There is a long-standing philosophy in fantasy football circles that wide receivers leap forward in their third NFL season. In the last few years, the truly elite wideouts have been able to enjoy more immediate success. This shift has made the “third-year breakout” somewhat of a relic.
Still, there is something to be said for third-year wide receivers maturing into more polished players. A better understanding of schemes, as well as trust from the coaching staff, can lead to better results. So let’s look at the rankings of the 2025 crop of third-year wide receivers.
- Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- 2025 Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football ADP
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
Third-Year Wide Receiver Fantasy Football Rankings
Puka Nacua (WR – LAR) | WR4
A player cannot truly be a candidate for a third-year breakout when he was the overall fantasy WR4 in his rookie campaign. Instead, let’s call Puka Nacua what he is — a fantasy stud. As good as Nacua was in his rookie year, he scored more fantasy points per game last year before succumbing to injury.
There are some questions regarding the health of Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford heading into this season. That appears to be the only potential roadblock between Nacua and another WR1 finish.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR – SEA) | WR19
The leap we saw Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba take in his sophomore season in 2024 was the type that we used to see out of third-year wideouts a generation ago. Smith-Njigba was the overall WR48 as a rookie, but finished as the WR10 last year. I may be low on his ranking this year.
Seattle will want to run the ball more than they did a year ago, and there could be an adjustment period with a new quarterback in town. Smith-Njigba also lacked elite productivity compared to some others in his average draft position (ADP) range. His 1.81 yards per route run was tied for 21st among 31 wide receivers with at least 100 targets last year. He will need to maintain elite volume to stay inside the top 10 in 2025.
Zay Flowers (WR – BAL) | WR26
There may not be room for Zay Flowers to make a giant leap forward in 2025, but another small step would suit fantasy managers just fine. Flowers was the WR30 as a rookie in 2023 and the WR24 last year. The biggest impediment to Flowers making a bigger jump this season would be questions surrounding volume and his red-zone role.
Baltimore attempted the second-fewest passes in the NFL last season. And because they are pretty content to feature Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson in scoring territory, Flowers does not get a ton of red-zone looks. A total of 66 NFL wide receivers earned more red-zone targets than Flowers’ seven last season.
Rashee Rice (WR – KC) | WR29
Rashee Rice sure looked as though he was about to make strides towards WR1 status in his second NFL season last year. After finishing his rookie year as the overall WR27, Rice was the overall WR4 through three weeks before suffering a season-ending injury in Week 4. Rice should be healthy entering the 2025 season.
However, a looming suspension leaves Rice’s status in doubt. Rice should be a top-20 fantasy wide receiver on a per-game basis this season. But without knowing the number of games he will miss or where they fall on the schedule, Rice is a WR3 until further notice.
Jayden Reed (WR – GB) | WR44
Jayden Reed is the first player on this list who realistically could make “the leap” in 2025. That might seem odd considering he was the overall WR26 in half-PPR leagues last year. But Reed was wildly inconsistent. As much as we like to talk in terms of overall numbers, the truth is that starting Reed was often a net-negative last year. He only finished as a top-24 fantasy wideout five times in 17 games last season.
Meanwhile, Reed finished with 6.5 or fewer fantasy points seven times. An increased role and talk of more work in 2-WR sets could yield significant results for Reed this year. However, Reed is currently dealing with a foot injury that has his Week 1 status in doubt. If he can quickly return to full health, Reed can be a more consistent weapon this season.
Jordan Addison (WR – MIN) | WR45
Jordan Addison has a little Rashee Rice and Jayden Reed in him, and that’s not exactly a compliment. Like Rice, Addison is facing a multi-week suspension for off-field behavior. Addison will miss the first three games of the season. When he returns, the Vikings will be overseas in Dublin in Week 4 and London in Week 5 before a Week 6 bye. We may not see a full return to form from Addison until Minnesota returns home in Week 7.
This brings me to the Reed comp portion. Addison was the overall WR20 last year. However, he was hardly a beacon of consistency. In 15 games, Addison finished outside of the top 40 seven times and outside of the top 50 five times. He feels like a better option in best ball than redraft, but Addison could easily surpass his current fantasy football ADP when all is said and done.
Josh Downs (WR – IND) | WR51
I should bump Josh Downs up a few spots in my rankings, given the recent news surrounding the quarterback situation in Indianapolis. The Colts have named Daniel Jones the starter over Anthony Richardson. No one should mistake Jones for Patrick Mahomes, but his presence under center should be a boost for Downs.
Downs played seven games with Joe Flacco last year and finished among the top 36 fantasy wideouts in six of them. I am not convinced Jones is any better than Flacco, but Downs is certainly better positioned for weekly status as a fantasy starter than he would be with Richardson. Downs should be a weekly Flex option provided he does not experience any lingering effects from his hamstring injury.
Marvin Mims Jr. (WR – DEN) | WR53
Marvin Mims Jr., like the trio of wide receivers I listed ahead of him, was incredibly inconsistent last year. However, he may be more poised for the textbook definition of a third-year wide receiver breakout than those wideouts mentioned above. Mims was an afterthought early in the 2024 season for the Broncos. He had just 11 receptions for a total of 69 yards through the team’s first 10 games.
Denver made Mims a priority down the stretch, though, and the results were highly favorable. Over his last seven games, Mims caught 28 out of 33 targets for 434 yards and six scores. His 2.57 yards per route run (YPRR) last year was fourth-highest among 84 wide receivers who earned at least 50 targets. Though he lacks elite volume, Mims is an intriguing late-round target who should continue to ascend in an improving Denver Broncos offense.
Cedric Tillman (WR – CLE) | WR60
Your next stop on the third-year wide receiver carousel is the Cedric Tillman Experience. Be careful because it has been quite the bumpy ride. Tillman was largely ignored through the first six games of 2024, much like Marvin Mims Jr. However, with Amari Cooper‘s departure, Tillman was thrust into a larger role and subsequently exploded onto the fantasy scene.
Tillman finished as a top-14 fantasy wide receiver in half-PPR leagues in three consecutive games heading into Cleveland’s Week 10 bye. After a nondescript Week 12 performance, Tillman suffered a concussion in Week 13 and missed the remainder of the season. Tillman could take a step forward in 2025 as the No. 2 WR behind Jerry Jeudy with journeyman Joe Flacco under center. That three-week midseason stretch, however, is unlikely to repeat itself.
DeMario Douglas (WR – NE) | WR66
DeMario Douglas was more consistent as a performer last season in comparison to many of his colleagues. That is not necessarily a compliment either. Douglas was fine as long as you weren’t expecting much. He finished as a top-45 fantasy wideout in half-PPR formats nine times in 17 games. Not bad, right?
The problem is that his ceiling was incredibly low. Douglas finished as a top-30 fantasy wide receiver one time last year. Yes, Douglas finished between the weekly WR31 and WR45 eight times in 2024. He could continue to develop with second-year signal-caller Drake Maye in 2025. However, with New England bringing in veteran Stefon Diggs and rookie Kyle Williams, Douglas may be the odd man out more often than not.
Quentin Johnston (WR – LAC) | WR68
I had no idea until researching this article that Quentin Johnston was the overall WR37 for the season. And I had him on more than one of my teams. In my experience, he was not nearly that good. And as I peruse the game logs, my suspicions appear correct. Fantasy football is often a game of touchdown or bust. But Johnston took that credo to another level.
Johnston scored in seven out of 15 games played last year. He had just one top-48 weekly fantasy finish in the eight games in which he did not find paydirt. If you had a crystal ball and knew when he was scoring, he was great. Otherwise, he was mostly useless. I am treating him in 2025 as a decent best ball buy but little more than bench depth in redraft formats.
Michael Wilson (WR – ARI) | WR69
Michael Wilson has struggled to find fantasy relevance through his first two NFL seasons. Given his body of work, I do not foresee that changing by any drastic measure in 2025. Wilson’s 1.09 YPRR ranked 55th among 58 NFL wide receivers who earned at least 70 targets last year.
With Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trey McBride soaking up targets, there is little room for Wilson to make much of a mark. Fantasy managers would be better served taking a shot on a player with more upside than Wilson offers. hE is a volume play for fantasy purposes, and not a great one at that.
Andrei Iosivas (WR – CIN) | WR85
Fantasy managers thought they might have something when Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Andrei Iosivas caught three touchdowns in a two-game span early in the year. However, it was a whole lot of nothing for Iosivas from then on.
Over his final 14 times, Iosivas earned just 44 targets. Some of that could be attributed to the Bengals having Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase. But Iosivas finished the year 13th among wide receivers in passing snaps and 74th in receiving yards. Not exactly a recipe for a third-year wide receiver breakout. Even if Chase or Higgins were to miss time, it is hard to imagine Iosivas making a considerable impact.
Dontayvion Wicks (WR – GB) | WR90
Green Bay Packers wide receivers Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks combined for 18 drops on just 149 total targets in 2024. Hall of Fame wideout Larry Fitzgerald had 29 drops on 2,335 targets in his career. No wonder the Packers finally bit the bullet and drafted a wide receiver in the first round of this year’s draft.
Of course, fantasy managers are not asking for Hall of Fame production from a player widely available after the 20th round in 12-team leagues. But more consistency out of Wicks would be nice. Wicks must contend with Reed, rookie Matthew Golden and the returning Romeo Doubs for targets in Green Bay’s wide receiver room. A whole lot would have to go right for Wicks to finish the year as a fantasy asset.
Tre Tucker (WR – LV) | WR101
I have Tre Tucker ranked a bit lower than players like Andrei Iosivas and Dontayvion Wicks. That is how I expect them to finish the year. Having said that, if I am drafting one of the three with a late-round pick, it is probably Tucker. He can take the top off a defense with his 4.40 speed.
That speed manifested itself at times last season, as Tucker posted four top-24 weekly fantasy finishes among wide receivers. An upgrade at quarterback with Geno Smith could help Tucker in his third NFL season. On the flip side, the introduction of rookie Dont’e Thornton Jr. and a potential reliance on the run game could prohibit Tucker from being a more consistent fantasy performer in 2025.
Kayshon Boutte (WR – NE) | WR106
Kayshon Boutte finished the year with two top-12 fantasy finishes over the last three weeks. Is that a sign of things to come, the way it seems to be for Marvin Mims Jr.? Not likely. His 7-117-1 Week 18 effort even made Quentin Johnston blush due to its meaningless nature. Joe Milton was New England’s quarterback in that game, and Buffalo rested many of their key players.
Boutte certainly took a huge second-year leap in comparison to his 2023 rookie season, in which he caught two passes for 19 yards. However, as is the case with DeMario Douglas, it may be tough to expect much more out of Boutte this year than we got last year.
Parker Washington (WR – JAX) | WR108
Like a few other third-year wide receivers on this list, it took quite some time for Jacksonville Jaguars wideout Parker Washington to make an impact in 2024. He had just 10 catches for 118 receiving yards through the team’s Week 12 bye. Over his final six games, Washington caught 22 balls for 272 yards and three touchdowns.
However, it may be hard for Washington to carry that level of production into 2025. Jacksonville drafted Travis Hunter and signed Dyami Brown in free agency. That could leave Washington on the outside looking in when it comes to consistent targets. Fantasy managers could do a lot worse at the end of best ball drafts, but Washington is a tough player to make a case for in redraft leagues.
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