In fantasy football, there are always players you’ve drafted in the early rounds in the past that went on to have a down year or injury-riddled season. Usually when drafting a player who got hurt or underperformed, it leads to you saying I will not be drafting that player next year. The reason is that you feel you can’t fully trust that player again. I’ve done a good amount of research and have found some players I would recommend forgiving for your 2025 fantasy football draft.
In this article I will be going over five players I view as players to forgive for their 2024 fantasy football performances. Using the players’ current ADP and positional ranking according to FantasyPros. These five players that I have selected all had some ups and downs, and some of them had more downs. But if you can draft with forgiveness in your 2025 fantasy football draft, you won't be mad at yourself at all.
Christian McCaffrey (SF)
ADP 9.0 - RB 4
Last year Christian McCaffrey was the clear-cut consensus number one overall pick in fantasy football drafts. If you had the 1.01 in a league of yours like I did last year you probably selected McCaffrey, and then regretted it when it came down to 30 minutes before kickoff and he was ruled out. McCaffrey went on to play only four games in 2024 after being shut down due to an Achilles tendinitis. I’ve heard a lot of noise in the fantasy community that is willing to not draft McCaffrey due to their bad experience with him in 2024.
McCaffrey is a risky pick that can win you your 2025 fantasy football championship! The reason is that McCaffrey is one of the few running backs who can have RB1 upside immediately. McCaffrey has no competition in the backfield especially when the San Francisco 49ers traded Jordan Mason away. McCaffrey will get back to his 2024 form and compete for that RB1 talk throughout the season.
Patrick Mahomes (KC)
ADP 86.0 - QB 6
Patrick Mahomes was slotted as the consensus quarterback number two in 2024 being picked in the 3rd round of drafts last year. Mahomes didn’t impress a lot of people when he started out struggling heavily. A lot of Mahomes' struggles came from the lack of weapons around him, especially when he lost WR1 Rashee Rice in week 3 in 2024.
With the emergence of Xavier Worthy last season Mahomes finished the last 6 weeks of the season averaging 21 fantasy points per game. Mahomes will be getting back a lot of weapons going into 2025. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Kansas City Chiefs go full air raid in 2025 and Mahomes pushes for finishing as QB1 when the fantasy football season is over.
Tyreek Hill (MIA)
ADP 30.5 - WR 17
Tyreek Hill was the WR2 and was drafted on average at the 1.03-1.04 in 2024. Hill didn’t live up to the expectations of being a first-round pick in fantasy football drafts. Hill had a very down year and that had to do with his quarterback Tua Tagovailoa being hurt most of the year.
Hill will look to bounce back in 2025 with his quarterback being healthy and also saying he is going to be a lot smarter when taking hits. I expect the Miami Dolphins to hit the ground running like they did in 2023. Hill is also just too talented and fast not to put up big fantasy numbers going into 2025.
Marvin Harrison Jr. (AZ)
ADP 27.0 - WR 15
Marvin Harrison Jr. was a very underperforming player last year, especially with all the hype he had coming out of Ohio State. In 2024 a lot of fantasy football drafts saw Harrison going as WR9 and in the 2nd round of drafts. Harrison had a lot of flashes last year that make it so easy to draft him in 2025.
Harrison should have a phenomenal year having another full offseason with his quarterback Kyler Murray. Harrison has also bulked up adding muscle to his frame making a bigger body receiver that can compete in contact. Harrison is looking to prove all doubters wrong that he is the best receiver from the 2024 rookie class
Kyle Pitts (ATL)
ADP 157 - TE 18
Kyle Pitts is the one player every year that we say this is gonna be his year. I am a big believer in Pitts and have forgiven him every year that I’ve drafted him. Pitts has not lived up to his potential at all since reaching the NFL, but that has to do with the very poor quarterback situation the Atlanta Falcons have had.
Now that Pitts has a legit quarterback in Michael Penix Jr. I expect Pitts to finally have the big seasons we all have been waiting on. With Pitts having a stable quarterback it will be easier for him to get on the page with Penix and continue to build on that chemistry from last season. Pitts is a player that I see a lot of people not willing to forgive after the last few years but this is the year to draft him!
Conclusion
In your 2025 fantasy football drafts you have to be very smart and methodical when drafting. You can see these players all had down years in 2024 and didn’t live up to our expectations. Drafting with forgiveness can help you out a lot in building that championship roster. If you can put your differences aside with these five players above it will help you out in the long run. Don’t hesitate to have forgiveness on any player who has hurt you in past fantasy football years.