2025 Fantasy Football WR Rankings: Should I Draft Nico Collins Or Brian Thomas Jr?

Fantasy football managers are torn between Nico Collins and Brian Thomas Jr—here’s a full breakdown of which wide receiver you should draft first in 2025 based on ADP, upside, and risk.

Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins (12) reacts to a first down against the Los Angeles Chargers in the second quarter in an AFC wild card game at NRG Stadium. | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins and Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr are two of the most exciting young players in fantasy football. Currently, they are being drafted as the WR7 and WR8 according to their current ADP, with Collins going just ahead of BTJ. Is Collins being drafted ahead of Thomas Jr warranted, or should you be higher on the sophomore star from Duval? 

WR Nico Collins, Houston Texans

ADP: WR7 Overall 13

The Case For Collins

While injury caused Collins to finish as the WR22 overall last season, he was actually better than BTJ on a per-game basis. In 0.5 PPR scoring, he averaged 14.7 points per game compared to Thomas Jr, who scored 14.1. Collins finished as the WR7 in PPG and Thomas Jr the WR12. He has now posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons with at least seven TDs. This year, he enters the season even more entrenched as the Texans' WR1. Stefon Diggs has moved on to the New England Patriots, and Tank Dell is going to miss the season after a gruesome knee injury he suffered last season. All signs point to him being set up to see the most volume of his career on an offense we expect to see throw more this year, thanks to a declining rushing attack that features aging backs coming off injuries and a bad offensive line. 

The highest graded WR over the past two seasons:

🔴 Nico Collins - 93.3 pic.twitter.com/nUVR0lc4nQ

— PFF (@PFF) July 22, 2025

The Case Against Collins

That offensive line, as well as a quarterback in CJ Stroud, who took a big step back last year, could also negatively impact Collins as well. Injuries are also becoming a concern. While he's great when he's on the field, you can't score fantasy points on the bench. After missing five more games last season, he has now missed 17 games in four seasons and has missed multiple games in every season of his career so far. That's not something that can simply be ignored. We don't have many worries about how Collin's will perform when he's on the field, but we're starting to worry about his ability to stay on the field. 

WR Brian Thomas Jr, Jacksonville Jaguars

ADP: WR8 Overall 14

The Case For Thomas Jr  

As a rookie, he finished as the WR4 overall. He caught 87 of his 133 targets for 1,282 yards and 10 TDs. If that's what he did as a rookie with rotating quarterbacks, imagine what he could do with a year of experience under his belt. BTJ has legitimate WR1 overall upside and could end up being a generational type player on the level of Justin Jefferson, Ja'Marr Chase or any other wide receiver in the league. Things should be even better this season with Thomas Jr having a year of experience under his belt, a healthy quarterback, and what we expect to be a better offensive system under a new regime. This isn't a difficult case to make. 

4 rookies recorded 1,000+ rec yards in 2024 (most in a single season all-time) 🫨

🔹 Brian Thomas Jr. (1,282)
🔹 Malik Nabers (1,204)
🔹 Brock Bowers (1,194)
🔹 Ladd McConkey (1,149) pic.twitter.com/rBsaESFKmi

— NFL+ (@NFLPlus) July 10, 2025

The Case Against Thomas Jr

Speaking of a healthy starting quarterback, that may not be a good thing. BTJ wasn't nearly as productive with Trevor Lawrence under center as he was when Mac Jones was throwing him the ball. In 10 games with Jones under center, he caught 60 passes for 762 yards and five TDs. With Lawrence, he was significantly less productive, catching 27 passes for 520 yards and five TDs. We'd assume this is more of an anomaly, but can't rule out a lack of chemistry between the compared to Thomas Jr and Jones. 

The Jags also traded up to draft Travis Hunter with the second overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. There is a chance that the rookie ends up being the WR1 in Jacksonville. We wouldn't bet on that in Year 1, but it is a possibility. This is an issue that most WR1s don't have to concern themselves with. BTJ could have legitimate competition to be the WR1 on his own team. 

Nico Collins Vs. Brian Thomas Jr. Verdict

We are going with Collins over Thomas Jr. If both players play 17 games, we'd fully expect him to score more fantasy points. He's the unquestioned top wideout in Houston with proven chemistry with his quarterback. There is no doubt that Thomas Jr could explode and be even better this year, but there are more questions surrounding him. Collins is the safer pick and has just as much upside, if not more.