Fantasy Tips For Draft Day 2024/25

Let’s start off with saying this article in ways is useless. All fantasy drafts are different due to different roster sizes, league mate tendencies, and rule changes. At the end of the day you need to draft with the hand you’re dealt and be able to go off plan. There will be runs on Quarterback or Tight End, do you want to then reach, or miss out on the tier? I’m in a league where defense scoring is about twice of the standard scoring, so if my defense is going to score about 10/12 points instead of 5 points, I feel you shouldn’t wait till the last round to take a now position of importance. You can be given all the tips in the world, have targets in mind like Travis Kelce in the early 3rd, and bam he goes in the top part of the 2nd by a Chiefs fan. So what you really need to do is geek out on these players so that you have multiple targets and can go many directions. And at the end of the day, your computer or your cheat sheet will give you a players average draft position, which is a nice roadmap.

That being said, there are some ways I prefer to build my roster. It starts in round 1 and while the likes of CeeDee Lamb and Tyreek Hill are many people’s top2 preferred choice, I want a stud running back in Christian McCaffrey, Bijan Robinson or Breece Hall. If i cannot get one of them 3, then there is no RB or WR preference, I just got to go with my gut. But the 3 running backs here “should be” studs in a shallow position. Ideally I wait on quarterback with my prime target of Kyler Murray. Kyler is my QB5 but ESPN’s QB9. I’ll gladly take the 7th, 8th, 9th QB off the board for a Kyler, Burrow, Love, Dak, or Stroud if he falls. I similarly would like to do this with tight end. I’ll be tempted to take Travis Kelce in a late 3rd or a Trey McBride in an early 5th, but there’s a high chance they will be gone. Instead, give me a George Kittle, Evan Engram, Dalton Kincaid as the 6th / 7th tight end off the board. Why do I prefer to wait for QB and TE? Well this should allow me 5 to 6 combined running backs and receivers. Ideally it’s 3 running backs, 2 or 3 receivers, a QB or TE, a WR if I only have 2, and then the other of QB or TE. Little complicated, but give me 3 strong RBs, and let the draft come to me for QB and TE. The QB depth is crazy. Outside of consensus top12 are the likes of Tua Tagovailoa and Jared Goff, who should be top7 in passing yards, Trevor Lawrence who gets two new deep threats on their side, and Caleb Williams who comes in to a perfect rookie setup in Chicago. Josh Allen, Lamar, Hurts, and Mahomes are ballers, but I’m not afraid to wait for the end of tier 2 for quarterbacks, and if I get sniped I still won’t panic with the depth of the position.

Fill your bench up wisely. If you get 3 strong RB’s your first 5/6 picks, make sure you have plenty of receivers on your bench to counter your weakness. Let’s say you only want to go one RB your first 6 picks, snipe plenty of tier 3 guys and hope that one of the say four backs pops to a steady starter. You can’t have everything, as the other 11 members are gunning for similar targets, but you have to keep in mind balance to get through the 14 week regular season to make the playoffs.

Be active in your trade market especially once you survive a few bye weeks. Usually the top3 in a 12 team league gets paid out, so whether you are 4th or 12th, you go home empty handed. I will only accept a trade if I feel I’m getting the best player because at the end of the day it’s not enough to just make the playoffs in most leagues, you have to win a knockout game or two so you NEED top end talent.

All in all, have FUN! This is our chance to play general manager and call our own shots. Ask friends for advice, but remember, its YOUR team so make the calls! Follow the average draft position as a road map, but reach on your guys because it stinks getting sniped. You can have the best draft in the world, but your star player could twist an ankle in your fantasy semi finals and you could go home trophy and moneyless. So make sure you have fun in the process!

Please click the highlighted links below for positional rankings.
Quarterbacks
Running Backs
Wide Receivers
Tight Ends
Defense and Kickers

Thank you,
Goose