Welcome to Week 16 of the 2025 Footballguys Roundtable. Our intrepid panel of fantasy pundits discusses and debates four topics every week. We split the conversation into separate features.
This week's roundtable features these four topics:
- Biggest Fantasy Surprises of 2025
- Biggest Fantasy Disappointments of 2025
- Emerging Stars in 2026
- 2026 NFL Draft Match-Making
Let's roll...
Matt Waldman: Who disappointed you this season?
Jeff Blaylock: As a rookie, Brian Thomas Jr. was the fantasy WR5 in PPR scoring last season, finishing third with 1,282 receiving yards and tied for fifth with 10 touchdown receptions. Expectations were high for his second season. He was being drafted as a mid-WR1, but he's provided middling WR4 production for his fantasy managers.
Thomas has been targeted 52 fewer times this season, and he is doing considerably less with those targets. His catch rate is down to 53 percent from 67 percent, his yards after the catch have fallen 35 percent, and his yards after contact have fallen 64 percent. His catch rate in the red zone ranks 98th out of 100 receivers with at least seven such targets, per Fantasy Points Data.
Joseph Haggan: Ladd McConkey is my biggest fantasy disappointment of 2025. After lighting it up as a rookie with 1,124 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns, he currently sits at 758 yards and 6 touchdowns on just eight fewer targets. He is averaging less than one yard more on a per-game basis than stone hands Quentin Johnston. I expected much more out of McConkey.
Will Grant: Many fantasy GMs, including myself, came into this season with high expectations for rookie running back Ashton Jeanty. In many leagues, Jeanty required a second or even first-round draft pick this year. I personally had to pay a first-rounder in my 14-team PPR league, and he didn't deliver the first-round value I'd hoped for.
Waldman: Will, but Jeanty is RB14 in PPR formats right now. That's dead-on with the value you paid. So why is Jeanty a disappointment to you?
Grant: Because his weekly value has been so volatile relative to his overall value. The Raiders struggled this season, and Jeanty frequently faced situations where they were down early and had to shift to a primary passing attack to keep up.
We saw glimpses of his potential last week with 188 yards from scrimmage and 2 touchdowns, but his overall season has been very pedestrian. Averaging just 3.7 yards per carry and 6.5 yards per catch hurt Jeanty's effectiveness and disappointed fantasy GMs across the board.
I have high hopes for Jeanty as the Raiders improve the talent around him, but for 2025, Jeanty's rookie campaign has been a disappointment despite having top-15 value in PPR formats at this point of the year.