J.J. McCarthy And Cam Skattebo Headline 2025 Fantasy Football Deep Sleepers

Get detailed 2025 fantasy football outlooks on J.J. McCarthy, Cam Skattebo, and more deep sleepers—covering breakout potential, projected stats, and value in early drafts.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) passes against the Las Vegas Raiders in the second quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. | Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

As fantasy football managers search for the perfect blend of breakout rookies and undervalued veterans, J.J. McCarthy, Cam Skattebo, Christian Kirk, and Dallas Goedert are four intriguing names to monitor in 2025. From McCarthy's potential to lead Minnesota’s high-octane passing attack to Skattebo’s bruising three-down skillset, this breakdown covers what you need to know before draft day.

QB J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings

The Michigan Wolverines gave McCarthy 28 starts over two seasons, leading to a 27-1 record, highlighted by a National Championship in 2023. Despite his high level of success, his college stats don’t jump off the page. He passed for 6,226 yards with 49 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in his time at Michigan. In 2023, McCarthy gained 3,193 combined yards with 25 touchdowns, averaging only 22.1 passes. His completion rate (72.3) and yards per pass attempt (9.0) graded in an elite area.

McCarthy draws the upside, winning game manager tag based on his success and production. He throws the ball well on the run, especially moving to his right. Many of his completions came with his receivers facing tight coverage. McCarthy will move the chains with his legs while also extending his passing window when the pocket breaks down. 

He was sacked 37 times (5.6% - seven NFL teams had a lower sack percentage in 2023) over his 654 passing attempts in 2022 (17) and 2023 (20). His success in the NFL, in terms of fantasy value, largely depends on his supporting cast and the performance of his offensive line. In a way, his ties to Tom Brady (same college) and the recent success of Brock Purdy have helped his move up draft boards.

Michigan had a top running back (Blake Corum – 258/1,245/27 with 16 catches for 117 yards and one touchdown). McCarthy completed 50 passes to running backs in 2023 (19.2% of the team’s completions). His top wideout (Roman Wilson) caught 48 passes for 789 yards and 12 touchdowns. The Vikings drafted McCarthy 10th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Minnesota wants to air the ball out, based on their pass attempts in 2022 and 2023 (672 and 632), but the injury to McCarthy led to Sam Darnold having a career season. The Vikings threw the ball 548 times, which helped the Vikings’ offense control the clock better and keep their defense off the field.

The Vikings have one of the best wide receivers in the game (Justin Jefferson). The combination of Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson adds length to their passing attack, and their profiles look better in 2025 than in 2024, even with Addison still having a possible suspension looming.

In his rookie season, McCarthy didn’t take a snap due to an early August torn ACL in his right knee. 

#Vikings WR Justin Jefferson on JJ McCarthy, via @SeifertESPN:

“If he had one thing that he learned about JJ McCarthy this offseason, it was that his arm strength is plenty good, and will get him the ball whenever he needs it.”

🎥: NFL On ESPN via YouTube pic.twitter.com/dEGdHIINnt

— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) July 20, 2025

Fantasy Outlook: McCarthy has the tools to help this team from Jump Street. The high-stakes fantasy market has shown more interest in him this summer (18th-ranked quarterback). He will have a learning curve, but his skill set and potential opportunity (17 starts) suggest 4,500 combined yards with over 30 scores (Sam Darnold has 4,531 combined yards with 36 touchdowns). 

I loved McCarthy last year as a value QB3 in BestBall events, but he now has to be compared with more proven quarterbacks. In the first run of my projections, I ranked him 11th at quarterback, which aligns with more early outlook. 

RB Cam Skattebo, New York Giants

Skattebo started his college career at Sacramento State. He started 16 of his 24 games, leading to 252 rushes for 1,892 yards and 13 touchdowns while gaining 7.5 yards per carry. His foundation skill set also has a high floor out of the backfield (43/495/4). 

After transferring to Arizona State, Skattebo developed into a workhorse back last season (293/1,711/21 with 45 catches for 605 yards and three touchdowns). He gained 1,069 combined yards with 10 scores and 24 catches the previous year on 188 touches. 

On game day, the football field is Skattebo’s battlefield. He looks for hits while offering finish power at the end of his run. I don’t know if he was bullied at a younger age or needs anger management classes. He aims to go 15 rounds for 60 minutes to be the best running back on the field. Skattebo has a good feel for his role and spacing in the passing game, and protecting the quarterback is like a lunch break in high school. 

His 40-yard dash (about 4.55) is trailing the elite running backs, but Skattebo makes up for this shortfall with strength. At 5’9” and 220 lbs., he brings a different profile to the NFL. His lower half is short but stout, allowing him to take quick steps to maneuver through traffic. 

Fantasy Outlook: I don’t love the Giants’ offense this season, but I’m in Skattebo’s camp at running back for New York. His three-down profile should win over the long season, and the Giants should give him more chances at the goal line. I expect over 200 touches in his rookie season, creating a potential value in fantasy drafts. 

I gave Skattebo RB1 touches for the Giants in the first run of my projections, putting him on a path to gain 1,057 combined yards with seven touchdowns and 32 catches. His July fantasy RB ranking (38th) is much higher than my initial outlook (28th).

WR Christian Kirk, Houston Texans

Jacksonville rewarded Kirk with $84 million for four seasons before 2022 despite never being a top-24 wideout in any year. He repaid their investment by setting new tops in catches (84), receiving yards (1,108), touchdowns (8), and targets (133). He gained more than 100 yards in three games (6/117, 9/105/2, and 6/104) while also scoring more than 20.00 fantasy points in five other matchups (6/78/2, 8/76/1, 6/99/1, 8/78/1, and 7/70/1). His success led to him ranking 12th in wide receiver scoring (243.40) in PPR formats.

After an empty Week 1 (1/9) in 2023, Kirk was the Jaguars’ best-receiving option over his next eight matchups (48/615/3 on 68 targets – 8.5 per game while catching 70.6% of his chances). His top output came in three games (11/110, 6/90/1, and 6/104). Over his next two contests, Kirk only had seven combined catches for 137 yards on 13 targets. He suffered a season-ending groin injury on his first play and catch in Week 13. His stats over his first 11 games projected over a full season came to 87 catches for 1,117 yards and five touchdowns (a mid-tier WR2).

Other than Week 3 (8/79) and Week 4 (7/61/1), Kirk underperformed expectations in his other six matchups (12/239/1 over 25 targets). A broken collarbone ended his season with nine games to go. 

Fantasy Outlook: Kirk should be a good fit for the Texans in 2025, and his experience should rank him above Tank Dell due to his recovery from knee surgery. His recent resume suggests a 70/1,000/5 season is well within reach, putting Kirk in the mid-tier WR3 category in PPR formats. The change in depth at wide receiver of the Texans creates a buying opportunity in early June, based on his ranking (WR56). 

After running my projections, Kirk is my 44th-ranked wide receiver on a path to catch 66 passes for 863 yards and five touchdowns. 

TE Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles gave Goedert a higher opportunity from Week 4 to Week 9 in 2022, as evidenced by his five best games (5/72, 8/95, 2/22, 6/64, and 8/100/1 on 36 targets). Unfortunately, he came out of Week 10 with a shoulder injury, costing him five weeks of action. 

Philadelphia looked his way 31 times over his final five starts (including the postseason), leading to 25 catches for 232 yards and one touchdown with one winning game (5/58/1).

When the lights turned on for the 2023 season, Goedert promptly posted a zero game on one target in Week 1, followed by three dull showings (6/22, 5/41, and 2/25). His opportunity and output were trending higher over his next five matchups (25/322/2 on 33 targets), highlighted by two games (8/117/1 and 5/77/1). 

A broken forearm in Week 9 led to an early exit and three missed starts. Goedert drove the bus home with a subpar finish over six contests (25/203/2 on 37 targets). He gained a career-low 9.7 yards per catch while averaging 5.9 targets.

Last season, after two games, Goedert only had seven catches for 69 yards on nine targets. The Saints had no answer for him in Week 3 (10/170 on 11 targets), followed by a steady showing (7/62). He left his third game after three snaps, leading to three missed weeks with a knee issue. An ankle issue cost him another four matchups. 

Goedert had 35 catches for 410 yards and three touchdowns on 43 targets over his other nine games. 

Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert (88) against the Green Bay Packers in an NFC wild card game at Lincoln Financial Field. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Fantasy Outlook: Goedert missed 22 games over the past five seasons, and he has never been an edge in scoring. His final 2024 stats over 14 games came to 59 catches for 711 yards and three touchdowns on 72 targets, which would have ranked 11th for tight ends if done in the regular season. 

Goedert comes off the board as the 18th tight end in late July. There’s upside in his potential while also showcasing plenty of injury risk. He has a 70/800/5 season in him if Goedert can stay on the field for 17 games. I have him ranked 10th in my projections, which aligns with my early outlook. He needs to stay healthy, and Philadelphia must add a few more passing attempts to help his chances.