how should you approach some fantasy players as we get closer to the draft?

By Martin Richardson

We’re getting ever closer to the time when we all draft the players we hope will win us a Fantasy Championship. But as always, questions still remain for some of the players and teams that will influence the pool of players we want to look at.

Now that camps are underway for all 32 teams, this is the chance to have a look at some of the early things we need to consider when planning our 2025 drafts. Usually, it is ‘what should I do with…’ or ‘what about player X’, which is what I am looking to address here and now with some analysis of what is ahead for some players and teams in 2025.

THE JAGS AND COWBOYS RUNNING BACKS:

The simple answer is this: watch this space.

Both teams have a committee back system in place, whether they want to admit it or not; the Jags have Travis Etienne, Tank Bigsby and Bhayshul Tuten and the Cowboys are currently rolling with Javonte Williams, Miles Sanders and Jayden Blue.

Not exactly an inspirational bunch to look at in Fantasy football.

Etienne perhaps has the higher value based on previous years, but his lack of trips into the endzone last year (2) was a real issue for Fantasy players. Add to the mix that he had less than 600 yards, he just was not good value at all. Then there was Tank Bigsby, who had 7 rushing touchdowns and 1 receiving too, which sounds great, but he also had four fumbles which is not ideal for Fantasy players at all. Then you have the unknown, but exciting element of Bhayshul Tuten, who, when you watch his tape, looks a little like Bucky Irving in his ability to run, catch and juke with the ball. And who was the coach the get production that out Irving: new Jags Head Coach Liam Coen.

So, all in all, it’s just going to take one bad game from either Etienne or Bigsby for someone like Tuten to take their chance, and when Coen wasn’t getting a tune out of Rachaad White, he was not afraid to turn to rookie Bucky Irving. I wouldn’t be surprised if the same happens in Jacksonville.

As for the Cowboys, I think their plan is pretty clear: Plan A is throw the ball and Plan B is make Plan A better. You can see this with the bunch of back ups they have at running back. Javonte Williams is coming off a season where he was returning from a bad injury, but with less than 520 yards rushing and 350 receiving as well as only 4 touchdowns, it was no surprise that he wasn’t retained by the Broncos in 2025. Sanders has some credit in the bank as he was great in 2022 with Eagles, rushing for over 1200 yards and amassing 11 touchdowns, but since then his lack of production and injury history meant that the Panthers ran the ball with the much better Chuba Hubbard.

Then, just like the Jags, the Cowboys have an interesting rookie in the ranks, in this case its Jayden Blue. Now Blue was a fifth round pick up by the Cowboys, but with neither Williams or Sanders showing any kind of inspiring form or promise, Blue could well be a great catching back for the Cowboys; and what did I say Plan A was for the Cowboys?

The Arizona Cardinals

Things are not well in Arizona and I can’t quite put my finger on what exactly. They have the recipe of a great set of Fantasy players: James Conner is habitually underrated every year, but produces, an elite TE in Tre McBride and second year wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr and a joystick QB in Kyler Murray who can rush with the best of them.

So, what is going on to make me doubt their Fantasy value?

Well, if 2024 is anything to go by, then not much will get better. They’ve kept pretty much everything the same on offense, so they’re in the same position, which makes for average reading. TE2 in Fantasy football McBride has 0 touchdowns in 2024, so that should get better. But there is Red Zone accuracy issues with Murray when it comes to me hitting his targets. Over the past two seasons, McBride has had 15 end zone targets and only pulled in 3 of them. Running back James Conner is currently getting picked below Kenneth Walker and rookie Omarion Hampton, which is outrageous in my opinion. Add to this that for some reason people cannot seem to shake the fact that the Cardinals drafted Tre Benson (I don’t see the appeal in truth), people are just not wanting to pick the 1500+ yard back. Now with Harrison Jr, who did get 8 touchdowns last season, there is a narrative forming that there just isn’t that connection with Murray, with videos showing just how open Harrison is and Murray not making the right read. Are we in for more of the same in 2025? And can you afford to take that risk, given that Harrison is currently the WR17, meaning you’ll likely need him as a WR2 in your line up. Hopefully these camp videos show that both he and Murray are turning a corner for this season.

Those Mid-Round Wide Receivers:

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Patience is the name of the game here. It can be very easy to get twitchy in those rounds where you are picking up the WR2/3 for your team. now why wait, well, the value of some of the players that are available in rounds 5-8 is incredible. You’re looking for starters in an NFL team who will get the ball a lot and make an impact with scores and yardage. After doing over a dozen mocks, here are some of the name that always come up for me as those WR2/3 options, and they are not bad at all: DJ Moore and Rome Odunze for the Bears; Calvin Ridley at the Titans; Jerry Jeudy at the Browns and Jacobi Meyers at the Raiders.

Looking at the Bears duo, both have upside going into 2025. Like I said in my QB rankings, Caleb Williams will be better this season, and by proxy, so will his two main WR options. DJ Moore somehow is rated as the WR22 and being picked in late 4th early 5th round, and Odunze is a steal as WR37, going as low as the 8th round on some apps. Both have massive appeal when it comes to making an impact in Fantasy leagues.

The same can be said for Calvin Ridley at Tennessee, who first overall pick Cam Ward is really excited to work with. Ridley is sandwiched between Moore and Odunze has WR30, but with injury and release of Treylon Burks and rookie Elic Ayomanor now the only competition at WR, Ridley is certainly the man main for Ward to aim for.

When it comes to Jerry Jeudy, I can perhaps see why he has dropped a little, and that is because of the turbulent QB room that exists in Cleveland. One thing is for sure and that is his sheer volume of targets from whoever is at QB makes him a great option for PPR leagues and getting those bigger chunks of yardage and touchdowns that lead to a 1200+ yard season in 2024.

And finally I think that I may well be picking Meyers in most mock drafts at this point. He is the WR1 in Las Vegas and reached over 1000 yards even when he missed two games, and that was with TE talent Brock Bowers on the team. With the arrival of a better QB in Geno Smith who loves to sling the ball (over 4300 yards last season), and a new OC in Chip Kelly, Meyers may be in line for a bigger and better season.

Kyle Pitts and Tight End Value:

After reading that tweet, are all ready to get hurt again?

As I am sure some of you are, I am neck deep in mock drafts on Fantasy Apps and seeing who is available and when. And one name who is so far down in those mock drafts is Kyle Pitts. The Falcons TE is averaging out as the 18th best TE in 2025 Fantasy football, around 140th overall and sandwiched between Zach Ertz and Isaiah Likely. Now the usual reports are coming out of camp that this is the season that Pitts gets unlocked in a Michael Penix offense, but you would be right to have that scepticism given his pervious record.

But what does that tell Fantasy players about the TE market overall?

 It tells me the drop off between each of those TEs can mean one of two things: don’t miss out on the top TE you want, but also remember there will be value lower down in the markets. Take for example, starting TE Dalton Schultz is going in the 190’s which is value when you consider how light the Texans have been on offense. Then you can look at someone like Tucker Kraft who is the 13th best TE on FantasyPros, and going as pick 116, which is great value for someone who is considered a breakout candidate in 2025.

If it was me, I would lock up one of those bigger names early on, and wait it out and pick up a back up or potential FLEX option later in the draft.

MARTIN RICHARDSON

NFL/FANTASY FOOTBALL ANALYST

A Yorkshireman living in Lancashire, Martin is a massive NFL fan but his heart belongs to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Also a huge Fantasy Football enthusiast and spends far too long crunching the numbers! Follow him at @MRBucsFan31

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