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Who Should I Draft for fantasy football in 2025? Fantasy Football outlooks for Josh Downs, Jayden Reed, Travis Hunter and our expert advice on who to draft.
Targeting the correct WR3 can be the difference in winning your fantasy league. If you WR3 can enjoy a breakout season, you could end up having a roster consisting of several must-start players, which will put you at a significant advantage, especially in PPR formats.
In this piece, we will look at three wide receivers, particularly going in the middle rounds of fantasy drafts, who carry league-winning upside at their position.
Be sure to check our RotoBaller rankings that will help you crush your leagues in 2025. Which wide receivers should fantasy managers target? Let's dive in!
Josh Downs, WR, Indianapolis Colts
RotoBaller PPR Rank: WR 45 Overall 80.0
NFFC ADP: WR 46 Overall 97.1
Downs' final 2024 numbers may not blow you away, but when we look under the hood, there are some good reasons to be excited about his future. Per Fantasy Points Data Suite, Downs registered a 30 percent targets per route run (TPRR), a 23.9 percent target share, and a 2.29 yards per route run (YPRR). Strong scores in these metrics highly correlate with success in fantasy football.
The elephant in the room regarding the Colts is their current quarterback situation. Anthony Richardson struggled mightily this past season, and it looks like he could be a bust. However, the team signed Daniel Jones to a one-year, $14 million contract this offseason.
Jones failed as the New York Giants' starting quarterback, but he consistently targeted Malik Nabers last year. The veteran signal-caller is certainly an upgrade as a passer over what we've seen from Richardson so far.
Jones' arrival could be good news for Downs' fantasy value, as he was most successful last year when Joe Flacco was under center. Downs is a talented receiver and just needs competent quarterback play to thrive.
Touchdown Josh Downs to give Indy a 24-7 lead!
📺: #TENvsIND on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/PAQDLqNOH2— NFL (@NFL) December 22, 2024
Indianapolis did select former Penn State tight end Tyler Warren with the 14th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. He certainly adds more target competition to an already crowded receiving corps. However, Warren is not as far along in his development as many believe and could struggle a bit in Year 1.
Downs' situation is far from ideal, but he is a solid separator and can draw targets at a high rate. His underlying data is also super encouraging. Downs is good enough to blow past his current ADP. He's one of the more underrated receivers in the league and could break out in a big way if all goes right.
- Written by Dave Ventresca
Jayden Reed, WR, Green Bay Packers
RotoBaller PPR Rank: WR 41 Overall 74.0
NFFC ADP: WR 43 Overall 93.5
Two things can be true: Reed doesn't see the most playing time among Packers wide receivers, but is utilized the most and finishes as the top-scoring fantasy receiver in Green Bay.
That's the exact scenario that played out last season. Reed led Green Bay at the wide receiver position (WR29, 197 PPR points) and was the WR25 or better on six occasions. However, with every big game came a dud. He was below seven PPR fantasy points six times, sputtering to the finish line of the regular season.
Reed was incredibly efficient, finishing third in yards per target (11.4), 11th in yards per reception (15.6), and 15th in yards per route run (2.35), according to PlayerProfiler. That, and some bonus touches in the rushing game, are the only reasons why Reed was fantasy relevant—his target share (20.6%, 60th), snap share (63.7%, 73rd), and routes run (364, 61st) read like a waiver-wire receiver.
Why didn't Matt LaFleur deploy his most explosive receiver more often? It seems like the coaching staff didn't think he could win consistently on the outside. 416 of Reed's 685 snaps came from the slot. That was good for a 60% rate and the 10th most slot snaps in the league. So, when lined up in two-receiver sets, Reed was watching from the sidelines. He totaled 33 snaps in two-receiver sets during his first two professional seasons.
The worry is that the trend would continue into his third campaign, relegating him to a part-time, boom-or-bust wide receiver. However, recent alignments during training camp have the fantasy community salivating over the prospects of Reed's increased usage.
Starters
Love
Jacobs
Kraft - Fitzpatrick
Reed - Doubs
Walker - Morgan - Rhyan - Monk - TomGary - Wyatt - Clark - LVN
Simmons - McDuffie - Cooper
Nixon - Hobbs
Bullard - McKinneyEvan Williams was in very next play at S.
— Andy Herman (@AndyHermanNFL) July 28, 2025
Reed is currently undervalued in drafts, primarily due to Golden's presence, Tucker Kraft's emergence, and concerns that he will slow down on his torrid fantasy points per target rate (2.63). But he's off the board as a low-end WR4, well below his WR25 and 29 finishes. If he's getting work in two-receiver sets, he's highway robbery at that point in the draft.
Matt said it shouldn’t be difficult to get Matthew Golden and Jayden Reed on the field at the same time (we may or may not have seen that at practice yesterday). Said we could see more Jayden Reed outside or in two WR sets as well depending on the situation.
— Andy Herman (@AndyHermanNFL) July 29, 2025
It's also hard to ignore his touchdown production (17 over two seasons). Widely regarded as a run-after-catch, big-play savant, five of Reed's six receiving touchdowns came in the red zone.
Reed and his now teammate, first-round pick Matthew Golden, are both excellent values in redraft fantasy football leagues. Reed's experience and week-winning capabilities should give him the slight edge over his younger teammate, making him a strong WR to target in this area of the draft.
- Written by Andrew Ball
Travis Hunter, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
RotoBaller PPR Rank: WR 33 Overall 60.0
NFFC ADP: WR 39 Overall 80.7
Hunter's college production was impressive on both sides of the ball, dominating on both offense and defense on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy in 2024. He played one year at Jackson State, then transferred to Colorado for the last two seasons, following coach Deion Sanders.
While playing almost 1,400 snaps, he became the first winner of both the Chuck Bednarik Award (top defensive player) and the Fred Biletnikoff Award (top wide receiver) in college football history. He hauled in 15 touchdown catches with over 1,200 receiving yards.
Travis Hunter last season:
— Heisman Winner
— 96 reception
— 1,258 yards
— 15 touchdowns
— 4 interceptionsWhich side of the ball will he play more of in Jacksonville? pic.twitter.com/VjD0sJ03Qh
— StatMuse Football (@statmusefb) April 25, 2025
The Jacksonville Jaguars moved up to draft Hunter and are ready to lean into his two-way play right away. He spent most of minicamp with the receivers, and he should be a key part of the Jaguars' passing attack. Last year's rookie standout, Brian Thomas Jr., will be the team's top receiver, but Hunter could open as high as second in line for targets.
Veteran passcatchers Christian Kirk, Gabe Davis, and Evan Engram have all left the team this offseason, and Thomas, Hunter, Parker Washington, and Brenton Strange are the key pieces in new coach Liam Coen's offense. QB Trevor Lawrence typically does a good job spreading the ball around, and Hunter could carve out a big timeshare right away.
The big question for Hunter is how much he'll be able to play two ways, and if not, which way the Jaguars will have him lean. He did it extremely effectively in college, but obviously, the NFL is another level, and he'll be in mostly uncharted territory.
I love Hunter's upside as well, though, and he can have a massive impact on the game for the Jaguars in so many ways. He'll also be a good fantasy producer, but could be a little more inconsistent with big weeks and some quieter performances, given that he may occasionally see more time on the defensive side of the ball at times.
However, playing alongside breakout star Thomas, Hunter could have lighter coverage and should be put in an excellent position to find success in Liam Coen's offense. While his floor may seem low, he possesses elite league-winning upside at his current ADP.
- Written by Zach Thompson
Who Should I Draft Tool
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Who Should I Draft? Some common 2025 fantasy football draft decisions are regarding players like Josh Downs, Jayden Reed, and Travis Hunter. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning teams in 2025. Draft your optimal fantasy football teams for 2025. Our free Who Should I Draft? tool will help make your fantasy football draft decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to draft... all free! Make the right decisions.
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2025 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Josh Downs, Jayden Reed, and Travis Hunter. These are some common searches for 2025 fantasy football drafts.
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