CeeDee Lamb, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Puka Nacua - Who Should I Draft in 2025 Fantasy Football?

Should fantasy football managers be selecting CeeDee Lamb, Amon-Ra St. Brown, or Puka Nacua in 2025 drafts? Joey Pollizze breaks down which star WR to take.

It's never too early to start thinking of which players you might be targeting in the first round of 2025 fantasy football drafts. While things can change over the next few months, the expectation is that Saquon Barkley, Ja'Marr Chase, and Justin Jefferson will be the top three picks in most redraft formats this summer. 

However, things get interesting in the middle of the first round, as Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua are all strong picks. All three wideouts have established themselves as elite fantasy wideouts in recent years. 

So, should fantasy managers be selecting Lamb, St. Brown, or Nacua in 2025 fantasy drafts? Let's dive in and find out. 

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CeeDee Lamb 2025 Fantasy Football Outlook

It was not a surprise that Lamb entered 2024 fantasy drafts as the clear WR1. He was coming off a career year in 2023, catching 135 passes for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns. Those elite numbers helped him finish as the overall WR1 for the first time in his NFL career. However, the Cowboys wideout couldn't replicate that fantasy success last year. 

He only finished as the WR8 in PPR formats and scored under 300 PPR fantasy points. Still, Lamb put together a solid year in which he totaled 101 catches for 1,194 yards and six touchdowns across 15 games. The All-Pro wideout also averaged over 17.5 PPR fantasy points per game last season. Therefore, he was still a strong WR1 for fantasy managers.

When looking back at Lamb's 2024 campaign, a lot went wrong for him. He lost his starting quarterback (Dak Prescott) for the season in Week 9 and wound up playing through an AC joint sprain in the second half of the season. Those two things played a factor in the wideout's WR8 PPR finish.

As we head into the 2025 season, the 26-year-old should return to being a top-3 fantasy wideout. Prescott should be fully healthy, and the addition of wide receiver George Pickens will help Lamb. He should see fewer double teams while still maintaining a high target share. The four-time Pro Bowler has finished with above a 27% target share in three straight seasons. 

CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens - just look at their reception heat maps

This WILL work and probably work very very well for the #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/7sryBmv2K1

— Ray G (@RayGQue) May 7, 2025

So, he should remain an elite wide receiver for fantasy managers in 2025. He has finished as a top-8 fantasy wideout in three straight seasons, which included two top-5 fantasy finishes in PPR formats in both 2022 (WR5) and 2023 (WR1). 

Amon-Ra St. Brown 2025 Fantasy Football Outlook

St. Brown has arguably been the most consistent fantasy wide receiver in recent years. He finished as the WR7 in 2022, the WR3 in 2023, and the WR3 again in 2024. The Lions playmaker is also the only wideout who has finished in the top five over the last two seasons. As a result, he should remain an elite fantasy option this upcoming season. 

St. Brown went a little under the radar last year because he didn't have many huge fantasy days like Chase or Jefferson. He only scored above 19 PPR fantasy points in seven of 17 games in 2024. However, fantasy managers could always rely on him to score in double figures and catch at least six passes a game. 

He wound up finishing the season with 115 catches for 1,263 yards and 12 touchdowns across 17 games. Those numbers helped him average 18.6 PPR fantasy points per game in his fourth NFL season. With a 27.3% target share and another double-digit-touchdown season, St. Brown was one of the best fantasy options in 2024. 

Amon-Ra St. Brown’s Red Zone stats last season:

Targets - 31 (2nd)
Receptions - 23 (1st)
Receiving Yards - 162 (tied-1st)
Touchdowns - 9 (tied-1st)

RED ZONE BEAST. pic.twitter.com/w8MRKP19YL

— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) March 23, 2025

That isn't expected to change next season. He has seen at least 140 targets in three consecutive years and has become Jared Goff's go-to option in the passing game. Even though offensive coordinator Ben Johnson left to take the Bears' head-coaching job, St. Brown should still be a major factor in this Detroit offense. 

As a result, fantasy managers can feel comfortable taking him early in the first round of 2025 fantasy drafts. He will be regarded as one of the safest first-round picks, considering he has totaled over 100 catches and 1,100 receiving yards in three straight years. St. Brown has averaged 19.6 PPR fantasy points over the past two seasons. 

Puka Nacua 2025 Fantasy Football Outlook

What Nacua has been able to accomplish in his first two NFL seasons has been impressive to watch. He totaled 105 catches for 1,486 yards and six touchdowns in his rookie campaign and then caught 79 passes for 990 yards and three touchdowns in just 11 games last season. In both of those years, the Rams wideout was an elite WR1 option for managers. 

Even though Nacua missed five games due to a knee injury in 2024, he was a top fantasy option when on the field. He averaged 22.3 PPR fantasy points in his final eight games of the season and scored at least 17 PPR fantasy points in seven of those eight contests. As a result, he should once again be a top fantasy wide receiver in 2025. 

Puka Nacua will finish as the PPR WR__ 🚀 pic.twitter.com/CcOAEpRn25

— PFF Fantasy & Betting (@PFF_Fantasy) May 12, 2025

Now, it will be interesting to see how much Davante Adams takes away from Nacua in the passing game. Adams signed with the Rams this offseason, and the veteran has seen over 140 targets in five straight seasons. So, the BYU product could see fewer targets every game. 

However, there's no doubt that Nacua is still the WR1 in this Los Angeles offense. He had a 29.9% target share last year to go with a 43.6% target rate. Given his impressive yards per route run (4.7) and fantasy points per route run (0.85), the 23-year-old should continue to be an elite fantasy wide receiver for managers during the 2025-26 season.

There's no doubt that Adams will get his fair share of opportunities in this Rams offense, but Nacua should remain Matthew Stafford's go-to target. He saw at least nine targets in seven of the nine full games he played, and that was with Cooper Kupp in the mix. Therefore, the Pro Bowl wideout has a great chance to finish as a top-5 fantasy wideout in 2025. 

Verdict

Fantasy managers picking in the early-to-middle first round will have to make a tough decision in the draft. If you own the fifth or sixth pick in redraft leagues this summer, you will likely have to choose between Lamb, St. Brown, or Nacua. All three wideouts have shown they can be elite fantasy options throughout their careers. 

Nonetheless, fantasy managers should take Lamb over the other two wide receivers. The Cowboys playmaker has overall WR1 upside and just finished with 403.2 PPR fantasy points during the 2023 season. While St. Brown and Nacua will likely finish top-6 at the position next year, they don't necessarily have the potential to finish as the overall WR1. 

St. Brown doesn't have enough big fantasy games, and Nacua will have to share targets with one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. Therefore, Lamb is the better pick in most fantasy drafts. He should remain an alpha in that Cowboys offense and has a higher fantasy ceiling than the two wideouts on this list. 

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