4 Early-Round Fantasy Football Draft Picks to Target (2025)

With the season rapidly approaching, it is time to focus on fantasy football. Let’s do that by participating in a fantasy football mock draft. In my latest mock, we are using standard scoring settings, meaning you need players who rack up yards and score touchdowns because catches mean nothing. Let’s look at a few of my early-round fantasy football draft picks to target based on how this mock draft played out.

Fantasy Football Draft Targets: Early-Round Picks

Justin Jefferson (WR – MIN)

Justin Jefferson will be on his third quarterback in three years, but it does not matter who it is. You can always trust Jefferson as your top wide receiver. He finished last season as the fantasy WR2 and scored double-digit points in eight games.

We’ve already heard that Jefferson and quarterback J.J. McCarthy have been building chemistry in the offseason. Even with a first-year quarterback, do not expect a falloff for Jefferson.

George Kittle (TE – SF)

There are a lot of uncertainties in San Francisco. Deebo Samuel is gone, and Brandon Aiyuk and Christian McCaffrey are coming back from injuries. George Kittle was Brock Purdy‘s favorite target in the red zone as he led the team with an outstanding 32.3% target share.

Kittle knows how to extend plays thanks to having the second-most yards after the catch amongst tight ends (522) and yards after contact (187). Do not be surprised if he leads the team in almost every receiving category.

Bucky Irving (RB – TB)

The Bucaneers’ running back room looked confusing a year ago, but by the time the season started, we got a clear picture. This is Bucky Irving’s backfield as he took over 50% of the snaps in six of the final eight games.

Irving was highly productive, averaging 5.4 yards per game and 3.93 yards after contact, so when he gets the ball, he will get you points.

Jalen Hurts (QB – PHI)

Taking a quarterback early in the draft is a debatable topic, but in this instance, we locked in our top wide receiver, running back and tight end, so let’s get our quarterback.

Fantasy players were nervous that the addition of Saquon Barkley would take away from Jalen Hurts’ rushing production, but we could argue it helped. He had 25 more rushing yards than in 2023 (630) and the most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (14) despite only playing 15 games.

This is still one of the most loaded offenses in the league, and it’s led by Hurts.