Fantasy Football Player Notes

Stefon Diggs tore his ACL last October, which is why he's a relative afterthought in early 2025 fantasy drafts. Diggs is on pace to be ready for the start of the season, and he is immediately going to become Drake Maye's No. 1 receiver in New England. Before his injury-shortened 2024 season, Diggs had topped 1,000 yards in six straight seasons, and he was on a 1,000-yard pace when he got hurt last year. He may not be the same player he was in 2020, when he had 127 catches and 1535 yards and helped Josh Allen make the jump from promising young QB to superstar, but can he be a top-25 receiver? I believe he can be, which is why Diggs is one of my favorite draft targets.

Demario Douglas is a low-end dice roll receiver in the later rounds this season. He was a flex-viable player at times last season. In his ten full games with Drake Maye starting, he had a 16.3% target share, 1.67 yards per route run, a 19.7% first-read share, and 0.079 first downs per route run (per Fantasy Points Data). Nothing jumps off the page there, but he did manage three top 36 wide receiver finishes in those ten contests despite only managing five red zone targets. If Maye takes a big step forward in 2025, Douglas is likely coming along for the ride as a bye-week flex option.

Kyle Williams hive stand up! Williams gained a lot of traction in the fantasy community in the predraft process, with plenty of people hyping up the former Washington State late breakout. I remain a tad below consensus on Williams. Williams didn't surpass 900 receiving yards or 2.25 yards per route run in any collegiate season until 2024 (per PFF). The hope for the Patriots' third-round draft pick is that he can avoid faceplanting like Ja'Lynn Polk and Javon Baker did last year. He'll need to hop Mack Hollins, DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte, and Kendrick Bourne to see the field in 2025 as a full-time starter. He's a late-round flier only right now until we get more clarity about his spot in the pecking order in training camp and the preseason.