Fantasy Football Bold Predictions - Nick Mariano's 2025 Picks

August 31, 2025

Nick Mariano's fantasy football bold predictions for the 2025 NFL season, including predictions for Calvin Ridley, Christian Kirk, Harold Fannin Jr., and more.

The 2025 NFL season is nearly upon us! Like you, many of my fantasy drafts have already had their stories written, but these next several days are supplying several more to the fold.

No matter when you find yourself on the clock, it is an evergreen principle that you'll have to get bold in calculated spots to etch your name in immortality. And that's what I'll be presenting here today with my five bold predictions for the coming fantasy football season! You can scoff as you like, but there will be data and rationale behind each of them, I promise.

Make sure you’re following RotoBaller on X and check out RotoBaller.com for all your fantasy football needs. Without further ado, here are my five bold predictions for the 2025 fantasy football season.

Trevor Lawrence Tops His 2022 Campaign With a Top-6 Season

Similar to the Dallas run-out, Jacksonville is built for fast-paced passing with a bottom-tier defense. Instead of Doug Pederson, we’re banking on Liam Coen bringing the system seen in Tampa Bay’s offense last year upstate to Everbank Stadium.

While the Jags’ secondary should benefit from Travis Hunter contributing snaps, defense won’t be his primary position from the jump, and so that unit will struggle as the 2024 Bucs did. Coen helped engineer the Bucky Irving breakout while utilizing Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Jalen McMillan en route to a Baker Mayfield career year.

Now, Lawrence steps into a similar script, though Coen no longer has Todd Bowles above him to clamp his style. Brian Thomas Jr. is an alpha capable of being the top receiver in football, with Hunter being drafted within the first six rounds as the team’s No. 2.

Then, Coen signed Dyami Brown after the receiver bounced Coen’s Bucs from the 2024 playoffs with a 5-89-1 receiving line. Sure, Evan Engram is gone, but Brenton Strange showed promise and doesn’t have to be some top-10 stud to make the offense go. Cade Otton flashed when injuries surrounded him, but otherwise, he wasn’t asked to move mountains.

Lawrence was both injured and disappointing in ‘24, completing a mere 60.6% of passes with an 11:7 TD:INT that echoed his rookie struggles after improving in ‘22 and ‘23. But there’s good reason to believe that moving to Coen’s scheme fixes this.

This is likely tied to his intended air yards per pass attempt soaring over a full yard to 9.3 (8.2 in ‘23, 8.0 career). His bad-throw rate actually fell from 18.8% in ‘23 to 17.2%, with an on-target rate of 73.7% (74.3% in ‘23), per Pro Football Reference. Coen did not emphasize deep shots last year, and quick short/intermediate throws are where Lawrence has thrived.

Trevor Lawrence is getting to 2nd & 3rd reads more often/faster + improved footwork stepping up when pressured this preseason.

More from @nflnetwork on early signs of HC Liam Coen work with Jaguars QB1 & big focus now - stop the turnovers (!) & limit Superman Trev: pic.twitter.com/LwXN8PdArd

— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) August 20, 2025

Mix in the rushing group having two potent pass-catchers in Travis Etienne Jr. and Bhayshul Tuten, and we could be cooking. The Clemson alum, who has a 17-game average rush line of 65-307-4, could also mirror Mayfield's rushing output (he doubled his career-best tally with 378) under Coen. Lawrence’s ADP is minimal despite BTJ and Hunter demanding healthy draft capital, so let’s see what happens!

Dallas Cowboys Reclaim Top-Scoring Offense Title With 31 PPG

(In other words: Dak Prescott QB5, CeeDee Lamb WR1, George Pickens WR14, Jake Ferguson TE6)

There’s no shortage of firepower amongst the top NFL offenses, with Detroit, Buffalo, Baltimore, and Tampa Bay scoring more than 500 points (>29.5 PPG) last year. And then you had Washington, Cincinnati, and Philadelphia right behind them! All are viable candidates, but we’ll dip back to 21st place in Dallas (20.6 PPG) for the ‘25 throne.

It is easy to get caught in trends, patterns, and the like. The top-three scoring offenses from 2023 were Dallas, Miami, and San Francisco. Injuries ravaged all three teams, who subsequently fell off the map. And frankly, both Miami and San Fran are already dealing with a similar setup (De’Von Achane, Tyreek Hill, Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings, etc.).

However, Dallas is in good health (knock on wood), and they brought in George Pickens as their improved No. 2 WR. The 2023 Cowboys had an aging Brandin Cooks haul in eight touchdowns on just 81 targets, with underwhelming ancillary stats from Michael Gallup and Jalen Tolbert.

And while hope springs eternal for a Javonte Williams renaissance and/or a Jaydon Blue explosion, the backfield talent pales in comparison to the passing game. This team is very unlikely to win on the ground.

They also have their offensive coordinator from the ‘23 breakout as their head coach in Brian Schottenheimer, who has overseen a fast-paced attack that has ranked high in no-huddle snaps for years.

It was an uphill battle for this unit to consistently limit opponents, even with Micah Parsons bearing down on the quarterback. Without him, we could get a Bengals-style gamescript throughout ‘25.

I recognize their schedule is not friendly, perhaps one of the worst, but at least we get a cozy dome to call home. Even amidst last year’s inconsistent play, Prescott still topped 350 yards with multiple TDs against Baltimore and Pittsburgh.

At least Prescott and Ferguson have little opportunity cost regarding their ADP, and Lamb is a perennial first-rounder. Pickens is the lightning rod!

DK Metcalf (WR20) and Calvin Ridley (WR30) switch ADP spots in 2026

Last year, we hit on this one with Michael Pittman Jr. and Terry McLaurin swapping for ‘25, so let’s run it back.

Frankly, pitting the profiles of Aaron Rodgers’ WR1 in Arthur Smith’s offense with a strong defense and RB duo versus Cameron Ward’s WR1 with Nick Holz, a bottom-tier defense, and an injured pass-catching back in Tyjae Spears feels clear to me.

Pittsburgh also brought in Jonnu Smith, who is more of a threat than adding Tyler Lockett and a pair of Day 3 draft picks at wideout. Rodgers can be a stabilizing manager for a team built on grinding their opponents down.

Ward feels like one of the quietest No. 1 overall picks in recent memory, and Ridley’s perception is tainted by the Will Levis era. I’d be shocked to see another 53% catch rate with Ward in control, but the 26% target share seen after DeAndre Hopkins was traded is in play. And Nick Westbrook-Ikhine’s touchdown luck (28% TD rate!) is gone, praise be.

Calvin Ridley has never finished lower than a WR3. That’s exactly what he’s being drafted as despite a (potentially huge) QB upgrade. I am once again in pic.twitter.com/WzFMDiGRZm

— Michael F. Florio (@MichaelFFlorio) August 7, 2025

Marvin Mims Jr., Christian Kirk, and Marquise Brown/Jalen Coker outscore Cooper Kupp, Khalil Shakir, and Jauan Jennings

(UPDATE: Coker is expected to miss 4-6 weeks on the IR with a quad injury. This stinks, but we press on with a twist. We'll play Brown as the W1-6 substitute.)

Seasoned drafters may not feel this is terribly bold, but Kupp, Shakir, and Jennings are going in that 80-100 pick band. Mims, Kirk, and Coker are all entering the final draft weekend with an ADP of 140 or higher on Sleeper.

Shakir (ankle) and Jennings (calf) both have injury red flags after picking up preseason dings, while Kupp hasn’t played in more than 12 games since winning the WR Triple Crown in 2022. It is understandable why they’re still being taken with enthusiasm, but I believe early ADP and default rank figures have kept their names higher due to the sticky nature of the anchoring bias.

Mims had incredible per-route metrics last year, and Denver’s trade of Devaughn Vele helps trim the rotation next to Courtland Sutton. Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant have promise, but Mims just posted a 2.78 yards per route run figure that ranked sixth in the NFL.

Kirk is now the No. 2 receiver for a C.J. Stroud team that has a broken rushing attack with Joe Mixon (foot) potentially out for the year. In PPR, Stefon Diggs just posted 15.2 fantasy points per game and Tank Dell had 15 PPG in ‘23 as Stroud’s No. 2, both top-20 figures.

The veteran wideout enters his age-29 season off a broken collarbone in ‘24, while also dealing with the down year from Trevor Lawrence when healthy. But as we discussed with the ‘24 Jags, Kirk had a 13.7 average depth of target versus a 9.9 aDOT in ‘23 and 9.1 in ‘22. Houston should lean on quick throws to mask a poor offensive line and keep Stroud upright and firing.

Calen Bullock on Christian Kirk:

“First thing I noticed, his hands, he’s got real strong hands… great routes, expect on that slot.. SLOT DEMON 😈, that’s what we call him.” https://t.co/13SaFlCJB7 pic.twitter.com/6gWxhPmoWo

— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) June 10, 2025

And Coker doesn’t have the time to rise enough in draft rooms against the adjusted expectations after Adam Thielen’s trade to Minnesota. He had been named as Carolina’s slot receiver after absolutely torching man coverage and posting a strong 2.2% drop rate as a rookie, but the hype is on ice until he returns after the IR stint. I highly doubt Hunter Renfrow shows enough to keep Coker on the sidelines.

We'll bridge the early gap with Brown, who has been plagued by poor health since donning a Chiefs uniform. However, his WR66 and overall 167 ADP on Sleeper leave ample room to utilize him en route to positive regression for Patrick Mahomes and the K.C. passing game. And Rashee Rice's return should coincide with Coker's return.

Harold Fannin Jr. Tops 10 Fantasy Points Per Game as a Top-12 TE

Fannin just set the FBS single-season record for receptions (117) and receiving yards (1,555) by a tight end, which he capped off with 17 catches for 213 yards in the 68 Ventures Bowl. It’s no surprise that he earned MVP honors as a result!

The 6-foot-4 TE wasn’t just a volume merchant or one-trick pony at Bowling Green either, as he also paced the FBS with 63 catches of 10 or more yards and 63 broken tackles as a receiver. And many will point to poor competition in the MAC, but facing the “big boys” in back-to-back road games at Penn State (11-137-1) and Texas A&M (8-145-1) didn’t stop him.

And for a non-fantasy factor that’ll help him stay on the field: He graded out extremely well as a run blocker. Now, he finds himself on a Cleveland Browns team that took him in the third round at No. 67 overall.

Kevin Stefanski used to love multiple tight ends back in Minnesota, as well as earlier in his Cleveland tenure, and will return to play-calling duties in ‘25 after ceding the job to former OC Ken Dorsey in Week 8. Also, he promoted his TE coach/pass game specialist Tommy Rees to offensive coordinator.

Let’s see what they come out of the gate with against Cincinnati’s porous defense. Joe Flacco makes this an interesting offense, but any eventual turn to Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders isn’t a death knell.

Fannin and David Njoku could be a stellar combo as Cleveland works around a thin WR room that has little behind Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman. Or, of course, you hate what you see to open the year and cut a last-round pick for the popular waiver run after Week 1!

Harold Fannin Jr. ran a route on 7 of 11 Joe Flacco dropbacks in the preseason finale.

📈 Screen target and a red zone TD https://t.co/UbS5von0gl pic.twitter.com/VxTA9A6BDT

— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) August 24, 2025

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