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Fantasy Football Outlook: Brian Thomas Jr., Malik Nabers, Chuba Hubbard

The 2024 fantasy football season featured an incredible rookie class with breakouts coming thick and fast. We also saw breakouts from non-rookies that were just as impactful. Below are nine breakouts from the 2024 fantasy season that will sustain or exceed their production in 2025.

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2024 Fantasy Football Breakout Players to Target in 2025

Brian Thomas Jr. (WR – JAX)

We’ll start with a player in Brian Thomas Jr., who shined when it mattered most for fantasy football — averaging 24 PPR points from Week 13 onwards, with zero games below 16.6 points. Thomas did this despite playing with backup quarterback Mac Jones, who isn’t a particularly good deep ball thrower.

From Weeks 1-9, when Trevor Lawrence was healthy, Thomas had nine deep receptions, but once Jones took over he only had two more. Instead, Thomas used his abilities near the line of scrimmage but still broke explosive plays and found his way to double-digit touchdowns. It’s fair to point out Thomas did this mostly with Christian Kirk, Evan Engram and Gabe Davis sidelined, but any new head coach heading into Jacksonville will surely build the team around one of the most impressive rookie receivers we’ve seen in a while.

Malik Nabers (WR – NYG)

Despite playing with a host of bad quarterbacks, Malik Nabers also paid off in a big way this year with double-digit targets in all but four games. Nabers broke Anquan Boldin’s record for rookie targets with 170, five more than Boldin, despite playing one game fewer (15). Nabers also bested Puka Nacua‘s rookie season (160 targets in 17 games) and toppled Nacua’s rookie wide receiver record of 105 catches with 109.

The Giants have very little to build around on offense and finding a solution at quarterback is no easy thing, but Nabers displayed the ability to earn targets and produce in a big way. It should serve as a reminder that fading elite talent because of landing spot is a poor process.

Chuba Hubbard (RB – CAR)

After a solid 2023 with 902 rushing yards and five touchdowns, Chuba Hubbard turned into a league-winner in 2024 with 1,195 yards and 10 touchdowns, along with 43 receptions to further bolster his credentials. Hubbard finished as the RB13 (points per game) in PPR formats with six 20+ point performances. He recorded only four single-digit performances despite playing on a tumultuous Panthers offense.

The expectation was that Jonathon Brooks would become the No. 1 RB at some point but after tearing his ACL for the second year in a row, the runway is clear for Hubbard on an ascending offense. Hubbard should be drafted in the top 18 running backs without hesitation in 2025 once average draft position (ADP) shakes out.

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