Get ready for your dynasty draft with our Dynasty Draft Primers! Pat Fitzmaurice provides his dynasty draft advice, rankings, and tiers for each position in his Dynasty Draft Primers. Below you can find his dynasty draft advice for each position and how to access his full Dynasty Draft Primers to prepare for the 2025 NFL season.
Dynasty Draft Advice
Let’s dive into my dynasty draft content to help you prepare for your drafts!
Dynasty Draft Advice: Quarterbacks
The value gap between quarterbacks in Superflex dynasty leagues and quarterbacks in 1-QB dynasty leagues is massive. We’re talking Grand Canyon here.
In Superflex, you can start a second quarterback in a Flex spot designated as a Superflex spot. You’ll almost always want to start a quarterback in the Superflex spot – even a mediocre one – because quarterbacks generally score more points than running backs, wide receivers and tight ends.
There is an insatiable demand for starting NFL quarterbacks in Superflex leagues. In a 12-team Superflex league, there are typically 24 quarterbacks in starting lineups every week and just 32 NFL teams. That means several of the teams in a 12-team Superflex league don’t have a third starting quarterback and could be crushed by quarterback injuries, benching and/or bye weeks.
Demand for quarterbacks plummets in 1-QB dynasty leagues. Sure, it’s still advantageous to have a high-scoring signal-caller such as Lamar Jackson, and having a high-scoring young quarterback such as Jayden Daniels is even better.
But 1-QB dynasty leagues often have more than one Flex spot in starting lineups. The more lineup spots, the more the impact of a high-scoring quarterback is muted. Also, you can more easily justify not having a high-scoring quarterback in a 1-QB league if you have a young quarterback capable of becoming a high-scoring quarterback.
Check out my Dynasty Draft Strategy, Rankings & Tiers: Quarterbacks 
Dynasty Draft Quarterback Notes
- What can Jayden Daniels do for an encore after a triumphant rookie season? Selected No. 2 overall in last year’s NFL Draft, Daniels earned Offensive Rookie of the Year honors after throwing for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns, with an additional 891 rushing yards and six TD runs. That output was good for a QB5 fantasy finish. The Commanders feathered Daniels’ nest in the offseason by adding WRs Deebo Samuel and Dyami Brown, and, perhaps most significantly, stalwart left tackle Laremy Tunsil. Expect more fantasy goodness from the NFL’s brightest new star at the QB position.
Dynasty Draft Quarterback Rankings
Dynasty Draft Advice: Running Backs
In the fable The Three Little Pigs, the least astute of the three pigs built a house made of straw, and his slightly less dim brother built a house made of sticks.
If those little pigs had dynasty teams, they would have built their teams around running backs.
That’s not meant as a slight against NFL running backs. Those brave, underpaid souls hurl themselves at bloodthirsty defenders time and time again. Like crash-test dummies, their raison d’être is to absorb physical punishment. And that’s one of the reasons not to build a dynasty team around running backs.
Because of the nature of their work, running backs tend not to have long NFL careers.
There are exceptions, of course. Derrick Henry is a Sherman tank in shoulder pads. He’s entering his 10th NFL season and has shown no signs of slowing down.
But Henry is an anomaly.
Nick Chubb had five productive seasons before a gruesome Week 2 knee injury ended his 2023 season and put the rest of his career in jeopardy.
Javonte Williams seemed to have a promising career ahead of him. He tore his ACL early in his second season and has struggled to get back to his rookie form.
The Panthers drafted Jonathon Brooks in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft even though he tore his ACL the previous fall while playing for the University of Texas. Brooks returned to action last November and re-tore the same ACL in his third game back. He has already been ruled out for the 2025 season, and his NFL future is in doubt.
Not every running back sustains a major injury, of course. But the value of running backs can be fleeting, even for the ones who stay healthy.
Travis Etienne and Rachaad White were valuable fantasy assets in 2023, finishing as top-five PPR running backs. Both had disappointing 2024 seasons in which they were partly usurped by younger teammates. Now, you’d be lucky to get a second-round rookie draft pick in 2027 and a tuna sandwich for either Etienne or White.
The running back position is less predictable than the quarterback, wide receiver and tight end positions. We often see running backs come out of the ether and become major contributors even though they were afterthoughts in dynasty rookie drafts.
Take Bucky Irving, for instance. The Buccaneers drafted Irving in the fourth round last year. He eventually stole Rachaad White’s job and is now considered a top-10 dynasty running back.
Winning dynasty teams need productive running backs. The dream is to be able to land wildly talented young running backs such as Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs and Ashton Jeanty in rookie drafts. But if you aren’t able to do that, you might have to acquire quality running backs in stealthier ways. The goal of the shrewd dynasty manager is to build running back strength without making sacrifices at other positions.
In a dynasty startup draft, avoid the temptation to spend multiple early-round picks on running backs. It’s OK to draft an anchor running back while paying proper respect to other positions. And if you want to capitalize on a couple of bargains in the first 5-6 rounds, that’s cool. But don’t build your dynasty team around a collection of running backs taken in the early rounds of a startup. Your team will be a house of straw.
Draft running backs opportunistically in a dynasty startup. Take value where you can find it in the middle and later rounds. Seek discounts on young runners with good athletic profiles but uncertain roles. And don’t be afraid of older veterans who still have roles.
If you fall so far behind at the running back position in your startup draft that you can’t dig out of the hole, don’t panic. You’re playing in a dynasty league. People make a lot of trades. There are few things in this world more overrated than positional balance in dynasty leagues.
You can trade your way out of a hole. In neglecting running backs, you undoubtedly loaded up at other positions and will have areas of strength from which you can deal.
Check out my Dynasty Draft Strategy, Rankings & Tiers: Running Backs
Dynasty Draft Running Back Notes
- Ashton Jeanty might be the only foolproof rookie pick in this year’s class. His prospect profile is dazzling, and the Raiders will turn their backfield over to him after drafting him sixth overall. Jeanty’s 2024 stats are absurd: 2,601 rushing yards, 7.0 yards per carry, 30 total touchdowns. He played against lesser competition in the Mountain West Conference but did just fine in games against top competition, with 200 scrimmage yards and three TDs against Oregon and 126 yards from scrimmage against Penn State in the CFB playoffs. Extraordinary contact balance is Jeanty’s calling card. It’s so hard to knock this guy off his feet. Jeanty forces a ton of missed tackles and is a Houdini-like escape artist in close quarters. Jeanty is also a good pass catcher. Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly likes to operate at a breakneck pace, which is good for Jeanty. Fast pace = more plays = more Jeanty touches. This is an easy choice for the No. 1 pick in rookie drafts regardless of format.
Dynasty Draft Running Back Rankings
Dynasty Draft Advice: Wide Receivers
Wide receiver is a critical position in dynasty leagues — it’s probably the most important position, with the possible exception of the quarterback position in Superflex leagues.
Most dynasty leagues use full-point PPR scoring, and most require you to start at least three wide receivers. With those league settings, it will be hard for you to win games if you don’t have at least average production from the wide receiver position. If you’re able to amass an outstanding group of receivers, you’ll have a major competitive advantage.
Quarterback and tight end are easier positions to solve because you only need one or two good ones. And you can sometimes get away with taking shortcuts at running back due to the unpredictable nature of the position. Every year, we see running backs emerge from obscurity to become significant fantasy contributors. If you luck your way into a few such players, you’ll be OK.
There are no shortcuts at the wide receiver position.
Wide receivers are more predictable than running backs. Running back value can fluctuate wildly as roles change. A previously unheralded running back can quickly become a valuable asset due to injuries to the running backs in front of him. Those types of value spikes are rare at the wide receiver position since each team plays several receivers, making an ascent to the top of the depth chart more difficult.
Receivers also tend to age more gracefully than running backs. Productive 10-year careers at the wide receiver position are not uncommon, whereas few running backs maintain a high level of productivity into their 30s.
In short, you generally get what you pay for at wide receiver. Therefore, it’s wise to spend vigorously at the position.
In a dynasty startup draft, drink deeply from the wide receiver well because it will eventually run dry. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the WR position is deeper than it is. Yes, there are a lot of usable wide receivers, but there aren’t many young receivers who have either achieved stardom already or have a good chance to attain it.
You must get your fair share of good young wide receivers in the early rounds of a dynasty startup. If you short yourself at the wide receiver position, it could take years to catch up.
Remember: You start at least three wide receivers every week in most dynasty leagues, maybe more. You need depth — especially when you factor in inevitable injuries.
Get yourself plenty of wide receiver firepower in your dynasty startup. You won’t regret it.
Check out my Dynasty Draft Strategy, Rankings & Tiers: Wide Receivers
Dynasty Draft Wide Receiver Notes
- A 6-foot-5 receiver who topped 1,300 receiving yards in each of his last two college seasons? Yes, please. And now Tetairoa McMillan seems poised to immediately become the Panthers’ No. 1 receiver after Carolina took him with the eighth overall pick in the draft. Tet is a classic X receiver — although he can also be a matchup nightmare as a big slot receiver. He has a planetary catch radius and good, strong hands. A smooth mover for a big receiver, McMillan has advanced route-running chops. He has a good feel for attacking zone coverage, and he’s no shrinking violet when asked to go over the middle. Mike Evans comparisons are inevitable because of McMillan’s height. The comp that makes more sense to me is Tee Higgins, who’s 6-4. Like Higgins, McMillan comes down with more than his fair share of contested catches, but both players have much more to their games than just the ability to high-point the football.
Dynasty Draft Wide Receiver Rankings
Dynasty Draft Advice: Tight Ends
In the 2024 version of this article, we talked about the promise of a brighter future at the TE position. That was before the Raiders’ Brock Bowers shattered the yardage record for a rookie tight end, and before the Cardinals’ Trey McBride produced 1,146 yards on 111 receptions.
Two tight ends were taken in the first round of this year’s NFL Draft. The Bears selected Colston Loveland of Michigan 10th overall, and the Colts took Tyler Warren of Penn State 14th overall.
The infusion of young talent has spruced up a position that has long vexed fantasy managers. You no longer have to go dumpster-diving when acquiring tight ends in a dynasty startup draft.
But that doesn’t mean you have to splurge.
Sure, you could draft Bowers or McBride and feel as if you’re set at tight end for the foreseeable future. But those guys are expensive. Bowers is a first-round pick in most 1QB dynasty startups, McBride a second-round pick. If you play in a TE-premium league, you’ll really have to pay through the nose for one of those aces.
But there might be a case for cutting corners at tight end — even in TE-premium leagues.
Some dynasty leagues use TE-premium scoring. If you’re in a TE-premium league, you might want to place greater emphasis on the position — but not necessarily.
In the TE-premium format, tight ends are awarded more points per reception than players at other positions. If RBs and WRs get 1.0 points per reception, tight ends might get 1.5. If running backs and wide receivers get 0.5 points per reception, tight ends might get 1.0.
Check out my Dynasty Draft Strategy, Rankings & Tiers: Tight Ends
Dynasty Draft Tight End Notes
- Colston Loveland is an exciting young TE prospect from Michigan who’ll turn 21 shortly before the draft. Most people expected Penn State’s Tyler Warren to be drafted ahead of Loveland, but the Bears took Loveland 10th overall, while Warren went 14th to the Colts. In his best college season (2023), Colston’s receiving numbers were about half of what Warren produced in 2024. But let’s consider the circumstances. Michigan’s offense was run-heavy in the Wolverines’ 2023 national championship season. In 2024, Michigan’s quarterbacking was awful. The 6-5, 245-pound Loveland is a freaky athlete with a huge catch radius and impressive route-running knowhow. His potential is immense. But Loveland might not be a starting-caliber fantasy tight end as a rookie since he’ll be sharing TE targets with veteran TE Cole Kmet, and since Caleb Williams has yet to prove that he can support multiple fantasy-relevant pass catchers.
Dynasty Draft Tight End Rankings
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