2025 Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: How to Get Started
This is beginning of a series polling our fantastic team of writers for the Fantasy Footballers.
Each week leading up to Week 1’s kickoff, we will be discussing Fantasy Draft Prep tackling the biggest questions involving fantasy football strategy, the ADP landscape, and how to practically begin to piece together your drafts. While it is possible to over engineer and overthink fantasy football (trust us, we’ve all been there), having a clear vision and plan for your league draft starts right now. Spending time and mapping out a plan while working backwards from your league’s draft is a framework to start with.
For this first edition, let’s get everyone back up to speed and start from square one for draft prep.
1. If someone has been out of the loop of fantasy football world, what is the easiest/fastest way to get up to speed?
By far the easiest way to almost instantly absorb everything that’s been happening in the NFL during the offseason is to get your hands on the Fantasy Footballers UDK+. The News section shares every bit of recent information as soon as it breaks. It also has updated profiles for each player, where you can quickly get up to speed with their current situation. And last but not least, it also has a Coaching Changes section, covering every managerial movement in the NFL. A must-have for every fantasy manager.-Javier Manzanera (@elmantis)
One of the fastest ways to catch up is to do a single mock draft because you’ll instantly see how much the landscape has shifted. Players who were 3rd-round picks last year may go in the 7th round, and rookie names to research will emerge throughout. It gives you a live look at current ADP trends, breakout hype, and where positional value has moved. In just 15 minutes, you shake off rust and feel more fantasy-ready.-Chris Cash (@ChrisCashMusic)
First things first – You tune into The Fantasy Footballers podcast and catch up on the episodes you may have missed. Secondly, look at the free agent signings/acquisitions from the offseason to familiarize yourself with the big names that switched teams. Using the official NFL.com page is a good place to start.-Dan Lovi (@LoviSports)
$100 bill aficionado Benjamin Franklin once said “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes, and seismic shifts in the fantasy landscape during the off-season”…or something like that. If you’re re-acclimatising yourself into the world of fantasy football, welcome back to a land where Cooper Kupp will now be catching passes from Sam Darnold in Seattle, DK Metcalf is the WR1 for Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh, and despite drafting two highly-touted rookies at the position – the Cleveland Browns still don’t have a starting quarterback…at least some things never change. Aside from grabbing The Fantasy Footballers Ultimate Draft Kit+ and absorbing the 102 player profile videos (yes, I double checked the math), I’d recommend any returning fantasy manager to “Get Divisional” and catch-up on the recent Divisional Breakdowns episodes of the show in order to acquaint themselves with all the movers and shakers across every NFL roster.-Paul Marnie (@paulmarnie)
The go to answer here is utilizing everything the UDK has to offer, tuning into The Fantasy Footballers podcast, and of course, reading the variety of articles from our talented writing staff. The piece I have to add is completing a few best ball drafts. You don’t need to go full best ball bro, just a handful of low entry fee drafts will do. You get to compete against real people drafting real teams and in the process, gain a quick understanding of the current fantasy landscape.– Aaron Larson (@aalarson)
2. What is one thing fantasy managers should NOT do if they are starting to prep for their drafts in late July?
Don’t be an ageist. It’s important to consider age cliffs in fantasy football, but many fantasy managers missed their chance to draft Saquon Barkley or Derrick Henry last season because they were older players changing teams. If an older player who still showed elite level throughout the whole 2024 season is falling in your draft, take the value. -Javier Manzanera (@elmantis)
Do not let the noise, highlights, and social media content in July dictate your entire draft plan. Camp highlights and hype blurbs are fun, but they can lure you into chasing recency bias and inflating fringe players. Just because someone mosed a third-string cornerback in shorts doesn’t mean they are breaking out.-Chris Cash (@ChrisCashMusic)
Do not ignore early injury concerns. You’ll see a lot of reporters saying a player should be ready for training camp despite suffering what’s deemed a minor injury. There have been countless examples of players tweaking their hamstrings or groins in OTAs and early in training camp, and they start out the season slow and sometimes don’t fully recover. Joe Mixon, for example, is a player I’m monitoring closely heading into training camp after being spotted in a walking boot last month.-Dan Lovi (@LoviSports)
Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
It’s really easy to do, but don’t fade good running backs just because they had a heavy load in 2024. We all know the narrative that most rushers who receive 330+ opportunities in the previous year see a dip in workload and production the following season, but let me tell you…I don’t care. Sure, Saquon Barkley may have touched the ball 388 times in the regular season with Bijan Robinson only 12 behind, and yes, 31-year-old Derrick Henry may have ran the ball on 325 age-defying occasions – but there’s a reason these guys received so many touches in the first place…they are fantasy monsters. If your leaguemates are drafting scared and letting elite RBs slide down your draft board, take advantage and enjoy the value by grabbing one or even two of these fantasy stud-muffins, especially if you’re at the tail end of the first round.-Paul Marnie (@paulmarnie)
Do NOT take last year’s results as this year’s rankings. Make sure you understand player movement and roster changes throughout the league. It is especially important to get a grasp on the incoming rookie class and monitor their reported usage during training camps and the preseason.– Aaron Larson (@aalarson)
3. What are the biggest overall changes in fantasy ADP for 2025 versus 2024?
Last year there was a fever for WRs, which pushed some elite RBs down the board. This year, fantasy managers seem to be more aware of this and I see a much more balanced round 1. But watch out for a possible RB fever in your draft during rounds 3-5. You might find some WRs falling down several spots. -Javier Manzanera (@elmantis)
One of the most apparent ADP shifts from 2024 to 2025 is at tight end. Last year, 11 TEs went inside the top 100 picks, including six in the first five rounds. This year, that’s down to just eight in the top 100, with only three cracking the top five rounds. Drafters are pulling back on early TE investment, likely reacting to last season’s mid-round busts and shifting toward a “get an elite or wait” mindset. -Chris Cash (@ChrisCashMusic)
The second tier of wide receivers this year is seemingly being pushed down to make room for more running backs at the front of the draft this year. Players like A.J. Brown and Amon-Ra St. Brown were being drafted in the middle of the first round in 2024 and are now being drafted in the second round, while Derrick Henry, De’Von Achane and Jahmyr Gibbs are finding their way to the first round or early second round. -Dan Lovi (@LoviSports)
Do you remember the first time you heard the term “Achilles Tendinitis”…because fantasy managers who drafted Christian McCaffrey at the 1.01 last season sure do, and it’s being reflected in this year’s ADP at the top of the draft. CMC’s eight-week stint on IR to start the year was devastating for owners, especially the ones who didn’t pick up Jordan Mason ahead of the 49ers opening matchup with the Jets on Monday Night Football. 2024 saw no fewer than six running backs selected in the first round…this year we are down to just four (with Derrick Henry just holding off Brock Bowers at the 1.12). It certainly feels as if drafters are “playing it safe” ahead of the 2025 season and electing to spend their first round pick on an elite pass-catcher – as of the third week of July, eight of the first twelve picks off the board are at the wide receiver position (up from six last year). -Paul Marnie (@paulmarnie)
The ADP landscape is always reactive to previous season results and as such, early round running backs are in vogue again. The NFL is cyclical and what was old appears to be new again, as teams found more offensive success on the ground last season. It also helped that we saw fewer running back injuries than usual, propping up individual fantasy scoring at the position. It’s impossible to say right now if these trends will continue but oftentimes the pendulum swings too far in one direction or another when it comes to ADP landscape, so tread lightly. – Aaron Larson (@aalarson)