With the 2024 Fantasy Football season squarely behind us in the rearview mirror and just a few precious games remaining on the schedule, it is time to begin preparing for next year’s rankings and positional tiers. Identifying candidates primed for a significant breakout is critically essential for any manager, especially those who participate in leagues with rookie drafts (or others who draft early in the season).

I will not lie – selecting breakout players in late January is tricky. Free agency will shift team dynamics, and the coaching carousel has not finished spinning yet. The 2025 draft isn’t as star-studded at the wide receiver position as the previous year, but some players will enter the league that will shift the anticipated number of targets away from veterans. Several teams desperately need upgrades at quarterback (looking at you, Las Vegas, and New York), and who they choose will make a dramatic impact.

With all that said and some key variables identified, I feel a few players are primed for a breakout next year. Here are a few options I’m incredibly high on heading into 2025 and my rationale for the optimism.

Fantasy Football Breakout Candidates

Malik Washington (WR – MIA)

Pass-heavy offense? Check.

Coaching staff firmly in place with no anticipated changes? Check.

Injury-prone options surrounding him? Check.

The possibility of the alpha wide receiver on the team being traded this offseason? Double-check.

An initial glance at Washington’s final numbers for the 2024 season might have you wondering why I’m so high on his prospects. With just 26 receptions for 223 yards on 36 targets, Washington was sparingly used by the coaching staff until Week 15, when he began to show glimpses of his potential and upside. Washington is a diminutive 5’8 and 191 lbs. but possesses lightning-quick moves capable of breaking defenders’ ankles in open space and 4.4 top speed to leave them in the dust.

Tyreek Hill‘s comments at the end of the season suggest that his tenure with Miami is likely ending and that he is openly looking for a change of scenery. Now 30 years old and failing to eclipse the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the first time since 2019 (and just the second time since 2017), it wouldn’t surprise me to see agent Drew Rosenhaus make a play for Hill to be traded to a contender. His anticipated departure, coupled with an expected rise in targets by Washington (at the likely expense of tight end Jonnu Smith, who saw an absurd 111 looks last year), makes this an intriguing late-round flier with massive upside during his sophomore campaign.

Miami finished with the eighth-most passing attempts in the league (591) last year, including backup Tyler Huntley starting five games as Tua Tagovailoa dealt with concussion issues and a late-season hip strain. Should Tagovailoa manage to stay on the field for the majority of 2025, I’d anticipate Miami finishing near the top yet again.

Rome Odunze (WR – CHI)

The stars have aligned for Odunze to have a significant breakout next year following the departure of much-maligned Matt Eberflus in favor of Ben Johnson, this off-season’s most sought-after candidate. Johnson, who has been the Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator for the past three seasons, headlined a massive search by the Bears to bring in top-tier talent and revamp their anemic passing attack. Known for his innovative playcalling that continually places the ball in the hands of the best players, Johnson will be a breath of fresh air for an offense that finished with the seventh-fewest passing touchdowns and fifth-fewest passing yards in the league last year.

In 2024, Odunze played third fiddle behind veterans Keenan Allen and DJ Moore for targets, but it was clear to anyone with a pulse that he was the most dynamic option of the three, especially as a downfield threat. Allen enters the offseason as a free agent, and is expected to search for greener pastures and a playoff contender, as he begins next season at 33 years old.

Odunze, the ninth overall selection in the 2024 draft, would enormously benefit from the departure of Allen, and I’d expect him to soak up a large portion of the 121 targets that he leaves behind from 2024. Suppose Chicago addresses their glaring weakness along the offensive line either in free agency or this year’s draft (or both, for good measure). In that case, quarterback Caleb Williams will have the opportunity to live up to the lofty potential many pundits feel he possesses.

Jalen Coker (WR – CAR)

Endorsing anyone on the Panthers not named Chuba Hubbard is a daring exercise, but hear me out on this one.

After his well-publicized benching early in the 2024 season, quarterback Bryce Young responded incredibly well and showed tremendous growth as a passer (especially from Week 13 onward). Young flashed glimpses of why he was selected as the No.1 overall selection in the 2023 draft and finished his sophomore campaign with three consecutive games of multiple touchdown passes and no interceptions. His growth and confidence are notable heading into next year.

Coker’s competition for targets is varied, but there is no alternative option on Carolina that scares me.

The team seemed insistent on making Xavier Legette a thing in 2024, but he managed to catch just 49-of-84 targets thrown his way for a paltry 497 yards and four touchdowns. Plagued by wrist and hip injuries and mental concentration lapses, Legette failed to live up to his lofty expectations, and I can’t envision the team attempting to force-feed him targets yet again.

Adam Thielen was the most productive wideout for the Panthers on a per-game basis but enters 2025 in the final year of his contract at 34. Carolina beat reporters interviewed Thielen after the season concluded, and he mentioned that he was “evaluating his potential playing future” (per ESPN’s David Newton) -that doesn’t sound like the tone of someone desperate to come back for another year. Even if Thielen were to return for another season, I’d expect his role to be diminished.

Fellow white-haired option David Moore is a journeyman at best and one that Coker thoroughly outplayed in 2024 on fewer looks (57 targets for 32 receptions and 351 yards for Moore, 46 targets for 32 receptions and 478 yards for Coker). Simply put, Coker is the more dynamic option of the two and it isn’t particularly close.

At 6’3 and 213 lbs., Coker has the frame and ability to line up all over the field regardless of position. He also managed to end his rookie season on a high note, leading Carolina on receptions (7), receiving yards (62) and targets (7) to end the year. His arrow is firmly pointed upward.

Keon Coleman (WR – BUF)

Selected atop the second round by Buffalo in the 2024 draft, Coleman entered the year as a somewhat divisive player, with fantasy managers unsure of how his skillset would fit into the team’s dynamics. His quirky but lovable press conferences endeared him to me instantly, and I couldn’t help but root for the kid to succeed with Buffalo this year.

A relatively quiet start to the year with just nine receptions over his first five games had him flying under the radar, but Coleman began to emerge as more of a presence in Week 6 and had a significant breakout game at Seattle in Week 8 (5/70/1). Expectations were sky-high for a strong close to end the year, but a nasty wrist injury against Miami kept him off the field all the way until Week 15, and by then the Bills were beginning to prepare for the playoffs and limit snaps for starters.

During the playoffs, Buffalo has continued to lean on their running game to ignite the offense, but there have been encouraging signs for Coleman moving forward. First and foremost, he has continued to amass the second-highest snap share at the wideout position behind Khalil Shakir, and his direct competition (veterans Amari Cooper and Mack Hollins) have done little to separate themselves from the pack. I’d look for him to make an impact in the upcoming game against Kansas City as Buffalo looks to clinch a trip to the Super Bowl finally.

Speaking of Cooper, he will enter 2025 as a free agent, and it is difficult to envision a scenario where he resigns with Buffalo, given his near-non-existent impact on the team. Since joining Buffalo after Week 6, he has just two games with more than three receptions, and he has mainly been a rotational piece at best. The Bills would be wise moving on from Cooper, who will enter next year at 31 years old and is diminished.

I’ll continue to be all-in on acquiring Coleman shares next year. Given his limited production in 2024, I feel that he will come at a significant discount. Adding pieces to a Josh Allen-led offense is typically a wise decision, and I’m happy to rank Coleman as a WR3 with breakout potential for 2025.