Welcome to Walter’s 2025 Report Card - a series looking back on Walter's pre-draft insights and evaluating their predictive accuracy. The focus will be on TEs that Walter ranked higher than consensus rankings in the pre-season, given that correctly differentiating from consensus is how you create edges in fantasy football.
Here are some of the TEs that Walter differed from consensus on in 2025 - for better or for worse!
Biggest TE Win
There wasn’t a lot of hype surrounding Jake Ferguson entering the season. He just finished as the overall TE25 in PPR formats in 2024, and the Cowboys added George Pickens in the offseason.
That meant Ferguson was likely in store for another subpar fantasy season. He was set to be the third option in that Dallas offense, and his potential low target share made him a semi-risky target as a low-end TE1.
However, WalterPicks was in on Ferguson ahead of drafts. We ranked him 113th overall in our preseason rankings, which was 22 spots higher than where he went in Sleeper drafts. The Cowboys playmaker then wound up finishing as the overall TE5 in PPR formats.
Other winning TEs that Walter liked more than consensus (number of spots Overall Walter Rank was ahead of Overall ADP):
Harold Fannin Jr. (40.5) —> Walter Ranking TE27, Finished TE6
Zach Ertz (46.8) —> Walter Ranking TE14, Finished TE19 (TE17 in PPG)
Dalton Schultz (64.6) —> Walter Ranking TE22, Finished TE10
Biggest TE Whiff
It is a positive that our first TE ranking whiff did not come until Jonnu Smith, a player going in the double-digit rounds of 2025 fantasy drafts.
Walter had him ranked 36 spots higher than where he went in Sleeper drafts. He was ranked 142nd overall with a TE21 ADP compared to his 178 ADP on Sleeper. Smith then went on to finish as the overall TE35 in PPR formats this year.
Despite the major whiff on Smith, it’s not like fantasy managers lost their league by drafting him in the later rounds. He was likely a backup for your team at the TE position that you eventually dropped a few weeks into the season.
Other losing TEs that Walter liked more than consensus (number of spots Overall Walter Rank was ahead of Overall ADP):
Noah Gray (28.1) —> Walter Ranking TE30, Finished TE59
Walter’s Sleeper Wins
Juwan Johnson
Juwan Johnson was one of WalterPicks’ bigger wins at the TE position this year. We had him ranked 184th overall with a TE29 ADP. That was a big difference from his overall ADP on Sleeper (212.3). Johnson finished as the overall TE8 in PPR formats.
Darren Waller
WalterPicks identified Darren Waller as a sleeper target later in drafts. His overall rank (173) was 39 spots higher than his overall ADP on Sleeper (212.5). Although Warren only played in nine games, he was a solid TE1 play when healthy. His 9.9 PPR fantasy points per game ranked 16th among all TEs.
Pat Freiermuth
Pat Freiermuth was a slight win in our books after he finished as the overall TE25 in PPR formats this season. We had him ranked 197th overall and as the TE31 entering the year. That was higher than where he was going in Sleeper drafts (213th overall).
