Plenty members of the 2024 NFL Draft class enjoyed quality rookie seasons and quickly developed into fantasy football assets.
No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels proved to be a league-winner for many who selected the quarterback in the middle rounds of their fantasy drafts after he racked up 4,459 total yards and 31 touchdowns. No. 6 overall selection Malik Nabers caught 109 of his 170 targets to become a PPR monster for his managers.
And perhaps most surprising of all, 125th overall pick Bucky Irving racked up 1,122 yards and eight touchdowns while averaging a whopping 5.4 yards per carry.
While these stars have already broken out in the NFL and across fantasy football formats, other touted members of their draft class have not yet done so. Plenty will have a good chance to do so as they enter their sophomore campaigns.
Here’s a look at the top second-year breakout candidates for fantasy football in 2025:
Fantasy football: Second-year breakout picks for 2025
Caleb Williams, QB, Chicago Bears
Williams ranked 24th in fantasy points per game (FPPG) among quarterbacks. He should have a chance to improve upon that after the Bears provided him with a handful of boosts ahead of his second season.
Chiefly, the Bears hired Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to be their new coach. Johnson helped Jared Goff finish as a top-10 fantasy quarterback in three consecutive seasons, so there is optimism Williams — another former No. 1 overall draft pick — could achieve similar results.
Additionally, the Bears overhauled their offensive line after Williams was sacked a league-high 68 times during his rookie season. If Chicago’s new-look protection can hold up, Williams could become the Bears’ first-ever 4,000-yard passer after he generated 3,541 passing yards as a rookie.
Drake Maye, QB, New England Patriots
The Patriots did not offer Maye a lot of offensive support during his first season. Despite this, he completed 66.6% of his passes for 2,276 yards, 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while racking up 421 rushing yards across 12 starts.
New England has made numerous upgrades to its franchise entering the 2025 season. Mike Vrabel took over for Jerod Mayo as the team’s new coach and brought quarterback-friendly offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels into the fold.
Elsewhere, the Patriots upgraded its offensive tackle situation by drafting Will Campbell and signing Morgan Moses. They took a similar approach at receiver, drafting Kyle Williams and signing Stefon Diggs to upgrade that position. Those improvements should allow Maye to take a step forward. If he can continue to average 7.8 yards per carry, he could emerge as a high-floor fantasy starter.
Trey Benson, RB, Arizona Cardinals
If the Cardinals decide to reduce Conner’s workload, that would allow Benson to step into a larger role. The 2024 third-round pick had just 63 carries as a rookie, but averaged an impressive 4.6 yards per carry.
Jaylen Wright, RB, Miami Dolphins
Like Benson, Wright was used sparingly during his rookie season. The fourth-round pick logged 68 carries, but averaged just 3.7 yards per carry on those totes.
That said, Wright largely operated as Miami’s third-string running back behind De’Von Achane and Raheem Mostert last season. Mostert is now gone, so if Wright can beat veteran Alexander Mattison and rookie Ollie Gordon II for the backup role behind Achane, the speedster’s game-breaking ability could allow him to become a fantasy asset.
Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Arizona Cardinals
Harrison faced high expectations entering his rookie season. The Ohio State product didn’t quite live up to them despite logging solid numbers (62 catches, 885 yards and eight touchdowns).
That should change in 2025. Harrison has built a season’s worth of chemistry with Kyler Murray and will benefit from playing with one of the league’s biggest mismatch weapons at tight end in Trey McBride. Expect Harrison to easily surpass the 1,000-yard mark in his second season and improve upon his WR26 finish from 2024.
Rome Odunze, WR, Chicago Bears
Odunze saw 101 targets during his rookie season. He should see more this year, as Chicago’s No. 2 target from 2024 — Keenan Allen — is no longer with the team.
Some might be scared off by the Bears’ addition of Luther Burden III in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. However, Odunze’s existing chemistry with Williams should allow him to emerge as the true No. 2 option across from DJ Moore. That will allow the Washington product to improve upon his 54-catch, 734-yard, three-touchdown performance from his rookie season.
Ricky Pearsall, WR, San Francisco 49ers
Pearsall missed the first six games of the season after being shot in an attempted robbery on eve of the season. He then slowly acclimated to the NFL before showcasing his full potential to close the season.
In San Francisco’s last two games, Pearsall posted 14 catches, 210 yards and two touchdowns. That would extrapolate to 119 catches, 1,785 yards and 17 touchdowns over a 17-game season. He may not reach those levels, but he should play a big role in the 49ers’ passing game with Brandon Aiyuk still recovering from a torn ACL and Deebo Samuel now gone.
Theo Johnson, TE, New York Giants
Johnson is a solid, under-the-radar sleeper option at tight end. The Penn State product missed the final five games of the season with a Lisfranc injury, but he was a steady contributor for the Giants in eight games before that.
From Weeks 5 to 13, Johnson averaged 3.3 receptions and 36.8 yards per game. He logged just one touchdown in that span — and on the season — but he recorded at least three catches in seven of those eight contests.
Johnson’s steadiness should make him a consistent fantasy streamer at the least. That said, he could emerge as a top-10 tight end given the position’s dearth of high-end impact players and the quarterback upgrade he is getting as the Giants pivot from Daniel Jones as their primary starter to Russell Wilson.
