Odunze, McCarthy among favorite breakouts for 2025

The "Fantasy Focus Football" podcast volition statesman doing shows previewing the 2025 play regular starting connected July 28. Field Yates, Mike Clay and Daniel Dopp supply a sensation of what you tin expect by highlighting their favourite breakouts.

Sabrina Carpenter, Shaboozey, Kai Cenat, Cameron Ward: All of them person been breakout stars recently.

In the fantasy football world, we're ever looking for the breakout stars going into the season, truthful I've enlisted the assistance of my pals Mike Clay and Daniel Dopp to present a fistful of players who are acceptable for liftoff.

I'll start, due to the fact that I asked Mike to commencement but helium ne'er responds to my texts.

Rome Odunze, WR, Chicago Bears

On insubstantial past season, Odunze checked immoderate important boxes you are looking for successful a imaginable phantasy starter: He played the second-most snaps among Bears wide receivers and topped 100 targets for the play (he had 101). The reasons for optimism are comparatively straightforward to me: Caleb Williams and the full violative cognition should beryllium overmuch amended this play nether caput manager Ben Johnson, who I firmly expect to maximize Odunze's accomplishment set. Equally arsenic important is Odunze is an fantabulous prospect, arsenic helium was -- successful my estimation -- a beardown worth arsenic the No. 9 prime successful the 2024 NFL draft. He has a unsocial blend of size, speed, route-running acumen and beardown hands that screams aboriginal NFL star, thing that could hap arsenic soon arsenic this season. Mike, if you really spot this, you're connected the clock.

Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Arizona Cardinals

New phone, who dis? The archetypal sanction connected my database is Harrison, a feline we thought mightiness interruption retired arsenic a rookie past season. Expectations were highly precocious for the 2024 4th wide pick, arsenic astir expected contiguous fringe-WR1 phantasy production. Instead, and contempt operating arsenic Arizona's wide No. 1 wide receiver (and No. 2 people down TE Trey McBride), helium was constricted to a 62-885-8 receiving line. Harrison's usage had its positives -- helium ranked 3rd successful the league successful extremity portion targets (17) and ninth successful aerial yards (1,518) -- but helium was afforded zero targets via designed screens and his vertical relation led to an disfigured 54% drawback rate. When the particulate settled, Harrison ended up 41st among receivers successful phantasy PPG. A Year 2 boost -- possibly important -- successful people stock is precise apt (he was astatine 22% arsenic a rookie), arsenic is an improved transportation with Kyler Murray. Harrison was a blue-chip imaginable and it volition beryllium shocking if helium doesn't marque a large leap successful his 2nd season. Oh, and it definite helps that he's cheaper successful drafts this play than helium was 1 twelvemonth ago. Daniel, connected to you.

Caleb Williams, QB, Chicago Bears

Thanks, Michael ... for perfectly nothing. While you were ignoring Field's texts, helium and I were bonding implicit our emotion of the Bears' discourtesy successful 2025. With Field expecting Odunze to instrumentality a leap forward, I'm expecting his backmost to bash the same. Williams enters Year 2 with a caller caput coach/playcaller, 3 caller violative linemen, 2 further walk catchers and a boatload of expectations from fans. While his rookie play had immoderate struggles, we saw glimpses of what made him the archetypal wide pick. He had 8 games with astatine slightest 30 rushing yards and cleared 300 passing yards and 2 touchdowns connected 4 occasions. Now that helium has Ben Johnson controlling the offense, amended extortion up beforehand and a pass-catching radical of Odunze, DJ Moore, Colston Loveland, Luther Burden III and D'Andre Swift, I'm expecting a important leap successful accumulation and consistency, which is besides an country wherever Mike Clay could usage improvement. If you're a believer successful Williams, you tin hold astatine QB and drawback him adjacent the backmost extremity of your drafts. Back implicit to you, Field.

Drake Maye, QB, New England Patriots

Maye played successful conscionable 10 afloat games past season, posting astatine slightest 17.7 phantasy points successful 7 of those 10 efforts. For perspective, that was much games with 17.7 oregon much points than Patrick Mahomes. That was during a play successful which helium played with mediocre weapons astir him and was hardly utilized arsenic a designed runner, arsenic the Patriots did not tally a azygous designed unreserved for Maye until Week 16 against the Bills (his 3 successful that crippled were the lone 3 of the season). Between a overmuch improved supporting formed and the likelihood that Maye is utilized acold much arsenic a designed rusher (and much innovatively arsenic well), the accidental for a breakout is casual to imagine. It's a heavy excavation of quarterbacks this twelvemonth with a clump of intriguing second-year breakout candidates. Maye is among my favourite late-round backmost targets. Mike, bash you person different QB people you similar successful this category?

J.J. McCarthy, QB, Minnesota Vikings

Sure do, my champion friend! I'm going with McCarthy, who is astir escaped successful phantasy drafts this offseason. We cognize coaching matters successful the NFL, and that applies to phantasy arsenic well. Just look astatine the accumulation of Kirk Cousins (2022-23) and Sam Darnold (2024) portion playing successful Kevin O'Connell's scheme. All 3 seasons included a pass-heavy offense. All 3 offenses scored astatine slightest 80% of touchdowns done the air. All 3 seasons resulted successful a top-12 phantasy run (PPG) from the quarterback. McCarthy is evidently a chaotic paper aft missing his full rookie play with a genu injury, but we cognize helium has earthy endowment (he was the 10th wide prime aft all) and helium has a precise bully supporting formed led by Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson. McCarthy has QB1 upside, and helium tin beryllium had precise precocious successful your draft. I'll instrumentality that lottery summons each time long. Daniel, privation to bring america home?

Ricky Pearsall, WR, San Francisco 49ers

I'll adjacent this happening retired and interruption distant from the QB tally that conscionable took place. Things look precise antithetic successful the wide receiver country successful San Francisco to commencement the season. Deebo Samuel Sr. is gone, present paired up with Jayden Daniels successful Washington, and Brandon Aiyuk is sidelined indefinitely, recovering from a torn ACL and MCL. That leaves the WR1 occupation unfastened to Jauan Jennings, who has had 4 games implicit 20 phantasy points successful the past 4 seasons combined, and Pearsall, a first-round prime who had 3 games of astatine slightest 17 phantasy points successful his abbreviated rookie play successful 2025. We each retrieve Jennings' super-exciting 46-point crippled past season, but he's not truly shown helium is simply a existent WR1 connected a accordant ground passim his career. I cognize George Kittle is inactive determination and Christian McCaffrey volition instrumentality distant his just stock of touches, but I wouldn't beryllium shocked if Pearsall has the WR1 relation secured, adjacent erstwhile Aiyuk returns from injury. As a Lions fan, I inactive person nightmares astir Week 17 erstwhile Pearsall dropped an eight-catch, 141-yard, one-touchdown show connected them. A nightmare arsenic a Lions fan, but I'm daydreaming arsenic a phantasy manager. Pearsall has everything you're looking for successful a breakout campaigner with a way to important playing clip successful an discourtesy that's finished seventh oregon amended successful points per crippled 2 of the past 3 seasons. To me, he's a imaginable low-end WR2 oregon high-end WR3 who you tin draught arsenic a WR5 successful the 12th circular of ESPN leagues.