Pat Fitzmaurice has gone position-by-position to provide you with fantasy football draft strategy and advice. Here’s how Fitz is preparing for his fantasy football drafts. His primers include fantasy football draft strategy, targets, rankings, tiers, and more.
Here are each of Fitz’s complete Fantasy Football Draft Primers: QB | RB | WR | TE
Below we dive into some of his fantasy football draft strategy and advice for each position.
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Fantasy Football Draft Strategy & Advice
Let’s explore some fantasy football draft strategy and advice from Pat Fitzmaruice for each position.
Quarterbacks
The big question is how much to invest in the quarterback position. Is it best to draft one of the top quarterbacks in an early round, or to focus on other positions in early rounds and draft a quarterback later?
There is obvious appeal to investing in a top quarterback. The quarterbacks who provide needle-moving rushing stats on top of their passing stats are highly valuable.
Josh Allen has averaged 24.2 fantasy points per game over the last three years, never averaging fewer than 22.6 fantasy points per game in any of those seasons.
Allen’s average draft position (ADP) is 28 overall, so he’s typically drafted early in the third round in 12-team leagues. Players with similar ADPs include receivers Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Terry McLaurin, and backs Chase Brown and Kyren Williams.
If you wait to draft your top quarterback, Kyler Murray and Jared Goff are among the other options. Murray has averaged 18.5 fantasy points per game over the last three years (but has missed 15 games over that stretch). Goff has averaged 18.2 fantasy points per game over the last three years.
While Allen is either the first or second quarterback selected in most fantasy drafts, Murray has an ADP of QB0 (78 overall) and Goff is at QB10 (85 overall).
Murray is typically drafted in the mid-seventh round of a 12-team draft; Goff in the early eighth round. Wide receivers with ADPs between Murray and Goff are Deebo Samuel, Calvin Ridley and Rome Odunze. The one running back with an ADP in that range is Tyrone Tracy.
You could draft Allen in the early-to-mid third round and one of Samuel, Ridley, Odunze or Tracy in the early-to-mid seventh round.
You could also draft one of Wilson, Smith-Njigba, McLaurin, Brown or Williams in the early-to-mid third round, and either Murray or Goff in the early-to-mid seventh round.
Is the 2025 fantasy scoring gap between Allen and Murray/Goff going to be bigger than the gap between the third- and seventh-round wide receivers/running backs?
The key factor to this is opportunity cost. At what point do we get an affordable opportunity cost for drafting a quarterback rather than a player at another position?
In a 1-QB league, you only have to start one quarterback, but you have to start somewhere around 5-6 running backs and wide receivers, depending on lineup configurations. And it’s good to have depth at those positions to guard against injuries and underachievement.
You can probably guess which way I lean in the early versus late quarterback debate. I tend to load my shopping cart with receivers and backs early on and find my quarterback somewhere from the sixth to eighth round range.
I don’t want to be underpowered at wide receiver in any PPR league or in any league that requires you to start at least three wideouts. While I’m willing to be a bit more patient at running back, I generally like to get one in the first three rounds and another by the end of the seventh round.
Tier 1
Jayden Daniels is coming off a sterling rookie season in which he threw for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns, with an additional 891 rushing yards and six touchdown runs. The Commanders upgraded Daniels’ supporting cast in the offseason, adding Deebo Samuel, along with stalwart left tackle Laremy Tunsil. Expect more fantasy goodness from the No. 2 pick in last year’s NFL Draft.
The NFL didn’t outlaw the tush push, so Jalen Hurts has a chance to extend his streak of four straight seasons with double-digit touchdown runs. In four seasons as an NFL starter, Jalen Hurts has finished QB6, QB1, QB2 and QB6 in fantasy points per game. The reason for last year’s slippage? Hurts was knocked out of a Week 16 game with a concussion and missed the last two regular-season contests.
Tier 2
- Patrick Mahomes
- Baker Mayfield
- Drake Maye
- Justin Fields
- Brock Purdy
- Bo Nix
- Kyler Murray
- Caleb Williams
After averaging more than 20 fantasy points per game in each of his first five seasons as the Chiefs’ starting quarterback, Patrick Mahomes has averaged fewer than 19 fantasy points per game in each of the last two seasons and has finished outside the top 10 in that category among quarterbacks. Subpar protection from his offensive line and a season-ending injury to receiver Rashee Rice early on didn’t help, but it’s now difficult to envision Mahomes leading all quarterbacks in fantasy scoring, as he did in 2018 and 2022.
Baker Mayfield hit career highs in passing yardage (4,500), touchdown passes (41), completion percentage (71.4%), yards per attempt (7.9) and rushing yardage (378) last season. Mayfield had never thrown 30 touchdown passes in any previous season, so we should probably expect regression. It’s also possible the Buccaneers’ offense is less effective this year, with 2024 offensive coordinator Liam Coen leaving to take the Jacksonville head coaching job. But Mayfield has a terrific supporting cast and has turned a corner in his career.
Caleb Williams is an interesting case. The No. 1 pick of the 2024 NFL Draft finished his rookie season with 3,541 passing yards, 20 touchdown passes and six interceptions in 17 starts, adding 489 rushing yards but no rushing touchdowns. He also took a league-high 68 sacks. But the Bears’ offensive line was leaky, and the play-calling was questionable. Bears general manager Ryan Poles hired highly regarded play-caller Ben Johnson as Chicago’s head coach, upgraded the offensive line in free agency and added tight end Colston Loveland and wide receiver Luther Burden in the draft. Williams may take a big step forward this year, and his fantasy value soars.
Check out Fitz’s full Quarterback Fantasy Football Draft Primer 
Running Backs
Running back is usually a volatile, unpredictable position. Weirdness at the RB position is the norm in fantasy football.
It’s unusual to get a season in which there’s relative stability and predictability at running back. The lack of RB weirdness made 2024 a weird year.
The Christian McCaffrey affair was an exception, of course. McCaffrey was the consensus 1.01 in fantasy drafts, and it wound up being a Hindenburg-level disaster for the people who drafted him.
McCaffrey had calf and Achilles issues in training camp that 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and McCaffrey himself downplayed. McCaffrey missed the first eight games of the season and wound up playing only four games.
There were some pleasant surprises, too, including Bucky Irving, Chase Brown, Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle.
But otherwise, the RB position was unusually stable. Of the top 12 running backs by half-point PPR average draft position, eight actually finished as RB1s, and two of the misses (McCaffrey and Isiah Pacheco were injury-related).
Of the 12 running backs with ADPs in the RB13-RB24 range, nine finished as RB2s or better in half-point PPR scoring, and two more (Rhamondre Stevenson, Kenneth Walker) were near-misses.
One reason for the unusual predictability at the RB position was an atypical dispersion of injuries. Normally, running backs have higher injury rates than wide receivers, Last season was an exception. McCaffrey and Pacheco were the only running backs to miss significant chunks of the season due to injury.
Meanwhile, the upper reaches of the WR position were shredded, with Brandon Aiyuk, A.J. Brown, Nico Collins Stefon Diggs, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Tee Higgins, Puka Nacua and Rashee Rice all missing at least three games.
What does this mean for 2025?
After a year in which we had less RB volatility than usual and more injury-related WR volatility than usual, we might see more of a lean toward running backs in the early rounds of 2025 fantasy drafts.
The question is whether it’s wise to load up on running backs in the early rounds.
The key consideration is the number of wide receivers you’re required to start every week.
If you only have to start two wide receivers, you aren’t obligated to aggressively attack the WR position. It’s acceptable to merely keep up with your competitors at wide receiver as long as you’re building positional advantages elsewhere.
But if you have to start three receivers, investing heavily in the WR position is imperative.
Wide receiver is a crucial position in 3WR leagues simply because receivers make up such a large percentage of your starting lineup. If your league requires you to start 1 QB, 2 RBs, 3 WRs, 1 TE and 1 FLEX, at least 37.5% of your non-defense, non-kicker starters will be WRs. That percentage jumps to 50% if you put a WR in the flex spot.
In a league where you only have to start two wide receivers every week, drafting a pair of running backs in the first two or three rounds is a viable strategy.
In a league where you have to start three wide receivers every week, pounding the RB opposition in the early rounds puts you at risk of shorting yourself at the WR position — a position that has amplified importance because you have to start so many.
Tier 1
Saquon Barkley was a monster last year, with 2,005 rushing yards and 15 total touchdowns. But if you include playoff games, Barkley had 482 touches last season — a Herculean workload. It’s fair to wonder if there will be after-effects. That said, the Eagles may have the best RB ecosystem of any team in the league, thanks largely to an outstanding offensive line.
Jahmyr Gibbs scored a league-high 20 touchdowns last season. That number seems destined to slip in 2025, and the loss of Lions playcaller Ben Johnson is slightly worrisome, but Gibbs has averaged 5.5 yards per carry since coming into the league and adds ample pass-catching value.
Tier 2
- Christian McCaffrey
- Derrick Henry
- Bucky Irving
- De’Von Achane
- Josh Jacobs
- Jonathan Taylor
- Chase Brown
- Kyren Williams
Dare we have another dance with Christian McCaffrey? He’s 29 and has a troublesome injury history, but we saw the upside in 2023, when McCaffrey had 2,023 yards from scrimmage and 21 touchdowns.
Derrick Henry is entering his age-31 season, and there aren’t many running backs who’ve had big seasons at that age. But Henry seems to be a different species altogether, seemingly indestructible and impervious to age. He had 1,921 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns in his first season with the Ravens.
From November on, Chase Brown averaged 18.9 carries and 4.8 receptions a game. We shouldn’t expect him to average 23.6 touches a game like he did over the second half of last season, but the Bengals didn’t make any significant RB additions in the offseason, so Brown should still be the undisputed lead back in one of the best offenses in the league.
Kyren Williams has finished RB2 and RB8 in half-point PPR fantasy points per game the last two seasons. With Kyren’s 316 carries last season, the only running backs with more were Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry. But Kyren investors have to be nervous about how the Rams keep adding to their backfield. They drafted Blake Corum in the third round last year, and they drafted Jarquez Hunter in the fourth round this year.
Check out Fitz’s full Running Back Fantasy Football Draft Primer
Wide Receivers
The most important setting is the number of wide receivers you have to start each week.
If you’re only required to start two wide receivers, it’s OK to be somewhat laissez-faire in your approach to drafting wide receivers. It’s acceptable to merely keep pace with your competitors at the WR position, provided you’re building positional advantages elsewhere.
But if you’re required to start three receivers, you should invest heavily in the WR position.
Wide receiver is a crucial position in 3WR leagues simply because receivers make up such a large percentage of your starting lineup. If your league requires you to start 1 QB, 2 RBs, 3 WRs, 1 TE and 1 FLEX, at least 37.5% of your non-defense, non-kicker starters will be WRs. That percentage jumps to 50% if you put a WR in the flex spot.
Your goal in 3WR leagues should be to overwhelm your competitors with superior WR firepower. Ideally, your WR4 will be better than everyone else’s WR3 and perhaps even better than some people’s WR2.
In my 3WR leagues, at least three of my first five draft picks are wide receivers, and in many drafts, four of my first six picks are receivers.
The scoring system is another important league setting.
Full-point PPR leagues tend to drive up the overall value of wide receivers — particularly the high-volume receivers. Standard (or, if you prefer, “non-PPR”) leagues reduce the overall value of receivers and close the gap between high-volume receivers such as Garret Wilson and lower-volume, big-play receivers such as Jameson Williams.
Tier 1
Ja’Marr Chase won the pass catchers’ Triple Crown last year, leading the NFL in catches (127), receiving yards (1,708) and TD catches (17). He’s at the height of his powers and plays with one of the best pure passers in the game (and his former college teammate at LSU), Joe Burrow. Chase is a worthy candidate for the No. 1 overall pick in fantasy drafts.
A lot of fantasy managers fretted that QB Sam Darnold might thwart Justin Jefferson’s fantasy value last season. Jefferson finished WR2 in fantasy scoring. Don’t let yourself believe that the inexperience of Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy will restrain Jefferson’s fantasy value this year.
CeeDee Lamb “only” had 101-1,194-6 last year, but he missed two games and had to play half the season without starting QB Dak Prescott. Lamb should be a top-six fantasy draft pick.
Tier 2
- Brian Thomas Jr.
- Puka Nacua
- Malik Nabers
- Amon-Ra St. Brown
- Nico Collins
- Drake London
- A.J. Brown
- Ladd McConkey
Puka Nacua has averaged 9.5 targets, 6.6 catches and 88.4 receiving yards per game in his two NFL seasons. The question is whether the Rams’ addition of veteran WR Davante Adams puts a dent in Puka’s numbers.
Malik Nabers was terrific when healthy in his rookie season, finishing with 109-1,204-7 in 15 games. The Giants’ murky QB situation is an obstacle Nabers will have to overcome, but he’s likely to keep churning out big numbers no matter who’s playing quarterback.
A.J. Brown finished WR18 in half-point PPR fantasy scoring, but that was largely because he missed four games. He tied for WR12 in fantasy points per game despite playing in the league’s run-heaviest offense. He’s still at the height of his powers entering his age-28 season.
Check out Fitz’s full Wide Receiver Fantasy Football Draft Primer
Tight Ends
Rookies have led all tight ends in fantasy scoring the last two years. First, it was the Lions’ Sam LaPorta in 2023, then the Raiders’ Brock Bowers in 2024. Kelce hasn’t hung ’em up yet — he just had 97 catches last year in his age-35 season — but Bowers looks like the new standard bearer at the TE position.
Trey McBride is coming off an 111-catch season and is only 25. LaPorta’s second NFL season wasn’t quite as successful as his first, but he still finished TE7 in half-point PPR fantasy scoring.
Two tight ends were selected in the top half of the first round in this year’s NFL Draft. The Bears took Michigan’s Colston Loveland 10th overall, and the Colts took Penn State’s Tyler Warren 14th overall.
The Packers’ Tucker Kraft is another promising young tight end. And we’re still lighting prayer candles in hopes that Dalton Kincaid and Kyle Pitts will start living up to their early-career hype.
Mix the young tight ends with the quality veterans — Kelce, Pitts, Andrews and perhaps a handful of others — and suddenly the TE position looks pretty fertile relative to years past.
Tight end is now a buyer’s market, giving fantasy managers a number of different ways to attack the position. There’s solid value at a variety of price points.
Want to spend up for Bowers, McBride or Kittle? I think you can justify it.
Would you prefer to wait a bit and grab LaPorta, Kelce or T.J. Hockenson? OK, cool.
Wait even longer and try to get value on Andrews, Evan Engram or David Njoku? Sounds good.
Or punt the position until the double-digit rounds and gamble on Kincaid, Pitts or some other bargain-basement tight end? Hey, as long as you’re building advantages at other positions in the early rounds, go for it.
I’m not wedded to a single approach to the TE position in my 2025 drafts, but I’m more amenable to drafting a tight end in the early rounds than I used to be. That said, there will be at least a few drafts in which I punt the position and go dumpster-diving in the later rounds.
Tier 1
Trey McBride’s 147 targets were the second-most among tight ends and the eighth-most among all pass catchers. A second-year leap for WR Marvin Harrison Jr. could nick McBride’s target volume, but the Cardinals added no significant pass catchers in the offseason. Despite drawing 20 red-zone targets last season, McBride scored two TDs. If he can improve his touchdown luck, he could challenge for an overall TE1 finish.
Tier 2
After a sensational rookie year, Sam LaPorta had a slight dip in production in 2024. LaPorta actually improved year over year in yards per catch (12.1) and yards per target (8.7), but after averaging 7.1 targets per game in 2023, he averaged only 5.2 targets per game in 2024.
Five games into the 2024 season, Mark Andrews was TE32 in fantasy points per game and hadn’t scored a touchdown. From Week 6 on, Andrews scored 11 touchdowns in 12 games and averaged 3.8 catches and 46.1 yards per contest. A downturn in target volume and yardage suggests that Andrews’ days as an elite fantasy TE may be over, but he remains an important cog in the Baltimore offense and a solid fantasy option.
After an injury-marred 2024 season in which he lost eight games to hamstring and shoulder ailments, Evan Engram could be poised for a rebound fantasy season in 2025. Broncos head coach Sean Payton has said he plans to make Engram the “joker” in his offense. That’s been a key role in Payton’s offenses over the years, filled by players such as Jimmy Graham, Reggie Bush and Alvin Kamara.
Check out Fitz’s full Tight End Fantasy Football Draft Primer
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