The Yahoo Fantasy football crew reveals which strategies they've been employing this 2025 draft season.
Focus on RB and WR early, with one detour to QB or TE
My favorite approach has been to build a solid core with only a single detour at QB or TE. We need to start at least two RBs and 2-3 WRs (this could be four if your league requires you to start three plus a FLEX). And the early rounds are our best opportunity to find the top starters at those positions. In 2024 alone, the average drop in PPR PPG from the first round to the third round was 2.3 PPG for a WR. It was worse for RBs (3.3 PPG).
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Anyway, we need five starters, and there are six rounds to get them. Meanwhile, there’s the “onesies” to monitor. I’ll use tiers as a guide, so I’m not the first to take the plunge on the Josh Allens or Brock Bowers of the world. A Jalen Hurts or George Kittle will provide me with similar weekly upside at a lower cost. With this approach, I can assess my roster once I reach the middle rounds and fill in the gaps the rest of the way. — Chris Allen
Waiting until Rounds 5-8 to load up on WR is a smart move
My draft strategy this season is built around the deep group of receivers who are available in rounds five through eight. Knowing I can fill out the bulk of my receiving corps in that range, it allows me to target an elite quarterback and/or an elite tight end in the first three rounds. The multi-point weekly advantage you get from the high-end players at those two spots is very difficult to replicate later on. Normally, I would never advise drafting both those positions early, but right now you can take an RB or WR in Round 1, a TE (Brock Bowers, Trey McBride) in the mid to late Round 2, a QB (Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Jayden Daniels) in Round 3, an RB (Kenneth Walker III, James Cook, TreVeyon Henderson) in Round 4 and then load up on WRs for the next three or four rounds before filling out your bench with upside RBs. That approach has created my favorite rosters coming out of this year’s drafts. — Justin Boone
This is the year to double up on RB early
I have typically been a “Hero RB” drafter in past years but this season, my favorite builds have come when I can grab two clear-cut starters in the first four rounds. Running back gets dicey early — somewhere between RB27 to 30 — and while we will get some waiver wire breakouts and late round steals who benefit from chaos, this just doesn’t feel like the year to be chasing the position. Much of that comes down to how flat the Tier 3 and 4 wide receivers feel this season. The guys going in Rounds 3 to 4 of fantasy drafts are a mix of risky veterans and youth who may be artificially boosted over the guys going right after them, as Boone highlighted, in Rounds 5 to 8. I don’t want to pass up on the excellent WR1 candidates at the top of the position, and prefer when I can grab at least one of those guys, but the mid-to-late round receivers present a great mix of rookies, second-year breakouts and overlooked veterans. That’s the area I want to build the receiver room.
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As for tight end and quarterback, I think you have to choose between the elite options at either, and it’s challenging to stack both. My preference is usually an elite quarterback if the run on WR1s happens before the Round 2 to 3 turn comes around. — Matt Harmon
Being flexible is key, but make sure you shore up WR and RB
My goal is to focus on the running back and wide receiver positions early, feeling I can likely find a breakout player or two at quarterback and tight end; I hate playing catch-up at the RB and WR spots. If the format requires at least three starting wideouts, I’ll look to bully that position while likely starting with a Hero RB build (one anchor). If the format has only two wideouts required, Robust RB is the order, with two backs likely in my first four picks. Of course, this is always a rough guide, as I want to be flexible and willing to call audibles when surprise values present themselves at the draft. — Scott Pianowski
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