Year 2 player spotlight: Maye, Harrison, Odunze among popular breakouts

It's often stated that sizable maturation is expected from players successful their 2nd NFL season. However, past play was specified a banner twelvemonth for galore rookies, is it excessively overmuch to expect improved accumulation from immoderate of them arsenic we hole for our 2025 phantasy shot drafts?

ESPN Fantasy Football analysts Matt Bowen, Daniel Dopp, Liz Loza and Eric Moody sermon galore of the astir intriguing sophomores below. Who is undervalued successful phantasy drafts? Who are the fashionable breakout candidates? How volition a brace of NFC North signal-callers respond to aggravated scrutiny successful Year 2?

Undervalued

Trey Benson, RB, Arizona Cardinals

James Conner did thing successful 2024 that helium had not been capable to bash successful the erstwhile 7 seasons of his pro career: He suited up for 16 games. While the 30-year-old moving backmost did endure a close genu wounded successful Week 16 (which helium attempted to play done the pursuing week), helium proved to beryllium a accordant shaper for phantasy managers. That doesn't mean Benson, Conner's backup, won't person inferior successful 2025, though. A powerfulness runner with 97th percentile speed, Benson was the 2nd backmost selected successful past year's NFL draft. Coach Jonathan Gannon has already intimated that Benson would apt person a larger relation successful his 2nd campaign, which makes consciousness fixed Conner's wounded past and Benson's accomplishment set. With the fourth-easiest spot of docket among RBs (according to Mike Clay) and presently being selected 158th wide successful ESPN phantasy drafts, Benson is 1 of the highest-upside backups astatine the position. - Loza

Drake Maye, QB, New England Patriots

Maye didn't person the champion rookie play from a earthy numbers perspective, but if you look a small deeper, you tin spot wherefore there's crushed for optimism heading into Year 2. Not lone did helium present six games of astatine slightest 17 phantasy points, helium finished sixth among QBs successful rushing yards per game. Those wheels should beryllium connected afloat show again successful 2025, but this clip helium mightiness not request to usage them arsenic much. Stefon Diggs joins the receiving corps arsenic seasoned presence, and there's excitement astir rookie third-round WR Kyle Williams arsenic well. Maye surely needs to cleanable up his mistakes aft finishing his rookie play with 16 turnovers against 17 full touchdowns, but helium has the imaginable for low-end QB1 upside successful 2025 acknowledgment to his rushing level and new-look offense. - Dopp

Ricky Pearsall, WR, San Francisco 49ers

Pearsall is WR46 successful 2025 drafts, but helium scored 17 points oregon much successful 3 of his 7 games played arsenic a rookie. Plus, successful Weeks 17 and 18, helium had 14 receptions and averaged 23.8 phantasy points. A elaborate way runner who tin supply a vertical propulsion successful one-on-one matchups, Pearsall volition besides get opportunities successful Kyle Shanahan's strategy connected in-breaking concepts disconnected play-action, which pb to large plays. With Deebo Samuel Sr. present successful Washington and Brandon Aiyuk recovering from a genu injury, Pearsall has upside arsenic a imaginable measurement people successful 1 of the NFL's astir heavy schemed offenses. - Bowen

Breakouts

Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Arizona Cardinals

Harrison was the No. 4 prime successful 2024, giving him optimal breakout imaginable successful his 2nd season. He finished 2024 arsenic the WR30 but ranked 3rd successful extremity portion targets (18), ninth successful aerial yards (1,518) and 20th successful full targets (116). A mediocre 59.3% catchable people complaint constricted his upside. With improved QB play from Kyler Murray and a wide WR1 role, Harrison has top-15 phantasy imaginable successful 2025. - Moody

Rome Odunze, WR, Chicago Bears

Odunze averaged lone 8.5 PPG arsenic a rookie, arsenic helium finished with 54 receptions (on 100 targets) for 734 yards and 3 scores. If you look person astatine the tape, though, Odunze started to make much nuance to his way histrion implicit the 2nd fractional of the season. He has the carnal tools and vertical ability, positive helium is present moving with an upgraded Bears discourtesy and playcaller successful Ben Johnson. I expect backmost Caleb Williams to play astatine a higher level and with a greater consciousness of calm nether Johnson, and that volition unfastened the doorway for Odunze to nutrient breakout numbers. - Bowen

Under the microscope

Brock Bowers, TE, Las Vegas Raiders

Repeating a humanities play isn't easy, and that's precisely what Bowers is trying to do. Only 2 choky ends successful NFL history person topped 112 catches successful a season, a fig Bowers deed past play arsenic a rookie. In addition, lone six choky ends person seen the outrageous measurement of 150-plus targets successful a season. It's not that I don't person Bowers ranked arsenic the TE1 heading into the season. I do. But things are precise antithetic successful Las Vegas this season. While helium does person a overmuch amended QB successful Geno Smith, helium besides adds a high-volume teammate successful rookie RB Ashton Jeanty, who should beryllium the focal constituent of this caller Pete Carroll offense. Jeanty is projected to person much than 340 touches, which could surely interaction Bowers' stat line. He tin beryllium deed by regression successful 2025 and inactive beryllium the TE1. - Dopp

Caleb Williams. QB, Chicago Bears

The Bears' brass went all-in connected Williams, intent connected making past year's No. 1 prime the city's eventual savior nether center. Williams flashed astatine assorted points arsenic a rookie, finishing wrong the apical 8 phantasy producers astatine the presumption connected 5 abstracted occasions. Inconsistent play (and playcalling), however, resulted successful a mostly underwhelming season, during which Williams was held to single-digit phantasy totals successful 7 games. Heading into Year 2 with a wholly revamped violative line, the summation of 2 highly touted rookie walk catchers (Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III) and Ben Johnson's originative genius, Williams' concern has markedly improved. He'll request to station top-10 positional numbers to see the experimentation a success. - Loza

J.J. McCarthy, QB, Minnesota Vikings

McCarthy enters 2025 arsenic the Vikings' starting QB aft missing his rookie twelvemonth due to the fact that of a genu injury. Despite having played zero NFL snaps, he'll beryllium asked to pb a pass-heavy discourtesy successful which Sam Darnold and Kirk Cousins each finished apical 12 successful phantasy points per crippled nether caput manager Kevin O'Connell. With elite playmakers specified arsenic Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson, on with an upgraded violative line, McCarthy is successful a beardown violative environment. His collegiate accumulation and mobility presumption him arsenic a breakout campaigner to support an oculus on. - Moody