Fantasy Football: 3 second-year standouts headline breakout candidates at WR position for 2025

With the NFL season approaching and fantasy football drafts in full swing, there’s never been a better time to determine which players could be this year’s breakout stars.

It seems easy in hindsight, but identifying young talent on the verge of making a major leap is often what propels fantasy managers to championships.

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Over the next week, I’ll highlight my favorite breakout candidates at every key fantasy position. Today, we’re taking a look at wide receivers.

[Justin Boone’s 2025 breakout candidates: QB | RB | WR | TE (coming soon)]

Josh Downs, Colts

Few players offer more value and upside in current fantasy drafts than Downs, who can be selected outside of the top-100 picks.

His 72-catch, 803-yard, five-touchdown stat line from last year was really a tale of two seasons. With Anthony Richardson under center, Downs was barely startable in fantasy and provided inconsistent results week-to-week.

However, in the seven games with Joe Flacco at the helm, Downs posted weekly fantasy finishes of WR8, WR25, WR16, WR34, WR21, W75 and WR18 – while averaging 7.1 receptions, 66.4 receiving yards, and 0.3 touchdowns. It’s a small sample size, but would have paced out to a ridiculous 121 catches, 1,129 yards and five scores.

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With Richardson working his way back from a shoulder injury this offseason, many beat writers have suggested that Daniel Jones is the favorite to start Week 1 entering training camp.

While Jones is far from a talent elevator, he peppered his former slot receiver Wan’Dale Robinson with 8.4 targets per game over his 10 starts with the New York Giants, which was 13th most in the league during that span.

Yahoo’s own receiver guru Matt Harmon ranked Downs as his No. 10 WR age 25 and under. Here’s what he had to say:

“Downs is such a positive force in the offense because he’s a dynamic separator at all three levels, and against both man and zone coverage. He is truly one of the best route runners at the position. Additionally, he’s an excellent ball-winner in tight coverage and has been such dating back to his UNC days with QB Drake Maye. He’s more like a Tyler Lockett-type of player than your typical popgun slot merchant. Downs needs a better offensive environment to really put it in the box score but he’s a fantastic young wide receiver whom the Colts need to put a premium on featuring in their passing game”

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It’s not hyperbole to suggest Downs could be a top-20 fantasy receiver this season if the Colts target him the way Flacco did last year and the way Jones targeted Robinson on the Giants. Getting him should be one of your top priorities in redraft and dynasty leagues all summer long.

Boone’s redraft rank: WR40 (WR3/Flex with WR2 potential if Colts get more consistent QB play)

Marvin Harrison Jr., Cardinals

A year ago, Harrison was being drafted like a sure thing — and while he might still ascend to those heights in his career, the 62-catch, 885-yard, eight-touchdown rookie season was by most accounts a disappointment. In the end, he finished as the WR42 (fppg) and only cracked the top-12 weekly fantasy receivers twice.

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Not much has changed in the Cardinals’ offense, but Harrison has transformed his body to contend with the physicality of the NFL game. Though that doesn’t work for every receiver, the 22-year-old has an elite pedigree and comes across as a hard worker whose life revolves around football. That’s the type of attitude-talent combination that will drive him to success. I’m more than willing to invest, especially at his much more palatable ADP this season.

Boone’s redraft rank: WR19 (Fantasy WR2 with a WR1 ceiling if development continues)

Rome Odunze, Bears

The ninth overall pick in last year’s draft is coming off an up-and-down rookie campaign where he flashed promising talent despite battling through the dysfunction of the previous coaching staff. Ben Johnson’s arrival is a welcome addition for everyone in Chicago, but Odunze may benefit as much as anyone not named Caleb Williams. Odunze had 101 targets playing next to DJ Moore and Keenan Allen, but many of them were inefficient downfield looks.

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With Johnson taking over playcalling and the major upgrades on the offensive line, expect Odunze to have more plays schemed up for him while finding more success deep. If Moore doesn’t rebound after a disappointing year where he showed questionable maturity at times, Odunze has the talent and athleticism to quickly become Williams’ top target in a revamped attack.

Boone’s redraft rank: WR32 (Rising fantasy WR3 loaded with upside, who could challenge for No. 1 role under new regime)

Ricky Pearsall, 49ers

Pearsall isn’t getting nearly enough love from the fantasy community given his situation. Deebo Samuel is no longer with the team, Brandon Aiyuk is recovering from ACL and MCL tears, and Jauan Jennings just requested a new contract or a trade.

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Meanwhile, Pearsall is one year removed from being a first-round pick, who had his rookie debut delayed six weeks due to a gunshot wound. In the seven contests where he saw at least four targets, the 24-year-old posted 4.3 receptions, 56.4 yards, and 0.4 touchdowns. Those averages extrapolated over a full season would have made Pearsall the WR23 last year. While we shouldn’t expect those exact numbers to be replicated and Jennings will likely report to camp and suit up in Week 1, there will be a significant opportunity for Pearsall to establish himself as a starter for however long Aiyuk is sidelined.

Boone’s redraft rank: WR43 (Rising fantasy WR3/Flex with a massive ceiling if he can take advantage of Aiyuk’s injury recovery)