2025 Fantasy football draft strategy: Tiers, cheat sheet, PPR deep sleepers, best breakouts from NFL expert


                        2025 Fantasy football draft strategy: Tiers, cheat sheet, PPR deep sleepers, best breakouts from NFL expert
By: CBS Sports Posted On: September 01, 2025 View: 1

We are fast approaching the start of the 2025 NFL regular season, and depth charts are firmly taking shape. Predicting 2025 Fantasy breakouts, busts and sleepers goes a long way in determining who will be the champion in your 2025 fantasy football league. There's still movement around the league, but keeping up will allow fans to carve out the best possible team for the 2025 season. Rookies are always a risky option in Fantasy football drafts. 

They usually slip down the boards due to so many unknown factors, but there can be huge upside too. Last season, for example, New York Giants receiver Malik Nabers dominated, ranking fifth in the league in catches (109) and seventh in receiving yards (1,204) with seven touchdowns. He finished as WR8, so who will be the rookie that breaks out in 2025? Before locking in your 2025 Fantasy football draft strategy, be sure to check out the 2025 Fantasy football PPR rankings with deep sleepers, breakouts and best values from SportsLine Fantasy football analyst Jacob Gibbs.

A Fantasy Football Today newsletter writer and Beyond the Boxscore podcast contributor, Gibbs uses a data-driven approach that has helped him consistently provide accurate rankings at every position. He has proven to be one of the nation's most accurate Fantasy rankers in recent years, posting the eighth-most accurate results over the past few seasons, according to Fantasy Pros.

Now, Gibbs has projected every Fantasy-relevant player's stats and shared his exclusive PPR rankings for the 2025 season, along with plenty of sleepers, breakouts and busts. Head to SportsLine now to see them

Top 2025 Fantasy football deep sleepers and breakouts

One of the 2025 Fantasy football breakouts Gibbs is predicting: Falcons receiver Darnell Mooney. After a 1,000-yard season as a sophomore in 2021, Mooney fell off the radar a bit while with the Bears. He then joined Atlanta in 2024 and produced a 64-992-5 stat line, but his prospects are even better this year with Michael Penix Jr. under center. Penix' strong arm is an ideal fit for Mooney's 4.38 speed, and even though the wideout is dealing with a shoulder injury, he's worth a grab at the end of drafts.

"He's also simply too good to be available so late. And even though we have no idea when he'll suit up in 2025, I'm willing to place a bet on Darnell Mooney at a certain point," Gibbs told SportsLine. ..."If you're in a league with I.R. spots available, these vets are fun upside stashes to snag after the first 120 picks."

Another 2025 Fantasy football deep sleeper Gibbs has identified in his 2025 Top 150 PPR rankings: Green Bay Packers receiver Matthew Golden, who is expected to be a big part of the passing attack. Receiver Jayden Reed has a fracture in his foot that could affect him the entire season. Golden will be leaned on and has flashed all throughout the summer. Last season at Texas, he had 58 catches for 987 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. 

"Subjectively, Golden seems like a fantastic fit with how LaFleur likes to design his route concepts," Gibbs said. "And Jordan Love feels like a perfect pairing. Golden's collegiate film showed a frequent separator on the horizontal plane who often had to wait on balls and more often was not seen by a QB who struggled with processing in an offense that was designed around another NFL WR prospect. Love has the arm talent to make any type of throw and the insanity to try it. Subjectively, Golden seems to offer massive splash play potential with this pairing." See which other Fantasy football breakouts 2025 to pick here.

How to find proven 2025 Fantasy football football rankings

Gibbs is also extremely high on a receiver who is not going off in the first round in many drafts, but he says is a top-five player overall. He ranks him ahead of even players like Justin Jefferson and Nico Collins. You can only see who it is, and the 202 Fantasy football rankings for the top 150 Fantasy-relevant players, at SportsLine.

So which 2024 Fantasy Football breakouts and deep sleepers should you target, and which receiver shocks the NFL with a top-five performance? Visit SportsLine now to get 2025, all from one of the most accurate experts in the world, and find out.

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