8 Must Have Players for 2025 Fantasy Football
The big waves of NFL Free Agency have come and gone, and the fantasy football landscape across the league has changed significantly because of it.
Multiple players have been put into new situations, and a handful of offenses have changed over the last few weeks, for better or worse. In today’s discussion, I will review a handful of players I do not want to leave drafts without this summer. Players that I will be trying to draft everywhere in 2025. So, with all of that being said, here are my eight must-have players for 2025 fantasy football. I avoided obvious first-round picks because that would have been too easy. I wanted to highlight players outside the first round on my personal must-draft list for 2025. These players are not in any particular order, but rather just a generalized list of players I wanted to spotlight for this exercise.
Jets QB Justin Fields
Justin Fields has found a new home and once again is a starter in the NFL, meaning that the young signal-caller is back to being a fantasy-relevant asset. Fields will be reuniting with his former college teammate in New York, Garrett Wilson, so you know there is already great established chemistry between the two. Fields’ elite rushing upside gives him a floor of a top 10 fantasy QB at worst. If New York can add another passing game weapon or two to their offense, and Fields can be at least above average through the air, there is no reason why he cannot finish as a top 5 fantasy QB in 2025. It might sound bold, but that is his ceiling for next year if you ask me. If you like to wait on a quarterback in drafts, Justin Fields is a prime late-round option in that scenario.
Jets WR Garrett Wilson
As mentioned with Justin Fields, Garrett Wilson is reuniting with his former college quarterback in New York, so there will already be great fantasy upside there if you ask me. Over the last couple years, you could argue that Garrett Wilson has been overpriced in fantasy drafts, as the young pass-catcher has never really retuned his perceived value compared to his steep price tag in the past. Now that Wilson is seemingly appropriately valued going into 2025, you should be trying to draft him everywhere this summer.
The biggest thing that Garrett Wilson has going for him is that the young wideout is quite literally the only fantasy relevant pass-catcher in this Jets offense right now. Tyler Conklin has left in free agency, Davante Adams has been released, Allen Lazard has never really been fantasy relevant in his career, and Breece Hall is not exactly the most productive pass-catching back in the world. That could change after the NFL Draft, but as it stands right now, it is Wilson and nobody else in this passing attack right now. It is not crazy to think that Garrett Wilson could finish as a low-end WR1 in 2025, and you should be trying your best to get him on your team this summer for that great experience.
Texans WR Nico Collins
Although Nico Collins missed multiple games in 2024 with a severe hamstring injury, the star wide receiver should still be viewed as a dominant WR1 for 2025 fantasy football. Yes, I know that the Texans added Christian Kirk via trade just a few weeks ago, but it is not like Kirk has been the picture of health in his career either. Fantasy managers might think that Kirk will steal some of Collins’ targets in 2025, but that is not how I look at it at all. Christian Kirk is primarily a middle-of-the-field slot target, so he should not take away from Nico Collins’ big, explosive, splash play targets downfield, where he thrives for fantasy purposes.
The only reservation I have about this situation right now is Houston’s offensive line, which is pretty weak compared to the rest of the league. However, that should change significantly once the NFL Draft rolls around at the end of April, so it is not the biggest deal in the world regarding Nico Collins’ fantasy value in 2025. Another concern the general public might have is the play of quarterback C.J. Stroud, as he took a step back last year from a fantasy perspective. I am not overly concerned about it, though, because I believe Stroud will have a bounce-back season from a fantasy perspective in 2025, and I will likely be ahead of consensus on the young signal-caller come draft season this summer. Even with the addition of Christian Kirk, I still view Nico Collins as a legitimate, dominant WR1 in 2025.
Chargers WR Ladd McConkey
It may have been overshadowed by guys like Brian Thomas Jr. and Malik Nabers, but Ladd McConkey had an extremely dominant rookie season in his own right in 2024. If you ask me, there is no reason why the second-year receiver cannot repeat or even build on that success in 2025. The Chargers have not added any legit weapons in the passing game to accompany McConkey this offseason. I am sorry, but I do not care about either Mike Williams or Quentin Johnston from a fantasy perspective. Mike Williams has not been fantasy-relevant in years and has been highly injury-prone in his career, and Quentin Johnston has not lived up to the hype as a former first-round pick just two years ago. Johnston has shown flashes here and there as a big red zone target for Justin Herbert, but nothing near sustainable for a long period of time.
Yes, the Los Angeles Chargers will most likely be a run-heavy offense in 2025 once again with the addition of Najee Harris a few weeks ago. Still, offensive coordinator Greg Roman showed down the stretch last year that his offense can be very fast-paced and put up big numbers through the air when they really want to. Plus, McConkey takes most of his snaps from the slot, which is very beneficial to fantasy football. Slot receivers have historically been big fantasy producers over the years. Until the Chargers add a legit weapon or two to their passing game, I will continue to be extremely bullish on Ladd McConkey’s fantasy outlook for 2025, and the young receiver is easily a must-have player for 2025 for me.
Packers RB Josh Jacobs
Heading into 2024, everybody in the fantasy community was very high on the Green Bay Packers’ receiving weapons, citing that even though the team did not have a clear alpha, the offense had multiple young and athletic weapons who could all contribute. A year later, though, everyone has reversed their takes on these Packers’ weapons for fantasy football purposes. Looking back at 2024, Jayden Reed showed that he could not consistently contribute in fantasy terms, Christian Watson proved that he unfortunately could not stay healthy, and Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks displayed themselves as nothing more than depth pieces who have spike-week potential here and there during the year. Due to this shaky receiving core, Josh Jacobs became a fantasy star last year. I would love to have Jacobs on my team again in 2025, as the veteran running back once again has no competition for touches in that backfield.
I do not care about Marshawn Lloyd, as I was not exceptionally high on him coming out of college last year, and he missed all of last year as a rookie due to a severe injury anyway. So, I do not expect Lloyd to suddenly come in and take touches away from Jacobs in 2025. Sure, the Packers could take a legit wide receiver in the first round in April, but that front office has shown over the years that this is not something they do, even if they should. So I am not counting on it. Due to his sheer volume and the high touchdown equity he gets in this Green Bay offense, Josh Jacobs is easily a must-have player for fantasy next year for me.
Buccaneers RB Bucky Irving
Last year in 2024, Bucky Irving became a waiver wire darling, as the entire fantasy community fell in love with the rookie running back due to his very efficient metrics and numbers. Tampa Bay was using a split between Rachaad White and Bucky Irving to start the year. However, after a while, the team realized that Irving was the better back of the two and ended the split. Irving began to get most of the touches as the year went on. For 2025, Bucky Irving should easily repeat his massive fantasy success from last year, as the young running back seems to be the lone starter in that Buccaneers backfield heading into next year. This might sound bold right now, but it is not crazy to think that Rachaad White could be traded as the offseason rolls on, as the team seems to like Sean Tucker in that backfield a lot, too. It appears that White has fallen out of favor in Tampa Bay, so I could see a trade happening in the coming months before the season starts next year.
Fantasy managers may be concerned about the offensive coordinator change for Baker Mayfield and company. However, I would not be too concerned about it, as Mayfield has shown before that he can still produce at a high level even with an offensive coordinator change with the Buccaneers over the last couple of years. This offense is very high-powered and fast-paced, so Bucky Irving should have a lot of touchdown opportunities in 2025. Irving is also a very good receiving back, which will provide even more fantasy production next year. Fantasy managers should have no issues taking Bucky Irving in the second round of drafts this summer. Bucky Irving has a legitimate chance to be a key league winner in 2025.
Falcons WR Drake London
With above-average QB play for the first time in his career in 2024, Drake London finally had that breakout the fantasy community has been waiting for and became a fantasy star like everyone knew he could be coming out of college. With Kirk Cousins throwing him the ball for most of the 2024 season, London was performing very well. But with Michael Penix Jr. at the helm for the Falcons for the last few games of the season, the young receiver was even better. In Penix’s three starts last year, Drake London averaged 23.1 fantasy points per game and 13.0 targets, showing a high-level connection between quarterback and receiver. Michael Penix Jr. is an excellent deep ball thrower, which is where Drake London thrives on the field, so the young breakout receiver should have no issues putting up big fantasy numbers in 2025. With an entire season of Penix as the starter in Atlanta, the chemistry between him and Drake London should grow even more.
Besides, London is also the clear alpha in this Atlanta offense, at least in terms of passing game weapons. Unfortunately, Kyle Pitts has been a fantasy bust for the last three years, and Darnell Mooney is a good enough upside play but definitely not someone who is a consistent target earner in this offense on a weekly basis. So, London should see a ton of targets in this offense next year. Fantasy managers should be more than comfortable with taking Drake London in the early second round in drafts this summer, and his ceiling is a fantasy WR1 next year.
Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
While I am not particularly high on Sam Darnold for fantasy purposes, I am extremely high on wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. I know this team added Cooper Kupp to the mix a few weeks ago. Still, Kupp is aging and, unfortunately, very injury-prone at this point in his career, so I am not anticipating that he will affect Smith-Njigba’s fantasy value and ceiling next year. The only thing I worry about is positional alignment on the field, as both Kupp and Smith-Njigba do their best work out of the slot, so that is something new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak will have to figure out in 2025.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is such a great talent, though it might not matter; it’s just something I want to be aware of in the back of my mind. With Geno Smith in 2024, Smith-Njigba averaged 14.9 fantasy points per game and 7.8 targets, all while competing with DK Metcalf for weekly targets. If Sam Darnold can come in and provide at least comparable play to Geno Smith, then Smith-Njigba should be a target machine in 2025 and, in turn, possess a very high ceiling as well. If the Seattle Seahawks add a significant weapon in the NFL Draft in April, then I may come off this extremely bullish take just a bit. But as things stand right now, Jaxon Smith-Njigba has an extremely high fantasy ceiling in 2025, and there is no reason why he should not be on your team next year.