Fantasy Football Breakouts 2025 1.0: Jamey Eisenberg's league winners at every position heading into the draft

The Chiefs lost Super Bowl LIX to the Eagles 40-22, but Xavier Worthy had a memorable game. Now, we'll see how much of that performance carries over to the 2025 season and his Fantasy value. Worthy has the potential to be a breakout candidate in his sophomore campaign. Worthy was arguably the best player for Kansas City in the loss. He had eight catches for 157 yards and two touchdowns on eight targets against Philadelphia, and it capped off an amazing run for him to end the year. In his final six games, including the playoffs, Worthy scored at least 19.6 PPR points in five outings over that span. He had 53 targets and 11 carries during that stretch and was Kansas City's best offensive player. But what can we expect from Worthy in 2025? I'm counting on him to build off this strong finish, but he'll have some roadblocks. Rashee Rice (knee) is expected to be healthy for Week 1 after he was lost for the 2024 season in Week 4. Travis Kelce is also expected to return in 2025, and the Chiefs might bring back free-agent receiver Marquise Brown. That said, I don't expect Worthy to become a background singer, and he should be someone that Patrick Mahomes leans on. Rice could also still face a suspension related to his involvement in a hit-and-run car crash that occurred in Dallas last March, and his knee could still be a problem early in the year. Kelce, who turns 36 in October, isn't the same threat he once was, and we don't know if Brown will ever be a star in Kansas City. Meanwhile, Worthy's star is on the rise. He's someone I plan to target in Round 3 in the majority of leagues. I'm expecting Worthy to increase his Fantasy production in Year 2 of the NFL, and he's one of the candidates we'll highlight here in Breakouts 1.0. This list will change a lot between now and August, especially with free agency and the NFL Draft. But these are players who should see their Fantasy value rise in 2025, and I plan to draft them a lot next season.

Caleb Williams

Williams might not get drafted as a No. 1 Fantasy quarterback in 2025, but he has top-10 potential in his second season. New coach Ben Johnson, along with hopefully an improved offensive line, should bring out the best in Williams, who showed flashes of brilliance in his rookie campaign. He finished the season 351-of-562 passing for 3,541 yards, 20 touchdowns, and six interceptions while rushing 81 times for 489 yards. Williams scored more than 20 Fantasy points just six times, but with better coaching and protection -- he was sacked 68 times, which was third most in NFL history -- there's plenty of reason for optimism. Keenan Allen could leave Chicago as a free agent, but Williams has enough weapons in D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, and Cole Kmet to succeed. Williams will add value with his rushing ability, and Johnson helped Jared Goff average at least 20.1 Fantasy points in each of the past three seasons as the offensive coordinator in Detroit. Williams is an easy quarterback to target with a late-round pick in all leagues.

Running backsBucky Irving

You can make the argument that Irving had a breakout year as a rookie in 2024, but I'm excited to see what he can do over a full season as the lead running back for Tampa Bay. It wasn't until Week 12 when Irving started playing more snaps than Rachaad White, and Irving closed the season with at least 16.3 PPR points in six of his final eight games, including the playoffs. He averaged 18.1 PPR points over that span, and that would have made him the No. 6 running back last season behind only Saquon Barkley, Jahmyr Gibbs, Bijan Robinson, Derrick Henry, and Alvin Kamara. White will continue to share work with Irving, which is a slight problem, and we'll see how the Buccaneers offense looks with new coordinator Josh Grizzard replacing Liam Coen, although Grizzard was on Tampa Bay's staff last season as the pass game coordinator. I have minimal concerns about Irving, and his upside is immense. He should be considered a No. 1 running back in all leagues, and he's worth drafting as early as Round 2.

Breece Hall

Hall went the wrong way with his production in 2024 after a breakout season in 2023, but he has the potential to rebound in 2025. I'm still excited about his outlook, and he's worth drafting as early as Round 2 in the majority of leagues. In 2023, Hall averaged 17.1 PPR points per game, and his CBS Sports Average Draft Position in 2024 was the No. 2 overall player behind Christian McCaffrey. Hall then averaged 15.1 PPR points per game, and he struggled down the stretch with four games of 10.5 PPR points or less in his final nine outings, including battling a knee injury. But in his first seven games last year, prior to Davante Adams joining the Jets, Hall scored at least 18.3 PPR points in five of those contests and averaged 17.1 PPR points over that span. The difference was he had 32 receptions in the first seven games on 43 targets compared to 25 catches on 31 targets in his final nine outings. We'll see what the Jets do at quarterback to replace Aaron Rodgers, but Hall should be the focal point of the offense for new coach Aaron Glenn and coordinator Tanner Engstrand. There are plenty of reasons to buy back into Hall as a star in 2025.

Kenneth Walker III

The headline on Walker's player page on CBS Sports reads "Seahawks' Kenneth Walker: Struggled in his third season." This is accurate from the standpoint that he played a career-low 11 games due to injury, including just one outing in the final five games of the season. But he also averaged a career-best 16.5 PPR points per game, and he scored at least 18.9 PPR points in four of his first five games of the season and at least 13.3 PPR points in nine of the 11 games he appeared in. Heading into 2025, Seattle has a new offensive coordinator in Klint Kubiak, who plans to feature Walker a lot. Said Kubiak, "looking forward to him in this scheme, and we're gonna ask a lot out of him." That's exciting, especially since Walker showed in 2024 he can be a viable pass catcher with 46 receptions for 299 yards and a touchdown on 53 targets. Zach Charbonnet will continue to share work with Walker, but Walker has been the featured back for the Seahawks when healthy. Walker has top-10 upside heading into 2025, and he's someone to target as early as Round 3 in the majority of leagues.

Jaylen Warren

Warren could be the starting running back for the Steelers in 2025 or once again part of a committee, but he's someone with a lot of upside at the end of February. Najee Harris is an unrestricted free agent, and he could leave Pittsburgh this offseason. Warren is a restricted free agent, but the Steelers are hopeful to bring him back. And if that happens then we'll see what role he plays, but he could be a No. 2 Fantasy running back in all leagues. In 2023, Warren had a solid season at 11.6 PPR points per game. He regressed in 2024 at 8.7 PPR points per game, but he did score at least 14.2 PPR points in two of his final three outings in the regular season. Pittsburgh still has to fix its quarterback problem, but Warren has proven to be a reliable weapon out of the backfield with 99 catches for 680 yards on 121 targets in the past two seasons. He also averaged at least 4.3 yards per carry over that span, and I'd love to see him in a featured role. If we're drafting today, I'd plan to target Warren as early as Round 5 in the majority of leagues.

Wide receiversJordan Addison

We don't know who the Vikings will have at quarterback in 2025 since Sam Darnold is a free agent, but hopefully Darnold or J.J. McCarthy (knee) -- if healthy -- will lean on Addison enough to make him a consistent No. 2 Fantasy receiver in the majority of leagues. Last season, despite sharing the field with Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson, Addison played like a star from Week 11 on. He scored at least 13.3 PPR points in six of his final eight games in the regular season and averaged 17.7 PPR points per game over that span. He also averaged 8.3 targets per game during that stretch and scored seven touchdowns, which will be hard to replicate, but Addison will be entering his third season in the NFL in 2025. He's headed in the right direction for a breakout campaign since his PPR points per game have increased each season from 13 to 14.6, and hopefully, he'll reach new heights in Year 3. Now, playing with Jefferson and Hockenson might cap his full potential, but Addison can still be a weekly starter in all leagues. He's worth drafting as early as Round 4 in all formats.

Rome Odunze

Odunze had a disappointing rookie campaign in 2024, but there's huge potential for him in 2025. He's worth drafting as a No. 3 Fantasy receiver in all leagues as early as Round 6, and he could emerge as a weekly starter if things go right. As a rookie, Odunze only had 54 catches for 734 yards and three touchdowns on 101 targets. He scored double digits in PPR just four times and averaged 8.5 PPR points per game for the season. But now Ben Johnson is the new head coach in Chicago, and Keenan Allen could leave the Bears as a free agent. Allen was second on the team in targets (121), receptions (70), and yards (744) behind D.J. Moore, and Allen led Chicago with seven touchdowns. Hopefully, Odunze can take a lot of that production, and Johnson can put him in better spots to succeed, especially if Odunze becomes the Bears' slot receiver. We have time to figure that out, but Odunze is someone I plan to target a lot on Draft Day in 2025.

Ricky Pearsall

Pearsall is another second-year receiver in 2025 who could have a big season following a disappointing rookie campaign. He's someone I plan to draft as early as Round 6 in all formats, especially if Deebo Samuel leaves the 49ers this offseason, as well as Brandon Aiyuk coming back from a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee. We could see Pearsall as the No. 1 wide receiver for the 49ers, and he looked the part in his final two games in 2024. He had eight catches for 141 yards and a touchdown on 10 targets against Detroit in Week 17 and six catches for 69 yards and a touchdown on eight targets in Week 18 at Arizona. Keep in mind that Pearsall didn't make his NFL debut until Week 7 following a gunshot wound to his chest in late August. His first solid outing came in Week 10 at Tampa Bay with four catches for 73 yards and a touchdown on six targets. In total, he had three games as a rookie with at least six targets, and he scored at least 17.3 PPR points in all three outings. He should have plenty of opportunities to make plays in 2025 if Samuel is gone and Aiyuk is out or limited, and Brock Purdy should lean on Pearsall along with George Kittle and Jauan Jennings. Pearsall is one of my favorite breakout candidates in 2025.

Jalen McMillan

We're in a holding pattern with McMillan because it will be tough for him to be a breakout candidate if Chris Godwin (ankle) returns as a free agent and is healthy for Week 1. In that scenario, assuming Mike Evans is healthy, then McMillan goes back to being the No. 3 receiver for Tampa Bay and is only worth a late-round pick in all leagues. But if Godwin leaves as a free agent, or he re-signs but has a setback in his recovery, then McMillan could be a top 20 Fantasy receiver in all leagues and would be worth drafting as early as Round 6. As a rookie in 2024, McMillan closed the season on a tear while Godwin was out. McMillan scored at least 16.7 PPR points in each of the final five games of the regular season and averaged 19.8 PPR points per game over that span. The majority of his production was due to touchdowns with seven in five games, and he never topped 75 receiving yards in that stretch. He also averaged just 6.2 targets per game. But that's a great start for a rookie receiver, and hopefully, he will build on that performance -- if Godwin is gone. Keep an eye on what happens with Godwin this offseason, and McMillan could be great if Godwin is not in Tampa Bay in 2025.

Tight endsTucker Kraft

Kraft appears headed for a bigger role with the Packers in 2025, and he's worth drafting in all leagues as a low-end starter with a mid-round pick. If things go right, Kraft could be a top-10 Fantasy tight end in all formats. Green Bay will likely be without Christian Watson (knee) early in the season, which should help Kraft see more targets, especially if a prominent receiver isn't added this offseason. Matt LaFleur has already talked this offseason about getting Kraft more involved in 2025, and LaFleur said Kraft "100 percent" has the ability to perform like a George Kittle or Travis Kelce. "I think that's on us to find him and feature him," LaFleur said. "When he gets the ball in his hands, you feel him. If there's an area we have to do a better job on, it's featuring the tight end." In 2024, Kraft averaged 10.1 PPR points per game with 50 catches for 707 yards and seven touchdowns on 70 targets. He had seven games with at least 10.6 PPR points, and hopefully, that production becomes more consistent in 2025. Kraft should become a standout Fantasy tight end next season.