Drafts are often a delicate balance between drafting for a player’s ceiling and drafting for their floor. Of course, you cannot win your week without at least a few of your players having monster games. However, you can lose your week when players make little or no contribution to the cause. With that in mind, I wanted to focus on some high-floor PPR players you should consider drafting.
You certainly do not need me to tell you that Alvin Kamara and Rashee Rice have high weekly PPR floors when on the field. However, the players mentioned below are ones that I currently project to finish the season with at least 135 PPR points. I chose 135 PPR points because it is roughly eight points per game over 17 weeks. That may not seem like a whole lot. But last year, there were at least 28 running backs, 42 wide receivers, and 11 tight ends who scored at least eight PPR points each week. In a 12-team league where you start two running backs, three wide receivers, and a tight end, this group represents the baseline for what we want out of our Flex position. Here are some high-floor PPR players who are widely available after the seventh round in 12-team leagues.
Drafts are often a delicate balance between drafting for a player’s ceiling and drafting for their floor. Of course, you cannot win your week without at least a few of your players having monster games. However, you can lose your week when players make little or no contribution to the cause. With that in mind, I wanted to focus on some high-floor PPR players you should consider drafting.
You certainly do not need me to tell you that Alvin Kamara and Rashee Rice have high weekly PPR floors when on the field. However, the players mentioned below are ones that I currently project to finish the season with at least 135 PPR points. I chose 135 PPR points because it is roughly eight points per game over 17 weeks. That may not seem like a whole lot. But last year, there were at least 28 running backs, 42 wide receivers, and 11 tight ends who scored at least eight PPR points each week. In a 12-team league where you start two running backs, three wide receivers, and a tight end, this group represents the baseline for what we want out of our Flex position. Here are some high-floor PPR players who are widely available after the seventh round in 12-team leagues.
High Floor Fantasy Football Players to Target
Running Backs
Jaylen Warren feels like the ultimate high-floor, low-ceiling player. There is certainly value in that, depending on roster construction. Warren has only scored six NFL touchdowns on 473 career touches, which seems almost impossible. Even more bizarre, given his emergence as Pittsburgh’s passing down back in recent years, is that he has never caught a touchdown pass in the NFL. Still, Warren was the overall RB22 in PPR leagues in 2023 before finishing as last year’s RB39. Warren dealt with an early-season injury and struggled to find his footing with Justin Fields as the team’s starting quarterback. Warren was the overall RB30 from Week 7 (when Russell Wilson took over as the starter) on. He should continue to have value as a safety valve for Aaron Rodgers, and make for a solid mid-round PPR pick.
Most fantasy managers love Bucky Irving, and rightfully so. However, I think the hate has gone a bit too far when it comes to fellow Buccaneers running back Rachaad White, who finished as the overall RB22 in PPR leagues last year. It is not like his production disappeared once Irving emerged as the team’s starting running back. Far from it, in fact. White scored at least 11 PPR points in four of seven games following Tampa’s Week 11 bye. Given the uncertainty surrounding Tampa’s pass catchers beyond Mike Evans, White should be able to do some damage as a pass catcher out of the backfield. That should keep his PPR floor stable, even if he does not threaten Irving to be the team’s lead running back.
Fantasy football managers are an amusing breed. We are so fixated on finding the next big thing that we often overlook the steady player. Just look at what has happened with the Washington Commanders over the past few weeks. The team seems has moved on from incumbent starter Brian Robinson Jr. As a result, Jacory Croskey-Merritt‘s ADP has shot up. Yet Austin Ekeler is still available well after Round 10 in 12-team PPR leagues. No disrespect to Big Beautiful Bill, but I’m baffled that Ekeler’s ADP hasn’t also risen, especially in PPR formats.
Ekeler was the overall RB34 in PPR formats last year despite playing just 12 games. He averaged more PPR points per game last season than Sam LaPorta, Jaylen Waddle, and Chris Olave, to name a few. Ekeler does not even need to improve on last year’s numbers to be considered a value. Let’s consider the very real possibility that Ekeler does improve on those numbers. When Robinson missed three games due to injury last season, here were Ekeler’s weekly finishes in PPR leagues: RB25, RB13, RB6. Again, he doesn’t even have to reach those thresholds to be a value. Austin Ekeler is my favorite value on the entire board this late in PPR drafts.
Wide Receivers
The passing offense in Seattle will look markedly different compared to recent versions. Gone are quarterback Geno Smith and wide receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. In their place are Sam Darnold, Cooper Kupp, and rookie Tory Horton. Metcalf and Lockett are vacating 182 total targets. Kupp should be on the receiving end of plenty of those, provided his health cooperates. Kupp’s health is no certainty, however, he has maintained a steady weekly floor whenever on the football field. Even across his past three injury-marred seasons, Kupp has scored double-digit PPR points in 22-of-33 games, including 20 games of 15 points or more. Fifteen points per game is a stretch at this point in Kupp’s career, but his floor should be high as the number-two option in Seattle’s new-look passing attack.
What more can Jakobi Meyers do to earn more respect from the fantasy football community? The One-Man Law Firm has been a top-24 fantasy wideout in both of his seasons in Las Vegas. Keep in mind that the Raiders’ quarterbacks the past two seasons have been Aiden O’Connell, Gardner Minshew, Jimmy Garoppolo, Desmond Ridder, and Brian Hoyer. Now he has a legitimate NFL quarterback in Geno Smith throwing him the ball. Even if he falls short of top-24 status in 2025, Meyers is the ultimate high-floor PPR player. Last year, he scored at least 6.1 PPR points in all 15 games he played, tallying at least 8.8 in 13 of those. Meyers is a solid PPR flex at this stage in drafts.
Khalil Shakir had a mini-breakout in his third NFL season. He finished the year as the overall WR37 and emerged as a trusted weapon for league MVP Josh Allen. Shakir saw a dip in production late in the year, but fantasy managers should not hold that against him. Before his last two games, Shakir scored at least 10 PPR points in 11-of-13 games. Also, one of the two misses was the infamous snow game, where Josh Allen threw himself a touchdown pass. Shakir only scored four touchdowns on the year, so he may have some positive touchdown regression on his side in 2025. Either way, Shakir’s floor should be elevated given his role as Buffalo’s primary threat out of the slot.
It may feel scary to include a rookie wide receiver on a list of high-floor PPR players. In this case, the stars feel like they are aligning for Tampa Bay rookie first-round draft pick Emeka Egbuka to make an immediate impact. The Buccaneers drafted Egbuka into a wide receiver room that includes potential future Hall of Famer Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and last year’s rookie breakout candidate Jalen McMillan. It did not seem there would be much room for Egbuka in 2025, but Godwin may begin the year on the Physically Unable to Perform List following last year’s ankle injury. Additionally, McMillan suffered a neck injury last week that is likely to sideline him well into the season. Egbuka should be a Week 1 starter for a Buccaneers passing offense that finished third in yardage last year.
I don’t know if I would have included Josh Downs on this list a week ago, but he belongs there now. The Colts have named Daniel Jones the team’s starting quarterback and nobody is confusing Jones for an elite NFL quarterback. However, his presence will lift the weekly floor for third-year wideout Josh Downs. Downs played six games alongside Anthony Richardson in games where the embattled quarterback threw at least 20 passes. He finished as the WR60 or worse in four of those six games. Downs played seven games alongside Joe Flacco in games where the veteran threw at least 20 passes. Downs finished as the WR34 or better in six of those seven games. As long as Downs does not suffer any long-term effects from his hamstring injury, his floor should be relatively steady weekly.
Christian Kirk is another vet who is ceding draft capital to a shiny new toy. In this case, it is Jayden Higgins, whom the Houston Texans drafted in the second round of this year’s NFL Draft. Fantasy managers are splitting the baby, as Higgins and Kirk are both currently going in the same range. If I am drafting for the floor, I prefer Kirk here. He should handle the slot for the Texans, a role that has proven fruitful. Stefon Diggs earned six or more targets in all eight games he played last season and was a top-50 weekly wideout in seven of them. Even in a lost year in 2024, Kirk showed flashes of the player who averaged 63 receiving yards per game from 2021 to 2023. Until Higgins and fellow rookie Jaylin Noel can prove themselves, Christian Kirk’s floor should remain solid in Houston’s passing offense.
If you are seeking a high-floor PPR player late in the draft, Wan’Dale Robinson is worth a look. Robinson scored at least 7.8 PPR points in 15 games last season. For reference, Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, and Amon-Ra St. Brown each scored at least 7.8 PPR points in 16 games last season. Robinson did so while scoring just three touchdowns, compared to the 39 combined scores of the three first-round fantasy picks. Of course, nobody is mistaking Robinson for any of those players, but there is value in what Robinson brings to the table. New Giants quarterback Russell Wilson does not funnel as many targets to the slot as his predecessors. However, the team has used Robinson more as an outside receiver during the preseason. This could boost his weekly floor, although he is likely to fall short of last year’s numbers.
Tight Ends
Much like the situation with Josh Downs in Indianapolis, my selection of David Njoku here is based on recent quarterback news. In both cases, these players saw tangible improvement with Joe Flacco under center. Cleveland tabbed the 40-year-old to be the team’s starting quarterback this week. That means good things lie ahead for Njoku. When Flacco and Njoku played together for five games at the tail end of the 2023 season, the results were eye-opening. Njoku averaged six receptions and 78 yards per game. I do not recommend expecting a repeat of that performance, but the two have an evident chemistry, and the Browns lack pass-catchers beyond Jerry Jeudy. Njoku should remain a starter in most formats, but his outlook in PPR leagues just got a whole lot better with Flacco calling signals.
High-floor PPR players at the tight end position are few and far between, but Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson may just fit the bill. Ferguson has earned at least five targets in 22-of-31 games over the past two seasons. Five targets may not seem like a ton, but only 11 tight ends (including Ferguson) had at least 85 targets last year. As a result, Ferguson has finished as a top-12 fantasy tight end in 15-of-31 games since 2023 despite scoring just five total touchdowns. While some positive regression in that department increases Ferguson’s ceiling, his floor should stay relatively high compared to most tight ends in this ADP range.
After remaining off the fantasy radar for much of the 2020s, veteran Zach Ertz enjoyed a career renaissance last year in his first season as a Commander. Ertz had a connection with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, which only seemed to strengthen throughout the year. Through his first five games, Ertz failed to secure a touchdown pass. Over his last dozen outings, Ertz scored seven times. The good news is that even when Ertz wasn’t scoring, his fantasy floor remained decent. He finished as a top-18 weekly fantasy tight end 12 times. That (and playing in all 17 games) boosted Ertz’s overall finish to that of TE7 in PPR leagues. Things would have to break right for Ertz to reach that ceiling again in 2025, but his PPR floor should continue to remain intact.
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