Best Fantasy Football Targets for Every Round: Potential League-Winners in Rounds 9-16

July 18, 2025

John's top targets for Rounds 9-16 of fantasy football drafts in 2025. These players are potential league-winners in the later rounds in 2025 fantasy football drafts.

Nailing your later-round draft picks is crucial to winning your leagues in fantasy football if your earlier-round picks don't hit. This is also true if they get injured.

The truth is that picks after the first eighth round matter quite a bit. You need players to fill in for bye weeks, for injuries, and if you draft a huge bust. That's just the way things are. So, skepticism of nearly every player drafted after the first eight rounds doesn't get you anywhere.

Luckily for you, I've done my best to identify the absolute best eight players to take in Rounds 9-16 in fantasy football redraft leagues. So, let's dive in!

Late Rounds

Round 9 - J.J. McCarthy, QB, Minnesota Vikings

McCarthy has serious rushing upside that's being mostly ignored by the fantasy community right now. That's not even necessary for him to be a good pick in this round. He's still being slept on because he hasn't taken an NFL snap yet, but he's highly talented and will, of course, be in the elite Vikings offensive situation.

Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson, all mentioned earlier in Part 1 of this series, are an amazing core of pass-catchers. In addition, running back Aaron Jones functions well catching the ball. The team's offensive line played well when healthy last season, and Minnesota head coach Kevin O'Connell calls a fantastic offensive game plan.

Blake Corum: really fast

JJ McCarthy: also really fast pic.twitter.com/MktKyfGilF

— Sidelines - Michigan 〽️ (@SSN_Michigan) January 19, 2022

To me, McCarthy has a real chance of having Exodia-style rushing upside and being the only first-year starting quarterback this season to finish top-8 overall in fantasy points per game.

Round 10 - Bhayshul Tuten, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Notice how there are now two Vikings players, two Eagles players, and two Jaguars players on this list in the first two parts? Good players in good offenses get a pretty big boost in my rankings. Tuten is an utterly elite athlete. He ran a 4.32-second 40-yard dash. He's also very elusive, and it shouldn't matter much if he's a rookie.

Bucky Irving, a highly elusive rookie running back for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was a league winner last season under Liam Coen, who was mentioned a lot in Part 1 of this series. Coen is now the head coach of the Jaguars. Coen's run-blocking schemes were unbelievably elite with the Buccaneers last season.

best blocking rep of all time? people are sayin pic.twitter.com/thcEV6eSGe

— Hayden Winks (@HaydenWinks) May 26, 2025

Irving's tape is loaded with amazing reps in run-blocking. Tampa's blockers knew where to be and when to be there, thanks to Coen's wizardry. On teams with good run-blocking, you should take the most athletic running back. Tuten is head and shoulders above the other guys on his team (Travis Etienne Jr. and Tank Bigsby) in terms of speed and acceleration.

Bhayshul Tuten doesn't get enough credit for his stiff arms. They're filthy pic.twitter.com/LT7SWkVVIW

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) June 22, 2025

He's a complete back, other than needing plenty of practice with pass-protection. Guess which other running back is a horrible pass-protector, despite all his talent? Irving.

Round 11 - Kyle Williams, WR, New England Patriots

Players aren't likely to break out in their third season in the NFL as much as they are in their first or second. Taking a shot on Williams makes sense. My analysis has indicated that Patriots quarterback Drake Maye played well last season, given how bad his supporting cast was in that New England offense.

Many other fantasy analysts have been touting Maye as "actually good," which makes sense. Now, Williams is a highly talented (and massively underrated) WR prospect, and his only real target competition will be a 31-year-old WR Stefon Diggs (knee), who's recovering from an ACL tear from last season.

Kyle Williams runs a 4.40 but looks even FASTER on tape.

Legit getaway speed for one of the biggest risers in the 2025 Draft… pic.twitter.com/jzXIYJ7cXn

— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) April 8, 2025

He's explosive and fast with a great release package, great separation skills, and fantastic downfield ability. He's also great after the catch. Diggs is not a downfield threat or a great yards-after-catch WR. Williams will benefit greatly from Maye's fantastic deep passes.

Kayshon Boutte is not the guy in New England to target in the late rounds. He's a mediocre athlete with no plus traits at WR. Grab Williams instead.

Round 12 - Isaac Guerendo, RB, San Francisco 49ers

This is especially true if you drafted Christian McCaffrey. In limited action last season, Guerendo put up league-winning numbers. He'll be the workhorse back if CMC gets hurt, which isn't unlikely. When Guerendo is a workhorse back in the San Francisco 49ers offense, he is lightning in a bottle.

ISAAC GUERENDO BREAKS FREE FOR 76-YARD RUN 🤯

WHAT A PLAY.

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/hX5fBgJpyB

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 11, 2024

Of course, he won't do anything if CMC is healthy. But he has the highest contingent upside of any running back in the league of those who have played a snap.

Super Late Rounds

Round 13 - Jake Ferguson, TE, Dallas Cowboys

When quarterback Dak Prescott is healthy, Ferguson is a great TE to have. So, it's a bit confusing that he's fallen so low. Despite being one of the only players on the Cowboys with a "dawg" mentality, who doesn't seem to give up when things get tough, he's underrated right now.

Ferguson was a great fantasy asset and must-start through most of the 2023 season, when Prescott wasn't hurt. So it doesn't make much sense for him to fall this low. He has easy top-10 tight end upside, whatever that will be worth this year, which admittedly might not be a lot.

Round 14 - Jarquez Hunter, RB, Los Angeles Rams

The data and tape show us that RB Blake Corum, drafted by the Rams in 2024, simply wasn't that good last season. He showed little that would justify the team giving him meaningful reps over RB Kyren Williams. The problem was that Williams wasn't good, either. He was inefficient.

Among RBs with 75+ touches in 2024, the least elusive were:

-Kyren Williams (same as Javonte Williams)
-Travis Etienne Aaron Jones, Braelon Allen
-Kareem Hunt, Isiah Pacheco

Target Jarquez Hunter, Bhayshul Tuten, Jordan Mason, and Brashard Smith. Braelon isn't good. pic.twitter.com/M68GYpCS6U

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) July 1, 2025

Williams was a fumbling machine again. He leads the league in running back fumbles over the last two seasons combined. He fumbled away the playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles. He was terrible at forcing missed tackles. But perhaps worst of all, he was the worst explosive-play big-volume back in the league.

In 2024, Kyren Williams had:

-Similar explosive run rate to Miles Sanders
-Around the same missed tackles/attempt as Alexander Mattison
-Fewer YPC than Cam Akers
-The 2nd most RB fumbles in the league
-Fewer YACon/Att than Jaylen Wright pic.twitter.com/89kGk2pX3k

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) July 8, 2025

Williams had a horrible explosive run rate and was easily the worst of any running back with anything near his number of carries. He had just two runs of over 20 yards despite getting 316 total carries.

My 2025 bold prediction: Jarquez Hunter outplays Kyren Williams and takes his job or at least makes this a committee backfieldhttps://t.co/zbIfkEPswK

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) May 13, 2025

You should not leave any of your leagues without Hunter, who dominated in the SEC for four years, has elite film, and is much better than Williams, according to my analysis.

Round 15 - Brashard Smith, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City RBs, aside from Smith, aren't good. Isiah Pacheco played poorly last season, even before he fractured his fibula. Kareem Hunt was terrible, but lucked into a great offense that cleared just enough space for him to keep the chains moving consistently. I made a thread about it below.

Pacheco in Weeks 1-2:

-3.97 YPC (RB26 of 40)
-0 runs of 15+ yds
-0.12 MTF/Att (RB28)
-1.97 YACO/Att (RB29)

I think Andy Reid shifts to a committee backfield in 2025. Many might get excited about Elijah Mitchell. I'm not. It's exceedingly rare for 5th year RBs to break out.

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) May 25, 2025

Although the Chiefs signed Elijah Mitchell in the offseason, he would have to clear an enormous hurdle. Running backs rarely break out in Year 5 of their pro careers. Enter Smith, a rookie who is a converted wide receiver. In his first year playing running back, he logged 1,332 rush yards and 14 rush TDs. He added 327 receiving yards and three receiving scores, too.

How explosive Brashard Smith is off balance with his first-step plant foot in a non-ideal position is huge here. It allows him to quickly change his angle of attack. Freezes the DB at the top left. Smith has enough juice to take this outside for a big gain. pic.twitter.com/KREQO8BHr2

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 22, 2025

Smith ran a 4.39 40-yard dash. He's an elite athlete, and clips like the one above show how this benefits him. It's about more than just acceleration and speed in a straight line, though. He's extremely explosive in the open field and can navigate tight spaces very effectively.

You guys sure you don't want an RB that catch back shoulder fades? Achane was also undersized. Both have the speed, explosiveness and WR skillset to beat defensive backs, and the hands to make circus catches. pic.twitter.com/Cj9usRRTk1

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 22, 2025

Smith has a stupidly good receiving highlight reel. In an offense that thrives on screen passes like the Chiefs, you should take him in as many leagues as possible. He's in an ambiguous backfield that isn't showing many signs of life from the other backs.

Be patient with him and DO NOT DROP HIM. Andy Reid's rookies tend to take time to break out.

Round 16 - Dont'e Thornton Jr., WR, Las Vegas Raiders

We're in extreme dart-throw stage here. Raiders quarterback Geno Smith is underrated, while Thornton is a rookie who wasn't highly productive in college. He is a 6-foot-5 WR who ran a 4.30 40-yard dash. The upside with him is tremendous.

Donte Thornton Jr to the Las Vegas Raiders‼️ pic.twitter.com/QHoooC8109

— Moe Jilton (@MoeJilton) April 26, 2025

There are very, very few WRs in the league with his size and speed combination. Tennessee's offense wasn't great last season, and easily could have held him back. Their quarterback was awful. Thornton could pay off as an emergency starter and has a chance of having a nice streak of highly productive games.

Players like him can go on absolute heaters without warning. Who knows? Perhaps he could do so in the last three games of the season. In Week 17, he'll face the New York Giants. Maybe I have a crystal ball that can see in the future, and it's telling me Thornton will put up over 20 fantasy points that game and win leagues.

You never know how shots in the dark, like taking Thornton, will work out. But you do know that an athlete like him can take long touchdowns to the house. This late in drafts, get the big and fast guys!

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