Fantasy Football ‘25: 21 Random thoughts on the 2025 season

Summer has officially begun, and if your fantasy football draft prep hasn’t started along with it, what are you waiting for? Draft season for season-long redraft leagues is only two months away! Let’s get cracking.

Today I’m sharing 21 random thoughts for the upcoming season of fantasy football. Some are profound, and some are just hunches. Why 21? No real reason.

You can find all of my fantasy columns by following this link. Recent pieces include the riskiest and safest players in fantasy for 2025, burning fantasy questions for 2025, rule changes to improve your league, and more. And I’m just getting started. I’ll have all sorts of fantasy football draft prep pieces to share in the coming weeks, so keep it here at Big Blue View.

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21 Random Fantasy Football Thoughts for the 2025 Season, as of June 21, 2025:

1. It’s been almost 20 years since a running back repeated as the RB1 (LaDanian Tomlinson, 2006-2007). Saquon Barkley is in an ideal situation to repeat, but a combination of his age (28), usage last season (almost 500 touches, including playoffs) and injury history suggests that someone else will be atop fantasy mountain in 2025.
2. A not totally unrelated thought: I expect an over-correction regarding where running backs and receivers are drafted in 2025. 2024 was the year of the running back. Christian McCaffrey got hurt, but most of the other starting backs stayed remarkably healthy (and kept their starting jobs), while a lot of top wide receivers missed time with injuries (or their QBs did). There are going to be some very good wide receiver values throughout the first six or so rounds of drafts, while RBs fly off the board early.
3. The Miami Dolphins might be 2025’s version of the 2024 Bengals: A team with excellent weapons paired with a terrible defense. That combo usually leads to lots of shootouts, and fantasy gold. If Tua Tagovailoa can stay healthy for at least 15 games, and that’s a BIG if, I expect the Dolphins’ key pieces to deliver value at their Average Draft Positions (ADP).
4. Wait a second…The Cincinnati Bengals might actually be 2025’s best version of the 2024 Bengals. I don’t think they improved their defense all that much.
5. Justin Jefferson has been an absolute monster since he came into the league. Very, VERY few WRs have piled up stats like he has through his first five seasons, and in four of those he’s played every game. Even better, he’s done it with multiple quarterbacks of varying quality. So why is J.J. McCarthy making me a tiny bit nervous about using a Top-6 pick on Jefferson?
6. Along the same lines, I’m also hesitant to drop a Top-6 pick on Jahmyr Gibbs. He’s the most explosive back in the NFL and plays in a great offense. He led the league with 20 total TDs last season. I love watching him play. And yet, three things give me just a little bit of a pause: OC Ben Johnson’s departure, Center Frank Ragnow’s retirement, and most of all, the presence of a healthy (for now) David Montgomery, who will continue to factor in and especially at the goal line.
7. For the third straight season, I have no idea how to rank Green Bay’s receivers.
8. For the second straight season, I have no idea how to rank Buffalo’s receivers, and no, it’s not a given that somebody will step up and be a fantasy WR1 (or TE1) for Josh Allen.
9. While I’m thinking along these lines, I’m also going to have issues ranking the Cowboys’ and Jaguars’ running backs.
10. D’Andre Swift’s new head coach is the same guy who didn’t especially want him in Detroit a couple of years ago. But he’s more dynamic than Roschon Johnson and I think he’ll be a solid RB2 in an improved offense.
11. I’ve traditionally been a “wait on QB” guy, but if you want to grab either Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson in the second round in a 1-QB league, I can’t fault you. Allen has finished as the overall No. 1 or No. 2 player in fantasy for FIVE straight seasons, and his consecutive starts streak (117 games including playoffs) is more than double any other active quarterback. Jackson has finished in the Top-3 in total fantasy points each of the last two seasons and hasn’t missed a game in the those seasons other than Week 18 in 2023 when Baltimore had already clinched the 1 seed (in other words, since he got his big contract).
12. Similarly, I won’t fault you for taking Jalen Hurts or Jayden Daniels in the late second or early third either. But if you don’t get one of those four elite dual-threat QBs, I strongly suggest waiting as there is once again great depth at the position.
13. Justin Fields has put up Top-10 quarterback numbers every time he’s gotten the chance to start for a stretch of games. He’s got little competition in NY, and just enough weaponry to succeed. I also like Garret Wilson at ADP. In 2023, Fields supported a Top-10 wide receiver in Chicago (D.J. Moore), and Wilson should be a target monster.
14. I can’t wait to see how Travis Hunter is used. That said, I think he’ll be overpriced in non-IDP leagues. In IDP leagues, I get the appeal of reaching for him, even though corners are not the highest scorers and especially part-time corners.
15. Chuba Hubbard is better than you think, and he’s in an ascending offense. He feels like the new James Conner – perennially undervalued.
16. I think the Saints are going to be the lowest-scoring team in the NFL. Alvin Kamara should get enough volume to be serviceable and especially in full PPR, but in general I want no part of that offense.
17. I won’t be that surprised if Davante Adams scores more TDs than Puka Nacua. I think Adams has a lot left and will be a very good value at ADP.
18. I refuse to believe Tyreek Hill is cooked. I’m expecting a big bounce-back and love him at a third round price.
19. A lot of people are rooting for Daniel Jones to win the Colts’ qusrterback job, because they think he’ll be much better for the team’s pass catchers than Anthony Richardson. That may be true, but remember that Jones hasn’t topped 15 passing TDs since he threw 24 as a rookie in 2019. The Colts’ pass catchers are going to be cheap in redraft for a reason, and will be hard to pencil in as weekly starters no matter who the QB is.
20. Liam Coen has already helped to resurrect the career of a QB who was the #1 overall pick in the NFL Draft (Baker Mayfield). Coen is Trevor Lawrence’s new Head Coach. Could this be the year, finally?
21. Tight end is kind of weak again (like it was 3-4 years ago), and there’s a big drop-off after the Top-3 at the position. I’m struggling to rank the guys in the next big tier.

That’s the list. Coming soon: Rankings and Tiers!