The second biggest fantasy football draft weekend is now behind us. That means we are coming up on the biggest draft weekend. By now, most of you surely have your plan in place. But for those looking for a last-minute primer on what to do, we’ve got you covered. Here are my preferred fantasy draft strategies for the 2025 season.
Double Hero RB
We are going to open with my top approach for this season. As a reminder, these are all geared toward the average fantasy manager’s home league. These are your leagues with your college buddies, coworkers, recreational softball team, etc.
For the slappies grinding best ball drafts the past four months, you know how much wide receivers get pushed up. Starting with two running backs in the first three rounds makes the rest of your draft difficult. In redraft home leagues, though, running backs reign supreme.
It’s always lovely to anchor your team with an elite wide receiver, but this year, the wide receivers available in Rounds 4-7 are incredibly strong. Rounds 8 and 9 will also have legitimate starting-caliber wide receivers in more casual leagues.
You can double-tap RB to start your draft, take an elite onesie in round 3, and then rattle off WRs for the next five rounds.
Do not pass on superior players to force a strategy. But starting Jahmyr Gibbs over CeeDee Lamb or Ashton Jeanty over Malik Nabers is not necessarily a bad thing.
Jahmyr Gibbs lived up to his “Sonic” nickname in 2024 with a league-leading 20 TDs 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ikYFyjaxW3
— NFL (@NFL) May 25, 2025
If you have an early pick, you can start with one of the big three running backs, then get someone like Bucky Irving, Chase Brown, Josh Jacobs, or Jonathan Taylor in the second. Toward the back half, you should be able to get two of Christian McCaffrey, Derrick Henry, Jeanty, and De’Von Achane. It’s a robust approach this season.
Hero RB
The GOAT strategy. I’ve been endorsing Hero RB since before I even knew what it was. In 2018, I called it “Single RB.” But I’d been using the Hero RB strategy for years without even realizing.
The basic tenet of Hero RB is to take one running back in the first two rounds (you can occasionally stretch the Hero to Round 3) and then focus on wide receivers and the onesies. Given how frequently running backs get hurt or bust, you can figure out the RB2 position via the waiver wire.
Admittedly, this strategy has become more difficult in modern fantasy football. Fantasy managers are more competent than ever. With the wealth of information available, those RB2s that used to be worth a ton of FAAB are fewer and farther between. The days of picking up league winner David Johnson in Week 12 of the 2015 season are over.
Nevertheless, suppose you stack your advantage at wide receiver. In that case, you can piece together a running back room full of guys like Jaylen Warren, Tyrone Tracy Jr., Zach Charbonnet, Jaydon Blue, and other later-round guys with solid floors or plausible upside.
Best Player Available
One of the main reasons I exclusively play in leagues with deeper starting rosters is the flexibility they offer during drafts. In your ESPN or Yahoo standard format of 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 Flex, only 60 wide receivers and running backs are started each week. You can start a maximum of three wide receivers or three running backs.
If you start your draft double-tapping either position, you may be forced into the unenviable position of not taking the best player on the board due to positional need.
Let’s say you pick at the No. 12 spot. Your options are completely wide open. You can take two RBs, two WRs, or split the difference. What should you do? What happens in Rounds 3-6 will retroactively determine the answer.
In leagues where you can start four or even five RBs/WRs, it’s very unlikely you will be forced into taking a lesser player. You can take the best player on your board for at least 5-6 rounds before considering the positional implications.
The goal is to compile a roster that scores the most fantasy points each week. It doesn’t matter whether those points disproportionately come from one position or another. Take the top player on your board at every pick.
Draft Strategy To Avoid: Double Elite Onesie
This one will be short and sweet. You can take an elite quarterback or a top-tier TE, but you cannot take both. It just doesn’t work.
If you come out of the first four rounds with a QB and a TE, you will be too far behind at RB and WR. Even if the quarterback or tight end is a value based on ADP, you must pass. The fact that we can get viable starters at both positions in the double-digit rounds makes the opportunity cost of passing on running back and wide receiver twice in the first four rounds untenable. Don’t do it.
