One of the under-discussed benefits to making deep runs in the fantasy playoffs — aside from the glory, the trophies and the financial incentives — is becoming attentive to individual breakout performances in the closing weeks.
We can pretty much guarantee your league’s last-place, three-win manager wasn’t hyper-focused on Marvin Mims Jr.’s December usage.
For the benefit of anyone who didn’t completely lock in during Weeks 16-18 (most of whom aren’t consuming the content now, either), let’s review the players who most significantly boosted their 2025 fantasy appeal with end-of-year binges …
Bryce Young, QB, Carolina Panthers
Way back in September, there was simply zero chance — none, zip, zilch — that Young was prepared to give us a moment like this:
Young’s transformation from the season-opener to the season-ender was outrageous. His year began with a two-interception performance against the Saints, a game in which he completed just 13 of 30 passes; it ended with an overtime win against Atlanta in which he delivered five combined touchdowns without a turnover. Young was the overall QB5 in fantasy over his final five games, passing for nine scores and rushing for four.
Again: Outrageous.
Carolina closed the season with two wins in the last three weeks, so it’s not as if Young was piling up stats in non-competitive situations. Maybe he hasn’t yet reached the same tier as C.J. Stroud, but he’s certainly not far behind. Young is gonna deserve fantasy consideration in nearly all formats in 2025. The Panthers’ receiving room is a lock to improve, too.
Michael Penix Jr., QB, Atlanta Falcons
It wasn’t always a clinic with Penix in the closing weeks — he completed less than 60% of his throws and tossed as many picks as TD passes — but there’s no questioning the quality of his arm. His best throws were absolutely filthy:
Penix was sacked just three times in his three starts while passing for three scores and rushing for another. He also fed Drake London relentlessly, a welcome development. London closed the season with 22 catches for 352 yards and two touchdowns over the final three weeks, drawing 39 targets. It’s looking like the Penix-London combo has a decently bright future.
It’s worth remembering that Penix is an older prospect who played his first collegiate snap in 2018 — he and Trevor Lawrence will both be 25 years old when the 2025 season kicks off. This is a player who’s much further along in his development than the usual rookie QB. It’s reasonable to expect big things early in his NFL career.
Tyjae Spears, RB, Tennessee Titans
Spears faced a layup line of user-friendly defenses during the fantasy playoffs, and he produced at exactly the level you’d expect from a talented multi-purpose back.
In Weeks 15-17, Spears averaged 87.0 scrimmage yards per game, catching a dozen passes and making four house calls. He was sidelined by a concussion in the regular season finale, but he made an emphatic statement in his previous three games. Tony Pollard remains in the mix for the Titans next season, so there’s no obvious path to a featured role for Spears, except via injury. But if he can simply remain healthy while playing 45-50% of the weekly snaps, he’ll be a flex with serious upside.
Jalen McMillan, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Even if you weren’t paying particularly close attention to the NFC South title chase in the final weeks of the regular season, you probably still heard McMillan’s name a time or two. He closed his season with a five-game touchdown streak in which he visited the end zone seven times. McMillan ultimately emerged as one of the decisive players in fantasy, appearing on 23.2% of Yahoo public league championship rosters. The rookie had a few unfortunate moments along the way, but he was reliably drawing a half-dozen targets per game in the most important weeks of Tampa Bay’s season.
With Chris Godwin recovering from injury and heading into free agency, there’s obviously a real chance McMillan will continue to function as a featured receiver for the Bucs, drawing steady volume. He might very well enter draft season as a top-35-ish receiver.
Marvin Mims Jr., WR, Denver Broncos
Mims hauled in a career-high eight receptions on as many targets back in Week 17, delivering 103 receiving yards with a pair of highlight scores. Late in the season, the second-year receiver emerged as something more than a deep-shot, big-play specialist — although he can definitely still fill that role spectacularly:
Sean Payton deployed him in a variety of fun and effective ways down the stretch, using him out of the backfield, in the slot and split wide. Mims topped 50 receiving yards in four of his last five games in the regular season, with a pair of triple-digit yardage performances included. He was quiet in the wild-card round, but it’s worth noting that he actually played a career-high 69% of the offensive snaps for Denver.
Mims was basically an afterthought early in the season, but he’ll enter 2025 as an ascending playmaker tied to a quality offense, fully approved for use as a flex/WR4.
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