With the NFL season starting soon, many dynasty leagues are drafting around this time of year. While nailing your early round picks is crucial to make a long-term contender, finding value throughout the draft is how true dynasties are born.
Heading into this season, the value is evident, with young quarterbacks reshaping how we see the position, veteran running backs dominating through age, and deep wide receiver talent throughout the league. When you can get players for less than what their true value is, you get to steal long-term upside at ridiculous discounts.
These players are poised to be foundational pieces to championship rosters for years to come, and can help swing rosters into contention.
I’ll be walking you through five of the biggest steals in 2025 dynasty startup drafts in this article, so get ready to win your startups this year.
Drake Maye
New England Patriots - QB
For the sake of this article, I’ll be referring to superflex tight end premium leagues, and Drake Maye is a great steal in this format.
In his rookie season, Maye started just eleven games as the team started veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett at the beginning of last season.
Maye is currently being taken as the QB10 overall, which may seem like too high of value to be considered a steal, but in the games that Maye played last season, he had three top-10 finishes with six additional top-18 performances to go along with it.
Maye did this in the worst passing offense in the league, with the Patriots’ ranking 32nd in the league in passing offense with 176.2 yards per game.
Paired with an inefficient passing offense, Maye had no receivers finish with over 700 yards, with Hunter Henry leading the pack with 674 yards in 2024.
This supporting cast has been greatly upgraded heading into the 2025 season, with the addition of Stefon Diggs in free agency, and both TreyVeon Henderson and Kyle Williams in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Maye also has elite rushing upside, averaging 7.8 yards per carry in 2024, bringing an additional 58 fantasy points on the ground.
With Maye’s receiving threats improving in 2025, he should step forward as a passer, giving him potential top-5 upside long term, making his QB10 current value a massive steal in 2025.
Ricky Pearsall
San Francisco 49ers - WR
Despite being taken in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, Ricky Pearsall has yet to see his value jump, as he is still being taken as the WR38 overall, at pick 95 overall in Sleeper’s dynasty ADP.
Pearsall’s rookie season started very unexpectedly, as he was shot in an attempted robbery before the 2024 season.
He was able to bounce back, though, as he logged 31 receptions for 400 yards and 3 touchdowns in his 11 games.
Pearsall started to hit his stride to finish the season, averaging 23.8 points over the last two games of the season.
With news of Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings injured through training camp, Pearsall looks to have the WR1 role in San Francisco locked up to start the season.
With Pearsall improving his route-running and getting praise from quarterback Brock Purdy in camp, Pearsall offers a unique opportunity to get a team’s WR1 at low-end WR3 value, making him a steal heading into 2025.
Colston Loveland
Chicago Bears - TE
Colston Loveland is currently being taken at an ADP of 68 in most dynasty formats, making him the TE6 off the board.
This value comes as a surprise, as Loveland was a top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, making him the first tight end drafted this year, but he is still being taken behind fellow rookie Tyler Warren.
Much of this uncertainty and lack of value comes from the limited number of targets that Loveland could receive this year, as the Bears’ offense is loaded with pass catchers, with D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, and fellow tight end Cole Kmet.
While this hesitancy is understandable, Loveland is an elite pass catcher who will carve out a role in the Bears’ offense very quickly.
Loveland is 6’5 with natural hands, being shown as he led Michigan in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns in 2025, even after losing J.J. McCarthy to the NFL Draft.
Paired with new head coach Ben Johnson, who had Sam LaPorta finish as a top-10 tight end in both of his NFL seasons, Loveland is primed to take over that elite tight end role that Ben Johnson has in his offense.
Loveland offers immense startup value, with potential to be a top-10 tight end immediately, and future potential to take the TE1 overall spot, just as LaPorta did in Johnson’s system.
Garrett Wilson
New York Jets - WR
While Garrett Wilson is being taken as a top-15 wide receiver, with his current ADP being 34 overall and WR14, he’s still a steal at this current value heading into the 2025 season.
With Wilson inking a brand new 4-year $130,000,000 contract this offseason, it solidifies Wilson as a cornerstone piece of the Jets’ offense and shows their willingness to involve Wilson in the offense.
Wilson has seen elite usage in his past seasons, most recently in 2024, when he had a 30% target share and a 95% snap share, totaling 101 receptions, 1,104 receiving yards, and 7 touchdowns.
With the Jets signing Justin Fields this offseason, many skeptics emerged, saying that Fields couldn't support an elite wide receiver season. However, some people forget that this move reunites Fields and Wilson from their Ohio State days, and that chemistry already exists between the two.
Additionally, Fields has proven his ability to support an elite wide receiver in 2023, when he led the Bears' offense that featured D.J. Moore as the WR1 and helped Moore achieve a career year, with his career-high receiving yards and touchdowns under Fields' quarterbacking.
With Wilson being solidified as a core piece of the Jets’ offense for the foreseeable future, Wilson comes in as a high upside WR2 for your dynasty roster, with massive upside to be a WR1 in this upcoming season, making him a steal in the late second round.
Jaylen Waddle
Miami Dolphins - WR
Jaylen Waddle enters 2025 at one of his lowest values he’s had in his entire career, sitting at WR34 with an ADP of 84 overall.
Waddle exploded onto the scene in 2021, finishing as the WR13 overall, and followed that terrific season with an WR8 overall finish in 2022, making it look like Waddle was the next young alpha wide receiver.
However, injuries and the addition of fellow superstar wide receiver Tyreek Hill slowed Waddle down, limiting his 2023 and 2024 finishes to WR34 and WR46, respectively.
Waddle is coming off of his statistically worst season in 2024, totaling only 58 receptions, 744 receiving yards, and 2 touchdowns, but he had an extended stretch of injured time for both himself and starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
With Hill having an out in his contract after the 2025 season, the Dolphins aren't attached to his contract and could move on from him if they wanted to, which would make Waddle the WR1 in Miami again.
With Waddle having previously shown WR1 ability, his WR34 price tag is a massive steal in 2025 dynasty startup drafts and should be a major target for your dynasty team.
Final Thoughts
Finding value in your startup drafts is how you create a league-winning roster, and these players offer immense value for their current ADPs.
Finding cornerstone players at lower than their true value multiplies your chances of creating a winning roster, so make sure to target these players in your 2025 dynasty startup drafts.