- Trevor Lawrence took the opportunity in his first year with Liam Coen: Lawrence posted a career passing grade of 84.3 thanks to a more central passing attack.
- Blake Corum could soon become the Rams’ starter: Corum improved his stuff rate, most notably from 19.0% as a rookie to 12.8% in his second NFL season, while his point-of-attack change rate increased from 15.5% to 23.1% – indicating that his vision and decision-making skills have improved significantly.
Estimated reading time: 12 minutes
The article below lists NFL players who produced great fantasy football seasons in 2025. Some players have achieved high-quality results throughout the season, while others have starred at different times during the year. Weeks 1-17 and the score of half points per reception (half PPR) are used by default, unless otherwise stated.
QB Trevor Laurens, Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Laurens finished as the overall QB4 in overall scoring while averaging 20.4 fantasy points per game this season. It’s his best showing since 2022, when he finished as the overall QB8 with an average of 18.3 fantasy points per game.
He posted a career-best PFF grade of 84.3, boosted by increased midfield targeting and rushing volume. Lawrence can be seen as a potential top-five positional player in 2026 after breaking out as such in 2025.
Jaguars first-year head coach Liam Coen smartly utilized a midfield passing attack this season, moving Lawrence away from the perimeter-dependent passing concepts he had to deal with under former head coaches Urban Meyer (2021) and Doug Pederson (2022-2024).
Lawrence’s 85 targets thrown more than 30 feet down the field and between the painted numbers in Weeks 1-17 were the most in his five NFL seasons. His average of 2,025 yards per passing attempt rose from 7.1 overall to 10.4 on qualifying throws, having never reached 64 such attempts in a season earlier this year.
Lawrence also recorded 80 rushing attempts from weeks 1-17, beating his career-high from previous weeks 1-17 by 13. Crucially, he ran for 348 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. Likewise, his 40 designed runs during that span beat his previous career-high by seven. He was one of four NFL quarterbacks with more than ten designed runs in the green zone during that span, and scored five qualifying rushing touchdowns.
Lawrence’s fantasy-friendly usage should remain consistent in 2026.
WR Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions No. 2 wide receiver Jameson Williams finished as the overall WR11, ranking well on his mention in identifying potential WR1s for 2025. He posted a career-best PFF offense grade of 76.5. Williams finished weeks 1-17 last year as the half PPR overall WR19.
Williams struggled to produce consistently former Lions offensive coordinator John Morton will play weeks 1-9, posting three weekly finishes in the overall WR10-WR15 range and five in the overall WR53-WR104 range.
As detailed in the 3 WR/CB matchups to target and avoid in Week 17, “Lions head coach Dan Campbell took over play-calling duties in Week 10, with Williams on crossing and post routes.” The Lions speedy wide receiver finished as the overall WR1 that week, with five finishes as the overall WR14 or better in weeks 10-17.
During the period from Weeks 10 through 17, Williams completed targets at an overall rate of 17.9% and a deep rate of 18.2% while averaging 2.32 yards per route run (YPRR) and 6.5 yards after the catch.
Williams, 24, could be treated as a WR1 candidate in 2026.
WR George Pickens, Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys No. 2 wide receiver George Pickens was a trio of WR/CB matchups to target and avoid in his breakout WR1 season of 2025. He racked up seven goals (128), receptions (92), receiving yards (1,420) and receiving touchdowns (nine) in Weeks 1-17, while posting a career-best 87.2 PFF and season-high passing grade.
The 24-year-old Pickens proved himself as an elite wide receiver in his fourth NFL campaign and is expected to compete free agency this offseason.
Of the 33 NFL wide receivers with at least 95 targets in the Week 1 wild-card weekend, Pickens ranks 10th in yards after the catch per reception (5.1), ninth in catch rate (71.0%), sixth in YPRR (2.35) and fourth in missed tackles forced (21).
Among NFL players in Weeks 1 through 17, Pickens ranked fourth in red zone targets (40) and third in end zone targets (16).
Pickens broke out as a bonafide fantasy football WR1 in 2025.
Rookie tight ends
The NFL expanded its regular season schedule from 16 to 17 games in 2021. Of the five subsequent fantasy football seasons from Weeks 1 through 17, 13 rookie tight ends have racked up more than 50 targets, and five have finished as TE1s.
Among qualifying rookie tight end seasons, the 2025 NFL draft class is good for six 50-plus target seasons and two half PPR TE1 finishes, complemented by breakout performances from Cleveland Browns tight end Harold Fannin Jr. (general TE5) and Indianapolis Colts tight end Tyler Warren (overall TE7). Fannin’s PFF offensive rating of 69.1 on the season is narrowly better than Warren’s offensive rating of 67.6.
Fannin delivered inconsistent results early in the season as Cleveland cycled through multiple quarterbacks. His play stabilized in the second half of the season, resulting in five straight weeks where he finished as the overall TE1-TE14 to end the year.
Indianapolis had a bye in Week 11. Colts quarterback Daniel Jones appeared on the Week 12 injury report with a calf This suggests he suffered the injury in week 10 or during week 12 practices. He subsequently appeared on the Week 13 injury report with a fibula problem, which later turned out to be a breakage; it is unclear whether the calf and fibula injuries were the same injury with different entries.
Jones suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon rupture in Week 14, which severely impacted Warren’s productivity. Jones’ PFF grade of 68.7 was his best PFF grade since 2022. Warren was half PPR from Weeks 1-13, with a total TE3 grade overall. He then failed to achieve a top-12 finish.
Fannin (seven rushing attempts) and Warren (six rushing attempts) are the only 2025 NFL tight ends with more than one rushing attempt. Both scored one rushing touchdown. Warren also attempted one incomplete pass.
Steady quarterback play should keep both players in the top five next season.
Chicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland finished as the half PPR overall TE1 in Week 18. His data is included below for comparison purposes. He enters the 2026 NFL season as a tight end after posting a PFF offensive grade of 86.0 all season.
Below, season-long efficiency metrics and PFF grades are used to more accurately reflect player performance and talent.
The receipt data from Fannin, Warren and Loveland
| 2025 Rookie TE Reception | Harold Fannin Jr. | Tyler Warren | Colston Loveland |
| PFF gets graded | 76.4 | 72.0 | 87.2 |
| Target rate | 23.8% | 21.1% | 22.2% |
| Closing target rate | 8.5% | 7.0% | 7.4% |
| Deep target rate | 5.8% | 2.8% | 11.5% |
| Yards per route run | 1.68 | 1.63 | 1.97 |
| Yards after catch/rec. | 5.0 | 6.4 | 4.4 |
| Weeks 1-17 Rec./Tgt. – Yds. – T.D | 72/104 – 731 – 6 | 71/98 – 791 – 4 | 48/68 – 622 – 5 |
| Weeks 1-17 Half PPR points | 150.4 | 145.4 | 116.0 |
The remaining rookie tight ends to have more than 50 targets are Los Angeles Chargers tight end Oronde Gadsden II (71.1 PFF receiving grade), New York Jets tight end Mason Taylor (60.0 PFF receives grade) and Tennessee Titans tight end Gunnar Helm (69.3 PFF receiving grade).
Fannin, Warren and Loveland should all be considered breakout players, primed for elite seasons in 2026.
RB Blake Choir, Los Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Rams No. 2 running back Blake Corum quietly broke out in 2025, finishing as the RB39 from Weeks 1-17 while finishing in the overall RB3-RB21 range five times in Week 13.18. Corum posted a PFF offensive grade of 78.1 this season after posting a 72.0 offense grade as a rookie last year.
Corum improved his stuff rate, most notably from 19.0% as a rookie to 12.8% in his second NFL season, while his point-of-attack change rate increased from 15.5% to 23.1% – indicating that his vision and decision-making skills have improved significantly. He also improved his yards after contact per rushing attempt from 2.4 to 2.6.
The improved play earned Corum more work after the Rams’ Week 8 bye. Corum and started running back Kyren WilliamsBelow, full-season data is used to accurately reflect each player’s involvement and performance changes.
Corum and Williams’ offensive data during the Rams’ pre- and post-bye games
| Los Angeles Rams RBs | Blake Choir | The cow Williams |
| PFF offense rate in weeks 1-7 | 55.0 | 71.1 |
| Offensive snaps in weeks 1-7 | 108 | 337 |
| Offensive fast share in weeks 1-7 | 24.2% | 75.6% |
| Offensive touches in weeks 1-7 | 45 | 127 |
| Share of offensive touches in weeks 1-7 | 26.2% | 73.8% |
| Missed tackles forced per touch in weeks 1-7 | 6.7% | 10.2% |
| Yards per emergency attendant. in weeks 1-7 | 4.7 | 4.4 |
| PFF offensive rating in Week 9-Wild-Card weekend | 85.5 | 85.0 |
| Offensive Snaps in Week 9-Wild-Card Weekend | 251 | 483 |
| Offensive fast share in week 9 Wild Card weekend | 33.4% | 64.2% |
| Offensive Touches in Week 9-Wild-Card Weekend | 121 | 183 |
| Offensive touch in Week 9 Wild Card weekend | 38.7% | 58.5% |
| Missed Tackles Forced Per Touch in Week 9 Wild Card Weekend | 19.8% | 19.1% |
| Yards per emergency attendant. in week 9 – Wild-Card weekend | 5.2 | 5.1 |
Corum’s late-season breakout suggests he has a chance to overtake Williams as the Rams’ starter next season.
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