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6 Fantasy Football League Winners Who Can Define Your Season

Draft These League Winners

We spent countless hours building the 2025 rankings and projections. We’ve hit you with: 

• Sleepers
• Breakouts
• Overvalued players
• Busts

But who are the guys you GOTTA have on your team?

We asked Draft Sharks staffers for their two favorite fantasy football league winners.

The result?

Six guys who could win you a 2025 fantasy championship.

Highlight these dudes on your fantasy football cheat sheet.

Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts

Jared Smola: I’m not ready to call Taylor this year’s Saquon Barkley. But he’s at least giving me Barkley vibes: a super talented back who could have a ceiling season in an improved offensive environment.

And, like Barkley last year, Taylor is available in Round 2 of fantasy drafts.

Daniel Jones to the Rescue?

Taylor didn’t change teams this offseason like Barkley did last year. But it might feel like he’s playing in a brand new offense with QB Daniel Jones.

Nobody in Indianapolis was immune to QB Anthony Richardson’s historically poor 2024 season. Across nine games with Richardson, Taylor averaged 16.8 PPR points. That would have been good for 11th among RBs on the season. Not bad. But not league-winning stuff.

But without Richardson? Taylor was a league winner. In five games with QB Joe Flacco, Taylor averaged a massive 22.1 PPR points per game. That would have edged out Barkley for most among RBs last year.

Daniel Jones is not Flacco. The latter is a pure pocket passer. Jones will scramble and steal some designed runs. But he’s not the rushing threat that Richardson is, especially near the goal line. And he’s a better passer.

Taylor projects for more carries, targets, and TDs with Jones than he would with Richardson. If Jones plays well enough to keep the starting job all season, Taylor could finish as a top-5 fantasy RB ... whom you drafted in Round 2.

Jaylen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins

Matt Schauf: Why would you not want a mid-range WR3 who has already proved he can score well beyond that?

Check this out:

• 2021: WR14 in PPR points per game while setting the rookie record for receptions (104)
• 2022: WR14 in PPR points per game
• 2023: WR22 in PPR points per game
• 2024: WR56 in PPR points per game
• 2025: WR30 in ADP

Congrats, drafters, on kinda getting past last year’s downturn and correcting Waddle’s draft position after QB injuries and offensive issues knocked him down.

But the market hasn’t corrected enough, and that leaves opportunity.

Tyreek Hill’s No Hurdle, Might Provide a Springboard

Waddle might remain Miami’s No. 2 WR this season, but that wouldn’t be a problem. He ran second to Tyreek Hill in 2022 and 2023 and scored just fine. Those seasons -- HC Mike McDaniel’s first two -- found the Dolphins ranking sixth and second (tied) in WR receptions per game.

Last year’s squad slipped to 21st, with Jonnu Smith and De’Von Achane gobbling up many of the targets that found wideouts the previous two years.

Miami jettisoned Smith rather than pay him more after that seeming breakthrough year. Achane remains but enters the season dealing with a lower-body injury.

More importantly, Hill’s dealing with an oblique injury that has cost him nearly all of August, after losing offseason work to recovery from two wrist surgeries. He’s 31 and needs to prove he hasn’t lost a step.

Waddle …

• won’t turn 27 until late November
• has been on the field outside of a minor mid-August injury
• remains at least the clear No. 2 in a pass offense that has seen the top two WRs dominate work in two of McDaniel’s three years
• and has a shot to overtake Hill as the No. 1 WR in 2025.

I’ll take as many shares of that stock as I can get.

Ricky Pearsall, WR, San Francisco 49ers

Shane Hallam: Pearsall’s final two regular season games were simply astounding to watch. He totaled 14 catches, 210 yards, and 2 TDs. He finished as WR7 and WR14 in PPR during those two weeks.

But it goes beyond the numbers. On film, Pearsall did all the little things well to get open and provide easy targets for Brock Purdy.

His ability to fool DBs with his upper body while cutting the other way, physicality off the line to beat the jam, and sharp footwork keeping him at top speed were all elite. It was a master class in how to play WR. Add in Kyle Shanahan’s offense utilizing Pearsall in motion to create mismatches, and he was unstoppable.

I don’t want to ignore his early-season struggles, but let’s also not forget that Pearsall got shot before the season, starting the year on the physically unable to perform list. He still impressively played 76% of snaps in his first NFL game.

Health is my only concern about Pearsall not smashing at his ADP with a track record of hamstring injuries since entering the league.

But I’ll take the elite film on one of the best offensive schemes in the league in Round 8 of every draft.

Kevin English: I think Shane’s spot on. Pearsall’s youth, athleticism, and opportunity all suggest Pearsall can take a Year 2 leap.

George Pickens, WR, Dallas Cowboys

Smola: I pushed for Pickens to be included in our 2025 Breakouts. I evidently didn’t make a strong enough case … so I’ll try again here.

Pickens Is Good

A case for a league-winning player should always start with talent. Pickens isn’t lacking there.

He was a five-star recruit and a top-5 WR in the 2019 draft class. Pickens delivered immediately for Georgia, leading the team in catches (49), yards (727), and TDs (8) as a true freshman. He improved his per-game numbers as a sophomore before an ACL tear wiped out his junior season.

Despite that injury, Pickens went 52nd overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. And, while he never fully busted out in Pittsburgh, he did a lot of good stuff. Pickens averaged a huge 16.3 yards per catch and 9.7 yards per target.

Most importantly, he topped 2.0 yards per route in each of the last two seasons. Only nine other WRs have done that while drawing 50+ targets both years:

• Ja’Marr Chase
• Justin Jefferson
• CeeDee Lamb
• Nico Collins
• A.J. Brown
• Puka Nacua
• Amon-Ra St. Brown
• Mike Evans
• Jayden Reed

The Situation Is Finally Good

So why has Pickens yet to finish better than WR36 in PPR points per game? Because he has played in crappy Steelers passing games.

Here’s where Pittsburgh ranked in key passing categories over the last three seasons:

Now Pickens heads to Dallas, where the Cowboys project to be one of the league’s pass-heaviest offenses. The backfield stinks. And we’ve already seen Dallas throw at a high rate under HC Brian Schottenheimer.

Here’s where the Cowboys ranked in passing with Schottenheimer as OC the last two years:

There will be plenty of volume for Pickens, even as Dallas’ No. 2 WR. He should have no problem smashing his current career high of 106 targets.

And he looks like a perfect fit with QB Dak Prescott. Pickens is at his best working downfield. Prescott, meanwhile, has ranked seventh in Pro Football Focus’ deep passing grade in three of the last four seasons.

Expect Pickens to have his most voluminous and efficient season as a pro in 2025. If he runs hot in the TD department, he could finish as a top-12 fantasy WR.

Jaylen Warren, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

Schauf: You know what I love? A fantasy RB with multiple reward paths.

Let’s Start with the Basics

Warren’s going just 31st among RBs in ADP across formats. (Slightly higher -- RB29 -- if you’re drafting into best ball tournaments.) And each case finds him going later than a guy he already leads on the depth chart.

A healthy Warren ranked 29th among RBs in PPR points per game in 2023, edging then-teammate Najee Harris and setting a seemingly reasonable expectation for his fantasy scoring outlook.

Warren tied for fifth among RBs in targets that year and ranked fifth in receptions but sat just 36th in carries.

Try to Remember That He’s Good at Football

Warren averaged 1.3 more yards per carry than Harris in that emergent 2023 campaign. He ranked eighth among all RBs in yards after contact per carry. He tied for fifth in total missed tackles forced despite that aforementioned No. 36 ranking in total carries. And Warren ranked third league wide in rush yards over expected per attempt.

He delivered not only strong receiving volume, but also terrific rushing efficiency.

Last year brought a big downturn across the board … but also some early-season injuries. Warren handled just four, 11, and four touches over the first three weeks, left that third game with a knee injury, missed the next two weeks, and then played a limited role in Week 6.

From Week 7 on, however, here’s how he ranked among 53 RBs with 50+ carries:

• 10th in yards after contact per attempt
• tied for 15th in missed tackles forced
• eighth in Pro Football Focus elusive rating

Still an effective runner.

The Upside Case(s) for 2025

Warren has run lead in the Pittsburgh backfield throughout the summer. The team let Harris walk in free agency, signed Kenneth Gainwell for a year, and drafted Kaleb Johnson in Round 3.

That rookie continues to lead Warren in ADP across formats, even though he’s trailing Warren and Gainwell in preseason usage. Each of the three exhibitions found Johnson working clearly behind the two veterans.

At the very least, Warren opens the year as Pittsburgh’s top back and most accomplished receiver at the position -- an elevated version of 2023 Warren, with no one playing the Harris role.

Perhaps that gives way to Johnson taking some “Harris” stuff as the rookie develops. But what if he doesn’t do that this year? What if Warren just stays the top back all season, smashing his career high in rushing volume and maintaining the receiving lead?

That just might deliver you a weekly mid-level RB2, with upside into RB1 range … at a low-RB3 price tag. That’s a lot more reward potential than risk.

TreVeyon Henderson, RB, New England Patriots

Hallam: I'm an Ohio State alum, so there might be some bias here. But I’ve been watching Henderson since he was a sophomore in high school. I’m not sure I’ve ever come away unimpressed with his talent.

The speed and athleticism have always been on another level, but Henderson’s quick-twitch ability in open space just makes him incredibly difficult to bring down. He is a home run threat on every touch. He was in college and has been through camp and the preseason.

The Patriots' weapons are subpar after Stefon Diggs. DeMario Douglas, Mack Hollins, Kayshon Boutte, and Hunter Henry don’t scream dynamic playmaker (maybe third round pick Kyle Williams can take the mantle).

OC Josh McDaniels has to realize that he needs to give Henderson the ball plenty if the Patriots want to win.

Henderson was also the fastest player via GPS through two weeks of the preseason. (Blazing that 100-yard kick-return TD helped.)

Henderson’s ADP is climbing, but he could still pay off in the fourth round, even with Rhamondre Stevenson taking early-down work to start the season.

I don’t expect Stevenson to be a significant threat all year to Henderson’s workload.

English: Henderson has flashed his speed and burst this preseason, backing up the hype that started early in training camp. 

The 38th overall pick adds a receiving skill set that should deliver fantasy value right away. Even with WR Stefon Diggs rostered, New England lacks reliable pass-catching depth. Plus, we expect a step forward from QB Drake Maye. 

We’ve seen little camp buzz on Rhamondre Stevenson, too. As of this writing, he's nursing an undisclosed injury that kept him out of the final preseason game. 

Henderson’s not a screaming value in fantasy drafts, but he’s firmly in play as a mid-to-late Round 4 pick in 12-team leagues.

Find Your League Winners

Your league-winning picks depend on all the factors that make your fantasy league unique, including:

• League size
• Starting requirements
• Scoring system
• ADP
• And more

All those variables are factored into customized and dynamic rankings on your Draft War Room.

Get your league-winning cheat sheet.

Next Up

Fantasy Football Draft Guide: 12-Team PPR Draft Strategy

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Jared Smola, Lead Analyst

Jared has been with Draft Sharks since 2007. He’s now Lead Analyst, heading up the preseason and weekly projections that fuel your Draft War Room and in-season tools. He currently ranks ninth among 173 analysts in draft rankings accuracy.