The 2024-25 fantasy football season threw every player for a loop. Injuries happened to players in every round of the draft, but the one everyone will talk about next season is Christian McCaffrey who was the consensus first overall pick. Will he stay in the first round with all of the injury concerns? Tyreek Hill a consensus top-five pick in fantasy had his season affected by Tua Tagovailoa’s injury and is expected to leave Miami. Is that going to knock Hill out of the first round? Saquon Barkley reached 2,000 yards this season along with 13 touchdowns, is that enough to move him up from the second round? There are many questions heading into the 2025 season that will shape the first round of fantasy drafts. Disappointing seasons combined with breakout seasons have me thinking the first round of drafts this season will look very different.

1.01 – Jamarr Chase WR Cincinnati Bengals

In a full points-per-reception fantasy league this season, Jamarr Chase finished the season with 403 points, about 70 points over the next closest player, Justin Jefferson. Coming off a triple crown season and a dominant fantasy season in a year, I expect fantasy players will want to draft him as early as possible. No one had the season Chase just had, and no signs pointing toward regression. His counterpart Tee Higgins is expected to depart in the offseason which will vacant over 100 targets. His role is only going to expand and he’s no doubt about it, amongst the most talented wide receivers in the NFL.

1.02 – Saquon Barkley RB Philadelphia Eagles

At the start of the last season, if you were to tell me Saquon Barkley had a good enough season, that he’d jump up to 1.02, I’d tell you, you’re crazy. Going into it, I thought this signing was overrated and Saquon would disappoint a lot of people, especially in fantasy. Safe to say, he proved me wrong. Saquon finished as the running back two this season, running back one if you exclude Week 18. Barkley was able to run for 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns behind the best offensive line in football, proving many haters wrong and showing New York why they should’ve given him the bag. This jump I’m predicting is extreme, but I don’t think it’s unrealistic, Saquon hasn’t even reached his pull potential with the Eagles and could boom even more in the 2025 season.

1.03 – Justin Jefferson WR Minnesota Vikings

Justin Jefferson is and has been considered the best wide receiver in the NFL since he asserted his dominance as a rookie. Jefferson has now proven that he’s quarterback-proof and can work with anyone in Kevin O’Connell’s system. Jefferson caught 103 passes and made 1533 receiving yards, with 10 touchdowns. If Sam Darnold leaves, I don’t see his production going down, but I do begin to have concerns considering the player in line to take his spot is J.J. McCarthy, a former first-round pick. McCarthy has yet to take an NFL snap and is coming off a leg surgery that put him on the sidelines all season. He hadn’t proven much at the college level when it comes to passing the ball, but I have a lot of trust in Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell. He can get the best out of anyone and helped revamp the career of Sam Darnold by providing him with an incredible system.

1.04 – Bijan Robinson RB Atlanta Falcons

Bijan Robinson is coming off an incredible 2nd half of the season where he averaged 22.4 fantasy points after week nine. This seems like an outlook for the future of Robinson, the Falcons began running their offense through him instead of trying to beat teams through the air. He was getting consistent red zone touches and converted on a lot of them. Bijan finished the season with 1,800 scrimmage yards and 15 touchdowns, both are much more than his rookie season totals where he didn’t even eclipse 1,000 rushing yards. I only expect head coach Raheem Morris to rely on him more next season as Michael Penix Jr. continues to develop into a quality starting quarterback in the NFL.