RADIO
John Johnson's four fantasy football rookie wide receiver breakout candidates for 2025. His top first-year WRs, including Travis Hunter, Kyle Williams, Jack Bech, and Jaylin Noel.
Rookie wide receivers are the subject of a ton of fascination by fantasy football managers every season, and with good reason. In many years, a rookie wideout absolutely smashes his projections and finishes as a top-10 player at his position. There are plenty of recent examples of this happening.
Just last season, Jacksonville Jaguars WR Brian Thomas Jr. and Los Angeles Chargers wideout Ladd McConkey both finished top-10 at receiver, with Thomas being a legitimate league-winner -- as the overall WR1 in the playoffs -- and McConkey putting together a fantastic second half of the season.
In 2023, we saw Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua absolutely crush his projections and finish as a top-5 wideout. So there's precedent for this kind of thing. There are four players this season that I think have a solid chance of crushing their expectations and being genuine stars, so let's break them all down!
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Travis Hunter, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
Hunter has remarkable athletic talents. He was a bit raw as a receiver at Colorado, which was understandable, of course, because he didn't even play the position full-time. But every once in a while, an absolute freak of an athlete comes into the NFL, and in a league full of the world's best athletes, somehow manages to shine.
That's likely the type of player Hunter will be, and starting early in the year. Hunter's athleticism especially allows him to shine at the catch point. He's one of the best prospects when the ball is in the air at a catchable point that I've ever scouted or watched film on. It's absolutely insane.
— Quindell Daniels (@QuindellDaniels) June 1, 2025
He put up huge stats at Colorado despite reportedly spending most of his time preparing as a cornerback for his games. Being able to spend more time in the film room as a WR should work wonders for him. Many might be understandably nervous about Hunter sharing the field with Brian Thomas Jr., though.
Thomas is an elite wideout, there is no doubt. I think this could eventually evolve into a 1A/1B situation with Hunter, though the defensive snaps Hunter will take could slightly eat into his role. Still, you always want to bet on good talent with good coaching over everything else.
— Quindell Daniels (@QuindellDaniels) June 1, 2025
It's tough not to watch Hunter play and be in absolute awe of his pure talent. He's also remarkably flexible and a quick learner. The Jaguars under Liam Coen could have one of the league's most prolific passing offenses in the NFL in 2024, and there's reason to believe it can support two fantasy WR1s, even if that's an optimistic scenario.
Kyle Williams, WR, New England Patriots
Every time I write about rookie wide receiver sleepers or breakouts, I end up saying something about Williams, who was drafted by the New England Patriots with the 69th overall pick in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft. All my analysis has led me to strongly believe Williams will take over the WR1 role for his new team.
Which, by the way, is a team that had basically zero good pass-catching options last season. Tight end Hunter Henry was considered to be solid. The problem is, he started losing snaps to the backup TE later in the season. None of the wide receivers ever looked consistently decent. Not even Kayshon Boutte.
Kyle Williams is a rookie WR that needs more buzz 👀
pic.twitter.com/vU9GpqZoR8— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) May 23, 2025
I'm generally at least a bit skeptical of my own hype, but the more I dug into Williams' tape searching for flaws and weaknesses, the more I was surprised at how difficult it was to find any. Williams has an impressive polish to his game that I didn't expect from a WR so low in ADP.
In redraft leagues, he's getting basically zero hype. It seems the majority of the community has dismissed his chances of being the WR1 as foolish, and without any real scrutiny, bought into the idea that a 31, soon to turn 32, Stefon Diggs (knee), coming off an ACL tear, will easily be the team's WR1.
Lot of Kyle Williams hype thus far in Rookie Camp & OTAs… Stefon Diggs ‘might’ return by Week 4 for the Patriots, so Williams, despite being a rookie may need to be The Alpha
pic.twitter.com/RCkRJhnLx9— John Frascella (Football) (@NFLFrascella) May 31, 2025
Williams will take the WR1 job, run away with it, and never give it up, as far as I think.
Jack Bech, WR, Las Vegas Raiders
Bech is an interesting WR. Despite not testing at the 2025 NFL Combine, at least not in the all-important 40-yard dash, Bech was selected in Round 2. He'll immediately be fighting with targets with tight end Brock Bowers and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers.
But the role played in by WR Tre Tucker last year for the Raiders featured quite a bit of volume, and if Bech simply steps into his shoes, which seems likely, there's a solid chance he could contribute bigly (yes I know that's not a word but it's funny) to a Raiders offense that got a big quarterback upgrade this offseason.
Jack Bech will be our WR 1 be the end of the year. His ability is already show casing in camp
Jack Bech and #OhioState’s Jeremiah Smith were the only players in the country with 1,000+ receiving yards and a drop rate under 1.5% last season 💥
He only had one drop👀🏴☠️ https://t.co/A2BMgxxJjI pic.twitter.com/RCt2i2l8mX
— ShifftttyyyQB1🏴☠️ (@raiders1022) May 14, 2025
Bech shines especially at the catch point. He's also a good route-runner. But it's the skills when he's fighting with a defensive player for possession of the ball that are the most impressive thing about his tape. Some football film analysts have even likened him to Los Angeles Rams WR Puka Nacua.
That's a lofty comparison, but it's not without reason. Bech is a beast when going up for catches. He has very secure hands and does a good job leveraging his body to box out defenders. And he just seems to come down with strong, tough catches more often than not.
Jack Bech is precise as a route-runner to set himself up for YAC angles and then relies on power to create with the ball in his hands.
He's not Puka Nacua, but it's easy to see why people draw the comparison. pic.twitter.com/3zv1UewHRC
— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) April 2, 2025
Another similarity with Nacua is how good Bech is after the catch. He has impressive power and pushes forward with relentless determination, often gaining those few extra crucial yards to pick up first downs and put his team in a more advantageous position.
He's a solid fundamental route-runner, and though he doesn't generate huge separation often, usually owing to his less-than-average athleticism at the position, not every WR needs to win with speed or acceleration. Bech has the talent to challenge WR Jakobi Meyers for the WR1 position. That's impressive stuff.
Biggest Sleeper: Jaylin Noel, WR, Houston Texans
Noel isn't exactly in the best situation. He was drafted to a team that already has wide receivers Nico Collins and Christian Kirk. In addition, the Texans selected WR Jayden Higgins early in the 2nd round of the 2025 NFL Draft, meaning Noel could spend the early part of the year fighting for the WR4 role.
Still, you always want to bet on talent over situation, and even though quarterback C.J. Stroud struggled last season, Noel is an elite prospect who has shades of Detroit Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown to his game. Noel is a less-polished route-runner, but makes up for that with absurd athleticism and strength.
really impressive rep from Jaylin Noel pic.twitter.com/UriiIEzoHQ
— Hayden Winks (@HaydenWinks) March 27, 2025
Noel ran a 4.39-second 40-yard dash and recorded the highest vertical leap of any receiver at the 2025 NFL Combine, jumping 41.5 inches. He also logged an 11-foot, 2-inch broad jump and bench-pressed 23 reps at 225 pounds. Those are elite testing numbers.
Jaylin Noel being Amon-Ra St. Brown but faster
-Runs the best zig routes in the class (second best is Jayden Higgins ironically)
-Breaks a tackle attempt square on his hip
-ACCELERATION
Noel will win leagues in 2025 if he doesn't get a horrible landing spot, I guarantee it pic.twitter.com/eaNdbpRt9A— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 24, 2025
I do really wish Noel had gone to a better situation. But that's not how things are. However, if we keep in mind that WR Nico Collins has missed 17 games in his last four seasons, there should be opportunities for Noel to shine and pick up a closer-to-full-time role.
In addition, he's clearly a better player than Kirk is, in my mind. I don't think it will take Noel long to start getting significant slot snaps. Kirk simply cannot compete with Noel's raw athleticism and strength, so it will likely be better to have Noel on the field as much as possible.
And if Higgins takes time to develop or isn't as good as he's billed to be, Noel could even take snaps from him. Sure, it's likely Collins will remain the clear WR1, but there are scenarios in which Noel could go on a tear at some point in the year.
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