Who doesn't like a fantasy football hot take before the season begins? This is, in fact, the best time of the year because we don't have too many injuries right now, our hometown teams are still undefeated, and, of course, our fantasy rosters are championship-caliber. 

Whether it's hitting big on a late-round quarterback or finding the running back hidden gem at the end of drafts, here are my bold predictions for the upcoming 2025 season.

Drake Maye finishes as a top-10 fantasy quarterback

For everything that the Patriots lacked in 2024, Drake Maye was actually a pleasant surprise for fantasy football. Maye averaged 223 passing yards and 36 rushing yards in 10 complete starts last season, and he finished as QB22, averaging 13.6 points per game. 

There's a lot of meat left on the bone for Maye. The Patriots came in dead last among NFL teams in supporting cast rankings. Also, his wide receivers ranked dead last in receiving yards (1,723) last season. So considering that they have not only upgraded their offense, but also hired a more seasoned head coach in Mike Vrabel, things should get better in the passing game.

Then there's the rushing upside. In 2024, Maye averaged 4.9 rushes and 36.3 yards per game, but I'm here to tell you he is an exceptional runner, and if he truly gets unleashed this season, we can expect more from him. Quarterbacks that provide rushing yards are desirable in fantasy, and most of the top dual-threat quarterbacks go early in drafts, but Maye is currently going off the board as QB18 on ESPN. That is a screaming value, especially when there’s been talk out of New England that there will be more designed runs for Maye. 

Jordan Mason scores more touchdowns than his entire career combined on his way to Vikings RB1

Sorry, that was a mouthful there. But there was no better way to say that I believe Jordan Mason can score eight touchdowns in 2025 after assuming the lead role for the Minnesota Vikings. Mason had three touchdowns for the 49ers last season and has seven touchdowns for his career, and I loved him landing with the Vikings this offseason.

Injuries played a big role in Mason's year three breakout, but nonetheless, he finished the season with 789 yards and three touchdowns in 12 games while Christian McCaffrey was sidelined. He also forced a missed tackle on a league-high 37.3% of his carries last season (min. 150 carries), according to Next Gen Stats. In Weeks 1-8 (before McCaffrey's return), Mason also led the NFL with 51 missed tackles forced.

I still believe Aaron Jones has juice left in the tank, but he's turning 31 in December and this seems like it's going to be much closer than the Vikings' previous running back splits under Kevin O'Connell.

There also wasn't much production behind Jones in 2024, either. Cam Akers had 297 yards on the year compared to Jones' 1,138 (the Vikings ranked 19th in rushing overall). Minnesota knew it needed to improve the run game for the new-ish quarterback JJ McCarthy, and Mason put them in the right direction. 

I like the idea of Mason complementing Jones in this backfield. We can expect Mason to be more of the early-down grinder, with Jones getting more of the pass-catching work. Mason can handle that physical role, and now the Vikings can hope that Jones will stay healthy throughout the entire season as well. We never want injuries, but right now Mason not only has standalone value in fantasy, but if Jones were to go down, he would have the upside of more touches in a solid offense. 

Emeka Egbuka will be the biggest value pick among wide receivers

Is a top-36 finish really out of the question here for Emeka Egbuka in 2025? Well, some things will have to go his way, but I'm not ruling it out for these bold predictions!

First, the Chris Godwin timeline. We know to usually not trust coaches when it comes to player timelines coming back from injuries, but Godwin feels like he might not be on track to suit up for Week 1. On Aug. 5, general manager Jason Licht said that Godwin was advancing and where they expected him to be at this point, but still "[has] a ways to go." We always see players return from injury slowly, and even with an eventual return from Godwin, the Buccaneers' offense could utilize 3-WR sets, and then all Egbuka drafters will be feeling good.

We also saw Mike Evans go down with a hamstring injury in Week 7 last season, and while he almost feels inevitable to hit that 1,000-yard mark, there's still a chance of injury, especially because he's turning 32 years old this month. 

No matter what, his price on ESPN (129), CBS (120), and Yahoo (116) is just too late. Scoop him up!

George Kittle is the TE1 again with 100+ targets

This might not be the boldest take, but with all the injuries going on for the San Francisco 49ers receivers, I feel like now is the best time to yell from the rooftops that George Kittle is the tight end to have this season. I love Brock Bowers and Trey McBride, but consistently getting Kittle in Round 4 earlier this offseason was so fun.

Of course, his price right now somewhat reflects how good the fantasy community believes he can be. Brandon Aiyuk might not be back until Week 10, Jauan Jennings's calf injury (and contract dispute) is still holding him out of training camp, and Ricky Pearsall seems like he could be the only truly healthy receiver ready to go for the season.

Yes, Pearsall is a guy you want to target in drafts, but the real winner here is going to be Kittle. Last season, he became just the fifth player in NFL history to gain over 1,100 yards on under 100 targets. Imagine what this man could do with 110 targets!

He is one of my most drafted tight ends this season, and if the injury gods continue to wreak havoc on this 49ers team, then there's no reason to believe Kittle won't be one of the most productive players on the team this season. 

We'll look back at Cam Skattebo's price tag and wonder why we didn't draft more

Oh, you thought an injury in training camp was going to stop me from talking about Cam Skattebo? NOPE. Listen, even once the Giants drafted Skattebo, we all figured this would start as a committee with Tyrone Tracy getting the nod as the lead back.

But I don't think it stays that way forever. This Giants team is in desperate need of wins, and with the hardest strength of schedule in the NFL, I think they will turn to Skattebo for the lead role by midseason. His receiving profile alone should make you do a double-take. According to Dwain McFarland, he had a best-season 16% target share and registered a 37% missed tackles forced rate (91st percentile). We're here for the RB2 upside and the Arizona State hype-train.

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