Success in fantasy football hinges on one thing: value. Winning managers identify players who outperform their ADP. And after evaluating all 32 NFL rosters, we’ve pinpointed the top value pick from each team.
The Best Fantasy Value From Every NFL Team
Arizona Cardinals: James Conner, RB
James Conner has averaged at least 15.4 fantasy points per game in each of the past four seasons. He may be 30 years old, but he hasn’t shown any signs of decline. He looked as spry as ever last season, averaging 5.3 yards per touch, 11th in the NFL, and posting a 32.5% evaded tackles per touch rate, best in the league.
The Arizona Cardinals recommitted to Conner by giving him an extension late last season. Health permitting, he should be a three-down back once again. His RB21 ADP certainly appears to be a value.
Atlanta Falcons: Darnell Mooney, WR
This one is a bit of low-hanging fruit. Darnell Mooney proved his sleeper appeal last season. As the Atlanta Falcons’ WR2, Mooney caught 64 passes for 992 yards and five touchdowns. He averaged 12.1 fantasy points per game, putting him firmly in WR3 territory.
Mooney is unlikely to be an elite fantasy asset or a difference-maker. But he’s very much worthy of a spot on fantasy rosters.
Despite a strong 2024 season, Mooney’s ADP sits at WR50. Given that he’s the Falcons’ third-most talented offensive weapon behind Bijan Robinson and Drake London, Mooney is a strong bet to outperform his ADP.
Baltimore Ravens: Derrick Henry, RB
This one was very close. Derrick Henry is a top-five running back by ADP, coming off a season in which he averaged 19.8 fantasy ppg, finishing as the overall RB4. Lamar Jackson just averaged 25.6 ppg, finishing as the overall QB1, so there’s no wrong answer here.
Henry may be 31 years old, but he’s built differently. He’s shown no signs of slowing down, and in fact, was even more efficient last year, having transitioned from a weak Tennessee Titans offense to an explosive Baltimore Ravens offense.
Ultimately, if Henry were five years younger, he’d be a consensus top-six pick. The fact that he is available in the second round is almost purely due to age-related concerns. He will fall off eventually. It just won’t be this year.
Buffalo Bills: Joshua Palmer, WR
Something tells me Joshua Palmer’s WR70 ADP won’t last. It doesn’t make sense. By no means should Palmer be some top 40 receiver or even drafted to be a fantasy starter, but we’re talking about someone who’s proven himself time and time again.
Palmer, averaging 7.2 ppg last season, can easily be overlooked. The Los Angeles Chargers drafted Ladd McConkey, and he’s elite. In a low-volume passing attack, there wasn’t enough for anyone else, especially with Quentin Johnston taking a mild step forward.
Palmer admirably filled in over the previous two seasons whenever one or both of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams were injured, having averaged 10.6 and 10.7 ppg in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Every fantasy manager would sign for that from a guy on the border of even being drafted in fantasy leagues.
Now in Buffalo, Palmer gets a QB upgrade to Josh Allen and is competing for targets with no one of consequence. Khalil Shakir is primarily a slot receiver, so the two do not overlap. The Buffalo Bills lack a true outside flanker, and Palmer has to be considered the favorite for that role, particularly because he’s a better player than Keon Coleman.
Palmer appears to be a viable weekly WR3. That’s not going to win you your fantasy league, but we’d all love to get WR3 production from a player ranked outside the top 60.
Carolina Panthers: Chuba Hubbard, RB
Who saw this coming? Imagine telling someone at the beginning of the 2024 season that, heading into the 2025 season, Chuba Hubbard would be the best fantasy value on the Carolina Panthers?
Now, there’s undoubtedly a chance rookie first-rounder Tetairoa McMillan gives Hubbard a run for his money this season. Given where we had to draft Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers last season, McMillan’s price looks quite reasonable by comparison. We could be talking about McMillan as a second or third-round pick heading into 2025. Right now, though, it’s Hubbard.
The Panthers’ RB1 was supposed to merely be a stopgap until Jonathon Brooks was ready to take over. Instead, Hubbard played exceptionally well, while Brooks was never able to get healthy before retearing his ACL.
Hubbard averaged 16.1 ppg last year, finishing as the overall RB13. He was third in snap share and fourth in opportunity share, completely dominating the Panthers’ backfield. With Rico Dowdle and rookie Trevor Etienne behind him, Hubbard is in position to smash once again.
Chicago Bears: Caleb Williams, QB
Caleb Williams stepped into about as good of a situation a first-round rookie quarterback in the NFL could ask for, and completely flopped. He was barely a QB2 in fantasy, averaging just 15.3 ppg.
Williams’ rookie season earned him a D+ grade in PFSN’s QB+ metric. While he struggled to get anything going, he did show flashes of greatness, enough to suggest that abysmal coaching played a larger role than any talent concerns in his issues.
Do not rewatch week 12 if you don’t want to buy in on Caleb Williams while his stock’s depressed pic.twitter.com/2MjDAeRmxy
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) May 22, 2025
Week 12 was one of Williams’ best performances. He threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns, posting 26.9 fantasy points. Williams also excelled in Week 6, throwing for four scores against the Jacksonville Jaguars across the pond.
The bad weeks were bad, but quarterbacks don’t post five games of 20+ fantasy points if they don’t have talent.
This year, the Chicago Bears revamped their coaching staff by bringing in Ben Johnson and adding two more offensive weapons: Luther Burden III and Colston Loveland.
Williams is once again poised to succeed, but it will be on him to take a significant step forward this season. It won’t be a surprise if he ends up performing like a No. 1 overall pick and returns high QB1 value from a QB2 price.
Cincinnati Bengals: Chase Brown, RB
Before the NFL Draft, I was sure the Cincinnati Bengals would address running back. Chase Brown proved he could handle a massive workload, but that was never the plan. There’s a reason Zack Moss was plenty involved when healthy.
After Moss went down, the Bengals did not roster a running back they trusted other than Brown. Therefore, the sophomore had multiple games with a 100% opportunity share. From Week 9 onward, he never played fewer than 80% of the snaps.
Naturally, the Bengals were expected to draft someone to take some of the load off of Brown. They took Tahj Brooks in Round 6, but forgive me for not expecting much from a sixth-round rookie.
The Bengals did bring back Samaje Perine, who will undoubtedly see the field. However, I’ve grown increasingly confident that Brown will be able to get reasonably close to the usage he had last season.
Brown won’t see every touch in every game, but even 80% of what he was last year is an RB1. He was a first-round RB over the second half of last season, and he’s only getting better. He’s currently going in the third round — sign me up.
Cleveland Browns: Diontae Johnson, WR
I just can’t quit Diontae Johnson. I will if he can’t get his head on right this year, but given the price of literally free, I’m willing to give him one more chance.
Johnson’s fall from relevance warrants further study. He had a clean rise: solid rookie year, WR2 sophomore season, WR1 in Year 3. Then Ben Roethlisberger retired, and it all fell apart.
Johnson averaged 10.6 and 11.7 ppg, respectively, in 2022 and 2023. Last year, he bounced between three teams after getting frustrated with his role and ended the season as a healthy inactive due to his attitude.
The wild thing is, for a short stretch last season, Johnson looked like a WR1 again. From Weeks 3-6, when Andy Dalton was under center, Johnson had games of 26.2, 21.3, 5.9, and 19.8 fantasy points.
Still only 28, Johnson is now trying to revive his career with the Cleveland Browns. Cleveland’s QB situation is in flux, but the WR depth chart is wide open behind Jerry Jeudy. If Johnson is mentally locked in, he’s the most talented wideout on the team.
If Johnson gets buzz in training camp, his ADP will shoot up. Right now, it doesn’t even exist. He’s been written off. If he can’t get it together this year, it’s probably over.
The fantasy community has already decided Johnson is done, so you may not even need to draft him to take a shot. Just pick him up if he shows any signs of life.
Dallas Cowboys: Jaydon Blue, RB
No team has embodied the phrase “running backs don’t matter” more than the Dallas Cowboys. It’s fascinating that they’re the team to disregard the position so much after using the No. 4 overall pick on Ezekiel Elliott in 2016, and it mostly worked out (at least to the extent that Elliott was elite for five years). Since then, though, Dallas has invested very little in the position.
Last year, the Cowboys went into the season with Rico Dowdle as their RB1. Naturally, after letting Dowdle walk in free agency, they were widely expected to draft a running back, but they waited until the fifth round to do so.
The Cowboys are entering the season with an RB room of Javonte Williams, Miles Sanders, and Jaydon Blue. We should never be overly excited about a fifth-round anyone, but no fifth-round rookie RB has as good of an opportunity as Blue.
Cowboys RB1 Javonte Williams last season pic.twitter.com/d1l0ooz70x
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) May 11, 2025
Once a promising rookie, perhaps injuries are to blame for sapping Williams’ ability. Regardless of the reason, he’s been dreadful since returning.
Behind him, we have Sanders, who has averaged 3.5 yards per carry over the past two seasons. Once a promising prospect on the Philadelphia Eagles (for those who bought in), now 28 years old, it’s a stretch to even call Sanders replacement level. He’s worse than that, earning only a 28.9% opportunity share on the Panthers last season.
Why not Blue? Both Williams and Sanders are on one-year deals. There’s no commitment to them. At just 21 years old, Blue should get a chance at some point. His RB50 ADP is more than reasonable. Just be patient as he waits for his opportunity.
Denver Broncos: J.K. Dobbins, RB
Not every team has an appealing RB sleeper. The Denver Broncos, unimpressed by their running back room, made it a point to get their guy in the 2025 NFL Draft, selecting RJ Harvey in the second round.
Once Denver drafted Harvey, it was hard to imagine anyone else on this team becoming an impactful fantasy option. There wasn’t anyone.
Last year, the combination of Williams, Audric Estimé, and Jaleel McLaughlin didn’t provide a single weekly fantasy starter. McLaughlin was a preseason sleeper with a little buzz, but he only gave us two usable weeks all season.
They were so ineffective that Sean Payton decided he wanted a completely new backfield. First, they drafted Harvey to be the lead back. Behind him, it makes sense that Payton didn’t want to use the cavalcade of misfits he had last season. So, the Broncos signed J.K. Dobbins.
Don’t let Dobbins’ presence scare you off of Harvey. But we did see Dobbins have several useful weeks last season, having averaged 14.8 fantasy ppg in 13 games. If Harvey goes down, Dobbins is the clear favorite for lead-back duties. His RB54 (and climbing) ADP is very reasonable. He’s one of the better handcuff running backs in fantasy this year.
Detroit Lions: Jameson Williams, WR
Last year, I couldn’t have been more out on Jameson Williams. This year, I couldn’t be more in.
Williams proved himself an outlier last season, overcoming dreadful rookie and sophomore seasons to post 1,000 yards receiving and average 14.1 points per game.
While he was incredibly efficient last season, averaging 17.3 yards per reception, something we don’t want to bank on, there’s reason to believe Williams can offset an inevitable drop in efficiency with an increase in volume.
Jared Goff only averaged 31.7 pass attempts per game last season. The Detroit Lions dominated the league, scoring a significant number of points and often maintaining control of the game, which allowed them to rely heavily on Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.
This year, the Lions play a much more demanding schedule. That should result in more competitive games and fewer scenarios in which they don’t have to throw the ball. A moderate rise in pass attempts from Goff, combined with Williams seeing a natural uptick on his 18.9% target share, should propel him to even greater heights.
This is a consolidated offense with only three pass catchers of relevance. The vast majority of Goff’s targets will go to Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta, and Williams. I believe there’s enough to go around, and he’s trending toward being a value in the fourth round.
Green Bay Packers: Jordan Love, QB
When I started writing this section, I legitimately listed “no one” as the best value. After rethinking it, Jordan Love deserves the nod.
Love is two years removed from averaging 19.4 fantasy ppg and finishing as the overall QB5. He battled through multiple injuries last season, which hindered him. They also resulted in the Green Bay Packers going extremely run-heavy, with a league-high 53% neutral game script run rate.
This year, the Packers added Matthew Golden and still have Jayden Reed. They should throw at least a little more.
While I’m not necessarily targeting Love, he does offer top 12 upside at a QB16 price.
Houston Texans: Jayden Higgins, WR
With Stefon Diggs in New England and Tank Dell out until at least 2026, the Houston Texans have an opening at WR2. In an attempt to fill it, they signed Christian Kirk, then drafted Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel.
Any one of these three could emerge as a viable fantasy WR3 as the guy opposite Nico Collins. But if we’re going to bet on one, it should be Higgins.
While Higgins is not a prospect without flaws, he has second-round draft capital, and his main competition is a player essentially making close to the veteran’s minimum in 2025, as well as his college teammate, whom he played ahead of.
Higgins has a WR55 ADP, making him relatively cheap and affordable in fantasy drafts. There’s room for a second fantasy-relevant member of this passing attack. It wouldn’t be a shock if it were Kirk or Noel, but Higgins is the best combination of price and opportunity.
Indianapolis Colts: Michael Pittman Jr., WR
Incredibly, Michael Pittman Jr. can be considered a value just two years after posting near-WR1 numbers, averaging 15.6 ppg. Consider this the Anthony Richardson effect.
Pittman’s outlook for 2025 is bleak. He will be catching passes from either Richardson or Daniel Jones, neither of whom inspires much confidence. Pittman was outplayed last year by Josh Downs to the point that fantasy managers have elevated Downs’ ADP ahead of Pittman’s this year.
Over the past two seasons, Pittman has averaged 10.0 ppg with Richardson compared to 15.8 with other quarterbacks. If you’re drafting Pittman, you probably need to hope Jones gets in there at some point, which, to be fair, does seem likely. Both quarterbacks are likely to make starts this season.
What we know for sure is that Pittman is a talented receiver. He was almost a WR1 two years ago. Last year, he had horrible QB play and gutted out a back injury that was set to end his season mere days before he miraculously changed his mind and finished out the year. At WR52, Pittman is probably worth the gamble.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Brian Thomas Jr., WR
Yes, he’s expensive. No, I don’t care. Brian Thomas Jr. is the truth.
Thomas averaged 16.7 fantasy points per game as a rookie, hauling in 87 passes for 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns. The most exciting part is that there’s so much room for more.
Thomas dealt with awful quarterback play from Trevor Lawrence and Mac Jones, as well as even worse coaching. He also saw a 25.5% target share, which could certainly increase by a few percentage points.
Thomas is now a borderline first-round pick and very much deserving of the honor. He is as elite as they come. It would not be a shock if he wound up as the overall WR1 this year.
Kansas City Chiefs: Isiah Pacheco, RB
I would stop short of saying I’m targeting Isiah Pacheco this year — for now. But I’m getting there. Generally, I like targeting players with asymmetrical upside. Isiah Pacheco offers that.
Yes, there is a chance that he fades into oblivion. He’s still a former seventh-round pick, which is a stigma that is hard to shake. However, Pacheco averaged 15.3 fantasy ppg two seasons ago. Last year, he was trending toward being one of the best values in fantasy, posting 15.8 and 16.1 fantasy points, respectively, in the season’s first two games before breaking his leg.
When Pacheco returned, he wasn’t healthy, and it showed. He should be healthy now, though. What if we’re getting 2024 Weeks 1 and 2 Pacheco at an RB29 price? Sure, he could end up being a wasted pick, mired in a timeshare as the 1B behind Kareem Hunt.
Pacheco is still only 25 years old. I think he’s worth the risk-reward.
Las Vegas Raiders: Jack Bech, WR
The Las Vegas Raiders’ WR room is pretty wide open after Jakobi Meyers. Of course, Brock Bowers is technically the WR1, but it’s not as if Geno Smith hasn’t supported three fantasy options before.
Jack Bech is a rookie second-rounder with a rather unimpressive prospect profile. He also hails from TCU, a school that has never produced a quality NFL receiver.
Nevertheless, he does have the inside track to the WR2 role with his primary competition being Tre Tucker. At a WR68 ADP, it’s pretty inexpensive to take a shot on the unknown that is the rookie.
Los Angeles Chargers: Tre Harris, WR
For the second consecutive year, the Chargers spent a second-round pick on a wide receiver. It’s hard to do better than last year with Ladd McConkey, who is entrenched as the team’s alpha WR1. McConkey is going to dominate targets, and no one is threatening that.
As for the WR2, that’s an open competition between former first-rounder Johnston, old friend and new signee Mike Williams, and rookie second-rounder Tre Harris.
Johnston took a significant step forward after a disastrous rookie year, but didn’t quite do enough to shed the bust label fully. The jury remains out. That’s why the Chargers opted to draft another WR as well as sign Williams.
Williams is 31 years old and coming off a season in which he showed a precipitous decline, catching 21 passes for 298 yards and one touchdown in 18 games played between the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Harris is an interesting prospect. He was immensely productive in his final season, but is an older rookie at 23 years old and didn’t break out until midway through his age-20 college campaign.
Even if you’re not bullish on Harris, he presents good value at his WR58 ADP. Don’t assume every prospect evaluation we have will be correct. Harris has legitimate sleeper appeal as the potential WR2 in a Justin Herbert offense.
Los Angeles Rams: Davante Adams, WR
The truth is, there’s not much in the way of value on the Los Angeles Rams. They have three high-end fantasy assets in Puka Nacua, Kyren Williams, and Davante Adams, and they are all going within the first three rounds.
Adams gets the nod as the best value because there’s a path to him being a truly elite player at a third-round price tag. He hasn’t exactly shown signs of decline, but Adams is no longer the same elite player he was in his 20s. That said, he’s nowhere near cooked.
davante adams was absolutely cooking for no reason on the 2024 new york jets pic.twitter.com/4h0PjJDzB7
— Davis Mattek (@DavisMattek) June 2, 2025
Matthew Stafford, the kingmaker, is known for hyper-targeting his top two options. If Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods can both finish as WR1s, or close to it, so can Nacua and Adams.
Plus, let’s say something befalls Nacua and he misses a large chunk of the season. Stafford will treat Adams like Aaron Rodgers did. He’ll treat Adams like his new Kupp (currently how he treats Nacua). The targets lost are not going to go to the likes of Tutu Atwell and Jordan Whittington. Stafford will funnel even more toward Adams.
Imagine getting Nacua in the third round? That’s what Adams could be if things break right.
Miami Dolphins: Jaylen Waddle, WR
This is how we capitalize on the recency bias of fantasy managers. Remember when Jaylen Waddle averaged 14.2, 15.2, and 15.4 fantasy points per game? Yeah, that was two, three, and four years ago, respectively.
Last year, though, Waddle fell to a 10.0 average. Are we to believe he’s suddenly bad at football, or is it more likely that the entire Miami Dolphins offense just had a bad year?
Waddle was an early third-round pick last year. Now, you can get him outside the top 30 wide receivers. Yeah, I’m all in on a bounce back. Where Waddle is being drafted is his floor.
Minnesota Vikings: Jordan Mason, RB
Jordan Mason is not exactly flying under the radar. Fantasy managers are well aware of the upside he offers, but his price makes him easily the best value on the Minnesota Vikings.
Kevin O’Connell never intended to feed 29-year-old Aaron Jones a career-high 255 carries, but they didn’t have a choice, as the options behind him were so uninspiring. To remedy this issue, the Vikings made it a point to acquire Mason, who proved he could be a feature back when filling in for an injured Christian McCaffrey last year.
Mason checks all of the boxes of a backup running back. We are highly confident that he would be the primary back if the starter were to go down. He’s capable of producing at 80-90% of the starter, and very likely has standalone RB3 value even when Jones is on the field.
Mason is the exact type of backup RB fantasy managers should target. With an RB35 ADP, he belongs on as many of your rosters as you can get him on.
New England Patriots: Drake Maye, QB
Drake Maye was understandably overshadowed by Jayden Daniels, who had the best rookie season in NFL history, and Bo Nix, who led the Broncos to the playoffs.
This has created a value proposition for Maye heading into 2025 fantasy drafts, at least for now. There are several quarterbacks with 20 ppg upside. As a result, Maye likely won’t be taken inside the top 12. But he can give us a QB1 season.
Maye’s 14.4 ppg average is fake. It includes the 2.1 points he scored when he made his NFL debut in Week 3 for only a handful of plays and points in Week 18 when he played just three snaps. If we remove those two games, Maye posted 16.8 points per game, which is much more respectable.
This year, the New England Patriots added Diggs, rookie third-rounder Kyle Williams, and a receiving back in TreVeyon Henderson. Maye is also another year older and has an experienced, competent head coach. Plus, Josh McDaniels is back as offensive coordinator.
Some of Drake Maye’s best throws vs quick pressure https://t.co/S8Rz30wHjZ pic.twitter.com/umltsvg5iv
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) May 23, 2025
With his rushing ability raising his floor, Maye could be a surprise top-five fantasy quarterback if things break right this season. Fantasy managers should be very bullish on Maye as potentially being this year’s Daniels.
New Orleans Saints: Rashid Shaheed, WR
The question with Rashid Shaheed isn’t whether he’s a value — it’s why he still is.
Before getting hurt last season, Shaheed was averaging 13.6 fantasy points per game (4.0 more than Chris Olave).
Are we sure Olave deserves a WR36 ADP while Shaheed sits at WR54? The latter opened 2024 with four games of at least 16.3 fantasy points. He’s boom or bust and relies on splash plays, but he’s cheap.
The New Orleans Saints aren’t expected to be good, which means they’ll be trailing and throwing. They’ll still score touchdowns, though, and Shaheed is a big-play threat who costs next to nothing.
New York Giants: Tyrone Tracy Jr., RB
The New York Giants don’t have much in the way of fantasy values. Malik Nabers is a first-round pick, and no other pass catcher is even on the fantasy radar.
Since fantasy managers love their shiny new toys, Tyrone Tracy Jr., last year’s toy, is now being cast aside in favor of Cam Skattebo. However, I don’t believe Skattebo is better than Tracy.
Tracy did incredibly well for a fifth-round rookie. He averaged 10.7 ppg, finishing as the overall RB26 in total points. That’s nothing special on its own, but Tracy started the year as a seldom-used backup to Devin Singletary.
From Weeks 1–4, Tracy didn’t play more than 31% of the snaps in any game. He had just 18 total opportunities in those four contests.
But in Week 5, the Tracy takeover began. From that point forward, he averaged 13.2 ppg — solid RB2 numbers. Not bad for a late-round dart throw. Tracy proved he can handle volume, rushing 16 times or more in seven games. He also showed some burst, recording a 15+ yard run on 5.2% of his carries.
Tracy’s ADP is around RB30. Even in a timeshare with Skattebo, it’s hard to imagine him not at least returning that level of production. We know Tracy can play. What if Skattebo can’t? Tracy feels like he has far more upside than downside.
New York Jets: Justin Fields, QB
In modern fantasy football, having an elite quarterback not only matters, but it’s advisable. It’s okay to spend a Round 2-4 pick on a QB. However, only a handful of teams will be able to afford that top-end production. Fortunately, if I miss out on a top QB, I know Justin Fields exists.
Given the depth of the position, it’s understandable that Fields is ranked so low. Yet, it’s still surprising.
Fields may not be a high-end NFL quarterback, but that doesn’t matter for fantasy purposes. The only “concern” with Fields is that his performance may result in him getting benched. Well, on the Jets, I don’t see any world where he loses his job unless he’s truly horrendous.
For all of Fields’ criticisms over the first four years of his career, the guy is, at worst, a low-end NFL starter. He belongs.
Since 2022, Fields has started 34 games. Over that span, he’s averaged 18.8 fantasy points per game. He’s a QB1 whenever he takes the field. Only seven quarterbacks have been better during that timeframe, and they’re the ones who you would expect.
Meanwhile, Fields has outproduced the likes of Kyler Murray, Brock Purdy, Dak Prescott, Baker Mayfield, and Justin Herbert, to name a few. Most of these guys will be drafted ahead of Fields this year. If you miss out on the elites, wait and take Fields.
Philadelphia Eagles: Jalen Hurts, QB
Over the past four seasons (read: every year he’s been a starter), Jalen Hurts has never averaged lower than 21.3 ppg. How, exactly, is he a value?
For reasons I cannot comprehend, Hurts is a notch below Allen, Jackson, and Daniels this year. I don’t get it. He should be right up there with him. Yet, Hurts’ ADP is QB5, below Joe Burrow. Allen, Jackson, and Daniels all go around the 2/3 turn, whereas Hurts falls to the fourth round.
Maybe his ADP is depressed due to lingering concerns from the possibility that the Tush Push would get banned, and it will rise. But until then, Hurts seems to be the forgotten elite QB.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Pat Freiermuth, TE
Remember, after his rookie season in 2021, how Pat Freiermuth was poised to be the next big thing at tight end? Freiermuth averaged 9.5 fantasy ppg as a rookie, following that up with 9.3 as a sophomore. Not a breakout, but not terrible. Then, in his third season, he fell to 6.4 ppg, making him unrosterable.
Last season, though, Freiermuth bounced back to average 9.9. It was the best season of his career and borderline TE1 numbers. Yet, his ADP is way down at TE21.
The biggest problem for Freiermuth was the Steelers’ QB situation. Well, that’s fixed, at least for fantasy purposes. Rodgers likely won’t result in the Steelers being a serious contender or winning more games, but he’ll help the fantasy values of DK Metcalf, Jaylen Warren, and Freiermuth.
Unless Pittsburgh adds a legitimate WR2 or makes a move for Jonnu Smith, Pat Freiermuth is on track to be the second option in the passing game… and it’s like no one cares.
He quietly finished as a top-10 TE in 5 of the 9 games following the team’s Week 9 BYE. pic.twitter.com/SKvb2AmqPG
— Joe Beldner (@JoeBeldner) June 5, 2025
While it’s unlikely Freiermuth becomes a difference-maker at the position this season, he’s almost certain to outperform his ADP.
San Francisco 49ers: George Kittle, TE
For the better part of the past eight years, George Kittle has been the best tight end in football. The only reason you probably think it was Travis Kelce is that Kittle never posted the gaudy receiving numbers because he’s too good at blocking.
But when the San Francisco 49ers need to call upon Kittle to step up as a receiver, he delivers — every time.
After his fantasy points per game dropped for five consecutive seasons, Kittle bounced back to almost match his career-best 2018 season, averaging 15.8 ppg, just 0.2 shy of his breakout sophomore year. Why? The 49ers needed him to.
For much of Kittle’s career, the 49ers have had an abundance of offensive weapons. When Deebo Samuel Sr., Brandon Aiyuk, and McCaffrey are all on the field, Kittle is better used as a blocker.
Last year, those three played a total of zero games together. Zero. There were many games where at least two, if not all three, of them were out. What happened? Kittle smashed.
This year, Samuel is gone. Aiyuk is recovering from an ACL tear that will very likely keep him out to start the season. McCaffrey is currently healthy, but he’s also 29 years old. The stage is set for Kittle to be Purdy’s rock once again.
You can spend a second or third-round pick on Bowers or Trey McBride. Or, you can draft Kittle a couple of rounds later and get similar production.
Seattle Seahawks: Zach Charbonnet, RB
The Seattle Seahawks have proven over the past two seasons that, while they believe in Zach Charbonnet as an every-down back when Kenneth Walker III is unavailable, they do not intend to give him enough work to have standalone value. Yet, his price doesn’t accurately reflect his upside when he does get a chance to start.
Last season, Charbonnet averaged 19.2 fantasy points per game in six starts (games in which Walker did not play) against just 6.5 ppg when playing alongside Walker. This fact depresses Charbonnet’s ADP and keeps him at a good value.
Charbonnet remains one of the most valuable handcuffs in fantasy, as evidenced by our proof of concept. There are seldom backup RBs that we know with absolute certainty will be the starter if the incumbent misses time and can produce at 100% of the starter’s level. Charbonnet has done that. You could argue that Charbonnet without Walker is better than Walker with Charbonnet.
Charbonnet’s RB36 ADP is expensive for a pure backup who is unstartable absent an injury. However, given that he has RB1 upside when he starts, Charbonnet is well worth drafting.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Emeka Egbuka, WR
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers seem to end up with a quality WR sleeper candidate every year. Last year, it was Jalen McMillan. This year, it’s another rookie in the form of Emeka Egbuka. This year’s version is a little stronger, considering he’s a first-round pick.
Egbuka’s ADP is depressed, not because of his talent. Typically, we don’t see first-round wide receivers joining good offenses with top-10 quarterbacks at WR47. However, this situation is similar to what we saw with Rome Odunze last year and Jaxon Smith-Njigba the year before. Egbuka is trapped behind two very talented WRs in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
As the WR3, he’ll have a hard time returning anything better than WR4 fantasy value. However, we shouldn’t assume that Egbuka will be the WR3 all season.
September matters, but December matters much more. Fantasy managers should draft to win. Egbuka may end up being a fringe Flex play for the entire season, but if one of the 32-year-old Evans or the 29-year-old, coming off a second significant injury, Godwin gets hurt? What if Evans declines?
There are multiple paths to Egbuka becoming an impact player at some point this season, and the price to find out is cheaper than it should be.
Tennessee Titans: Tyjae Spears, RB
For reasons I can’t comprehend, Tyjae Spears’ ADP is way down at RB41.
It makes sense based on their roles last year. Tony Pollard saw a 73% opportunity share, ninth in the league. Spears was way down at 38%. Head coach Brian Callahan said that he wants that to be more even this season. If we believe him, that probably points to a 60/40 split this season, with some overlap on plays where both are on the field together.
We saw Spears in a lead-back role, and it was glorious. In Week 17, Spears handled 20 carries and four targets on a 65% snap share before departing in the second half with a concussion.
If Spears does end up in about a 40% role, he would have standalone RB3 value, plus the contingent upside should Pollard get hurt, making him a must-start RB2.
Behind Pollard and Spears, there’s nothing here. We saw Julius Chestnut as the lead back for roughly a half of football. If Pollard and Spears are both hurt, Chestnut still would not be startable. Spears is an excellent target for fantasy managers this season.
Washington Commanders: Austin Ekeler, RB
On the one hand, Austin Ekeler’s RB53 ADP makes some sense. He’s 30 years old and dealt with multiple injuries last season. He’s not his team’s RB1, and there’s no real upside here for him to be a difference-maker.
On the other hand, is Ekeler not a lock to outperform his ADP? He’s nothing more than a role player at this point in his career, but receiving ability tends to age very well.
Ekeler still managed to earn a 12% target share last season, 11th in the NFL. He averaged 11.0 ppg, which, while a career low excluding his rookie year, was still suitable for an RB29 finish. Who wouldn’t sign for a top-30 running back from a guy being drafted outside the top 50?
Fantasy managers seem to have some excitement about Jacory Croskey-Merritt. But…why? He’s a seventh-round rookie — one of the last picks in the entire NFL Draft. He wasn’t even invited to the NFL Combine.
Brian Robinson Jr. is locked in as the RB1, and Ekeler will reprise his supporting role as a backup. Beyond that, the Washington Commanders have Jeremy McNichols, Chris Rodriguez Jr., and Croskey-Merritt, who is not guaranteed a spot on the team.
Ekeler may not have a high ceiling, but if his price stays where it is, he should be on all of your rosters.