Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: Ideal Roster Construction (2025)

As fantasy draft season kicks into high gear, one of the most valuable tools isn’t a list of rankings or breakout sleepers — it’s understanding how smart managers build successful rosters. On a recent FantasyPros livestream, Andrew Erickson and Tom Strachan walked through their own best ball builds, analyzed listener submissions and shared what works (and what doesn’t) when constructing a fantasy football roster in 2025.

Here’s what stood out-and what you can apply to your drafts right now.

Fantasy Football Ideal Roster Construction

Zero RB is Back (But it Has to be Built Right)

Zero RB has long been a divisive draft strategy. But Strachan and Erickson both made it clear: When you construct it correctly, it still works.

Tom shared a DraftKings build where he started with four elite wide receivers (Amon-Ra St. Brown, Malik Nabers, Garrett Wilson, Davante Adams), and then attacked the running back position with volume in the later rounds — names like RJ Harvey, Tony Pollard and Tyrone Tracy Jr. That kind of structure is built to win.

The key, though, is that a true Zero RB roster has to hit everywhere else. You need elite firepower at wide receiver, upside at quarterback and enough tight end production to stay competitive. As Tom put it, “You’re not just building a super wide receiver room, you’re building a super team outside of running back.”

Erickson echoed the importance of pairing early wideouts with rookie or ambiguous backfield running backs in the later rounds. With so many of this year’s rookie backs poised to outperform their average draft position (ADP), the structure naturally supports quantity over quality at the position.

Hero RB & Dual RB Starts Still Make Sense

While Zero RB remains viable, both analysts noted that 2025 also shapes up nicely for modified running back strategies.

“This sets up for a Hero RB year,” Tom said. “Maybe even a Dual RB start year.”

That means securing one elite running back early, think Jahmyr Gibbs, Bijan Robinson, or Bucky Irving, and then hammering receivers while taking calculated running back swings later. It’s a balance that offers early stability without sacrificing receiver upside.

Erickson added that this is especially effective in leagues where running backs get pushed up the board. “I still want one guy I feel confident about,” he said, noting how important it is to stay flexible if your league starts running back-heavy.

Building for Format: Know Your Scoring & Lineup Requirements

Roster construction doesn’t exist in a vacuum. What works in best ball doesn’t necessarily translate to redraft or keeper formats.

In FastDraft’s 15-man best ball Rabbit Tournament, for example, Andrew went heavy at wide receiver early, took Brock Bowers as a Hero TE, and punted the position after that, fully accepting a zero for Bowers’ bye week in exchange for higher roster depth elsewhere. Why? Because it’s a cumulative scoring format, not a playoff sprint.

That kind of strategic thinking showed up across the episode. Drafting on FFPC? You need to prioritize its tight end-premium scoring format. Drafting on DraftKings? You need to account for Week 17 correlation. Every platform has its own ecosystem, and ignoring that is a fast track to mediocrity.

Wide Receiver Depth is a Must… But Don’t Forget Structure

If there’s one position where both analysts aligned without hesitation, it’s wide receiver. Draft more than you think. Then draft another.

In one build, Tom started WR-WR-WR-WR-WR. And while Andrew questioned whether that sacrificed an elite quarterback or tight end, they both acknowledged the power of wide receiver depth in half-PPR and full PPR formats, especially when it’s balanced by upside signal-callers like Justin Fields and stacks with players like CeeDee Lamb or Garrett Wilson.

That said, there’s a point of diminishing returns. “If you’re going to draft running backs early,” Tom reminded listeners, “you can’t draft a lot of running backs. You’ve already invested.”

It’s about allocating draft capital efficiently. Smart managers understand positional scarcity and tailor their builds accordingly, especially when drafting from the back half of the first round.

Stacking Smartly (Even in Smaller Fields)

Stacking remains an essential component of roster construction in best ball, especially for playoff-heavy formats. But as Tom pointed out, you don’t need to go overboard.

“In a smaller final, like FFPC’s 100-person final, you don’t need massive stacks or Week 17 shootouts. You just need to be a little different.”

That means building logical correlations (QB-WR or QB-TE), prioritizing game stacks when feasible and avoiding overreliance on highly volatile options. It’s also fine to build “anti-stacks” around uncertainty — like the listener who built a full Commanders stack while fading Terry McLaurin, banking on a potential holdout.

Late-Round RB Targets & Strategy Trends

Throughout the episode, certain names kept popping up in late-round builds:

Jordan Mason — A favorite of both analysts, offering potential standalone value.
Rachaad White — An every-week full PPR floor with upside if Tampa’s offense surprises.
Blake Corum & Roschon Johnson — Uncertain roles, but ideal for deep benches.
Kyle Monangai — Earning early trust in Chicago’s backfield.
Ray Davis — Flashing pass-catching ability and quietly climbing in value.

There was also discussion of stacking running backs from the same backfield, like Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, as a viable best ball strategy. While not ideal in redraft, in best ball, the system will handle the start/sit decisions for you.

When (and When Not) to Get Weird

From bully tight end experiments to drafting entire weekly winner stacks for Week 17, the show didn’t shy away from getting weird. But both Erickson and Strachan kept circling back to one message:

You can get creative, but your draft capital still needs to tell a coherent story.

Taking Travis Kelce and Zach Ertz together? Risky if it limits your ability to land a top-tier WR2. Going with eight running backs? Fine, but only if you’ve punted the position early. Drafting both Juatin Fields and Dak Prescott? That’s your quarterback room, don’t mess around with a third.

And as always: Stack when you can, but don’t force it. Forced correlation often leads to bad picks.