16 Fantasy Football Risers & Fallers (2025)

When preparing for your fantasy football drafts, knowing which players to target and others to avoid is important. The amount of information available can be overwhelming, so a great way to condense the data and determine players to draft and others to leave for your leaguemates is to use our expert consensus fantasy football rankings compared to fantasy football average draft position (ADP). And even ADP can lag as you prepare for your draft, making it difficult to know when to draft the top trending players. We have you covered with Real-Time ADP! Unlike traditional ADP, Real-Time ADP quickly detects changes in a player’s average draft position. Instead of showing you where players were drafted yesterday, Real-Time ADP shows you where they’re being drafted now.

Let’s look into a few notable fantasy football draft risers and fallers based on Real-Time ADP.

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Fantasy Football Draft Advice: Risers & Fallers

Here are fantasy football draft ADP risers and fallers based on Real-Time ADP.

Fantasy Football ADP Risers

With seventh-round rookie RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt drawing raves in Washington’s training camp, the Commanders traded Brian Robinson Jr. to the 49ers for a sixth-round draft pick. Robinson will probably be the top backup to 49ers lead RB Christian McCaffrey, although the San Francisco RB room also includes second-year man Isaac Guerendo and rookie Jordan James. There’s zero stand-alone value for Robinson now, but he appears to be the preferred handcuff for McCaffrey and would have considerable upside in Kyle Shanahan’s RB-friendly system if CMC were to go down.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

The Cleveland Browns took Quinshon Judkins early in the second round of this year’s draft and will probably use him as their lead back, though he’ll have to fend off competition from veteran Jerome Ford and fellow rookie Dylan Sampson. A powerful, decisive runner with good contact balance and nifty feet, Quinshon Judkins had 1,567 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns as a true freshman at Ole Miss. His last two college seasons were good but not quite as awe-inspiring. The limitation of the Cleveland offense could keep Judkins’ fantasy value in check this year, but he has a chance to provide RB3 or flex value, if not more. A domestic violence arrest kept the Browns from signing Judkins in time for the start of training camp, but with no charges forthcoming, there is no danger of Judkins missing the season.

Over the last four years, Joe Mixon has averaged 1,377 yards from scrimmage and 12.3 touchdowns per season. But Mixon is heading into his age-29 season and dealing with a foot issue that landed him on the reserve/non-football injury list, which means he’ll miss at least the first four games of the season. It’s also possible he’ll cede some snaps to rookie Woody Marks on passing downs and to veteran Nick Chubb on early downs. Plus, the Texans have one of the league’s worst offensive lines. There are a lot of storm clouds here — probably too many to warrant spending a draft pick on Mixon.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

Tyjae Spears had an injury-filled 2024 campaign. He dealt with two concussions, a hamstring strain, and an ankle sprain. This cost him four full games and limited him in others. In Weeks 1-14, with Tony Pollard playing his normal role, Spears had a 20-46% snapshare and averaged 7.6 touches and 30.6 total yards. All of the injuries likely played a part, but Spears’ per-touch efficiency cratered last season as he had just a 2.4% explosive run rate, 11% missed tackle rate, and 2.30 yards after contact per attempt (per Fantasy Points Data). After the strong 2024 season from Pollard, Spears will likely only play a complementary role for Tennessee again in 2024 and serve as Pollard’s direct backup/handcuff. I don’t have a ton of interest in drafting him this season as he’s already dealing with a high ankle sprain that could linger into the regular season.
– Derek Brown

Isaac Guerendo was poised to be among the most valuable handcuff RBs in fantasy football this year as the presumed backup to the oft-injured Christian McCaffrey, who played only four games last year. But an Aug. 22 trade that brought ex-Commander Brian Robinson Jr. to San Francisco put Guerendo’s role in doubt. Guerendo showed some intriguing flashes as a rookie. When he made his first two NFL starts in Weeks 14 and 15, he rolled up 203 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in those contests. But Guerendo now appears to have little redraft value for 2025.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

Fantasy Football ADP Risers

The Jets want to run the football in 2025 with a stable of RBs. And that means we could see a lot of second-year RB, Braelon Allen. Allen earned a role as an extremely young rookie last season (20 years old), despite Breece Hall being healthy to start the season. Allen is a no-nonsense rusher and could very much be the “David Montgomery” in the Jets’ offense under new OC Tanner Engstrand (formerly of the Lions). Allen converted on 11 of his 12 carries on 3rd-1 last year, a 91.7% rate that was not only the best among all NFL backs in 2024 but the best by any back from 2021-24 (Jets.com). Expect with Justin Fields under center for Allen to take full advantage of wide-open rushing lanes. Allen has also been “as advertised” throughout the offseason, drawing rave reviews out of Jets’ training camp. He is going to have a role in the offense (1A-1B RB situation), and it could grow exponentially if Hall were to get injured or traded.
– Andrew Erickson

With Joe Mixon’s health up in the air, Nick Chubb could be Houston’s lead back in 2025 if he can stay healthy. Last year, before he was lost again to a foot fracture, he looked like a shell of his former self. Chubb only had a 2% explosive run rate, a 10% missed tackle rate, and 1.96 yards after contact per attempt (per Fantasy Points Data). These numbers are all basement-level efficiency metrics. Hopefully, he improves upon these numbers in 2025, but with his lengthy injury history at age 29, it’s far from certain. Chubb could easily be a weekly RB2/3 because of volume this season, even if he’s inefficient along the way. Chubb is a decent late-round option in drafts this year if you’re trying to catch up at RB.
– Derek Brown

A seventh-round rookie, Jacory Croskey-Merritt has been a revelation in training camp and seems poised to become the Commanders’ starting RB. Croskey-Merritt, who goes by “Bill,” has an unusual college production profile that included stints at Alabama State, New Mexico and Arizona. While the college production was nothing special, Croskey-Merritt’s athleticism stood out at his pro day, where he clocked a 4.45 and high-jumped 41.5 inches. This surging rookie RB warrants mid-round attention in fantasy drafts and has a chance to be a pleasant surprise.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

Tyler Warren got the ballyhooed first-round draft capital that we all figured he would. The landing spot is rough, though. Indy has a ton of talented pass-catching options that will push Warren weekly for target volume. Michael Pittman and Josh Downs presumably will be above him in the target pecking order. I still love Warren as a player, but I’m worried that he could struggle to live up to the hype that his talent has deserved. The passing volume, quarterback play, and receiving depth chart are all big-time concerns for his 2025 outlook. Last year, Indy had the third-lowest passing rate inside the red zone and in neutral game environments. During his final collegiate season, Warren ranked in the top three among tight ends in yards per route run, receiving grade, missed tackles forced, and yards after the catch (per PFF). Warren is a TE2 that could easily finish as a TE1.
– Derek Brown

Austin Ekeler has an ADP in low-end range, but he was productive when healthy last year and is playing in an exciting, up-and-coming offense in Washington. Ekeler scored double-digit PPR points in 8-of-12 games last season and finished RB31 in fantasy points per game. When Brian Robinson Jr. missed a pair of midseason games with a hamstring injury, Ekeler had 134 yards from scrimmage and scored three touchdowns in those two contests. I’m not expecting a return to the high-end RB1 days for the 30-year-old Ekeler, but I think he’s a value in the later rounds. Ekeler’s value shouldn’t be affected by the emergence of seventh-round rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who could replace Robinson as the Commanders’ primary early-down back.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

Ollie Gordon, the big, bruising back out of Oklahoma State was selected by the Dolphins in the sixth round of the NFL Draft. He had a disappointing 2024 season, but the year prior, he ranked 39th in yards after contact per attempt and seventh in breakaway percentage (per PFF). Gordon is pushing Jaylen Wright for the RB2 spot on the depth chart, as he has entered the late-round handcuff discussion for fantasy. He’s a decent dart in the final rounds of your drafts. He could easily be a touchdown-dependent flex early in the season.
– Derek Brown

Emeka Egbuka lands in a crowded but intriguing spot in Tampa Bay after being selected 19th overall – a clear sign the Bucs believe in his long-term upside, even with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin still on the roster. A polished, reliable slot weapon, Egbuka became Ohio State’s all-time receptions leader and broke out as a sophomore after replacing Jaxon Smith-Njigba in 2022. While he never truly operated as “the guy” in college, his consistent production alongside NFL-level talent speaks volumes. Target competition may also not limit his redraft appeal anymore, with Jalen McMillan out for over half the season and Godwin unavailable until October.
– Andrew Erickson

Last year, Tucker Kraft stepped up as Green Bay’s clear present and future starting tight end. The South Dakota State alum finished as the TE14 in fantasy points per game in the Packers’ run-heavy offense. Green Bay loves its committee approach with the passing game, so it’s tough to see Kraft becoming a high-end target earner in this offense, but he has the talent to do so. Last year, among 47 qualifying tight ends, Kraft ranked 20th in target share and 27th in first read share, but he posted top 12 marks in receiving yards per game (12th-best), yards per route run (seventh), missed tackles forced (third), and yards after the catch per reception (first). Green Bay did feed him an 18.5% designed target rate (second-best among tight ends), but he wasn’t the first option on many passing plays. Kraft proved he has the talent to take the next step and become a focal point if the Green Bay offensive design changes in 2025. Kraft is a wild card TE1.
– Derek Brown