Caleb Williams finished last year as the No. 16 quarterback in fantasy football. With all of the upgrades that the Chicago Bears made around him, and the potential for him to improve, Williams is currently being selected as the No. quarterback in fantasy football.
Is the rise warranted?
Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen are obviously the top two who go off the board. After the magical season that Jayden Daniels had, it is hard to knock him going so high, and Jalen Hurts provides such a safe pick with his rushing touchdown ability. Joe Burrow still has great receivers and a potentially bad defense, but you may be able to make the case for Williams after that.
The next names are Patrick Mahomes, Baker Mayfield, and Kyler Murray. Mahomes would be hard to pass up, but the Chiefs are clearly prioritizing winning games by showing as little as possible in the regular season to save up for a postseason run. He is not the high upside bet in fantasy that he used to be. He finished 11th and 10th in the past two seasons.
Mayfield finished fourth last year, but that was the only year in his career when he finished in the top 12 in points per game. Yes, the Bucs added a receiver, but their current receivers are getting older, and Chris Godwin is coming back from an injury. Plus, they are changing offensive coordinators again.
Next is Murray, who arguably has the best case to be a breakout fantasy football star. He has always been better in fantasy football than his real-life value, and he has had multiple top-five finishes. Still, while the bet is that Murray is healthy and the offense has continuity, the offense did not add in the way that the Bears did.
Caleb Williams could be a dark-horse in fantasy football in 2025
Bo Nix is going right after Williams, and while he has potential as well, the argument for Nix is Sean Payton, which can be offset by Ben Johnson. Williams has better playmakers and more high-end upside.
It is fair to rank Williams below the three above him because you have not seen it, but it is easy to think that if you want to swing for the fences, you could rank Williams as high as sixth.