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Welcome to the annual USA TODAY Sports 4th & Monday NFL newsletter FANTASY FOOTBALL EXTRAVAGANZA!
The kickoff game for the 2025 NFL season – Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 4 – is just two short weeks away (can you believe it?!?) and the preseason slate (thankfully!) concludes Saturday, thus unofficially kicking off fantasy football draft season1.
And, we’re here to help you prepare for fantasy football success and league domination against your circle of friends/coworkers/mortal enemies by providing draft tips, player rankings, value picks, sleepers, potential busts, the ever-important ‘cheat sheet’ and more!
But wait, there’s even more! USA TODAY Sports Weekly’s annual blockbuster fantasy football edition has more great advice to help you rule your draft. Order your copy today so it arrives in time for your draft!
Fantasy football rankings
These top 200 overall player rankings2 are to be studied carefully and memorized to the best of your abilities for optimal fantasy football draft day needs:
Ja’Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
Bijan Robinson, RB, Atlanta Falcons
Saquon Barkely, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings
Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Detroit Lions
Another vital guide to have handy is the position-by-position rankings for those ‘best player available’ draft-day decisions.
Quarterback: Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Running back: Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons
Wide receiver: Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
Tight end: Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
Kicker: Brandon Aubrey, Dallas Cowboys
Defense/special teams: Denver Broncos
Fantasy must-haves: Draft strategy, value picks, sleepers, potential busts, top rookies
➤ 4 keys to nailing your draft: New head coaches. New offensive coordinators. Emerging rookie standouts. There is a lot to process on draft day. Lucky for you, Steve Gardner presents important core concepts to consider in your 2025 fantasy draft.
➤ Value picks: Looking for players who might outperform their ADP (average draft position)? Ayrton Ostly lists a dozen such late-round possibilities.
4 best value picks at quarterback
Value picks by position: Quarterbacks | Running backs | Wide receivers
➤ Sleeper contenders: Fantasy football is all about finding quality value picks and sleepers who can exceed preseason expectations (then, later, finding gems on the waiver wire, but that’s a conversation for another day). Ayrton Ostly has identified candidates at every position to target in drafts.
Sleepers by position: Quarterbacks | Running backs | Wide receivers | Tight ends | Kickers
➤ Potential busts: Not every highly-rated player is going to live up to expectations, and having too many of those type of players can lead to embarrassing last-place finishes and the subsequent punishments (if your league has such a penalty). Ayrton Ostly presents a player to avoid at every position.
➤ Rookies who could be fantasy standouts: Speculating which rookies will emerge as fantasy football standouts is a difficult task in August. We present some rookie running backs and wide receivers who could be immediate make-or-break difference-makers in fantasy leagues.
Top second-year breakout candidates
RB draft strategy: Hero RB vs. Zero RB approach
Anybody who has played fantasy football knows how valuable premier running backs are to the team. But what if we told you that there’s a crazy draft strategy that suggests fantasy team owners put too much value on running backs and encourages you to pass on most (if not all) of the projected starting running backs? Sounds bonkers, right? Well, it’s also hard to pull off (but, you can try … let us know how it goes in the comments). There’s also another strategy that is a little less extreme.
Why should you use the Hero RB draft strategy?
What is the Zero RB draft strategy and does it really work?
Data-driven look at who could be this year’s RB1
Top 6 RB handcuffs to target
What should you name your fantasy team?
This is a big one! Whether you’re looking for a topical fantasy football team name suited for 2025, or just need to rebrand after a lousy 2024 fantasy season, we have some team name suggestions to help inspire you.
Funny team names by category
160-plus names inspired by every NFL team
Taylor Swift-inspired team names
: Top 25 fantasy seasons since 2001: Quarterbacks | Running backs | Wide receivers | Tight ends
1 IMHO, if your league holds its draft before the end of the NFL preseason, you’re doing fantasy football wrong. There are exceptions, however, such as destination drafts that bring fantasy team owners in from far and wide for an in-person selection meeting.
2 Steve Gardner updates the top 200 rankings frequently, so please make sure to visit USA TODAY Sports’ fantasy football section regularly.
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