Best Surprises from 2025 Fantasy Football

Fantasy sports news, analysis, and waiver wire advice.

By Fantasy Roundup · January 22, 2026

Written by: William Dempsey Every year there are surprises in fantasy football. It never fails and so many people only focus on the bad; but not us. Let's take a look back at all of the good surprises we had in the 2025 Fantasy Football season. I have a feeling there are some performers that you may have overlooked, and if you want to either keep that crown you fought hard for, or take down the tyrant that won in your league, it's vital you get ahead of the others and that all starts with looking at the great surprises that occurred this year. QB: JACOBY BRISSETT (ARIZONA CARDINALS - QB) | 18.68 PPG | RANK #18 This whole year I haven’t been able to stop talking about how good Jacoby Brissett has been, especially for your fantasy football teams. From week 6 to week 15, Brissett's lowest points in fantasy football was 18.68. He was the most consistent quarterback you could have in fantasy. Even the best of the best weren't that steady. We often get caught up in wanting our players to have major boom weeks, so we overlook smart plays like Jacoby. Consistency is key in fantasy football, anyone can have a random boom week and chasing those performances can lead you to a Denny's eating pancakes for the most miserable 24 hours of your life. JAXSON DART (NEW YORK GIANTS - QB) | 17.26 PPG | RANK #16 The young gun Jaxson was darting all around the field this season and throwing bullseyes left and right. After New York Giants fans were pleading to get Russell Wilson off the field, Jaxson Dart got his chance to shine for the season and he just did that. The New York Giants were completely confident in his throwing, but his true threat came from his on the fly decision making and his ability to pick up both yards and touchdowns with his legs. Considering the Giants were playing without their star receiver, Malik Nabers, Jaxson performed exceptionally well with what he had. His average of 17.26 points in fantasy football should tell you everything you need to know about this kid. DANIEL JONES (INDIANAPOLIS COLTS - QB) | 17.42 PPG | RANK #14 Absolutely no one had Daniel Jones being as lethal as he was on their bingo card. Coming into the year we didn't even know who was going to have the starting job for the Indianapolis Colts. Daniel Jones went out there and was partially responsible for the great start they had to the season. His importance to the Colts offense cannot be understated. The moment he went down with his Achilles injury the offense as a whole started to look a little dysfunctional. Jonathan Taylor’s major booms almost completely stopped and Tyler Warren went from being a top three tight end to being a solid start. He averaged a staggering 17.4 points in fantasy football. Let's hope for a healthy recovery for Daniel Jones, and also give him his flowers for showing that he can still be a starting quarterback in the NFL. HM: Trevor Lawrence (JAX), Matthew Stafford (LAR), Caleb Williams (CHI) RB: JAVONTE WILLIAMS (DALLAS COWBOYS - RB) | 15.18 PPG | RANK #8 Without a doubt the most surprising top ten running back in the 2025 fantasy football season was Javonte Williams. Typically when your team is not so good, the run game starts to struggle. However that wasn't the case for Javonte and the Cowboys, as the offense was never the issue for them. It was that wretched defense. I thought I was going to have to dust off the cleats and show them why I was called Ray Lewis in the 3rd grade. With Dak Prescott, George Pickens, CeeDee Lamb and Jake Ferguson, marching down the field was rarely an issue, which allowed more red zone work for Javonte Williams. Though his production didn't come from having a lot of touchdowns, he averaged 4.8 yards a carry on the year. The Dallas Cowboys may have found themselves another star. JAMES COOK III (BUFFALO BILLS - RB) | 17.78 PPG | RANK #6 James Cook deserves a round of applause along with some apologies. Many people, including myself, expected regression for James. The 16 touchdowns Cook had in 2024 seemed like something he wasn't going to be able to reproduce, but he proved us all wrong. James Cook had 12 touchdowns this year, but he destroyed the gap of touchdowns by recording 610 more rushing yards this year compared to last year. His average of 5.2 yards a carry is among the best this season. He looked like a true Bison when he plowed through some of the best defenses this year. James Cook proved that he really is that guy in the 2025 fantasy football season. RICO DOWDLE (CAROLINA PANTHERS - RB) | 12.72 PPG | RANK #14 During Rico Dowdle’s short stint as the main running back for the Carolina Panthers due to Chuba Hubbard's injury, he looked like he was actually the greatest running back to ever exist. In back to back games Rico recorded 206 yards on 23 attempts coming to an average of 9 yards a carry and followed that up with 183 yards on 30 attempts coming to an average of 6.1 yards. Those numbers are unbelievable, especially in succession. Unfortunately, for some mystical reason the Carolina Panthers decided that they should use both of the running backs in a committee rather than using the clearly better option. Nonetheless, what Rico Dowdle did this year is impressive and we should all keep an eye out for any changes for either him or the Carolina Panthers. HM: Quinshon Judkins (CLE), Kenneth Gainwell (PIT), Travis Etinenne Jr. (JAX) WR: CHRIS OLAVE (NEW ORLEANS SAINTS - WR) | 16.75 PPG | RANK #8 Efficient? God no, at least not for the first eight weeks of the season where he averaged a mediocre 10.1 yards per reception. He was a viable play during that span purely because of the sure volume he was getting. However, that quickly changed once the New Orleans Saints took a chance on their 2nd round pick quarterback, Tyler Shough. From his second game on with Tyler Shough, the prodigy Olave averaged 14.1 yards per reception. The story of Olave’s career has been the unfortunate tale of his immense potential not being fully used at the Saints. Of course the biggest factor in that was the awful quarterback situation he was having to deal with. That tale is being rewritten and the future for not only Chris Olave, but also the Saints, has the chance to change for the better. DAVANTE ADAMS (LOS ANGELES RAMS - WR) | 15.92 PPG | RANK #6 We really shouldn’t be too surprised that one of the best wide receivers ever, Davante Adams, had an amazing season both in the actual sport but also in fantasy football. It's even more impressive when we think about the fact he was the second option behind the most targeted wide receiver in the league, Puka Nucua. That didn't matter for Davante because the Los Angeles Rams turned him into the biggest red zone threat in the whole league. The legend finished with 14 touchdowns in the regular season. Him and Stafford together were deadly and so electrifying to watch throughout this fantasy football season. MICHAEL WILSON (ARIZONA CARDINALS - WR) | 12.92 PPG | RANK #22 During the season there were times I thought my eyes were deceiving me because from week 11 on, watching Michael Wilson felt like I was seeing the reincarnation of 2008 Larry Fitzgerald. Being great means you have to strike while the iron is hot, and that's exactly what Michael did when Marvin Harrison Jr. went down with his heel and foot injuries. His connection with Jacoby Brissett was not in question, and after week 11, Michael Wilson averaged 96.8 yards a game, and hauled in six touchdowns. If he can start next year with the same fire he ended this year with, we have a new fringe wide receiver one on our hands. HM: Michael Pittman Jr. (IND), Wan’dale Robinson (NYG), Jameson Williams (DET) TE: HAROLD FANNIN JR. (CLEVELAND BROWNS - TE) | 11.65 PPG | RANK #8 Usually there is only one star tight end that comes out of the draft, but that's not the case this year. Harold Fannin Jr. was pretty good considering the situation he was put in. That's not to mention him competing with David Njoku, who has been a quality option for any quarterback. If the rumors of Njoku not returning to the Cleveland Browns next year are true, Harold Fannin Jr. is in prime position to be a top five tight end for fantasy football. JUWAN JOHNSON (NEW ORLEANS SAINTS - TE) | 10.58 PPG | RANK #10 Juwan Johnson and Chris Olave have both been living the same life this year. This senior tight end has had a resurgence with a component quarterback throwing him the ball. Juwan recorded 341 (889 total) more receiving yards this year compared to the 548 yards he had in 2024. Who knows? Next year we might see more viable options at the tight end position, closing the major gap of the top three. Let’s just hope those aging knees can hold up. HM: Jake Ferguson (DAL), Kyle Pitts (ATL), Dallas Goedert (PHI)

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