5 Fantasy Football Wide Receivers Primed to Break Out in 2025

Aug 12, 2025

Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images

We all want the next big thing in fantasy football. Especially when it comes to wide receivers and the spike weeks they can provide, finding an undervalued player at their multi-site average draft position (ADP) can sometimes be the difference between winning and losing a league.

Anyone can draft Ja'Marr Chase or Justin Jefferson in the first round. The puzzle we want to try and solve in this column is who the players are who could be in that spot a year from now (or far outpace their ADP), and how we identify the best candidates to break out in 2025.

More Breakouts: QB | RB | TE (coming soon)

Several things can determine a breakout’s candidacy. We can evaluate air yards, target share, snap share, and any number of traditional and advanced metrics. But what are the key drivers in determining a breakout?

Our own Ryan Noonan identified several breakout indicators in this piece two years ago, and they are a valuable tool for looking at what players might jump from good to great or from great to ultra-elite.

Frequent breakout indicators

A strong finish to end the year prior. Players who end the year on a high statistical note will often carry that success into the upcoming season.
Lack of an established No. 1 target at wide receiver. No true alpha on a team opens the door for a breakout star to step in and claim the throne.
Vacated targets or vacated roles from players who have departed. If a player is on a team with a sudden volume of open opportunities following the departure of a big-name player, their path to a breakout season is much easier.
Strong draft/athletic pedigree. The NFL Draft evaluation process and scouting are also far from exact sciences, but the draft capital a team spends on a player, along with that player's athletic profile, can sometimes indicate future success.