RELATED: See the defensive players who will define the 2025 season.

The 2025 offseason is rolling along, but there's still much that will change between now and redraft draft season this summer. The 2025 NFL Draft will shake up the fantasy landscape. After that will come another wave of free-agent signings as teams finish addressing needs they couldn't or didn't hit in Green Bay. More veterans will be signed as spring moves into summer as OTAs and minicamps give way to training camp in earnest.

All that is to say that what we think we know in April and what we actually know in August can be two entirely different things. But in fantasy football, the only thing managers like more than rampant speculation is early rampant speculation. Everyone wants every edge they can get, both in redraft and dynasty formats. It's especially true in the latter, where many rookie drafts and startups could be firing up in just a few short weeks. 

This isn't a dynasty article per se--to be honest this writer has a penchant for not looking too far ahead in that format. What it is is a ridiculously early, wildly speculative look at some players who will define fantasy leagues in 2025--for better or worse.

The best part? If I'm right about these players, I look like Karnac the Magnificent. If I'm wrong?

What do you expect? It's April.

Life can be good sometimes.

QB Jayden Daniels, Washington

Daniels was a revelation as a rookie, passing for over 3,500 yards and 29 touchdowns, adding almost 900 rushing yards and six scores on the ground, winning Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, and finishing fifth in fantasy points among quarterbacks. However, as great as Daniels was as a rookie, one NFL executive told The Athletic's Mike Sando that he fears Daniels could be headed for a sophomore slump.

"I'm afraid that is the team that is going to have the quarterback hit the sophomore slump, and now you have invested in all these older guys and you are not really building a team anymore, you are just adding pieces," another exec said, noting that C.J. Stroud's production fell off after a breakout rookie season. "At some point, you get diminishing returns with all those old guys."

Those "old guys" the exec mentioned include wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr., who joined the Commanders in an offseason trade with the San Francisco 49ers. Daniels will likely be drafted as a top-four quarterback this summer, but the other signal-callers in that top tier (Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills, Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens, and Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles) all have much longer track records than Daniels. If a slump does come, more than a few fantasy managers will be left holding the proverbial bag.

QB Justin Fields, New York Jets

After making six starts for the Pittsburgh Steelers last season, Fields was a part of this offseason's quarterback carousel, joining the New York Jets on a two-year, $40 million contract. The 26-year-old has already been named New York's starting quarterback, and former teammate Jaquan Brisker told reporters he believes Gang Green got itself a bargain.

"He's gonna be a great player," Brisker said. "That's Houdini, man. He's gonna make things happen. He's in a great spot. Get him a couple weapons, an O-line. I feel like he's gonna be great. I always thought he was great, and he's an amazing quarterback off the field, which is important. He talks to everyone. He's a great guy. I feel like the Jets was a perfect fit for him." 

Fields has never been an especially prolific passer--his career-high in passing yards is 2,562 with the Chicago Bears in 2023. But thanks to his scrambling ability, Fields was a top-10 fantasy quarterback in points per game that year and a top-five option in points per game the year before. If Fields can come close to that level of production in his new home, he has the potential to be an outstanding value for fantasy managers who want to exercise a little patience under center on draft day.

RB Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia

Barkley's exploits last year in Philadelphia's march to a victory in Super Bowl LIX are no secret--over 2,000 rushing yards, a career-high 13 scores on the ground, and the top spot in PPR points per game among running backs. That huge season earned Barkley an extension with the team, and Eagles GM Howie Roseman told reporters that re-upping in-house talent like Barkley was a major offseason priority.

"The first priority is always keeping your own great players, great people, so when we talked about what we wanted to do this offseason, there were a lot of challenges – coming off the Super Bowl, having a lot of free agents, having a lot of young players we would want to extend in the future. But when we looked at those three guys – Saquon and Lane and Zack Baun – difference-making players, difference-making people. It was so important to keep those guys in the building," said Roseman. "They elevated this team to help us win another Championship. They were huge pieces. They earned those deals." 

Barkley was admittedly fantastic last year, and his situation in Philadelphia is as favorable as any running back in the NFL. But Barkley also piled up 378 touches in the regular season a year ago, which puts the 28-year-old in the crosshairs of "The Curse of 370." I'll be writing more about the Curse as we move farther into the offseason, but long story short, players who eclipse 370 touches in a season experience a drop in production the following year much more often than not.

RB Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco

McCaffrey was the first overall pick in more fantasy drafts than not a year ago--and the results were disastrous. One year after being named Offensive Player of the Year, McCaffrey missed most of the season, playing in just four games and barely cracking 200 rushing yards. The 49ers traded Jordan Mason to Minnesota, and while Kyle Shanahan told reporters the Niners aren't averse to drafting a running back, he said the team is confident that McCaffrey's rehab from last year's lost season is progressing well.

"I think you always hope to address it every year," Shanahan said. "I mean, yeah, of course, we're set with McCaffrey, but every single year that we've gone through this, except for two years, we've gone through four running backs. And most teams do, so you've always got to be prepared for that. But Christian's healthy, he's doing great. We got Isaac (Guerendo) in there, working. (We're) pumped to get Patrick (Taylor) back, and we'll see if we add someone in the draft. But you'd like to add one every year."

There's no questioning McCaffrey's sky-high upside--he was fantasy's No. 1 running back two years ago by a staggering margin. If positive reports continue to emanate from the Bay Area, McCaffrey could easily move well into the top five at his position in drafts. But McCaffrey is also getting to the age where many running backs begin to decline, and his injury history is--extensive. McCaffrey could make quite a few fantasy teams this year. But he could just as easily break them.

WR Tyreek Hill, Miami

It has been quite the eventful offseason for Hill--the 31-year-old suffered through a miserable 2024 campaign, failing to hit 1,000 receiving yards one year after leading the league in that category with 1,799. In fact, as Eric Edholm wrote for NFL.com, at the culmination of the regular season, Hill sounded like a player whose days in Miami could be numbered.