The 2024 fantasy football season featured an incredible rookie class with breakouts coming thick and fast. We also saw breakouts from non-rookies that were just as impactful. Below are nine breakouts from the 2024 fantasy season that will sustain or exceed their production in 2025.
We’ll start with a player in Brian Thomas Jr., who shined when it mattered most for fantasy football — averaging 24 PPR points from Week 13 onwards, with zero games below 16.6 points. Thomas did this despite playing with backup quarterback Mac Jones, who isn’t a particularly good deep ball thrower.
From Weeks 1-9, when Trevor Lawrence was healthy, Thomas had nine deep receptions, but once Jones took over he only had two more. Instead, Thomas used his abilities near the line of scrimmage but still broke explosive plays and found his way to double-digit touchdowns. It’s fair to point out Thomas did this mostly with Christian Kirk, Evan Engram and Gabe Davis sidelined, but any new head coach heading into Jacksonville will surely build the team around one of the most impressive rookie receivers we’ve seen in a while.
Playoff football is cool and all but I really miss Brian Thomas Jr. pic.twitter.com/ZMIu1PDyzw
— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) January 17, 2025
Despite playing with a host of bad quarterbacks, Malik Nabers also paid off in a big way this year with double-digit targets in all but four games. Nabers broke Anquan Boldin’s record for rookie targets with 170, five more than Boldin, despite playing one game fewer (15). Nabers also bested Puka Nacua‘s rookie season (160 targets in 17 games) and toppled Nacua’s rookie wide receiver record of 105 catches with 109.
The Giants have very little to build around on offense and finding a solution at quarterback is no easy thing, but Nabers displayed the ability to earn targets and produce in a big way. It should serve as a reminder that fading elite talent because of landing spot is a poor process.
After a solid 2023 with 902 rushing yards and five touchdowns, Chuba Hubbard turned into a league-winner in 2024 with 1,195 yards and 10 touchdowns, along with 43 receptions to further bolster his credentials. Hubbard finished as the RB13 (points per game) in PPR formats with six 20+ point performances. He recorded only four single-digit performances despite playing on a tumultuous Panthers offense.
The expectation was that Jonathon Brooks would become the No. 1 RB at some point but after tearing his ACL for the second year in a row, the runway is clear for Hubbard on an ascending offense. Hubbard should be drafted in the top 18 running backs without hesitation in 2025 once average draft position (ADP) shakes out.
Adam Thielen was asked if he thought Chuba Hubbard should’ve been selected to the Pro Bowl.
His response, in part: “At the end of the day, everyone knows what a good football player looks like, what a great teammate looks like.” pic.twitter.com/cmMAN2eKui
— Alex Zietlow (@alexzietlow05) January 2, 2025
If you still had any doubts about Ladd McConkey his Wild Card performance against the Texans should have assuaged them. McConkey put up 9/197/1 against one of the very best passing defenses in the league to cap off a season where he had 77 catches for 1,054 yards, finishing as the WR12 in total PPR points and 23rd in points per game.
McConkey was a perfect fit for Justin Herbert in replacing the hole Keenan Allen left after being traded to the Bears. Herbert has peppered the slot throughout his career and McConkey’s safe hands and savvy route-running was everything to an offense that struggled outside of this connection. People might expect the Chargers to add another receiver, and they should, but Greg Roman offenses tend to flow through tight ends and running backs, both of which are a bigger need right now. McConkey should be a safe bet for close to 100 receptions in 2025.
It might feel like a long time ago but the opening few weeks of the year were well and truly Rashid Shaheed SZN, with him scoring 16+ PPR points in four of his five healthy games. Shaheed had 73+ yards in each of those four games and was the most fun and explosive part of a Saints offense that needs to focus more on youth going forward.
There are question marks surrounding the head coach, scheme and potentially at quarterback, but in Chris Olave and Shaheed the Saints have two dynamic wide receivers that can break big plays at a second’s notice.
Rashid Shaheed pic.twitter.com/nfSzJz61LC
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) January 4, 2025
Ignoring the monumental performances in the playoffs and just focusing on the fantasy football season, Jayden Daniels was one of the biggest storylines of the season. Daniels has single-handedly transformed a Commanders team that was one of the most miserable and downtrodden teams in the league into one with immediate hope and joy.
Daniels was the QB4, outscoring the likes of Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes and Brock Purdy in both a per-game metric and total points. Daniels led all quarterbacks in rushing yards (864) and consistently came up clutch in the fourth quarter. Daniels did all this well ahead of schedule. If the Commanders can find him some stronger weapons outside of Terry McLaurin, his ceiling becomes QB1 overall very quickly.
As the season wore on it became increasingly obvious to everyone that Bucky Irving was the best running back on the Buccaneers. From Week 11 onwards, Irving out-snapped Rachaad White in five out of six meaningful games and only lost out in the other due to injury.
Irving rushed for 1,122 yards this season, almost 300 more than the next nearest rookie. His 1,429 total yards were the 10th-most among running backs. The Bucs hope to keep offensive coordinator Liam Cohen, who was a clear positive influence for a ground game that had been mediocre in past years, but equally, Irving is a better runner than anyone the Bucs have trotted out in the last few years. It shouldn’t be surprising if he finishes 2025 as an RB1.
There were hints in 2023 that the Bengals had something good in Chase Brown with his explosivity clear to see, but Joe Mixon stood in his way and Brown was poor in pass protection, preventing him from getting onto the field for high-value third downs. That changed in 2024, however, with Brown gaining the 14th-best pass block rate from Pro Football Focus (PFF) among running backs.
That’s not an outstanding result but it was enough to move him from being a liability to being a player the Bengals weren’t afraid to feature. Brown’s season took off when Zack Moss injured his neck and landed on injured reserve (IR). It’s possible some people feel hesitation when it comes to drafting Brown in 2024 if Moss returns. However, Brown had already taken over before Moss’ injury with Brown the lead back in the last three weeks Moss was healthy.
Once Moss was out of the picture, Brown averaged 20.6 PPR points for the second half of the season, only scoring below 19 points just twice, making him the RB3 and a true league-winner for the back half of the season. Should Tee Higgins not return to Cincinnati, Brown’s ceiling only increases.
CHASE BROWN WAS A FANTASY STEAL ???? pic.twitter.com/Up5MZWhoZY
— PFF Fantasy & Betting (@PFF_Fantasy) January 9, 2025
We have a new unquestionable fantasy TE1 heading forward. His name is Brock Bowers. Even though Bowers had a poor quarterback situation, he became the third rookie tight end ever to hit 1,000 receiving yards and broke Puka Nacua’s record (105) for receptions in a rookie season with 112, a simply absurd number.
The Raiders have work to do at the quarterback position and a new head coach understanding how to maximize Bowers is essential. It’s fair to think the ceiling for Bowers can be even higher going forward, though, as he scored only five touchdowns in his rookie season. If Bowers can get closer to double-digit touchdowns, he will find himself with a fantasy ADP in the middle of the first round in redraft leagues before long.
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - ESPN is advertising the kickoff for the College Football Playoff National Championship game for 7:30 p.m. However, most fans
Michigan head football coach Sherrone Moore and his staff are hard at work on the recruiting trail, ensuring that the future for the Wolverines remains bright.
ESPN football reporter Laura Rutledge is no stranger to the politics and controversies that brew within the sport. She covers the NFL as well as the NCAA, as sh
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - The College Football Playoff National Championship game between Ohio State and Notre Dame is being held at Mercedes-Benz Sta