10 Players Who Will Make or Break Fantasy Leagues in 2025

Gary Davenport looks at fantasy football's make-or-break players in 2025

Gary Davenport's 10 Players Who Will Make or Break Fantasy Leagues in 2025 Gary Davenport Published 08/13/2025

© Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images Make or Break Fantasy Players

It happens every year. For better and for worse.

Some folks call them risk-reward. Or boom-bust. But each and every year, some players will either make fantasy leagues or break them.

Some years, those players go absolutely ballistic. Not only do they post high-end fantasy production, but they lay waste to their position like Jason Statham beating up a bunch of rando bad guys.

There are rather a lot of those to choose from.

However, it doesn't always work out that way. For every make-or-break player who explodes into fantasy legend and carries teams to glory on their broad, Statham-esque shoulders, there's another that comes up short of expectations. And by "comes up short of expectations," I mean faceplants at terminal velocity and destroys the entire season while doing it.

Sometimes, there's just no way of knowing who is going to crack heads and who is going to break hearts. No one was rushing out to draft Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown last year--and his second-half surge won more than a few leagues. Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry has been mostly durable over his decade in the NFL, but when his first-half rampage in Tennessee in 2021 was ended by a broken foot, more than a few fantasy seasons went with it.

Still, some players scream "make-or-break" before the season even starts. They're banged up (or have a history of being). The situation they are in is questionable. Maybe their birthday cake sets off the sprinklers at Sizzler.

This isn't to say they are guaranteed to disappoint. Many are just as capable of blowing up. Some can be had at a position of value--even if their price tag is much meatier than anything Sizzler ever served.

Come on. It's to steak what Taco Bell is to, well, tacos.

But fantasy drafters would be well-served to know that some players (including some big names) are playing with fire.

And sometimes when you play with fire...

What the hell did he have in that bucket? Liquid stupid?

Make-Or-Break Quarterbacks

Jayden Daniels, Washington (ADP: QB3)

It's fantasy blasphemy to besmirch the good name of Daniels, and it's not that hard to see why. As a rookie, he topped 3,500 passing yards, tossed 25 scoring passes against just nine picks, ranked just behind Lamar Jackson of the Ravens in rushing yards among quarterbacks, scored half a dozen times on the ground, and ranked inside the top-five in fantasy points among signal-callers.

To be clear, if everything clicks for Daniels in 2025, he can be fantasy's highest-scoring quarterback--he's an MVP-caliber talent. But this is just his second professional season. Terry McLaurin's contract impasse with the Commanders casts a pall over Daniels' passing-game weapons. And while running, scrambling quarterbacks like Daniels are unfortunately always one shot away from a stint on injured reserve.

See Griffin III, Robert.

Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia (ADP: QB4)

It isn't the case as much in fantasy circles as in NFL ones, but Hurts is one of the more polarizing quarterbacks in the game. For every pundit who believes that the MVP of Super Bowl LIX is an ascending young talent and the leader of arguably the NFL's best team, there is another who thinks the Eagles win as much in spite of Hurts as because of him. 

For what it's worth, camp No. 1 is right. So sayeth Peyton Manning.

However, Hurts also didn't exactly light the world on fire last year statistically. Were it not for his gaudy rushing numbers, 2,903 passing yards, and 18 touchdown tosses ain't getting you top-five draft status this season. Hurts was ninth in points at his position in 2024, but second the prior year. Which Hurts shows up this season will mean the difference between potentially being the best value among the elite fantasy quarterbacks or that whole winning in spite of him thing. 

Make-Or-Break Running Backs

Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia (ADP: RB2)

In fairness to Barkley, he has posted a pair of league-winning seasons. The first came as a rookie, when he topped 2,000 total yards and caught 91 passes on the way to an RB1 overall finish. The second came last year, when he led the league in rushing and may well have broken Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record of 2,105 had he played in Week 18. He was RB1 in PPR points per game.

But Barkley isn't "make-or-break." He's just going to break leagues. I have been screaming it from the rooftops since the summer began, and I'm going to keep on screaming it. Barkley is being drafted at his ceiling; he has never had a season as dominant as Christian McCaffrey's biggest years. And just to hit that ceiling, he has to overcome a list of historical precedents that is depressingly long.

But hey...keep hope alive!

© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Fantasy Make or Break Players

Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco (ADP: RB4)

This has to be the least surprising entry in this article. McCaffrey is the unquestioned king of make-or-break players. The ultimate dice roll. When he has been great, McCaffrey has been an unstoppable fantasy force--twice he has scored over 100 PPR points more than any other back. When has he been bad? Well, the first overall pick in many drafts in 2024 missed double-digit games for the third time in his career.

Which McCaffrey we will get in 2025 is anyone's guess. He is reportedly healthy, and the Niners have talked of managing his workload to keep him that way. But less than a month from Week 1, just about every wide receiver in San Francisco is hurt. Given that he has fallen into Round 2 with some regularity of late, it would seem more than a few have their doubts that a 29-year-old CMC can carry an NFL offense again. But if he can, there is no more dominant player in fantasy football.

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