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Last year’s nickel back, Patterson will push Sheldon Brown at right cornerback. Jauron believes there’s “no reason to doubt” Brown even if he clearly lost a step last season. Buster Skrine and seventh-round rookie Trevin Wade are expected to challenge for dime back duties.

Downs’ second season got off to a rocky start with an ankle issue in training camp that forced him to miss the first two weeks of the season. The Colts were cautious with his return and their approach paid off. After a quiet Week 3, Downs caught at least six passes for 66 yards in three straight games. He also scored twice over that stretch. Downs topped 60 yards in seven of his first nine games. Injuries then started to take their toll on the young wideout. On top of the ankle issue, Downs appeared on the injury report with toe, groin, calf, ankle, and shoulder issues, the last of which caused him to miss a game. He went five straight games without more than three catches before the Week 18 grand finale. Downs finished the season with an 82/897/5 receiving line. Downs often looked like the team’s No. 1 receiver and out-targeted Michae Pittman more often than not, but his propensity to play through injuries has done him no favors through two seasons. If he can stay healthy in 2025, a true breakout season is in order.

Sanders finishes his rookie campaign with 33 receptions for 342 yards. He shared the TE1 role with Tommy Tremble for most of the season, and proved somewhat valuable for fantasy purposes when Tremble missed a few weeks with a brain injury. Sanders overcame a serious neck injury to play the final few games of the season, though his route participation was very much limited. Sanders, who had three games with more than three catches, could be a late-round name to monitor in 2025 if the Panthers part ways with Tremble, who is a free agent this spring.

It was yet another Packers game with strange flow and multiple quarterbacks, so it’s not surprising it was also yet another game where Reed failed to stuff the stat sheet. After coming out gangbusters earlier this season and positioning himself well to clear 1,000 yards receiving on the year, Reed didn’t end up particularly close at 857. He did clear 1,000 yards from scrimmage thanks to his 163 yards on the ground. The Packers have little hope of springing a Wild Card upset of the Eagles without a few big plays from nominal No. 1 wideout Reed.

Injuries slowed down a good start to the season for Ferguson, as he finishes with 59 receptions for 494 yards and no scores. He was a top-three receiving option in the offense with Dak Prescott, but his role withered with Cooper Rush. Ferguson ends the season as a stable fantasy TE2, a fantasy outlook managers can buy low on heading into 2025. A healthy Dak Prescott should give Ferguson a higher ceiling, putting him into the top-12 fantasy tight end mix next season.

Pittman posted career numbers in 2023, largely spurred on by Gardner Minshew taking over for an injured Anthony Richardson at quarterback. Minshew peppered him with easy-button targets and the young wideout converted on them to the tune of 109 grabs for 1,152 yards. The breakout season earned Pittman a contract extension and gave fantasy managers hope that he could coexist with Richardson, who struggled to connect with Pittman on layup looks as a rookie. That fear instantly materialized in 2024 with three games under 40 receiving yards to start the season. Pittman finally broke out in Week 4 with 113 yards…in a game that saw Joe Flacco replace an injured Richardson. Pittman topped 63 yards three times over his final 12 games and only posted one additional 100-yard outing, also with Flacco under center. The Colts will presumably keep Flacco or replace him with a similar veteran addition, but Pittman’s inability to get things going when the No. 4 overall pick on the field is more than a little concerning for his 2025 fantasy outlook. The continued breakout of Josh Downs could also move targets away from Pittman, making him a risky fantasy bet for early drafters.

Jacobs admitted before the game he would likely see a limited workload, and that remained the case even after Jordan Love suffered a second quarter finger injury, putting the game on the running game’s shoulders. The Packers decided to keep one eye fixed on postseason health even as losing meant they drew the two seed Philadelphia. Entering the postseason tournament with over 300 carries for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns, Jacobs has a tough first assignment in the Eagles.

Coker led the Panthers in receptions and targets, becoming Bryce Young’s go-to guy in the fourth quarter and overtime. It caps a nice rookie season for Coker, an undrafted rookie who emerged as one of Young’s most reliable pass catchers this season. Coker had 32 receptions for 478 yards and two touchdowns, with an impressive receiving success rate (55 percent). If Carolina does not upgrade its receivers room this offseason, Coker could be a leading candidate to function as a top-two pass catcher for Young in 2025.

The Cowboys were looking for production behind CeeDee Lamb all season, and got some with Jalen Tolbert. He caught 49-of-79 passes for 610 yards and seven touchdowns this season. With Brandin Cooks missing time, Tolbert worked both out of the slot and on the perimeter, making plays in the intermediate range for the multiple Cowboys quarterbacks. Tolbert enters the final year of his rookie deal in 2025 and profiles as a WR4 for Dynasty leagues. He has a real chance of permanently taking the Cowboys’ No. 2 wideout role, though the team could still look to add to the receiver room in the offseason.

Sermon did not record a carry in his final game of the year. Sermon joined the Colts early in the 2023 season after being cut by the 49ers and then again by the Eagles. He was quickly promoted to the active roster and made enough of a mark to earn a one-year contract with the team in the offseason. Sermon was called into action in 2024 when Jonathan Taylor suffered an ankle injury in Week 5. He ran 28 times for 67 yards at a dismal 2.4 yards per carry across two starts. Sermon also scored once and caught six passes for 25 yards, all of which came in the first start. By Taylor’s third absence, the Colts had seen enough of Sermon and relegated him to backup duties. Upon Taylor’s return, Sermon retained the backup role but was held to three or fewer touches in all but one game. Sermon will be a free agent in the spring. He should be able to find work as a backup and a special teamer, but it’s hard to imagine a landing spot that keeps him on the fantasy radar in 2025.

Caught between the Bears’ conservative approach and sometimes operating as the only viable target, Moore finishes the season with a robust 98 catches for ... 966 yards. He does clear 1,000 when you add in his rushing, but 2024 was a major statistical step backward after Moore blew up with Justin Fields last season. His 9.9 yards per catch were a new career low by 2.5. The other number was posted in the darkest days of recent Panthers history. It still had more to do with the Bears’ awful protection and Williams’ questionable decision-making. Constantly besieged, Williams led the league in sacks. That’s why the coaching staff’s seemingly never-ending focus was short targets to Moore. It’s nice that Moore can compile the way he did, but he’s capable of so much more down the field. Whom the Bears hire to replace Matt Eberflus will determine everything about Moore’s 2025 fantasy status. Anything from low-end WR1 to undependable WR3 is in play.