FF Draft strategy/player analysis for 2025.

I've started prepping early this year since I promised myself I would stop putting myself in the position where I'm cramming the day before. Some random things I've taken to doing over the years….

- I do a TON of mock drafts. There was a time I would just do one or two the day of, now I do as many as I can. I make sure I've mocked from every position and I try doing different things even things I normally wouldn't consider. By doing an insane amount of mocks I've found I do a much better job of adapting to whatever happens during the real one. I rarely have moments of panic or indecision.

- I'm in a 3 WR league but even if I wasn't I believe for the last three years or so you're better off addressing WR first. IMO there's a pretty big drop off after the first 10-12 WRs. There can always be an exception but I can already tell you that probably two of my first three picks and definitely three of my first five will be WRs. I've drafted some decent teams with a "zero RB" or "RB hero" approach I can't pull off a good mock where I wait at WR.

- For whatever reason I hate streaming QB and TE. I've been known to spend an early pick on those positions just so I can have a set it and forget it/ride or die player there. I don't think I'll be doing that this year BUT I know I'll probably be happier addressing those positions a little too early than waiting too long and not getting anyone.

- The last third of the draft. I pretty much try to pick up as many quality backup RBs as I can and second or third year WRs who could possibly brake out. I'm done taking rookies. At least for now.

- I don't shy away from taking multiple players from the same teams. I actually quite like stacks but only occasionally acquire them because unless you're going to reach for someone it kind of has to fall into place on it's own.

- I know some people think this is a waist of a roster spot but if my staring RBs have a clear cut quality backup I like to have them on my bench. This goes double if they have durability concerns. For example if I draft James Connor I am absolutely going to grab Benson at the end of the draft. In fact in this example I'd probably grab Benson a tad early just to make sure I got him.

Anyway I'm hoping you guys will share your draft philosophies, tips, tricks, etc. I'd also love to hear who you're targeting and who you're avoiding (and obviously why) I'm definitely going to raise the bar on my preparation this year.

Originally posted by HomestarRunner:
I've started prepping early this year since I promised myself I would stop putting myself in the position where I'm cramming the day before. Some random things I've taken to doing over the years….

- I do a TON of mock drafts. There was a time I would just do one or two the day of, now I do as many as I can. I make sure I've mocked from every position and I try doing different things even things I normally wouldn't consider. By doing an insane amount of mocks I've found I do a much better job of adapting to whatever happens during the real one. I rarely have moments of panic or indecision.

I too do a TON of mocks from every position. That is until our draft spots have been provided to us. So far it has helped me to identify that 4th-6th round guy that I think is going to low and helping me be my strategy off of that.

- I'm in a 3 WR league but even if I wasn't I believe for the last three years or so you're better off addressing WR first. IMO there's a pretty big drop off after the first 10-12 WRs. There can always be an exception but I can already tell you that probably two of my first three picks and definitely three of my first five will be WRs. I've drafted some decent teams with a "zero RB" or "RB hero" approach I can't pull off a good mock where I wait at WR.

Was in a 3wr league last year. My plan was to go WR early but had connection issues and was on the clock and half the time gone by the time I logged in and panicked picked Breece Hall . Which wasn't the strategy I had going in and never recovered from a WR standpoint.

- For whatever reason I hate streaming QB and TE. I've been known to spend an early pick on those positions just so I can have a set it and forget it/ride or die player there. I don't think I'll be doing that this year BUT I know I'll probably be happier addressing those positions a little too early than waiting too long and not getting anyone.

I was always against a QB early but I've been burned too many times waiting so now I prefer one of the top 8ish fantasy QBs. As long as I don't force it. I am a big believer I TE early. But boy did that backfire with Engram last year.

- The last third of the draft. I pretty much try to pick up as many quality backup RBs as I can and second or third year WRs who could possibly brake out. I'm done taking rookies. At least for now.

- I don't shy away from taking multiple players from the same teams. I actually quite like stacks but only occasionally acquire them because unless you're going to reach for someone it kind of has to fall into place on it's own.

Im with you on stacks. I actually recently adopted the WR1/QB or TE/QB stack philosophy. So far its been a mixed bag but dont hate it. Like you though it needs to happen somewhat organically

- I know some people think this is a waist of a roster spot but if my staring RBs have a clear cut quality backup I like to have them on my bench. This goes double if they have durability concerns. For example if I draft James Connor I am absolutely going to grab Benson at the end of the draft. In fact in this example I'd probably grab Benson a tad early just to make sure I got him.

i hate but understand this philosophy. I usually dont do it because i do hate. I tried it last year and held on to my RBs backups and it made me miss out on some players I really wanted and turned out to be gems. So unless I draft someone who starts out missing games I don't see me handcuffing moving forward. Going to stick to my guns on this.

Anyway I'm hoping you guys will share your draft philosophies, tips, tricks, etc. I'd also love to hear who you're targeting and who you're avoiding (and obviously why) I'm definitely going to raise the bar on my preparation this year.

I fo think it's a bit early to be practicing now though

FF is 20 % strat and 80% luck lol

Originally posted by krizay:

I too do a TON of mocks from every position. That is until our draft spots have been provided to us. So far it has helped me to identify that 4th-6th round guy that I think is going to low and helping me be my strategy off of that.

- I'm in a 3 WR league but even if I wasn't I believe for the last three years or so you're better off addressing WR first. IMO there's a pretty big drop off after the first 10-12 WRs. There can always be an exception but I can already tell you that probably two of my first three picks and definitely three of my first five will be WRs. I've drafted some decent teams with a "zero RB" or "RB hero" approach I can't pull off a good mock where I wait at WR.

Was in a 3wr league last year. My plan was to go WR early but had connection issues and was on the clock and half the time gone by the time I logged in and panicked picked Breece Hall . Which wasn't the strategy I had going in and never recovered from a WR standpoint.

- For whatever reason I hate streaming QB and TE. I've been known to spend an early pick on those positions just so I can have a set it and forget it/ride or die player there. I don't think I'll be doing that this year BUT I know I'll probably be happier addressing those positions a little too early than waiting too long and not getting anyone.

I was always against a QB early but I've been burned too many times waiting so now I prefer one of the top 8ish fantasy QBs. As long as I don't force it. I am a big believer I TE early. But boy did that backfire with Engram last year.

- The last third of the draft. I pretty much try to pick up as many quality backup RBs as I can and second or third year WRs who could possibly brake out. I'm done taking rookies. At least for now.

- I don't shy away from taking multiple players from the same teams. I actually quite like stacks but only occasionally acquire them because unless you're going to reach for someone it kind of has to fall into place on it's own.

Im with you on stacks. I actually recently adopted the WR1/QB or TE/QB stack philosophy. So far its been a mixed bag but dont hate it. Like you though it needs to happen somewhat organically

- I know some people think this is a waist of a roster spot but if my staring RBs have a clear cut quality backup I like to have them on my bench. This goes double if they have durability concerns. For example if I draft James Connor I am absolutely going to grab Benson at the end of the draft. In fact in this example I'd probably grab Benson a tad early just to make sure I got him.

i hate but understand this philosophy. I usually dont do it because i do hate. I tried it last year and held on to my RBs backups and it made me miss out on some players I really wanted and turned out to be gems. So unless I draft someone who starts out missing games I don't see me handcuffing moving forward. Going to stick to my guns on this.

Anyway I'm hoping you guys will share your draft philosophies, tips, tricks, etc. I'd also love to hear who you're targeting and who you're avoiding (and obviously why) I'm definitely going to raise the bar on my preparation this year.

I fo think it's a bit early to be practicing now though

What are you talking about, it's only about two and a half months away!

I'm not going crazy but I'm enjoying it for whatever reason. The other day I experimented to see if I could draft two high end TEs and still have the rest of the team come out looking decent.

Originally posted by HomestarRunner:
I've started prepping early this year since I promised myself I would stop putting myself in the position where I'm cramming the day before. Some random things I've taken to doing over the years….

- I do a TON of mock drafts. There was a time I would just do one or two the day of, now I do as many as I can. I make sure I've mocked from every position and I try doing different things even things I normally wouldn't consider. By doing an insane amount of mocks I've found I do a much better job of adapting to whatever happens during the real one. I rarely have moments of panic or indecision.

- I'm in a 3 WR league but even if I wasn't I believe for the last three years or so you're better off addressing WR first. IMO there's a pretty big drop off after the first 10-12 WRs. There can always be an exception but I can already tell you that probably two of my first three picks and definitely three of my first five will be WRs. I've drafted some decent teams with a "zero RB" or "RB hero" approach I can't pull off a good mock where I wait at WR.

- For whatever reason I hate streaming QB and TE. I've been known to spend an early pick on those positions just so I can have a set it and forget it/ride or die player there. I don't think I'll be doing that this year BUT I know I'll probably be happier addressing those positions a little too early than waiting too long and not getting anyone.

- The last third of the draft. I pretty much try to pick up as many quality backup RBs as I can and second or third year WRs who could possibly brake out. I'm done taking rookies. At least for now.

- I don't shy away from taking multiple players from the same teams. I actually quite like stacks but only occasionally acquire them because unless you're going to reach for someone it kind of has to fall into place on it's own.

- I know some people think this is a waist of a roster spot but if my staring RBs have a clear cut quality backup I like to have them on my bench. This goes double if they have durability concerns. For example if I draft James Connor I am absolutely going to grab Benson at the end of the draft. In fact in this example I'd probably grab Benson a tad early just to make sure I got him.

Anyway I'm hoping you guys will share your draft philosophies, tips, tricks, etc. I'd also love to hear who you're targeting and who you're avoiding (and obviously why) I'm definitely going to raise the bar on my preparation this year.

I think Jones wins the Indy job, and he is more on time and on schedule than A-Rich. they quietly built a strong WR core, of Downs, Pittman, Pierce, AD Mitchell, and rook Warren with Jonathan Taylor and some OL pieces, in a dome. so that's a strong situation, and i think these WRs and Jones will surprise some people.

Chase Brown is a real winner, I think he keeps elevating his game. Blake Corum is a possible breakout for year 2.

I think CMC has his bounceback season.

Of the young QBs, I like Bo Nix. Drake Maye also, but his situation isn't where you want it to be yet, for fantasy success. Speaking of good situations, JJ McCarthy is a decent bet.

This is the return of Mahomes from a fantasy perspective. He has yet to play a snap with Brown, Rice and Worthy all on the field. Worthy looks fantastic. So this has revenge tour vibes, and they are already talking that way in KC. I am treating Patrick as the top FFball QB, as of now ESPN has him 6.

Originally posted by DRCHOWDER:
FF is 1% strat and 99% luck lol

Fixed

I've noticed sending dick pics to the commissioner before the draft order is announced helps a lot .

Originally posted by blizzuntz:
I've noticed sending dick pics to the commissioner before the draft order is announced helps a lot .

i didn't know it was possible to forfeit draft picks in FFball but you seem to have found a way

my younger cousin said he is going to use AI

transcribed hella YouTube videos into word document, will upload to AI and go from there.

not a bad idea

What injured players are worth drafting and stashing? If it works out I think I'll forgo drafting a defense and instead wait until after the draft slide the inactive player into my IR slot and then pick up the best matchup available for my D week one.

so far I'm looking at
Spears
Goidwin
Aiyuk

Who else is on the PUP list who's worth stashing?

Originally posted by HomestarRunner:
What injured players are worth drafting and stashing? If it works out I think I'll forgo drafting a defense and instead wait until after the draft slide the inactive player into my IR slot and then pick up the best matchup available for my D week one.

so far I'm looking at
Spears
Goidwin
Aiyuk

Who else is on the PUP list who's worth stashing?

Godwin while out 1st few weeks isn't on the PUP list. TB wants to allow him to practice some over the next few weeks. A nice stash but not IRable.

Outside of Spears and Aiyuk there really isn't much else. I'd say Joe Mixon but I'd only do it if I had Chubb personally.

Originally posted by HomestarRunner:
What injured players are worth drafting and stashing? If it works out I think I'll forgo drafting a defense and instead wait until after the draft slide the inactive player into my IR slot and then pick up the best matchup available for my D week one.

so far I'm looking at
Spears
Goidwin
Aiyuk

Who else is on the PUP list who's worth stashing?

Jalen Coker

Originally posted by krizay:

Originally posted by HomestarRunner:
What injured players are worth drafting and stashing? If it works out I think I'll forgo drafting a defense and instead wait until after the draft slide the inactive player into my IR slot and then pick up the best matchup available for my D week one.

so far I'm looking at
Spears
Goidwin
Aiyuk

Who else is on the PUP list who's worth stashing?

Godwin while out 1st few weeks isn't on the PUP list. TB wants to allow him to practice some over the next few weeks. A nice stash but not IRable.

Outside of Spears and Aiyuk there really isn't much else. I'd say Joe Mixon but I'd only do it if I had Chubb personally.

My league is pretty liberal with the IR if they've been ruled out you can put them there. I like the idea of stashing Mixon. Agreed that drafting Chub late makes sense. I actually just tried this in a mock but someone sniped him in the 11th.

Originally posted by boast:

Originally posted by HomestarRunner:
What injured players are worth drafting and stashing? If it works out I think I'll forgo drafting a defense and instead wait until after the draft slide the inactive player into my IR slot and then pick up the best matchup available for my D week one.

so far I'm looking at
Spears
Goidwin
Aiyuk

Who else is on the PUP list who's worth stashing?

Jalen Coker

Interesting, he hadn't been on my radar.