2025 Fantasy Football WR Rankings: Amon-Ra St. Brown vs. Malik Nabers ADP Breakdown

Fantasy football managers don't have to possess a top five selection to land a stud in fantasy drafts this summer. Detroit Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and New York Giants wideout Malik Nabers are two stars that fantasy managers can target in the second half of the first round.

The question, though, is which one should go off the board first?

St. Brown is only 25 years old, but he's the reliable veteran in this scenario while Nabers in the new kid on the block threatening to supplant the fantasy football receiver establishment.

With a Pro Bowl nomination as a rookie and fifth-place finish in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting last season, Nabers has arguably already done that. He's poised for more, though, in 2025.

Should fantasy managers embrace "the new" or continue to trust "the old" at receiver in the second half of the first round? Let's break down both St. Brown and Nabers to predict who is the better option in fantasy leagues this year.

Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions

Despite being a 2021 fourth-round pick, St. Brown immediately emerged as a fantasy contributor as a rookie. Over the past three seasons, he's been a star, averaging 113 catches, 1,313 receiving yards and nine touchdowns per year.

His best production came in 2023 when he had 119 grabs for 1,515 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. Those are career bests for the receive except the 10 scores. St. Brown tallied 12 touchdowns last season. He made the NFL's All-Pro team in both seasons.

In 2025, St. Brown will remain the top receiving target for the Lions offense, which will return every key playmaker. But offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who left to become Chicago Bears head coach, is a key loss.

As the Lions No. 1 receiver, the loss of Johnson could have very minimal impact on St. Brown. But it could hurt the unit overall. The Lions were top five in scoring and yards each of the past three seasons under Johnson.

Detroit brought back John Morton from the Denver Broncos to be their new offensive coordinator.

Malik Nabers, New York Giants

While St. Brown is a stud who also benefits from playing on one of the top offenses in the league, Nabers gets his fantasy value the opposite way -- volume.

There was only one Giants pass catcher within 98 targets of Nabers during his rookie season. New York also had only one running back receive at least 115 carries in 2024. The Lions had two running backs with more than 180 attempts.

Behind 170 targets, Nabers racked up 109 catches, 1,204 receiving yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie. His 80.3 receiving yards per game was almost double any other Giants pass catcher.

Nabers reached those statistics despite Daniel Jones, Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito throwing him passes.

The quarterback play should be better for Nabers this fall, at least for his fantasy value. Russell Wilson can still toss up competitive deep balls, and Jameis Winston has always been able to sling it with the best of them.

If rookie Jaxson Dart takes over behind center at some point in 2025, then Nabers could see an immediate decline in value. But it might not be for long. It was quite evident last season Nabers is too talented to keep off the stat sheet with any quarterback.

Dart could also offer Naber higher quality opportunities than what he received with Jones, Lock or DeVito.

The Verdict:

There's a lot to love with both St. Brown and Nabers. Determining which one to pick first could simply be personal preference.

Entering NFL training camps, I'd give Nabers the slight edge, particularly in standard leagues. Nabers is going to get more volume than St. Brown. The changes made to the Giants offense should also benefit the young receiver. The Lions' offensive coordinator switch could hurt St. Brown.

In PPR formats, the two receivers should be considered very close in draft value. St. Brown could have more receptions than Nabers because of the familiarity St. Brown has with quarterback Jared Goff.

St. Brown is also likely to score more touchdowns.

Fantasy managers should be pleased with either receiver as their draft pick in the second half of the first round. But if both are on the board, I'd lean toward Nabers.