2025 Fantasy Football Fades
Welcome to my 2025 Fantasy Football Fades article!
With the 2025 Fantasy Football season quickly approaching, many of you are diving into draft prep. To help you steer clear of costly mistakes, I’ve highlighted a few landmines in the current FantasyPros ECR that I’m fading at their price. We’ll hit all the key positions: Quarterback, Running Back, Wide Receiver, and of course, everyone’s favorite headache — Tight End.
Quarterbacks
Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers (ECR QB11)
I love his story — ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ coming into the league with no expectations and eventually earning a five-year, $265 million contract. I liked him last year with Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk lining up together.
This year, however, Samuel is in Washington, and Aiyuk is recovering from a torn ACL, likely out until at least October. He still has a reliable target in George Kittle, but your next-best options — Jauan Jennings or Ricky Pearsall — rank WR38 and WR40. At QB11, that’s a lot of risk for the price.
Justin Fields, New York Jets (ECR QB12)
My feelings on Fields have shifted since July. I previously pegged him at consensus QB12, but after seeing him in action, I’m entirely out on him for 2025. You might be thinking, ‘It’s just preseason — isn’t that an overreaction?’ I get it.
But when you compare him to other QBs in his range — Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert, Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and even C.J. Stroud — they offer more bang for your buck based on ADP. Fields still has a solid rushing floor, but you can get a higher ceiling with Caleb Williams. Drake Maye even offers sneaky rushing appeal, having finished QB9 in rushing last season with 421 yards.
Running Backs
Breece Hall, New York Jets (ECR RB15)
My stance on this Jet hasn’t changed — I can’t justify spending a fourth-round pick on an RB with so many red flags. He was RB18 in carries last year behind a non-mobile quarterback in Aaron Rodgers. With Fields under center, his rushing volume will likely drop, since Fields will take off whenever he can.
Hall was also limited in red-zone opportunities, finishing RB25 in attempts. Add in camp buzz about Braelon Allen looking strong and getting more touches — plus he’s the bigger back with a similar TD rate. I’d rather wait and grab Braelon Allen eight rounds later.
Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers (ECR RB17)
I get the hype — Hampton has the draft capital and lands in a great scheme with Greg Roman, who loves to run the football. That said, Roman also likes to use multiple running backs. Back in Baltimore, he split snaps with Gus Edwards (42.4%) and Justice Hill (40.6%).
In Los Angeles last year, JK Dobbins took the lion’s share of touches, but Edwards still saw a healthy 35.3% of snaps. I expect Najee Harris to eat into Hampton’s role, potentially creating a near 50-50 RB tandem in LA. At RB17, that’s a steep price for a late third-round to early fourth-round pick.
Joe Mixon, Houston Texans (ECR RB31)
Mixon’s ongoing foot injury, which occurred before camp even opened, has caused a sharp drop in his ranking. I admit, I was scooping up shares of him over the summer in best ball, but I have since cooled off. Beyond the injury concerns, the offensive line remains a question mark, despite the team addressing some issues in the offseason.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Mixon ends up being shut down, possibly needing surgery to repair the foot. There are just too many areas of concern to draft him at RB31. You could swing for the fences on rookie Kaleb Johnson or target backup RBs with defined roles. Guys, I’m thinking about including: Jordan Mason, JK Dobbins, or Cam Skattebo.
Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland Browns (ECR RB39)
It’s been a roller coaster start to Quinshon Judkins’ young career. He remains unsigned despite his domestic violence charges being dropped, and I’m eliminating him from my boards entirely, even if he signs and ramps up for the season.
The NFL could still suspend him under the personal conduct policy, and he’s missed all of training camp — a huge setback for any rookie trying to earn playing time. He could get off to a slow start, or worse, be outplayed to the point that Jerome Ford or fellow rookie Dylan Sampson sees more snaps.
Wide Receivers
Rashee Rice, Kansas City Chiefs (ECR WR31)
It’s not a question of if he’ll be suspended, but when and for how long. It was initially thought that the NFL would impose a 10-game suspension. However, with that being said, we found out earlier this week that he will be suspended for the first six weeks of the NFL season, making him even more of a fade for me in drafts this season. I understand the importance of winning in the fantasy playoffs, but you have to make it to the playoffs first.
Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints (ECR WR 32)
Is anyone excited about this Saints offense? The quarterback battle between Spencer Rattler and rookie Tyler Shough isn’t exactly inspiring (oh joy). Olave remains talented, but another head injury could put him in dangerous territory — he’s already had multiple scares early in his career.
At WR32, I’d rather pivot to players like Rome Odunze, Ricky Pearsall, or Jordan Addison. I wouldn’t even be opposed to waiting a whole round later on Deebo Samuel.
Jerry Jeudy, Cleveland Browns (ECR WR33)
I’m not buying Jeudy’s “breakout” season in 2024. While he saw 145 targets and posted 90 catches for 1,229 yards, his production was outlier-driven—377 of those yards came in just two games (Saints, Broncos). Without those spikes, he looked more like a middling WR3, finishing WR28 or worse in 11 weeks.
With Joe Flacco under center to start 2025, there’s added risk. Flacco locked onto David Njoku in 2023 (373 yards and 4 TDs in his final four games), and history shows Flacco has always leaned on his tight ends.
At WR33, I’d rather pivot to players with steadier week-to-week roles—veterans like Stefon Diggs and Jakobi Meyers, or rookie Emeka Egbuka, who could benefit from Jalen McMillan’s recent neck injury.
Travis Hunter, Jacksonville Jaguars (ECR WR34)
I didn’t realize I literally faded a whole tier — even though I love Travis Hunter as both a player and a person.
That said, I think he’ll end up playing more on defense than many are expecting. In the preseason opener against Pittsburgh, he logged 11 snaps on offense and eight on defense.
The Jaguars didn’t trade a future first-round pick to Cleveland just to line him up as a traditional wideout. They made that move because Hunter is a unicorn. Even though he was an ironman in college, I’m not willing to spend WR3 draft capital on someone who could have his offensive snaps capped.
Tight Ends
Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers (ECR TE10)
Jordan Love has plenty of capable pass catchers in this offense, and he tends to distribute the ball evenly. Last year, Jayden Reed led the team with 75 targets, followed by Dontayvion Wicks (74), Romeo Doubs (71), and then Tucker Kraft (65).
If I’m drafting a top-10 tight end, I want a player who has a path to being second on the team in targets. Think Tyler Warren, Dalton Kincaid, or Kyle Pitts Sr. (I know, I know… we say this every year). Kraft just doesn’t have that upside, making him a fade at TE10.
Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles (ECR TE14)
Goedert isn’t an exciting draft pick, even at TE14. I don’t see him cracking the fringe of TE1 this season. With so many weapons in the Eagles’ offense, he’s likely the fourth option at best. Even in goal-line situations, you have to factor in the infamous—or, if you’re an Eagles fan, famous—tush push to get Jalen Hurts into the end zone.
Since 2021, Goedert’s yardage has trended downward, making him a classic “falling knife.” Let your leaguemates waste a draft pick on him while you target more stable options.