Fantasy Sports

Second-Year PPR Beasts—Ranking WRs Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, and Rome Odunze For Fantasy Football 2025

Alan Goldsher|
Will New York Giants sophomore wide receiver Malik Nabers live up to his lofty ADP?
Will New York Giants sophomore wide receiver Malik Nabers live up to his lofty ADP? | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

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Arizona CardinalsChicago BearsNew York Giants

Brian Thomas Jr. wasn’t a top-10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Nor was he the first receiver off the board. Or the second. Or the third.

But if you rack up 82 votes for Rookie of the Year when Jayden Daniels is a thing, and if you finish third in the NFL in receiving yardage (1,282), and if you finish fifth in the league in receiving touchdowns (10), and if you finish second in the league in 40-yard-plus receptions (seven), you can’t be a breakout star.

Because, y’know, Thomas is already a star—even starrier than the three pass catchers drafted before him in '24: Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, and Rome Odunze.

So let’s eliminate Thomas from this chin-wag about second-year leaps, shall we?

Sophomore Sensation?

Heading into last year’s draft, Harrison, who went to the Arizona Cardinals at the four-spot, was considered by many to be a generational pass catcher. Nabers, believed to be all but a sure thing, was scooped up at six by the New York Giants. And some had Odunze—whom the Chicago Bears grabbed at nine—graded higher than both Harrison and Nabers.

So which of these three highly-touted second-year receivers should be at the top of your fantasy football cheat sheet? Let’s do that whole ranking-from-least-to-most-desirable thing and find out. (All Average Draft Positions [ADPs] courtesy of Fantasy Pros.)

3) Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears

ADP: 80 (WR38)

The Skinny: The Bears’ offseason changes all but guarantee a significant offensive uptick: They hired a coach who’s proven he can draw up scoreboard-exploding game plans in Ben Johnson; they revamped an O-line that allowed rookie quarterback Caleb Williams to get sacked a historically crappy 68 times; and Williams has a full year of NFL ball under his belt.

Thing is, Odunze is very much a WR2 behind D.J. Moore, and with rookies Luther Burden III (WR) and Colston Loveland (TE) thrown into the mix, Odunze won’t benefit from Chicago’s offensive fixes to the point that he’ll leapfrog his sophomore brethren.

2) Malik Nabers, New York Giants

ADP: 9 (WR5)

The Skinny: Each preseason, there’s a second-year fantasy darling—remember how high you drafted Bijan Robinson last fall?—and here in 2025, it’s the LSU product. The eye test tells us that, sure, Nabers is scary, but the logistics test doesn’t necessarily agree.

It looks like Nabers will be catching balls from Russell Wilson, an aging (read: washed) QB who didn’t do wonders for his top receiver in Pittsburgh last season, George Pickens—a legit WR1 who managed just three receiving touchdowns in his eight games playing alongside the veteran.

If you can’t fully trust Danger Russ, then by the transitive property, you can’t fully trust Nabers.

1) Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals

ADP: 39 (WR17)

The Skinny: Okay, stick with me for a sec, here.

Sticking Harrison atop this little list isn’t to say you should draft him before Nabers. (Hell, this isn’t even to say you should draft Harrison before Travis Hunter.) But if we’re talking about which receiver will make the most notable sophomore leap, different story.

Nabers had 319 more receiving yards and countless more splash plays than Harrison, but—and here’s a nifty little under-the-radar stat for ya—Harrison hauled in eight receiving touchdowns to Nabers’ seven.

One could posit that Harrison’s touchdown lead stemmed from the fact that he played two more games than Nabers (17 as opposed to 15), but one could also posit that Harrison was in a way better quarterback situation (Kyler Murray as opposed to Daniel Jones, Drew Lock, Tommy Devito, and Tim Boyle.)

Kyler Murray is still in Arizona, thus MHJ is still in a way better quarterback situation. Thus, more notable sophomore leap.

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Alan Goldsher
ALAN GOLDSHER

Alan Goldsher has written about sports for Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Apple, Playboy, NFL.com, and NBA.com, and he’s the creator of the Chicago Sports Stuff Substack. He’s the bestselling author of 15 books, and the founder/CEO of Gold Note Records. Alan lives in Chicago, where he writes, makes music, and consumes and creates way too much Bears content. You can visit him at http://www.AlanGoldsher.com and http://x.com/AlanGoldsher.

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