2025 NFL Draft Boom-or-Bust Prospects: Fantasy Football’s Biggest Wild Cards

The 2025 NFL Draft is full of boom-or-bust prospects that could be massive fantasy football studs or flame out spectacularly. John looks at the biggest boom/bust prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft for fantasy football.

It can be hard to determine how successful some players will be in the NFL. There is a vast array of skills players must possess at different positions to succeed at the next level, and while generally only the best college football players are chosen early in the NFL Draft, they don't always pan out.

Sometimes, teams have to take calculated risks, understanding that certain aspects of a player's profile make them possible busts. Despite this, the upside might convince them that it's worth taking a chance on because if it does work out, the ramifications of adding them to the roster can be franchise-altering.

With that, let's dive into the biggest boom-or-bust prospects from the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft.

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QB Shedeur Sanders

The biggest boom-or-bust prospect is probably former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders. He has a lot of positive traits that make him a tantalizing player for NFL teams desperate for a new signal-caller to pick. His accuracy especially stands out.

Fuck It, Shedeur Sanders Highlights 🤷🏾‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/V5GtpDzF6Z

— RJ Ellison (@Romellz) January 25, 2025

That's awesome, and when it works out, it works very well. The problem comes when the pressure arrives. There have been many quarterbacks who have excellent accuracy and a host of other positive traits that fail at the next level, and one of the most common causes is an inability to deal with pressure.

Depending on the down and distance and field positioning, sacks can often be nearly as bad as interceptions. And QBs who unnecessarily take bad sacks consistently rarely succeed at the next level. Those with higher proportions of sacks taken relative to the pressure rate who are good players understand the risks and choose to hang back to wait for the big play.

First series vs Nebraska for Shedeur Sanders. A quick sack, another where he probably could have gotten a throw off to the slant (bottom of screen), then a good example of his quick processing, accuracy and staying in rhythm. pic.twitter.com/eYbi68M7Fi

— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) January 7, 2025

It's worth mentioning that scheme can play a part in how many sacks a QB takes. It's possible this had an impact on his sack rate. But it's the QB's job to throw the ball out of bounds. Most NFL quarterbacks will shred defenses when they're not under pressure, even those thought of as terrible who have terrible stats.

We saw this in 2024. Minnesota Vikings QB Sam Darnold looked great most of the season, largely due to excellent offensive line play. Then it completely collapsed once he was consistently put under pressure in his last two games.

WR/CB Travis Hunter

For a very different reason, at least in fantasy football terms, Travis Hunter, the wide receiver and cornerback hybrid, is a massive boom-or-bust candidate. This is largely because it remains to be seen what percentage of snaps he'll take on offense as a receiver.

In IDP leagues he'll likely be a great asset, but in redraft leagues that don't count defensive statistics toward scoring, he'll be a huge risk. It may be remarkably difficult to know when to start him. But the talent is there, and if he's developed as a wideout, he could pay off massively.

Travis Hunter is legitimately UNFAIR at the catch point

➖ 68.8% contested-catch success
➖ Only 4 career drops

He’s so good at separating that we rarely even get to see this skill from him… pic.twitter.com/LxxWJF3fq2

— SCOUTD (@scoutdnfl) December 18, 2024

There are a decent number of absolutely ludicrous plays that he's made, and he's still somewhat raw as a wideout. He isn't the biggest WR prospect, but nearly everything else about his athletic profile is elite -- acceleration, top speed, lateral agility, and vertical are all fantastic.

Travis Hunter gliding through BYU's defense pic.twitter.com/4A4naY3qr4

— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) February 11, 2025

And the production backs it up. Despite playing full-time on defense, he caught 96 passes for 1,258 yards and 15 receiving touchdowns and rushed two times for five yards and another score in 13 games. He elevated Colorado's offense and secured them a playoff berth.

And he was probably a big reason why his quarterback, Sanders, is considered to be an early 1st-round pick in the Draft. Yet Hunter's ability to play cornerback is a detriment to his potential fantasy production. It's unlikely that he could withstand the punishment of being a two-way player at the next level.

Hell of a play by Travis Hunter in cover 2 here. Great job reading 2 and finishing on the play! #ART pic.twitter.com/Y36bWi1EYp

— Oliver Davis II (@I_Am_OD3) October 29, 2023

It's not that he can't do both, and very few are still arguing that. But the injury rate in the NFL is 100 percent, and no one plays more than even 60 percent of total snaps in a season because they're off the field when their group (offense or defense) is on the sidelines.

Unfortunately, we'll probably just have to wait and see how Hunter is utilized.

WR Luther Burden III 

For many of the same reasons I've criticized him, Burden is a highly risky player to take early in this year's draft. His lack of route-running prowess stands out. As an athlete, he profiles well, and he's been very good with the ball in his hands after the catch.

Mizzou WR Luther Burden has my attention. Big plays all over the film: slot fades, double moves, crossers, quick winner in the slot with +YAC ability. Projected top-15 pick. pic.twitter.com/oBNCUIw6iQ

— Evan Lazar (@ezlazar) December 6, 2024

And most of Burden's highlight-reel plays didn't feature him lined up against an outside corner in 1-on-1 coverage. Instead, Missouri played to his strengths, focusing on getting him in open space and letting him work after the catch. That's probably how he should be utilized in the NFL as well.

The problem is that he needs to develop as a route-runner. It's too easy for NFL defenses to stop one-dimensional play designs, and if a defense knows that most of the plays schemed up for a specific player will focus on one thing, it makes everything easier to shut down.

That's a major problem. And sure, Burden will have plenty of time to develop, but you're better off letting someone else take him in rookie drafts and buy back in after his first season when he's had more time to develop.

WR Isaiah Bond

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Adonai Mitchell was seen as a big boom-or-bust prospect from last year's draft. It's safe to say he busted, and while it's not all his fault, former Texas Longhorns wide receiver Isaiah Bond displaying many of Mitchell's deficiencies doesn't inspire much confidence.

Bond is an elite athlete with a ridiculous burst and acceleration. But it takes more than that to be a good WR in the NFL -- there are intangibles to the game that they have to master, and all the athleticism in the world won't change that. Bond's production profile is concerning, though it's fair to note he dealt with injury issues in his senior season.

Isaiah Bond (WR #Texas) has an effortless ability to separate.

He’s so efficient and smooth getting in & out of his breaks.

Reminds me a ton of Josh Downs.. pic.twitter.com/v1F2FMgn4G

— SCOUTD (@scoutdnfl) December 17, 2024

Players need to understand what's happening and what they should do in each play and be able to react quickly and correctly to what's around them. A lot of negatives fly under the radar, like bad positioning for catches, inability to track the ball, and even data we don't necessarily have.

This single play should make Isaiah Bond a UDFA.

STOP JUMPING FOR NO REASON!!!!! pic.twitter.com/qlQLHpfh2o

— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) January 11, 2025

Often, negatives show up implicitly in the lack of production. He could be running wrong routes, have difficulty reading zone coverage, lack the ability to gather information about the coverage, not be keenly interested in breaking down tape of defenses, or many other things.

He only caught 34 passes for 540 yards and five touchdowns in 13 games this season, regressing in all three categories from a year ago. And elite athletes typically get pushed up rookie draft boards because fantasy managers salivate over what could be, not necessarily what is likely to be.

He's a very risky pick.

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