- RB D’Andre Swift, Chicago Bears: Swift is primed to handle a career-high touch count, playing in a significantly improved offensive environment.
- WR Garrett Wilson, New York Jets: Wilson enters 2025 with softer target competition than he had the year prior.
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Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
The 2025 NFL Draft and its ensuing undrafted free agent-signing phase are complete, and multiple high-profile NFL veterans exited the draft with their roles almost entirely unchanged, if not outright improved.
The article below details three such NFL veterans, outlining their current offensive situation and what to expect from them in the 2025 fantasy football season.
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Draft Position Rankings
WR Calvin Ridley, Tennessee Titans
The Titans neither drafted nor traded for a 2025-ready No. 1 wide receiver, leaving Ridley in place as the team’s downfield X-wide receiver and projected target leader. Ridley’s usage lends itself to volatility, but he consistently generates explosive pass plays, and his 2025 prospects are reinforced by incoming rookie quarterback Cameron Ward. Fantasy managers should expect Ridley to produce as a WR3 this season. His 73.1 PFF offense grade ranks 19th among 32 NFL wide receivers with at least 850 offensive snaps in 2024. Ward’s 95.7 PFF passing grade on passes thrown 10-plus yards downfield ranks No. 1 overall among 32 Power-Five quarterbacks with at least 135 qualifying passing attempts in 2024.
Tennessee’s 2024 starter, quarterback Will Levis’ 79.1 PFF passing grade on passes thrown 10-plus yards downfield ranks second among 32 NFL quarterbacks with at least 85 qualifying passing attempts in 2024.
Ridley efficiently averaged 1.86 yards per route run (YPRR) in his first Tennessee season last year, marking his best per-route average since 2020. He operates in a classic field-stretching X-wide receiver role that is entirely unthreatened by Tennessee’s 2025 offseason wide receiver additions. He produced promising data points in 2024 despite terrible quarterback play.
Ridley’s 2024 receiving data among 34 NFL wide receivers with at least 104 targets:
| NFL WR Receiving | Calvin Ridley |
| PFF Receiving Grade | 74.7 (No. 30) |
| Targets | 113 (No. 27) |
| Target Rate | 20.7% (No. 29) |
| Deep-Target Rate | 24.8% (No. 3) |
| Catch Rate | 56.6% (No. 33) |
| Catchable Pass Catch Rate | 86.5% (No. 31) |
| Yards Per Route Run | 1.86 (No. 22) |
| Avg. Depth Of Target | 16.0 (No. 1) |
| Yards Per Reception | 15.9 (No. 1) |
| Explosive Pass Plays | 31 (T-No. 11) |
| Explosive Pass Play Rate | 48.4% (No. 1) |
Free agent-signee, wide receiver Tyler Lockett, and undrafted free agent rookie-signee, wide receiver Xavier Restrepo, are best suited to handling short-to-intermediate roles. The 32-year-old Lockett has earned targets via an 11.4-to-12.0-yard average depth of target (aDot) over the last three seasons and concluded 2024 with a career-low 65.5 PFF receiving grade. Restrepo cited “hamstring tightness” as a contributing factor when clocked at a slow 4.81-second 40-yard dash at Miami’s pro day. He produced a 9.3-yard aDot in 2023 (89.0 PFF receiving grade) and an 11.3-yard aDot in 2024 (83.0 PFF receiving grade).
The fourth-round draft capital spent on rookie wide receivers Chimere Dike and Elic Ayomanor suggests the two will compete this season to replace Ridley in 2026. The 23-year-old Dike performed inconsistently in his five-year college career and earned a 71.3 PFF receiving grade via a 14.9-yard aDot and inside-outside usage in 2024. The 21-year-old Ayomanor earned a 74.3 PFF receiving grade via a 14.2-yard aDot, prowling Stanford’s perimeter last year.
Ridley should return WR3 value thanks to his safe workload and explosive pass-play efficiency.
RB D’Andre Swift, Chicago Bears
Swift now projects for a career-high touch count after exiting the 2025 NFL draft with a significant vote of confidence from head coach Ben Johnson and general manager Ryan Poles, who added just one running back via a seventh-round pick, former Rutgers running back Kyle Monangai. Playing in an improved offensive environment, Swift now has an RB1 finish within his range of outcomes, though performing as a volume-based RB2 is his most likely 2025 result. Swift’s 61.3 PFF offense grade ranks 29th among 31 NFL running backs with at least 500 offensive snaps in 2024. Monangai’s 77.3 PFF offense grade ties for 22nd among 33 Power Five running backs with at least 515 offensive snaps in 2024.
As detailed in “Veterans on the hot seat who could be replaced,” Swift performed inefficiently as both a rusher and a receiver last season. Although his 65.7 PFF rushing grade ranks 30th among 33 NFL running backs with at least 145 rushing attempts and his 59.5 PFF receiving grade ranks seventh-worst among 35 NFL running backs with at least 230 receiving snaps, Swift was at least trusted to handle a career-high 295 offensive touches on 751 offensive snaps. The sums respectively rank 12th and fourth among regular-season NFL running backs. He promisingly remained active for all 18th games despite the hefty workload.
As detailed in “Examining the framework of the 2024 RB1s,” high-end offensive touch volume, team-level situational snap shares and playing in a high-quality offensive environment are shown to be the most critical factors needed to achieve a season-long top 12 finish, while per-play efficiency proved less important.
Swift should have little issue dominating in the former two categories, and he notably produced career-high per-play efficiency metrics while playing under Johnson in the 2022 Detroit Lions offense. Swift’s 2022 career-best metrics include missed tackles forced per rushing attempt (0.24), yards after contact per rushing attempt (3.1), yards per rushing attempt (5.5), target rate (26.7%) and YPRR (1.65), PFF offense grade (78.1 PFF offense grade) and PFF rushing grade (83.2 PFF rushing grade).
Johnson’s schematic improvements should aid Swift’s performance, both via creative play designs and overall offensive efficiency. Johnson’s Weeks 1-17, 2024 Detroit offense ranks No. 1 overall among NFL teams in Weeks 1-17, 2024 in neutral run play rate (52.5%) and expected points added (EPA) per play-action pass play (0.439), third in EPA per play (0.173), fifth in total team rushing attempts (503) and eighth in run-play rate with motion (45.9%). Chicago’s unimaginiative 2024 offense ranks 23rd in neutral run play rate (40.5%), 26th EPA per play-action pass play (-0.096), 25th in EPA per play (-0.092), 31st in run-play rate with motion (33.5%) and ties for 22nd in total team rushing attempts (405).
Chicago’s front office notably upgraded the offensive line this offseason as well, signing left guard Joe Thuney, center Drew Dalman and right guard Jonah Jackson. Jackson’s 2024 play was notably hampered by a preseason scapula bone bruise that reportedly fractured in Week 2.
The table below ranks in parentheses:
- Chicago’s offensive tackles among 64 NFL offensive tackles with at least 530 offensive snaps in 2024.
- Chicago’s guards among 82 NFL offensive guards with at least 265 offensive snaps in 2024.
- Chicago’s center among 32 NFL centers with at least 550 offensive snaps in 2024.
Chicago’s front office added only a fourth-round pick to a personnel group dominated by Swift in 2024. Playing in a significantly improved offensive environment, Swift should dominate offensive touches once en route to a volume-based RB2 finish, at worst.
WR Garrett Wilson, New York Jets
Wilson finished as the Weeks 1-17, 2024 points-per-reception (PPR) WR9 overall and now enters the 2025 NFL season with reduced target competition. With his role not only preserved, but improved, Wilson should be expected to build on his career-best marks (101 receptions, 1,104 receiving and seven touchdowns) this year. His scoring potential is enhanced by upgrades at quarterback and offensive coordinator. His 79.7 PFF offense grade ranks 10th among 32 NFL wide receivers with at least 850 offensive snaps in 2024.
Free agent-signee, wide receiver Josh Reynolds, is penciled in as former No. 2 wide receiver Davante Adams’ replacement, but it is unclear whether Reynolds can meaningfully contribute after a 2024 season marred by an Achilles tendon injury, a surgery-worthy finger fracture and two gunshot wounds. He earned a 61.2 PFF receiving grade last year, his worst since his 2017 rookie season, and his 11.4% target rate is the worst of his career. Adams spent Weeks 7-18 with New York, earning a 78.2 PFF receiving grade and out-targeting Wilson 109-to-87 during that span. Adams is now a member of the Los Angeles Rams.
The front office drafted former Georgia wide receiver Arian Smith in the 2025 NFL draft’s fourth round. He is the only rookie receiver on the roster and earned just a 57.1 PFF receiving grade last year, signaling the need for long-term development.
New York’s front office notably reunited Wilson with his 2019-to-2020 Ohio State quarterback, Justin Fields, this offseason, providing Wilson with a more reliable passer than last year’s starter, quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Fields and Rodgers’ 2024 passing data:
| New York Jets QB Passing Data | Justin Fields | Aaron Rodgers |
| PFF Passing Grade | 65.7 | 76.3 |
| Completion Rate | 65.4% | 63.0% |
| Avg. Depth Of Target | 7.8 | 7.3 |
| Yards Per Pass Att. | 6.8 | 6.7 |
| Accurate Pass Rate | 60.3% | 59.5% |
| Uncatchable Pass Rate | 17.8% | 20.5% |
Wilson is an elite tackle-breaker, but inaccurate passes have hampered his productivity by disrupting his route timing. Among 31 NFL wide receivers with at least 300 targets from 2022-to-2024, Wilson’s 66 missed tackles forced receiving rank No. 1 overall, leading by a six missed-tackle margin. Fields’ more reliable arm should accentuate Wilson’s post-catch talents.
Wilson’s 2024 receiving data among 34 NFL wide receivers with at least 104 targets in 2024:
| NFL WR Receiving | Garrett Wilson |
| PFF Receiving Grade | 79.3 (No. 22) |
| Targets | 152 (No. 4) |
| Target Rate | 23.3% (No. 19) |
| Catch Rate | 66.5% (No. 23) |
| Yards Per Route Run | 1.69 (No. 28) |
| Avg. Depth Of Target | 9.4 (No. 23) |
| Yards Per Reception | 10.9 (No. 30) |
| Missed Tackles Forced | 25 (No. 1) |
| Missed Tackles Forced Per Rec. | 0.25 (No. 3) |
| Yards After Catch Per Rec. | 4.4 (No. 15) |
| Explosive Pass Plays | 26 (No. 20) |
| Explosive Pass Play Rate | 25.7% (No. 26) |
New York’s front office hired former Detroit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn for their vacant head coaching position, who then filled the Jets’ offensive coordinator role with the Lions’ former passing game coordinator, Tanner Engstrand. As mentioned in the Chicago section above, the 2024 Lions ran a highly efficient offense that helpfully features the play-action passing game. With Engstrand’s installation, the Jets can be expected to do the same, which bodes positively for Wilson’s productivity. New York’s ineffectual Weeks 1-17, 2024 offense ranks 16th among NFL teams during that span in EPA per play (-0.031).
Fantasy managers should expect Wilson to repeat as a fantasy football WR1, playing in an improved environment while benefiting from reduced target competition.
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