The 2025 NFL Combine kicks off this week, early-offseason best ball drafts are firing off left and right, and way-too-early fantasy football rankings for 2025 are getting posted. So, what better way to add to the early-offseason excitement than with a fantasy football mock draft?

Partnering with my Fantasy Life colleagues Jonathan Fuller and Chris Allen, we organized a staff mock draft to evaluate some early trends and strategies while firing off our takes on the draft.

If you want daily updates on what's happening around the NFL, fantasy football, and more mock drafts, subscribe to the free Fantasy Life Newsletter here.

2025 Fantasy Football Mock Draft

Before we dive into the results-driven analysis of the draft, let's lay the foundation for what to expect:

Mock Draft Format

  • 12 Teams
  • 0.5 PPR
  • 3 Starting WR, 2 Starting RB, 1 Starting FLEX

Draft Order

  • 1.01 - Matthew Freedman
  • 1.02 - Pete Overzet
  • 1.03 - Dwain McFarland
  • 1.04 - Ian Hartitz
  • 1.05 - Jonathan Fuller
  • 1.06 - Joe Metz
  • 1.07 - John Laghezza
  • 1.08 - Sam Wallace
  • 1.09 - Jake Trowbridge
  • 1.10 - Chris Allen
  • 1.11 - Jorge Martin
  • 1.12 - Gene Clemons

Results and Mock Draft Board

For the sake of efficiency, we also paused the draft after 10 rounds to dive into the analysis of the most important pieces.

The draft board (click to be taken to a larger-sized board to peruse via Sleeper) can be found below:

Breaking Down The 2025 Fantasy Football Mock Draft

What was your general strategy?

Freedman: Given the format and that I had the 1.01, I wanted to start strong at WR, and I feel I did that with Ja'Marr Chase and Tyreek Hill, although I did very much consider RB Saquon Barkley at 1.01, and part of me wishes I had selected him.

After grabbing two WRs, I wanted to prioritize RB, so I addressed the position with five of my next seven picks. With James Cook, Alvin Kamara, David Montgomery, Isiah Pacheco, and Brian Robinson, I feel as if I grabbed a handful of guys who all have the chance to hit 1,000 yards and 10 TDs from scrimmage—and I did that without spending premium capital at the position.

With my remaining picks, I wanted to add players I felt offered too much value to pass up at their spots, so I grabbed two more WRs who have a good shot to be the top pass catchers on their teams (Jerry Jeudy, Romeo Doubs) as well as a TE well outside the top six who has a chance to finish in the top three (Jonnu Smith).

Entering the draft, I felt that I would be fine waiting on QB and TE … and I waited on QB so long that I didn't even bother to select one in the 10-round mock. But given that I already have Hill and Smith on my roster, I'd be inclined to wait a while longer and add QB Tua Tagovailoa in the later rounds if this mock had gone longer.

As for TE, I would've been tempted to take Brock Bowers at the turn of Rounds 2-3 if he hadn't gone off the board at 2.11, and part of me also considered Trey McBride at the turn (he went off the board a couple picks later at 3.03), but after them, I felt it was best to wait at the position and get a player at what I considered to be a spot of value.

Jonathan: I chose the 1.05 draft slot because I believe that is where the first tier of elite players ends. I knew I would be in a position to grab one of my top three RBs or top two WRs and I would be happy with any of them. In the second round, I was in the middle of a major run on the RB position but I got my guy with Ashton Jeanty falling to me at the 2.08. 

With two stud RBs locked down, it was all about hammering WR from that point on. I was able to get a nice combination of proven production and young upside at the position that makes me confident my team can match up with any other. I did make a detour to grab Jayden Daniels in Round 5 because of his dual-threat ability and the potential for Washington to improve the weapons he has to work with this offseason.

Chris: I did a piece on draft strategy from the 1.10 last season and I wanted to see if the same tenets for the early rounds could apply in 2025: strong WRs, at least one RB1 with a serviceable RB2, and an elite option at the onesies (QB or TE). My later draft spot essentially ensured at least one high-end WR but the turn can be unpredictable. Seeing Drake London available to pair with A.J. Brown was an ideal start, but a WR-WR open had to come with an RB to balance out my core positions.

Yes, I'm a Bengals' homer, but Chase Brown should be in the top-12 conversation at the position after a breakout season in '24. With his RB1 workload secured, an "RB2 by committee" strategy was my best bet to ensure I wasn't banking on Brown repeating his results from last year. Outside of the RB and WR, it was more about playing the board and ensuring I wasn't sacrificing a solid stable versus taking a swing at QB or TE too early.

Favorite team besides your own?

Freedman: Honestly, I normally don't do the thing of looking at other teams in drafts, because I'd rather just get on to the next draft or go touch some grass—but I must admit that I do like Fuller's team: Getting Jahmyr Gibbs and Ashton Jeanty in Rounds 1-2 is a strong way to address the RB position, and then he goes heavy on WR for the next six rounds while also getting QB Jayden Daniels at a discount.

Jonathan: Pete built a really fun team with the second pick, going with Saquon Barkley and Brock Bowers before taking three electric young receivers. He also nabbed two of the most exciting RB prospects in this rookie class to complement Barkley in his RB room. It's just an easy team to get excited about. The only pick of his that I didn't love was Kyler Murray in the eighth round, but that's a high-upside, low-risk selection in a 1QB redraft league so I won't penalize his team much.

I'll also give an honorable mention to Jake Trowbridge drafting from the 1.09. I would have built a very similar team had I been in his position.

Chris: My favorite team? Mine, of course. Oh, I missed the "besides your own" part.

I feel like Freedman's team would be annoying to play against during the regular season. Outside of some catastrophe, he's set at WR. Plus, we know how the season goes. If you get RB right, you win. We just saw this play out a few months ago. He made a lot of solid bets at the position that each week he'd likely have the inside track on which rusher could find the end zone and complement the big plays from his receivers.

Players most likely to move up or down after free agency/the draft?

Freedman: Wherever he lands, I expect RB Ashton Jeanty to move up after the draft, because then more football fans will learn about him, hype him up, and steam up his draft stock. Right now, I think he's a strong option as the No. 1 RB in dynasty … and if he's the top back in that format, why shouldn't he be at least a top-five back in 2025?

Framed differently: A year from now, I can easily imagine Jeanty being a locked-in fantasy first-rounder in all formats. And if that happens, it will be because he played like a first-rounder in 2025. By the time we get to the heart of draft season in July and August, I can see how it will be common for him to go at the turn of Rounds 1-2.

Jonathan: All the rookies have the potential to move up or down the draft board significantly depending on landing spot and draft capital, but I want to focus on two veteran RBs who could tumble down draft boards. I believe both Joe Mixon and D'Andre Swift are at risk of having their team draft an RB relatively early this year. The Texans can get out of Mixon's deal after the 2025 season and the same is true of Swift in Chicago. 

With a really strong RB class this year, I could see their long-term replacements being selected on day two of the NFL Draft. This would introduce plenty of uncertainty about the fantasy value for Mixon and Swift in 2025 as they could yield touches to a rookie, especially down the stretch. 

Chris: Matt and Jonathan have already hit on the rookies, so I'll toss out two vets: Jaylen Warren and Jauan Jennings. 

There's no guarantee Najee Harris returns to Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, Warren has been the more efficient and explosive rusher between the two over the last couple of seasons. Warren also has the added utility of being a receiving threat. Should the Steelers stick with Justin Fields, a Warren-Fields duo would raise some eyebrows as both can generate explosives with the ball. I'd expect Warren to get a significant bump should we get confirmation Harris is on his way out. The same goes for Jennings.

Brandon Aiyuk is still recovering from his knee injury sustained almost midway through the season. Deebo Samuel is looking for opportunities elsewhere. As of right now, the 49ers' healthiest pass-catching options are second-year WR Ricky Pearsall, 30-plus-year-old TE George Kittle, and Jennings. Assuming we don't see Aiyuk until at least October and Samuel's wearing a different jersey, Jennings should have an earlier ADP after a breakout season last year.

Favorite or least favorite draft slots?

Freedman: I think the 1.03 is a great slot because you're guaranteed to get one of RB Saquon Barkley or WRs Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson. And that kind of makes the 1.04 my least favorite spot—because I don't see much of a difference between that and the next 4-5 picks after it in Round 1, but I see a larger potential dropoff in Round 2.

Jonathan: Anywhere in the top five picks is my preferred range to draft from, but if I can't have that, then I want to be at the end of the first round with the 1.11 or 1.12. I view the second half of the first round as a relatively flat tier with a lot of WRs that I like. Picking at the end of the first round allows me to target Brian Thomas and/or Malik Nabers who both look like superstars in the making. The early second round offers great RB options so you can take your favorite and avoid a run on the position like we saw in this mock. 

Being on the turn is tricky as the draft goes on because you have such a long time between picks, but it can also help you ignore ADP and just take the guys you want which is usually a better approach in the middle rounds. 

Chris: A top-3 or bottom-3 pick suits me just fine. Of course, the Top 3 is better to secure one of the elite WRs or RBs (I'm partial to that Ja'Marr Chase guy. Did I mention I was a Bengals fan?). But, more importantly, I can play the turn from either side. Like in poker, you can put players on a range of hands based on betting tendencies and style. The turn offers a similar advantage because you can see what's been played (i.e., who's been drafted) and what the folks on the turn don't have (i.e., missing positions on their roster). Leveraging that knowledge can help you build a better squad which is just one (important) part of taking down your league.

If you could change one thing about your team, what would it be?

Freedman: I feel I wasn't aggressive on rookies, which means that—in this league—I ended up with none of them. On the one hand, I feel I did a good job of grabbing players who fell to me at a discount to inherent value. On the other hand … I feel like maybe I missed out on some potential upside by not reaching for some rookies when I had the chance, especially at RB. I'm not sure I'd actually want to change the composition of my RB cohort: I really like the guys I have and the value-seeking way in which I acquired them. But they all lack the juice of youth, and come October I can envision my RBs looking undeniably old.

Jonathan: I'm happy with how the structure of my team turned out but there were a few times I got sniped on specific players that I wanted. I would have loved to get Ladd McConkey in the third round and I also had my eye on Jakobi Meyers in the eighth round when he went right before me. Those snipes didn't derail my draft by any means, but it's never fun when you miss out on a player at the top of your queue.

Chris: Not a thing. It's perfect. Well, hindsight being 20/20, I veered away from rookies here. While I have a good idea of each of their strengths, I'm still missing a critical data point: draft capital. I can walk down "Team Fit" narrative street all day, but teams can't lie with their wallet. So, my mocks pre- and post-draft are likely going to be different.

Other than that, I've got a couple of nits to pick. Yes, I just said my team is perfect about six sentences ago. I could have waited at TE to secure a stronger set of RBs to execute my "RB2 by committee" strategy. Andrews is fine, but didn't have the high-end workload we expected with Isaiah Likely emerging and Zay Flowers taking on a larger role. So, playing for the middle rounds like Freedman might have been the better move there.

Best Pick In The Mock Draft?

Freedman: It's totally self-serving to say that I have the best pick—but I really liked getting Jonnu Smith at 8.12. I got him as the TE9, and that just feels off. I understand that it's easy to be skeptical about Smith, who for years has flashed more potential than production, but last year after the Week 6 bye he amassed 74-744-8 receiving across 12 games with an average of 7.5 targets per game. That's real production, and if he's able to play like that in 2025, he could be a top-three TE. I love that I got him at 8.12.

Jonathan: For my own team I'm going to say getting Ashton Jeanty at the 2.08 was my best pick. I think there is a good chance he is going in the late first or early second round when we get to August. 

Looking at all the other teams, Mike Evans stands out to me as a great value at the 4.01. Evans is coming off back-to-back seasons as a top-10 fantasy WR in half PPR scoring and he posted the best YPRR of his career in 2024. The 31-year-old has shown no signs of slowing down, but he fell all the way to WR20 off the board in this mock. The last time Evans finished outside the top-20 in half PPR scoring was 2015 so this was a great selection by Gene.

CA: For me, getting Chase Brown after James Cook and Chuba Hubbard felt like great value. Again, I'll acknowledge my fandom for a certain jungle-themed franchise. But after taking over the starter spot, Brown's UR score and touch count dwarfed the other two. He averaged more than 1.5 more PPR PPG than them.

From the rest of the crew, I do like Pete taking Jameson Williams in the early fifth. My gut feel is that with Ben Johnson gone, there'll be some uncertainty regarding a player like Williams. They'll look at the deep plays or rushing attempts and assume without them Williams will be like the deep threats before him. He'll be considered a boom-bust option. But he was getting more slot work and his aDOT was on the decline last year, giving him more weekly stability. As Pete's WR3, that's an excellent way to cap off the position.