I was looking at the top 20 fantasy WRs late last night. It kind of sums up where things stand for managers as we reach the 2025 fantasy season's final stages.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba (#1) is coming off a 4.3-point performance. George Pickens (#2) disappointed on Thursday, and Amon-Ra St. Brown (#3) was better but not his usual "great" self. Puka Nacua (#4) is averaging only 14.9 points in his last six games -- barely half of the 26.8 points he averaged in the first five weeks. Ja'Marr Chase (#5) only recently got Joe Burrow back, though it might be too late for some managers.
Davante Adams (#6) has 11 TDs in his last six games and hasn't exceeded six catches in any contest; his floor is deceptively low. Chris Olave (#7) is questionable and a significant risk of sitting down the stretch. Drake London (#8) is out and also a risk of remaining out. Tetairoa McMillan (#9) and Wan'Dale Robinson (#10) are on bye.
Emeka Egbuka (#11) is averaging 9.7 points since Week 6. Nico Collins (#12) has been terrific, but is a weekly low-probability scorer. Michael Pittman dominated for most of the first two months and is now practically unstartable. Jameson Williams (#14) and AJ Brown (#15) are hit-or-miss, where the misses are devastating for managers.
CeeDee Lamb (#16) suffered his second injury on Thursday and hasn't come close enough to his 2023 dominant form. Jaylen Waddle (#17) has a low ceiling despite being Miami's only "great" pass-catcher. DeVonta Smith (#18) is hit-or-miss in a run-friendly offense. Ladd McConkey is hit-or-miss in a crowded receiver corps, and in a recently diminished aerial attack. And Justin Jefferson (#20) needs to get out of Minnesota, or else Minnesota needs to get him a half-decent passer in 2026.
While there are a few big hits, too many are slumping or simply underperforming compared to preseason ADP. Managers need dependability in the most important month of the fantasy season. In the absence of such reliability, there's more pressure on other positional players to pick up the slack. Hopefully many of you have enough roster depth to pick up that slack. That might prove to be the difference today.
Good luck.
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