5 Boom-Or-Bust Fantasy Football Players to Target and Draft (2025)

Dan Fornek's boom-or-bust players to draft and target in 2025 fantasy football. His volatile fantasy football assets to lean into, including Breece Hall, Jameson Williams, and more.

Fantasy football drafts are just around the corner. In just two short months, we will all be drafting our lineups and pushing for the elusive fantasy football championship.

To win a championship, you must have a roster capable of outscoring your opponent (duh). However, finding players who can hit ceiling outcomes isn’t always the easiest thing to do, especially with how volatile some players can be on a week-to-week basis.

Below you’ll find five players who can have a boom (big scoring ) or bust (low scoring) week on any given week. These are players you should have no problem targeting in 2025 to give you a chance to optimize your lineup and win your league.

Breece Hall, RB, New York Jets

For the longest time, Breece Hall felt like the next big running back in fantasy football. Hall came out of the gates as the RB7 in PPR points per game as a rookie (16.4) until he tore his ACL in his seventh professional game.

Hall came back even better from the knee injury, finishing as RB6 in 2023 with 17.1 PPR points per game. It seemed like 2024 would be the season where he would take a bigger step in the offense and as a fantasy asset.

Then the 2024 season happened. Hall started well, scoring 18.0+ fantasy points in the Jets’ first three games. Hall produced other big weeks throughout the season (four weeks with 18+ fantasy points, including three with 20+ points). Unfortunately, he also had eight weeks with fewer than 15.0 fantasy points, including four weeks with fewer than 10 points.

RODGERS TO BREECE HALL pic.twitter.com/19UmXHYGld

— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) September 15, 2024

Hall’s uneven season resulted in an RB16 finish in PPR points per game (15.1) in his third season. The Jets also got stretches of solid play from rookies Braelon Allen (111 touches for 482 yards and three total touchdowns) and Isaiah Davis (6.4 yards per touch on 39 touches). The Jets also got a new coaching staff, and head coach Aaron Glenn has mentioned rotating through a three-man committee.

While a three-man committee benefits nobody, Hall is still the player to gamble on in this backfield. The Jets offensive line is improved in 2025, and the presence of Justin Fields can open up rushing lanes (although it will also result in fewer targets).

Of the three options in the backfield, Hall is the best bet to take any touch to the house, be it as a rusher or receiver. He’s never finished a season with fewer than 15.0 fantasy points per game, and while his weekly floor may not be predictable, his massive ceiling is worth gambling on.

Jordan Mason, RB, Minnesota Vikings

Jordan Mason was seldom used during his first two seasons with the 49ers, racking up just 83 carries for 464 yards and four touchdowns while adding three receptions on four targets for 31 yards.

Christian McCaffrey’s calf injury gave him the runway to show what he could do with a bigger workload. He made the most of the chance.

Some Jordan Mason highlights to bless your timeline this morning. pic.twitter.com/6zOvg1JDGv

— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) May 22, 2025

From Weeks 1-4, Mason averaged 22.8 carries for 111.8 yards and scored three rushing touchdowns. He also caught six of his seven targets for 57 yards. He was the RB6 in fantasy during that stretch, averaging 18.6 PPR points per game despite having a small pass-catching role.

Unfortunately, the rest of the season was mired in injuries. Mason navigated his way through shoulder injuries that reduced his ability to function as a workhorse and eventually suffered a high ankle sprain that ended his season in Week 13. Weeks 1-4 would be the only weeks during which Mason scored 10+ fantasy points during the season.

Mason’s injury gave the 49ers a chance to see that Isaac Guerendo can play at the NFL level and allowed the team to trade Mason to the Vikings this offseason. Now, Mason will have a chance to split the backfield with Aaron Jones.

Jones had a healthy season in his first year with the Vikings and was excellent as the workhorse back. Despite that, the Vikings tried to lighten his workload with Cam Akers and Ty Chandler throughout the year.

Jones is 31 and has a well-documented history of injuries. Mason could have an immediate role and has shown the ability to be a high-level fantasy producer when given control of a backfield. The Vikings also worked to improve their offensive line in free agency and the draft, making this an offense to target in fantasy.

Jameson Williams, WR, Detroit Lions

The start to Jameson Williams’ NFL career has been very uneven. Williams missed part of his rookie season recovering from an ACL injury that he suffered in his final season with Alabama. Then, he lost four games in his second season because of a gambling suspension, which led to another season of uneven production (24 receptions for 354 yards and two touchdowns).

2024 was supposed to be another fresh start for the receiver, but he ended up serving another two-game suspension, this time for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing substances policy. Despite that, Williams was able to have a breakout season, catching 58 of 91 targets for 1,001 yards and seven touchdowns.

Jameson Williams runs like he's the only one that has access to a turbo button pic.twitter.com/Ccb13zZMBk

— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) January 4, 2023

The increased role allowed Williams to finish as the WR22 in fantasy points per game (14.1), but his role as the speed threat in the offense also led to inconsistency for fantasy managers. Williams had six weeks with 16.0+ fantasy points but also had four weeks with fewer than 10 fantasy points.

There are also questions about what 2025 will look like for this offense after Ben Johnson left Detroit to become the head coach of the Chicago Bears. Johnson had the ability to balance touches between Amon-Ra St. Brown, Williams, Sam LaPorta, Jahmyr Gibbs, and David Montgomery. We don’t know if new OC John Morton will be able to do the same.

While those concerns are valid, Williams showed enough in 2024 to warrant a belief that he can continue to grow. The Lions felt confident in his ability to develop into a true WR1 coming out of college, considering they took him with the 12th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft despite his knee injury.

There is a chance that Williams can take another step as an NFL player, as he’s yet to truly have a season that hasn’t been disrupted by an injury or a suspension. He will be a key part of the Lions offense in 2025 and has the explosiveness to take any play to the end zone.

Jauan Jennings, WR, San Francisco 49ers

Jauan Jennings was a role player for his first three seasons with the 49ers, catching 78 of 127 targets for 963 yards and seven touchdowns in 45 games.

Jennings entered 2024 needing to not only compete with entrenched players like George Kittle, Deebo Samuel Sr., Christian McCaffrey, and Brandon Aiyuk, but also with 2024 first-round pick Ricky Pearsall. It wouldn’t have been shocking to see him further relegated to the background.

Instead, McCaffrey, Aiyuk, and Pearsall all missed large portions of the season due to injury. Both Samuel and Kittle also missed two games. The result was an opportunity for Jennings to show he could be counted on. And he made the most of it.

Jauan Jennings pic.twitter.com/LU129wb1qr

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) April 15, 2025

Jennings led the 49ers in targets (113) in 2024 and finished second behind Kittle in receptions (77), receiving yards (975), and receiving touchdowns (six). He finished as the WR24 in PPR points per game (14.0) and had three weeks with 20+ fantasy points, including a 46.5-point performance in Week 3.

Jennings enters 2025 as a trusted receiver in an offense that no longer has Samuel and will need receiver help while Aiyuk recovers from his 2024 ACL tear. There is still plenty of competition for targets, but the veteran receiver has proved he can be trusted when he’s on the field.

Many will avoid the 49ers offense due to the 2024 team’s struggles. However, that means players like Jennings have an opportunity to return solid value in fantasy football at a value.

David Njoku, TE, Cleveland Browns

David Njoku was the definition of a boom-or-bust tight end in 2024. Njoku had six games where he scored at least 14.0 fantasy points (including two weeks where he surpassed 20 points). He also had five weeks where he scored fewer than 10 points. He was inactive for six other weeks.

The final stat line (97 targets, 64 receptions, 505 receiving yards, and five touchdowns) was far from impressive, but those totals still got him a finish as the TE4 in PPR points per game (13.5) and the TE11 in total points (148.5).

David Njoku over the last 3 years per @rotounderworld:

PPR PPG
2022 - 10.1
2023 - 12.6
2024 - 13.5

Targets Share
2022 - 18.6%
2023 - 21.5%
2024 - 22.8%

Yards per Team Pass Attempt (among TEs)
2022 - 8th
2023 - 7th
2024 - 16th

One of the easiest clicks on the board.

— Wyatt 🥃 (@WyattB_FF) May 22, 2025

Fantasy managers will understandably be fading the Browns this season. We have no idea who will be starting under center in Week 1, but the choices (Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders) are less than ideal. The run game should take a step back without Nick Chubb, and the offensive line is older and a bit worse.

That said, Njoku has shown an ability to navigate these pitfalls as recently as last season. From Weeks 7 to 16, Njoku had six top-10 tight-end finishes, five of which were top five. He accomplished this by catching passes from Deshaun Watson, Jameis Winston, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

Njoku is the definition of a boom-or-bust player, but that is exactly who you should be targeting at the tight-end position. Having the ability to hit a 20+ point ceiling is too valuable for a position that is already more volatile than any other spot in the lineup.

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