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Dave's five breakout players and potential league-winning picks for 2025 fantasy football drafts. His top league-winning candidates include A.J. Brown, Kenneth Walker III, and more.
NFL training camps are officially underway, and before we know it, the regular season will begin, too. As the start of another NFL season inches closer, it also means we are approaching the start of fantasy football draft season.
For context, I love fantasy football. I play in upwards of 60 total fantasy football leagues every year. Most of those are dynasty football leagues. However, I enjoy playing in a healthy amount of redraft leagues as well. Regardless of format, the one thing I have learned over the years is that if you want to win a fantasy football championship, you need to take some risks and target players with league-winning upside.
Make sure you’re following RotoBaller on X and check out RotoBaller.com for all your 2025 fantasy football needs. Here are five league-winning players to target in your 2025 fantasy football draft.
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De’Von Achane - RB, Miami Dolphins
Achane is a screaming value at his current Yahoo ADP of 17.2 overall. He’s coming off a season where he posted 1,499 scrimmage yards and scored 12 total touchdowns. Achane would finish 2024 as the RB5 in PPR formats. He also finished sixth in PPR points per game and led all running backs in receptions last year.
De’Von Achane with the touchdown and the Dolphins (+6.5) take a 10-3 lead! 🐬
✅ Anytime TD Scorer (+135)
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/IaxsCVDuyQ
— ESPN BET (@ESPNBET) November 3, 2024
Miami also recently traded tight end Jonnu Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers. This move initially suggested that the Dolphins might be moving more toward their offensive approach from 2022-2023, which placed more of an emphasis on downfield passing. However, Miami has also stated it wants Tua Tagovailoa to get the ball out of his hands faster in 2025.
This suggests Miami may opt for more underneath passes again this year. With Smith out of the picture, that could mean those layup targets head Achane’s way. That’s a tantalizing thought and means Achane could see over 100 receptions this year.
What’s tricky about Achane’s 2025 outlook is that his production could largely be tied to the health of his quarterback. Here are Achane’s PPR points per game splits in games started by Tagovailoa and games not started by Tagovailoa last year:
Games started by Tagovailoa: 22.6 PPR points per game
Games started by anyone else: 8.63 PPR points per game
Yes, there's some risk here since Achane’s ceiling is tied to Tagovailoa's health. However, the upside is too great to ignore. If Tagovailoa stays healthy, then Achane could post a 1,000-yard rushing and 1,000-yard receiving season.
That makes Achane a smash pick early in fantasy football drafts.
Kenneth Walker III - RB, Seattle Seahawks
Walker is coming off the worst season of his career in 2024. He posted career lows in rushing yards and yards per carry. Walker also missed six games nursing various injuries and only finished 2024 as the RBred27 in PPR formats.
While his 2024 was disappointing, there are several reasons to remain optimistic about Walker in 2025. Despite poor raw statistics, Walker still finished well in several key running back metrics. Among 46 backs with 100+ carries, Walker finished:
Fourth in PFF rushing grade
Third in PFF elusive rating
Ninth in missed tackles forced per Fantasy Points Data Suite
First in missed tackles forced per attempt per Fantasy Points Data Suite
10th in yards after contact per attempt per Fantasy Points Data Suite
This data suggests Walker is capable of producing a huge fantasy football season at some point in his career.
Walker running into the end zone 😤
📺: #PITvsSEA on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/sFjqko01pD pic.twitter.com/JHvbyBlClL— NFL (@NFL) December 31, 2023
Seattle hired Klint Kubiak to be its new offensive coordinator in 2025. He brings with him a highly successful rushing scheme, and Walker is a perfect fit. The Seahawks have also upgraded their offensive line (mainly the addition of guard Grey Zabel in the NFL Draft), and that will also benefit Walker.
This all makes him a great pick in the Round 3-4 range of drafts. He’s an ideal RB2 or even an RB3 in Robust RB builds. I’ve placed several bets on Walker’s rushing prop lines for the 2025 season and am expecting big things from the fourth-year back. I plan on heavily targeting him in all my traditional redraft leagues and auction drafts as well.
Walker offers upside that is hard to find in his range of fantasy drafts. Don’t leave your draft without him.
A.J. Brown - WR, Philadelphia Eagles
Brown posted his third consecutive 1,000-yard season in 2024. It also marked the fifth time in Brown’s career that he eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark. However, he missed several games with a hamstring injury and only finished as the overall WR20 in PPR formats. Brown’s production was also hurt by Philadelphia’s offensive approach, as the Eagles only threw the ball 26 times per game.
Despite both these issues, Brown still finished 12th in PPR points per game. He also scored very well in several advanced metrics. Brown posted a 29% targets per route run (TPRR) as well as a 3.22 yards per route run (YPRR) in 2024.
TOUCHDOWN A.J. BROWN #FlyEaglesFly
📺: #SBLIX on FOX
📱: Tubi + NFL app pic.twitter.com/lsvjIf5fcl— NFL (@NFL) February 10, 2025
Philadelphia should regress to the mean this year in terms of its run-pass ratio. That would mean good things for Brown, who has continually shown he can be hyper-efficient on limited targets. An increase in passing volume means Brown will once again challenge for a top-five finish at the position.
That makes Brown a nice value in the second rounds of fantasy drafts. He is an ideal target to pair with a first-round running back and is a great anchor wide receiver if you go with a Robust RB build.
Tucker Kraft - TE, Green Bay Packers
There are a few good tight end options to target in your drafts this year. Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, and George Kittle are the top names available. However, none are as affordable as Kraft.
Touchdown Tucker Kraft!
📺: #GBvsJAX on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/SQTfRjF9Kt— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2024
Kraft enjoyed a nice sophomore season in 2024 and had 50 receptions for 707 receiving yards. A team-high seven touchdown receptions also helped Kraft finish as the TE10 in PPR formats. He was also a force in the open field and finished fifth among all tight ends in yards after catch per Fantasy Points Data Suite.
From the end of the 2024 season to the opening days of training camp, there has been one consistent message from Green Bay. Target Kraft more in 2025. So far through training camp, it looks like Green Bay is ready to put its money where its mouth is.
Packers Looking to Expand Tucker Kraft's Role https://t.co/237ieXwqpe
— RotoBaller NFL (@RotoBallerNFL) July 25, 2025
He should see well more than the 70 targets he received last year. It sure looks like Kraft is a good bet to improve upon his 2024 numbers.
My RotoBaller colleague Adam Koffler has been advocating to play Green Bay's passing game through Jayden Reed or Matthew Golden this year. While I don't disagree with that take, I am choosing to attack this passing game primarily through Kraft. He has been my favorite tight end trade target this offseason in my dynasty leagues, and I plan on targeting him heavily in redraft formats as well.
I’ve also placed a wager on the over for his receiving yards total at Caesars Sportsbook. I got that number at 575.5 yards, but it’s since been increased to 625.5 yards. However, that 575.5 number is still available at Bet365 Sportsbook if you're into that sort of thing.
If you’re not the betting type, that’s okay. Just make sure you take Kraft in your fantasy football draft this year.
Omarion Hampton - RB, Los Angeles Chargers
With free agent addition Najee Harris currently on the Non-Football Injury (NFI) list, Hampton has been operating as the team’s lead back in training camp. He is drawing rave reviews and seems to be making the most of his opportunity.
Chargers OC Greg Roman calls Omarion Hampton "spectacular" with the pads on: 'He seems even faster."
— Alex Insdorf (@alexinsdorf99) July 23, 2025
The Chargers selected Hampton in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. He was a fantastic producer in college and posted some strong advanced metrics last season. Among 163 collegiate backs with 100+ attempts (data courtesy of Pro Football Focus), Hampton finished:
10th in PFF rushing grade
Second in yards after contact
Sixth in missed tackles forced
15th in PFF elusive rating
.@chargers @OmarionHampton is a BOLT. AN XXXplosive workhorse RB. Perfect fit for a HARBS Team. #bolts #nfldraft #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/bzoOzaBC3G
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) April 25, 2025
With 4.46 speed and elite tackle-breaking ability, it is only a matter of time before Hampton takes over this backfield. Harris’ unfortunate eye injury may have sped up that timeframe.
Hampton is in an ideal situation for a rookie running back, and he has league-winning upside. He’s a priority pick in Round 4 of fantasy drafts. If your league tends to devalue rookies, you might even get lucky and land Hampton in Round 5.
As you can see, Hampton is the third running back listed in this article. That should give you a clue as to what I believe is the ideal draft strategy this year. There is a ton of value available at receiver later in drafts, and I believe it could potentially make a Robust RB approach extremely profitable.
I’ll be hoping to land two of Hampton, Walker, and Achane in as many drafts as I can this year. If I can land all three, even better.
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