 30s, and he looked like he lost a step last year. Miami also doesn’t have the offensive line to support his downfield targets. Tua Tagovailoa’s poor health is an issue as well. Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, Hill could be thrown in jail at some point soon.

Round 4 is a complete dead zone. I don’t like any running backs or receivers chosen in this round, so I usually find myself targeting a quarterback or George Kittle unless I’m lucky enough to land a third-round player in this range. If I had to pick a quarterback or Kittle that I want more than anyone else, it’s Jayden Daniels, who will likely expand upon his rookie campaign with Laremy Tunsil and Deebo Samuel enhancing his supporting cast.

Tetairoa McMillan was a top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, but he wouldn’t have been chosen in the top 10 in a normal year. Heck, he wouldn’t have even been a top-10 pick this year had meddlesome owner Axe Tepper not gotten involved with the decision-making once again. McMillan admittedly doesn’t love football, so will he put forth the work effort to be a great pro? It seems like he has “bust” written all over him.

I think people forgot how great Calvin Ridley can be because of last year’s results where he was playing with Will Levis and Mason Rudolph. Ridley led the NFL in unrealized air yards in 2024, which basically means that he would’ve enjoyed a massive season with improved quarterbacking. Cam Ward is unproven, but will almost certainly be a massive upgrade over Levis and Rudolph. Ridley’s situation reminds me of Terry McLaurin’s heading into 2024, so Ridley could enjoy the type of season McLaurin just had.

Shout out to WalterFootball.com podcast guest Butters, who calls Jaylen Waddle a “pyramid scheme.” Waddle is capable of some big games, but is woefully inconsistent. Mike McDaniel doesn’t quite understand how to scheme for his best players, and Waddle suffers because of that as well as Tua Tagovailoa’s health problems.

I love both Bears players in this round- Rome Odunze, D’Andre Swift – but I’ll go with the higher upside. Some of Charlie Campbell’s team sources thought so highly of Odunze that they graded him very closely with Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers. Second-year receivers typically get the greatest bump, and I think we’re going to see that with Odunze, thanks to Caleb Williams’ experience, Keenan Allen’s departure, Ben Johnson’s hiring, and the offensive line’s improvement. There’s a good chance Odunze overtakes D.J. Moore as the No. 1 receiver on Chicago’s roster.

Chris Godwin is a truly awful pick in the sixth round. There’s already pessimism about him being available for Week 1, and yet it’s only early July. This reminds me so much of the Christian McCaffrey situation last year. It wouldn’t be shocking at all to see Godwin play only a handful of games this year.

It’s either Kaleb Johnson or Ricky Pearsall. I’m going with Johnson, an incredibly talented runner thrust into a great situation. Jaylen Warren is on the roster, but the team never thought highly enough of him to give him carries over Najee Harris. Johnson is far more skilled than Warren, yet he can be obtained at a discount over the other primary rookie running backs.

Cooper Kupp is a decrepit receiver who barely played down the stretch last year. Now, for the first time in his career, Kupp won’t be coached by Sean McVay, and he won’t be catching passes from either Matthew Stafford or Jared Goff.

Emeka Egbuka could be a potential league winner. He’s an incredibly talented rookie receiver who appears to be in a crowded situation. This is deceiving, however. Chris Godwin is already iffy to play in Week 1, so he may not be able to be on the field very much this season. Egbuka will be ahead of Jalen McMillan as well. And Mike Evans is 32, so he could break down at any moment.

I don’t really hate anyone in Round 8, but Darnell Mooney appears to be drafted a bit too early. Young quarterbacks like Michael Penix Jr. tend to lock in on No. 1 receivers and tight ends, so Mooney may not get the number of targets he saw from Kirk Cousins last season.

Tyrone Tracy’s ADP is so low because the Giants drafted Cam Skattebo. Tracy, however, was so explosive last year that the coaching staff will have to feed him the ball. Tracy may lose the goal-line touches to Skattebo, but he’ll create enough big plays to pay off his ninth-round price tag.

Travis Etienne has had his chance to prove himself in the NFL. He has failed at every opportunity. He was even benched in favor of Tank Bigsby last year. So, why is he going in the ninth round when Jacksonville added another running back?

J.J. McCarthy is one of the top quarterback values this year. I also love Cam Ward in Round 13, but McCarthy is great at this spot. McCarthy offers rushing upside in an offense that allowed Sam Darnold to play like a Pro Bowler for most of the 2024 season.

I referenced Cam Skattebo a bit earlier. Everyone remembers Skattebo’s great game versus Texas in the college football playoff, which is causing him to be severely overdrafted. Skattebo should be a 14th-round pick, as he’s currently third in the pecking order of a three-man committee.

Tucker Kraft is the best tight end value in fantasy this year. He should be going in the ninth or perhaps even the eighth round instead of the 11th. He had some big performances last year, and Matthew Golden’s presence will open things up for him over the middle of the field.

Marvin Mims is being overdrafted because he had two great games to close out 2024. However, Sean Payton is infatuated with size from his receivers, which is why he used a third-round pick on Pat Bryant. It’s likely that Mims will be relegated to special teams this year with Bryant being an upgrade across from Courtland Sutton.

Isaac Guerendo is another potential league winner. Christian McCaffrey has failed to finish three of his previous five seasons. Guerendo could post massive numbers if McCaffrey gets hurt again.

It’s puzzling that Luther Burden is going so early. The Bears have such a crowded receiver group, and Burden has been injury. Ben Johnson has even expressed frustration with Burden’s poor health.