High-Upside Players Experts Draft: Kyle Pitts, Oronde Gadsden II, Evan Engram

Chasing upside is the name of the game when building a championship-winning fantasy football roster. Whether you’re looking for breakout stars, league-winning late-round picks, or high-risk, high-reward talents, targeting players with massive ceilings can be the difference between a good team and a great one. To help you identify this year’s top boom-or-bust candidates, we’ve gathered insights from our collection of Featured Pros experts. These analysts have pinpointed their favorite high-upside players for the 2025 fantasy football season. Check out the guys who could explode and become true difference-makers. Let’s dive into the expert picks.

2025 High-Upside Players

Kyle Pitts (TE – ATL)

“This is going to anger some folks, but … Kyle Pitts. Upside? Pitts topped 1,000 receiving yards as a 21-year-old rookie. Yes, recent seasons have been disappointing, but Pitts comes into the 2025 season healthy and with a year of experience in Falcons OC Zac Robinson’s offense. I’d take Pitts over Dalton Kincaid, Jonnu Smith, and rookies Tyler Waren and Colston Loveland.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (FantasyPros)

Oronde Gadsden II (TE – PHI)

“Let’s take a chance on Oronde Gadsden II. He’s basically free in drafts right now and could eventually win the starting job in a good offense over veterans Tyler Conklin and Will Dissly. He’s more talented than the aforementioned vets, and if he learns the game quickly, he could be in for a surprise rookie season.”
– Zach Greubel (Gridiron Experts)

Evan Engram (TE – DEN)

“Evan Engram is a top-five tight end this season. I’ll draft him over Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, and T.J. Hockenson. Evan Engram could SMASH his ADP this year as Sean Payton’s Joker. Everyone will point to last year as a reason to have worries about Engram, who ranked 20th in yards per route run, but his target-drawing ability was just fine, ranking fifth in targets per route run and third in target share. He was also dealing with shoulder and hamstring issues. Those were his first injuries to deal with during a season since 2021. In Engram’s two previous seasons, he ranked 13th and 14th in yards per route run and second and 12th in target share (per Fantasy Points Data). Also, in 2023-2024, Engram excelled in one of the hallmark metrics that I look at when evaluating talent and upside at the tight end position: yards per route run versus man coverage. In those seasons, Engram ranked fourth and eighth in this metric. Engram’s best competition for targets is Courtland Sutton. Engram could lead Denver in targets this season.”
– Derek Brown (FantasyPros)

“I love the value of Mark Andrews (TE7) this year, but give me Evan Engram as the TE8. Both have the potential to be THE TE1 this season, but only Engram falls into the perfect role in an ascending offense with a QB who will be looking to check down. Andrews is great, but Sean Payton’s Joker role is the one I want to profit from in fantasy drafts. As for a tight end I’ll avoid, it’s Sam LaPorta. Given my love for Jamo (discussed above), LaPorta’s upside appears limited to me. He has the talent, but there are too many mouths to feed in Detroit and too many better options at the position later than the TE4 off the board. I’ll pass.”
– Jeremy Shulman (Fantasy Football Universe)