3 Fantasy Football Bold Predictions for Quarterbacks (2025)

When it comes to fantasy football, the conservative approach tends to result in a middle-of-the-pack finish. If you stick purely to ADP, you’ll just be drafting the players that the rest of the people in your league think are good, too. And that’s a great way to finish in fifth place. If you want to win your league, you have to be bold and take some chances. Sure, some of them won’t work out. But the right mix of solid picks and high-upside swings could result in a championship roster come January. That’s where our FantasyPros analysts come in. We cast a wide net and came up with several fantasy football bold predictions for the 2025 season.

The primary objective of bold predictions isn’t to get them exactly right; it’s to highlight the players with a strong chance to produce an outlier season and paint a picture of what that ceiling or floor looks like and why it could happen. Read on for our analysts’ bold fantasy football predictions.

Fantasy Football Bold Predictions

What is one bold fantasy prediction for the 2025 season, and why could it happen?

Dak Prescott (QB – DAL)

“Dak Prescott can finish QB1 this season. Is it an uphill climb? Of course! Without his mobility, it’s going to lean heavily on his arm. However, the Dallas Cowboys have a limited run game, a defense that wants to create turnovers, and a trio of pass catchers (CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Jake Ferguson) ready to help elevate Dak’s stats. They will need to throw to win, and we have seen Dak take fantasy by storm before.”
– Joe Pepe (Beyond The Gridiron)

Drake Maye (QB – NE)

“Drake Maye finishes as a top-5 fantasy quarterback. We know that rushing ability is a cheat code for quarterbacks, and Maye has the potential to put up exotic rushing numbers. Take out the Week 18 game in which he only played one series, and Maye averaged 37.2 rushing yards per start, which works out to 632 rushing yards over a full season. I think Maye could get to 800 rushing yards in Year 2 based on how aggressively he ran in college. As a sophomore, he had 698 rushing yards — and remember that college quarterbacks have sack yardage deducted from their rushing yardage. Maye lost about 200 yards in sacks that year. And Maye only had two touchdown runs last season. In two seasons as a college starter, he had 16 touchdown runs in 26 games. Maye was competent as a passer last year (67.2% completion percentage, 6.7 yards per attempt) despite having one of the worst supporting casts in the league. The Patriots have diligently upgraded their offensive line and WR corps. The second-year breakout is coming. Buy your tickets while they’re still cheap.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (FantasyPros)

J.J. McCarthy (QB – MIN)

“J.J. McCarthy will be the QB6 in fantasy points per game this season. I could have easily just said, “McCarthy will be a top-eight fantasy quarterback,” but I wanted to get more specific with this one. The top five fantasy quarterbacks are cemented this year, and I don’t really have any pushback about any of them, so I’m sliding in McCarthy as the next best thing. In Weeks 1-17 last year, Sam Darnold was the QB8 in fantasy points per game. I fully believe that McCarthy is a better quarterback and can outdo that production in 2025. Minnesota will remain a pass-happy offense after ranking eighth in neutral passing rate and third in pass rate over expectation last year (per Fantasy Points Data). The skill player cupboard for McCarthy is fully stocked. McCarthy proved in his final collegiate season that he has the talent to make the most of this situation. In his final collegiate season, McCarthy ranked inside the top 12 FBS quarterbacks in passing grade, adjusted completion rate, yards per attempt, adjusted completion rate with downfield throws, and against pressure (per PFF). J.J. szn is here, and it’s glorious.”
– Derek Brown (FantasyPros)