The preparation for your perfect 2025 fantasy football draft begins now.
Have a battle plan when you show up for your in-person draft or fire up the laptop for your online draft. But don’t make it a rigid plan.
Fantasy drafts are unpredictable. Average draft position goes out the window. Your competitors will make unexpected picks. You’ll occasionally get snaked on a player you wanted.
Be flexible. Be nimble. Be prepared.
And get those reps in before draft season arrives! Test your draft strategies by mock-drafting with the FantasyPros Draft Simulator.
Here’s an overview of the battle plan our analysts will be using for their 2025 fantasy football drafts. And you can find each of their perfect draft plans below.
- Fitz’s Perfect Draft Strategy
- DBro’s Perfect Draft Strategy
- Erickson’s Perfect Draft Strategy
- Fantasy Football Draft Kit
Perfect Fantasy Football Draft: Strategy, Advice & Targets
DBro’s Late-Round Draft Targets
Evan Engram (TE – DEN)
Evan Engram could smash his ADP this year as Sean Payton’s Joker. Everyone will point to last year as a reason to have worries about Engram, who ranked 20th in Yards per route run, but his target-drawing ability was just fine, ranking fifth in targets per route run and third in target share. He was also dealing with shoulder and hamstring issues. Those were his first injuries to deal with during a season since 2021.
In Engram’s two previous seasons, he ranked 13th and 14th in Yards per route run and second and 12th in target share, per Fantasy Points Data. Also, in 2023-2024, Engram excelled in one of the hallmark metrics that I look at when evaluating talent and upside at the tight end position: Yards per route run versus man coverage. In those seasons, Engram ranked fourth and eighth in this metric.
Engram’s best competition for targets is Courtland Sutton. Engram could lead Denver in targets this season. If that happens, he’ll likely be knocking on the door of the top-three/top-five tight ends in 2025.
Cam Skattebo (RB – NYG)
The Giants added Cam Skattebo to the backfield via the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. He should be considered the early favorite to be the team’s workhorse after Tyrone Tracy‘s inconsistent rookie season and the team shelving any thought of Devin Singletary as their leading back.
Skattebo was a volume monster during his final season in college and a true three-down back. He ranked 21st in yards after contact per attempt and 11th in elusive rating while also sitting inside the top 10 in receiving grade and Yards per route run, per PFF.
It could take some time for Skattebo to wrestle 60-65% of the snaps away from the other players in this backfield, but it does feel like the eventual reality. Skattebo is a strong RB3/Flex who could easily vault into an every-week top-15 running back.
Mark Andrews (TE – BAL)
Mark Andrews is one of the best tight end values this year, with the talent to revisit top-three/top-five fantasy tight end status. Last year, Andrews was the TE7 in fantasy points per game, but it was heavily influenced by his 11 receiving scores as he ranked only 14th in receptions and ninth in receiving yards among tight ends. His recovery from tightrope surgery impacted his early-season effectiveness and usage.
Mark Andrews is ONE of THE BEST TE VALUES
his recovery from tight rope surgery impacted his early season performance last year.
Weeks 1-2 ^ 68% route run rates in each game
He didn't get back north of a 56% route per dropback rate consistently until Week 10.
Weeks 1-9: (per… pic.twitter.com/KBBcJj0tMe
— Derek Brown (@DBro_FFB) June 18, 2025
In Weeks 1-9, Andrews was the TE16 in fantasy points per game, posting an 11.3% target share, an 18% target per route run rate (TPRR), 1.77 Yards per route run rate (YPPR), 32.1 receiving yards per game, a 13.9% first-read share and 0.110 first downs per route run.
After Week 9, every discernable per-route metric that we should care about improved for Andrews as he posted an 18.1% target share, a 24% TPRR, 2.31 YPRR, 48 receiving yards per game, an 18.9% first-read share and 0.127 first downs per route run as the TE5 in fantasy points per game, per Fantasy Points Data.
Buy the dip on Andrews and enjoy another stellar year from the Baltimore stalwart.
Jordan Mason (RB – MIN)
Jorcan Mason moves from San Francisco to Minnesota in an offseason trade to become Aaron Jones‘ running mate/handcuff. Mason sustained a shoulder injury and an ankle injury last year. The bum ankle ultimately ended his season. In the brief six games, he played 64% or more of the snaps as the starter for the 49ers, with an average of 21.3 touches and 111.8 total yards. He was a top-24 fantasy option at the running back position in four of those six outings and an RB1 in 50% of them.
Mason finished in the top six among running backs last year in explosive run rate (second), missed tackles forced per attempt (sixth), and yards after contact per attempt (third, per Fantasy Points Data). Mason is a top-shelf handcuff again this season who could offer some stand-alone value in Minnesota’s high-scoring offense.
Jayden Higgins (WR – HOU) | Christian Kirk (WR – HOU)
We all wanted a piece of this Houston passing attack last draft season. Everyone was clamoring to plant their flag for their favorite Houston wide receiver and pay up for them in drafts. Well, what a difference a year makes. Nico Collins is the only Houston skill player that you have to pay up for in drafts, which leads me to want to draft Jayden Higgins and Christian Kirk as much as possible.
One of these guys is set to step up as C.J. Stroud‘s No. 2 WR. Kirk likely has the inside track as a productive veteran, but he has struggled to stay healthy and is no bet to do so this season. At Kirk’s cost in drafts, the injury risk is baked in, but his talent and upside in this offense aren’t.
At first glance, Kirk’s numbers last year look solid but not overwhelmingly impressive. He had an 18.7% target share, 1.84 Yards per route run, and 0.087 first downs per route run, per Fantasy Points Data. Those numbers put him in the WR3/WR4 realm, but his per-route separation data lays out the upside case for Kirk. Last year, among 128 qualifying wide receivers, Kirk ranked 14th in separation and 21st in route win rate. He’s an easy click in the later rounds of drafts, as he could have one more WR2/WR3 season left for fantasy.
If Kirk doesn’t stand up as Stroud’s clear No. 2 WR this season, I expect Higgins to take the role. HE should immediately fill in as the starting outside receiver opposite Collins. Higgins was an underrated player during the entire draft process after ranking 27th and 16th in Yards per route run and first and 18th in receiving grade during his final two collegiate seasons, per PFF.
One of these Houston wide receivers (or both) will be a value this season, along with Collins. I’m not opposed to anyone drafting both (considering their costs), holding them on their bench, and seeing how things play out the first few weeks of the season before dropping one to the waiver wire.
Darnell Mooney (WR – ATL)
Last year, Darnell Mooney posted the second WR3 finish of his career in fantasy points per game (WR34), and he could easily do it again in 2025. There’s no disputing that the Falcons’ passing attack will be led by Drake London and Mooney this season. The target tree is extremely consolidated.
Last year, Mooney had a 19.6% target share while averaging 62 receiving yards per game (29th-best), posting 2.04 Yards per route run (31st) and 0.099 first downs per route run (28th, per Fantasy Points Data). With Michael Penix looking to push the ball downfield more than Kirk Cousins did, I could see Mooney’s target share jumping above 20% and his fantasy stock increasing accordingly. Mooney is a nice late-round WR3/Flex who could offer more if Penix puts it all together in 2025.
Tre Harris (WR – LAC)
Tre Harris, the soul-snatching route savant, landed with the Bolts in the second round of the NFL Draft. He should quickly become Justin Herbert‘s trusted second option in the passing game opposite Ladd McConkey. Yes, Harris will have to hop either Mike Williams or Quentin Johnston to crack the starting lineup, but I’m not worried about his ability to do so.
We’re discussing a player who has ranked first and ninth in Yards per route run over the last two years, stacked up against arguably a former first-round bust and a veteran who looked like he was running on empty last year, per PFF. As outlined earlier in the Ladd McConkey section, the Bolts were a more pass-centric team than many realized last year. If that continues and Harris can spread his wings in this offense, he could crush his ADP in 2025.
Bhayshul Tuten (RB – JAX) | Tank Bigsby (RB – JAX)
One of these talented Jaguar backs will turn out to be a massive value this season. If you miss out on one of them, target the other in your draft. Bhayshul Tuten found a port in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Liam Coen and company hope that Tuten can pull their offense up the scoring ranks in 2025.
Tuten has the juice to make the most of his touches. During his final collegiate season, he ranked 10th in yards after contact per attempt and breakaway percentage and eighth in elusive rating, per PFF. Tuten’s upside is mouthwatering.
Tank Bigsby had an awesome sophomore season for Jacksonville, especially considering how his rookie season unfolded. He finished as the RB40 in fantasy points per game, with eight weeks as the RB36 or better in weekly fantasy scoring. Bigsby wasn’t involved in the passing game, with just 12 targets last year.
I don’t see that changing this season, so he’ll need to manufacture fantasy points on the early downs with his legs. He proved he can do that last season. Among 46 qualifying backs, he ranked 21st in explosive run rate and second-best in yards after contact per attempt, per Fantasy Points Data. Bigsby will have to fight Travis Etienne and Tuten for playing time, but he has the raw talent to carve out a fruitful role in this offense in 2025.
Check out DBro’s complete Perfect Fantasy Football Draft Strategy 
