The NFL regular season is right around the corner, meaning it's time to solidify your fantasy football predictions. From a dominant rookie class to resurgent running backs, we'll give you 5 fantasy football bold predictions to bank on in your draft.
Each of these bold predictions have plenty of reasons as to why they're being drafted too high or low. Will Jayden Daniels follow up his rookie season after running in God mode in 2024? Will Ashton Jeanty live up to the hype? Is Jonathan Taylor a RB1 candidate?
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Jayden Daniels Won’t Be a Top 5 QB
Ranked at QB3 on FantasyPros and QB5 on PrizePicks, Jayden Daniels has a ton of pressure on him to follow up a massive rookie season.
The 24-year-old took the league by storm last season, leading the Washington Commanders to the NFC Championship game. They may have come up short, but Daniels threw for 822 passing yards in his first three playoff games.
October 20 and January 5 were the lone outliers for Daniels. In those two games, he was a combined 8/14 for 44 yards. Things won’t get any easier as his strength of schedule is ranked 26th this season.
Daniels ability to run is a huge factor when looking at his fantasy value. The LSU graduate made defenses look silly as he ran the ball 148 times for 891 yards with 6 TDs.
However, coach Dan Quinn (with the front office supporting him) may ask the second-year QB to tone it down this year to protect himself. With the ongoing Terry McLaurin contract dispute, Daniels may also be left without his top wide receiver.
Ranked No. 30 overall, it’s worth waiting the extra couple of rounds to load up on running backs and receivers. Settling on QB7 Baker Mayfield or QB11 Jared Goff should suffice.
Puka Nacua Not a Top 5 WR — Again
While he only played in 11 games last year, Puka Nacua suffered from a sophomore slump even when he was on the field. The 6-foot-2, 212-pound receiver proved he can be a true alpha in the league, but he enters the 2025 season with plenty of question marks.
The addition of Davante Adams leaves Nacua’s usage less prominent. Los Angeles signed Adams to a two-year, $46 million deal. That’s a lot of money to give to WR2, and we can expect his role to match.
Elsewhere, QB Matthew Stafford’s health is still undecided, though it looks promising. If the Super Bowl Champion isn’t around to throw Nacua the ball, the WR5 will be stuck with Jimmy Garoppolo, a major downgrade.
Tetairoa McMillan Cracks Top 10 WRs
The Carolina Panthers have done everything in their power to help QB Bryce Young become their guy. Their decision to bench him last season didn’t seem like it was going to work out in his favor, but it may have been a career saving move.
Young now has another weapon now — the team's No. 8 overall pick, and the conensus top WR in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Tetairoa McMillan enters the year at WR34 in our rankings, and 28th on Fantasy Pros. That said, his overall ranking is higher than players such as Jameson Williams, Zay Flowers, and Xavier Worthy.
In his final two years at Arizona, McMillan recorded 174 receptions for 2,721 yards and 18 TDs. Knowing the Panthers have the 11th-easiest schedule in the league, plus Young's reemergence at the end of last year, the rookie could be in for a show.
No one expects the Panthers to win the NFC South, but the team struggling could work in McMillan’s favor. Early deficits will lead to Young throwing the ball more which insinuates the 6-foot-5, 212-pound receiver will have more balls coming his way.
Rookie Ashton Jeanty Not in Top 10 RBs
Las Vegas Raiders fans were shocked when Ashton Jeanty was held to three carries for -1 yard in the team’s preseason opener. It’s not the start the team expected from the 2024 Hesiman Finalist — but the offensive line was bullied. That's a cause for concern.
The state of the Raiders offensive line is going to indicate how Jeanty performs this season. There’s no doubt the Boise State graduate is RB1 on this team, but his RB6 ranking seems a bit overzealous.
Vegas is going to rely on the run game as much as they can, but the 21-year-old enters the league with a size disadvantage. The 5-foot-8 running back faces the 25th toughest schedule in the league as nothing will be handed to him in his rookie season.
Jonathan Taylor Back in Top 5 RBs
Even though he only played in 14 games, Colts RB Jonathan Taylor saw his first 1,000+ yard season since 2021. After down years in 2022-23, the Indianapolis Colts have all of the faith in the world that Taylor will return to form, and how he'll do it next to a QB who can complete over 50% of his passes.
Even though he's had to work through injuries in his career, Taylor may just be hitting his prime at age 26. Taylor ranked fifth in breakaway run percentage last year (via PFF).
However, even with Jones at QB, the team’s underwhelming QB battle puts them at a compromising position, one that could allow Taylor to record even more carries. Jones at QB could also mean more guaranteed carries around the goal-line.
The 303 carries he received last year was the second most of his career. The volume is there, and it seems silly to pass on Taylor as RB10 in your draft.
Make Fantasy Football Predictions on PrizePicks
That's a wrap on this season's bold predictions for fantasy football, as we're less than two weeks away from the start of the season, and everyone is scrambling to finalize their fantasy football picks for this year.
On PrizePicks, you can always get real money action with your 2025 NFL predictions and favorite fantasy football picks. With the NFLSZN fantasy football game, just pick More or Less on player season-long stats and cash in if your picks are right!
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