PlayerProfiler is home to award-winning dynasty rankings and tools. Our Dynasty Deluxe package includes complete Dynasty Rankings, Rookie Rankings, Trade Analyzer, Draft Planner, Mock Drafts, and more. Check it out. Here, The Podfather himself shares his top free-agency winners for fantasy football from the first week of the 2025 free-agent signing period.
Top Free Agency Winners
After a lot of thought and combing through PlayerProfiler’s Data Analysis Tool. The Podfather has pinpointed the absolute 10 biggest winners for fantasy football from NFL Free Agency.
10. Josh Downs, WR, Indianapolis Colts
-Downs was No. 6 in Targets Per Route Run (Target Rate) in 2024 with 396 yards after the catch in only 14 games played.
–Daniel Jones fed Wan’Dale Robinson‘s 8.4 targets per game in 2024. And we know Anthony Richardson will be both injured and benched in 2025.
9. Kenneth Gainwell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
-Gainwell is more athletic than Jaylen Warren, with a 30-catch NFL season on his resume and a college season with 1400+ yards and 50+ receptions.
–Najee Harris averaged 319 touches per season in Pittsburgh and the Steelers are now much less likely to draft a running back after trading their second-round pick to Seattle.
8. C.J. Stroud, QB, Houston Texans
-Stroud’s top-3 single-game performances came with Stefon Diggs manning the slot in 2024, and his production collapsed in the second half.
–Christian Kirk is the perfect compliment to Stroud and Nico Collins. His 76.8% slot rate was a career-high in 2024. In his first two full seasons with a slot rate above 50% in 2022 and 2023, Kirk averaged 14+ fantasy points per game.
7. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle Seahawks
–Jaxon Smith-Njigba is more than just a slot receiver. He finished Top-12 in targets last season. He led the NFL in slot snaps, and of the players with 60 or more slot targets in 2024, only Davante Adams, Ja’Marr Chase and Drake London commanded more deep targets than Smith-Njigba’s 19.
-Seattle heads into 2025 with 182 vacated targets between Lockett and Metcalf, and the first-round receivers mocked to the Seahawks in Round 1, most likely Matthew Golden, would only create more room underneath for JSN.
6. Jakobi Meyers, WR, Las Vegas Raiders
–Jakobi Meyers set a new career-high with 87 receptions despite a paltry 4.81 Target Quality Rating, which ranked No. 63 in the NFL last season. His 18.0 Expected Fantasy Points Per Game illustrates his upside being paired with a more accurate passer in 2025.
–Geno Smith averaged 4300 passing yards and 26 touchdowns per year in his two full seasons as Seattle’s starting quarterback.
5. Justin Fields, QB, New York Jets
–Justin Fields‘ career was at a crossroads until the Jets sent him a lifeline. With $30M guaranteed, Fields will be a locked-in starting quarterback in 2025.
-With just one wide receiver of consequence on the roster, Fields will be asked to run much more in New York than he did in Pittsburgh. 800 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns are the high end of his range of outcomes.
4. Aaron Jones, RB, Minnesota Vikings
-Jones has multiple top-5 fantasy points per game finishes on his resume (2019 and 2020) and set a career-high in total yards with 1546 in 2024.
-The Vikings were Top-10 in points per game with Sam Darnold at the helm. A multi-year agreement with $13M guaranteed suggests Minnesota is fully committed to Jones for at least the 2025 season.
–Aaron Jones has multiple Top-5 fantasy points per game finishes on his resume (2019 and 2020) and set a career-high in total yards with 1546 in 2024.
-The Vikings were Top-10 in points per game with Sam Darnold at the helm, and a multi-year agreement with $13M guaranteed suggests MIN is fully committed to Jones for at least the 2025 season.
3. Garrett Wilson, WR, New York Jets
–Garrett Wilson has averaged 156 targets as well as 776 unrealized air yards per year through three NFL seasons.
-After suffering through the Zach Wilson era, Wilson continued to struggle with uncatchable passes in 2024 as his 63.9% catchable target rate with Aaron Rodgers ranked No. 92 in the NFL.
–D.J. Moore posted 1364 yards with Justin Fields in 2023, which bodes well for Wilson, who is being drafted at slot 32 in the FastDraft Flex 4 contest.
2. Najee Harris, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
–Najee Harris is a bell cow’s bell cow who averaged 319 touches, including 45 receptions, per season in Pittsburgh
-His $5.25M contract with the Chargers is laced with an additional $4M in incentives.
-The Chargers have invested more first-round capital in their offensive line than any other NFL team in the last five years: Joe Alt (1.05), Rashawn Slater (1.13), Zion Johnson (1.17).
1. Davante Adams, WR, Los Angles Rams
-Posts a Top-5 Target Share every year. Though the aDOT has been declining, Davante Adams‘ 473 yards after the catch in 2024 suggests he still has the juice to win all over the field.
–Cooper Kupp‘s 8.3 targets per game ranked No. 14 in the NFL last season. Stafford finished No. 9 in Pace of Play compared to Rodgers’ No. 25 ranked pace in 2024.
-A faster-paced offense and hyper-consolidated target tree is fueling Adams’ surging best ball ADP. He is up +17 spots in the FastDraft Flex 4 game just in the last week.
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