Ricky Pearsall And 3 More Second-Year Breakout Wide Receivers In Fantasy Football

Explore four second-year wide receivers, including Ricky Pearsall, poised for breakout fantasy football seasons in 2025.

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (14) during the game against the Detroit Lions at Levi's Stadium. | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Even some of the greatest wide receivers don't always come close to their ceiling in their rookie year. That will inevitably be the case for some wideouts in the 2024 rookie class. These are the second-year receivers who are going to break out this season. 

Marvin Harrison, Arizona Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) against the San Francisco 49ers at State Farm Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Harrison wasn't bad last season; he finished with 62 catches for 885 yards and eight touchdowns. However, he didn't come close to living up to the hype that he entered the league with. He had a big draft cost and name to live up to. With that said, a lot of his shortcomings weren't his fault. The offensive coordinator clearly didn't utilize him to the best of his strengths, and his quarterback, Kyler Murray, didn't look his way as often as he should have, even when he was open. If that doesn't change this season, the Arizona Cardinals could be looking for a new offensive coordinator and quarterback next offseason.  

Xavier Worthy, Kansas City Chiefs

Yesterday, we learned that Rashee Rice will be suspended for the first six games of the 2025 season. This is much better for Worthy than if Rice were to start the season and then face a suspension starting after September 30, as many of us expected. This allows Worthy to establish himself in the Kansas City Chiefs' offense without Rice being an issue, and prevents Rice from doing the same thing. If you're a Worthy owner, you don't want Rice to re-establish himself as the WR1, then miss a few games and get dropped right back in where he started. We always expected Worthy to thrive with Rice out, but this news puts an interesting twist on things.     

Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze (15) runs with the ball during the first half against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Ben Johnson is viewed as one of the best offensive minds in the league, and now Odunze has the benefit of having him as his head coach. This is the same man who helped turn Amon-Ra St. Brown into a superstar. If you believe in Odunze's talent and believe in Johnson as an offensive mind, then it only makes sense to believe that Odunze is going to be a breakout star this season.

There are still a lot of mouths to feed in Chicago, but Johnson has shown that he can sustain multiple fantasy options while still hyper-targeting a WR1. If you listen to reports out of Chicago this summer, it sounds like DJ Moore could be falling behind Odunze in the pecking order.  

Ricky Pearsall, San Francisco 49ers

Pearsall was a 2024 first-round pick and looks like a lock to start the season as the 49ers' WR1. His rookie year got off to a rocky start because he got shot in the chest, but he flashed his upside at the tail end of last season when he caught 14 of 18 targets for 210 yards and two TDs in the final two games of the season. That may have been a preview of what's to come in 2025. Especially, now that Jauan Jennings is dealing with both calf and contract issues, and Brandon Aiyuk is expected to miss about half the season.