Fantasy Football Breakout Wide Receivers

Michael's top wide receiver fantasy football sleepers, breakouts, and potential league winners for 2025. His favorite WR fantasy football draft values with upside.

You may have heard that breakouts win championships! It is why I am a big believer in taking upside shots in the middle and later rounds of your fantasy football drafts rather than going after safe floor plays.

If you can build a safe core in the early rounds, a breakout player or two elevates your lineup to be one of the better teams in the league. It increases your odds of making the playoffs and winning a title. Nothing improves your odds more, in my opinion.

I wrote about my favorite breakout candidates at quarterback and running back. Now onto the wide receivers!

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Fantasy Football Breakout Wide Receivers for 2025

Travis Hunter was my favorite prospect in this year's NFL Draft. I believe he is truly an elite WR who can win at all three levels. He can win down the field, make contested catches, and is fast and shifty enough to be a weapon after the catch. The Jaguars have said all summer that he will be a WR first and then backed that up in the preseason with Hunter playing all the starter snaps on offense and going to play defense on the second and third drives.

Travis Hunter missed a week due to minor injury but hope is he’s nearing a full return to field in Thursday’s joint practice vs. Dolphins.

Hunter got his feet wet playing both offense & defense in preseason. Now, he’s set for regular season mode.

For @nflnetwork The Insiders: pic.twitter.com/VWgOB0X9zh

— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) August 19, 2025

Not only do I believe in the talent, but with Brian Thomas Jr. there, Hunter will likely get No. 2 cornerbacks and see a lot of time in the slot. Good luck, nickel corners! Hunter could push BTJ for top WR in Duval, yet he goes rounds later due to usage concerns. Take the discount and run!

Jameson Williams has long been a favorite of mine, but this is the year he puts it all together. We saw a semi-breakout last year, but this year I expect even better. As great as Ben Johnson is, he did not dial up the deep ball often. The Lions have been bottom two in deep pass percentage the last two years. New OC John Morton comes from Denver, where they aired the ball out often (top three with Russell Wilson, top 13 with rookie Bo Nix). More deep balls, paired with potentially more throwing in the red zone, lead to a career-best season for Williams.

Okay guys, fine. I'm capitulating.

It's wheels up for Jameson Williams. The drumbeat is too strong.

When his OC is continually saying he's mentally grown and that he's going to run a much wider route tree this year, at some point, we have to believe him. pic.twitter.com/8CqkJcI6KZ

— Ryan Heath (@RyanJ_Heath) August 1, 2025

Calvin Ridley is another favorite of mine, but I am expecting big gains with an upgrade at QB. Ridley finished last season as the WR28 in total points despite catching passes from Will Levis and Mason Rudolph. That is despite a career low in touchdowns. He is routinely good for 1,000 yards and at least a WR3 finish. We saw in preseason that Cameron Ward will pepper Ridley with targets, and I believe he is an upgrade from last season. That should lead to more scoring opportunities. Ridley is inside my top 20 WRs, yet he often is drafted outside the top 30. That is a buying opportunity!

Every pass attempt from Cam Ward’s preseason debut. pic.twitter.com/qYukCgz7Gm

— Chris Cooper (@ChrisCooper_NFL) August 10, 2025

Xavier Worthy is the fastest player in NFL Combine history. He has one of the (statistically) best Super Bowl performances in NFL history, even if it all came in garbage time. The Chiefs tend to ease their rookies in, and we saw Worthy get more and more utilized as the season went on. We have also heard the Chiefs be very vocal about wanting to get the deep ball back into their offense. This feels like the cheapest you will get pieces of the Chiefs offense, which means draft them! While Worthy brings a ton of upside, I think all of the Chiefs receivers could break out (depending on Rice’s suspension). Marquise Brown is free upside at his ADP.

Rome Odunze is going to be a big benefactor of the Bears' great offseason. Chicago rebuilt the interior of its offensive line, which should lead to more time for Caleb Williams and higher-quality targets. Last year, Odunze had the second-lowest rate of catchable targets. We saw in the preseason that Ben Johnson will use him all over the field, as he saw time in the slot. Last year, he was primarily just the X receiver. Plus, he already was the Bears' go-to guy in the red/end zone and an improved offense means more scoring chances. I think all the Bears break out this year, but none more than Odunze.

I’m bullish on all the Bears! Maybe not so much with the Raiders… pic.twitter.com/En8ydaECu8

— Michael F. Florio (@MichaelFFlorio) August 20, 2025

Emeka Egbuka is shooting up my rankings. Coming out of Wide Receiver U (even though that should be LSU!), he was a highly coveted prospect. The only issue was that he landed in a crowded receiver room. Or so it seemed. Now, Chris Godwin seems likely to miss at least some time early on, and Jalen McMillan is on the IR and could be out for months. That means Egbuka has a runway as the Bucs WR2. He has a chance to establish himself and make it where they simply cannot take him off the field. Getting to play the slot with Godwin sidelined is huge. In what has become a very steady passing game in recent years, Egbuka brings breakout upside as a rookie.

Ricky Pearsall, like all the 49ers receivers this season, is a great value in drafts. Pearsall’s rookie year got off to a really weird start after he was unfortunately shot. However, he rebounded and averaged 17.5 fantasy PPG in the games he saw at least five targets in. He is a versatile piece who can line up all over the field and win in several different ways. That is someone who should thrive in Kyle Shanahan’s system. While I like all the 49ers receivers, I believe Pearsall has the highest odds of breaking out this season.

Keon Coleman showed flashes of a breakout coming last year. Then, he injured his wrist and was never really the same after that point. Also, the Bills added Amari Cooper, so his usage was never the same post-injury. However, all the reviews out of Bills camp rave about Coleman and how he is set to take the league by storm. I get that some people need to see it first, but Coleman is tied to the MVP and one of the best offenses in the sport that happens to have a ton of opportunities up for grabs. He has a chance to be the top deep threat and red-zone option for them. Going outside the top-50 WRs in many drafts, he is an excellent upside pick.

I am not afraid to double-dip on Bills receivers, given how cheap they both are. Joshua Palmer gets drafted outside the top 60, sometimes even the top-70 receivers off the board. Palmer is a better separator than any receiver the Bills had last season, especially on deep passes. While I prefer Coleman of the two, if he falters or misses time, it could mean big things for Palmer. Former WR Stevie Johnson picked him to lead the team in yards this season. He is free upside at his ADP.

Stevie Johnson believes Josh Palmer will become the #Bills WR1 👀

"I'm calling it, Josh Palmer will lead the Buffalo Bills in the wide receiver category"#BillsMafia #thesickpodcast @StevieJohnson13 @MichaelFFlorio pic.twitter.com/siBiBkJxBQ

— The Sick Podcast - Bills Banter (@sickpodbills) August 12, 2025

Later round dart throws: Josh Downs, Darnell Mooney, Marvin Mims Jr., Kyle Williams, Christian Kirk, Keenan Allen, Luther Burden III, Diontae Johnson

Make sure to follow Michael on X, @MichaelFFlorio.

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