JUMP TO:
- What is a fantasy football draft?
- Fantasy football draft strategies
- How to use cheat sheets and draft kits
- How strictly should I follow fantasy football rankings?
- What is ADP?
- Fantasy football draft Day tips
While there is excitement any time the football season nears, it more importantly signals the start of a new season for fantasy football.
The sport itself continues to grow, and fantasy football has kept up. New league types are constantly evolving as fantasy football enthusiasts continually seek ways to enhance their favorite hobby. For many people, though, fantasy football drafts can be overwhelming. There is a timer that will start loudly beeping at you as it winds down. You might be looking at players you've never heard of or whose situations you don't like.
To avoid being overwhelmed on draft day, you can help yourself out by doing fantasy football draft prep. This includes reviewing your league settings, familiarizing yourself with the order in which players are listed on your draft platform and utilizing an expert cheat sheet or draft kit.
Here are Sporting News' expert strategies to help you with your fantasy football drafts.
TIPS TO WIN YOUR LEAGUE: 2025 Fantasy Draft Kit
What is a fantasy football draft?
To participate in a fantasy football league, you need to put together a team. The draft is the start of the fantasy football season. During the draft, you will likely alternate with your league mates and pick NFL players who you think will do well that season. You will most likely only need to focus on individual offensive players, but roster and lineup restrictions vary by league; hence, it is beneficial to know how your league is set up.
For example, Point Per Reception (PPR) leagues reward fantasy managers with a full point for every reception a player records. There are other leagues, non-PPR or Standard, which don't factor in points for receptions at all. And still there are others that are half-PPR leagues. And you guessed it, you get half a point for each reception in these leagues. So a wide receiver who sees a lot of targets could have more value in a PPR league than in a non-PPR league.
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Fantasy football draft strategies
Having a strategy in place heading into your draft can help limit the stress you experience. Otherwise, you are just staring at a screen of names, and while you take them in, your league mates could be drafting them, and all of a sudden, you are on the clock. Having a general idea of what you want to do with your draft will help.
Do you want to use your first pick on a running back and then immediately target wide receivers? Do you want an elite wideout, a second wide receiver and then address your running back position? There is no wrong strategy, and all of them can go out the window if your league mates draft certain ways.
Luckily, we have you covered and have broken down the best fantasy football draft strategies.
And double check names before you make your pick official. You don't want to end up like this guy:
No Way: He drafted Brian Robinson Jr when he meant to take Bijan Robinson 😭😭
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) August 18, 2025
There's no coming back from this...pic.twitter.com/C24qFN1EHi
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How to use cheat sheets and draft kits
There are a ton of resources out there to help you get ready for your fantasy football drafts. You will commonly see terms "cheat sheet" and "draft kit." The latter is a great place to start, but it can be overwhelming. Typically, these resources are loaded with links to various rankings and tips articles. It can be intimidating, but when you review the draft kits, take in a link at a time, or have a clear idea of what you are looking for when you enter. Even if you know that you are looking for PPR rankings as opposed to non-PPR or half-PPR rankings, that can help. Take a look at Sporting News' fantasy football draft kit as an example, and for all of our great resources.
Cheat sheets are generally used during the draft as a tool to help you keep track of values as the draft progresses. The platform you are on could have players ordered in various ways, so the cheat sheet can help give you a reference you are familiar with to cross off players as they are drafted and give you an idea of who you want to be targeting. Sporting News' cheat sheet can help you with that as well.
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How strictly should I follow fantasy football rankings?
That's really up to you. Sometimes vibes take over, and you want to draft a player from your favorite team or one you know you will be watching every week to make the experience more immersive. Nobody in the fantasy football industry is 100% accurate with their fantasy football rankings. Everyone is putting forth their best educated guesses.
Fantasy football rankings are a great guideline to give you an idea of how the general populous values players. If you know your league mates are locked into fantasy football rankings, it could give you insight into how they will draft and give you an idea of the players that will be available to you.
At the end of the day you're making the decisions, not the ranker, unless you made your own rankings. It's becoming more and more common for leagues to include punishments for the last place team. So if the stakes are high, sometimes you have to trust your gut and hope you don't end up like this guy:
My buddy sent me this- guy finished last place in his Fantasy Football league so the punishment is wearing Oilers gear to the Florida Panthers parade 😂#timetohunt pic.twitter.com/LRYdxCTsem
— Alejandro Solana (@AlexMSolana) June 22, 2025
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What is ADP?
ADP stands for average draft position. This metric considers the draft results of various leagues and calculates the average draft slot used for each player. So, if a player has an ADP of 46, it means they are being selected with the 46th overall pick in the draft on average. In some leagues, he may go higher, while in others, he may go lower.
How to take advantage of ADP
Similar to fantasy football rankings, ADP gives you a general sense of when players are being drafted. You can take advantage when players that you expected to be drafted by the time you were on the clock are still there. For example, if a player has an ADP of 12 and you are on the clock with the 20th pick, you could target them for your team because there is expected value there, provided that the reason the player fell is not due to injury.
Conversely, you may value someone higher than their ADP. If you're targeting a specific player in the third round, but his ADP is 48, then you can consider waiting until the fourth round to try and select him.
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Fantasy football draft Day tips
The worst thing you can do on draft day is not be prepared, but that comes in many forms. Some people enjoy conducting mock drafts on their draft platform to familiarize themselves with the players they will encounter and when they are likely to be selected throughout the draft. You can definitely do too many mock drafts and get burnt out on drafting, so be wary of that.
Otherwise, ensure you are familiar with your league's size and scoring format. Not only can that make the player list vary from mock drafts if you practice the wrong scoring format, but it could also impact your decisions. If you are faced with drafting a running back that is more known for carries or one more known for receptions and you are in a full PPR (point per reception) league, you may want to look at the second player.
The biggest thing to remember is that you likely aren't going to win your league on draft day, because setting the right lineups and making the best waiver wire decisions will mix with luck throughout the season. No matter how much prep you do, you can't predict exactly how your league will draft, so no matter your strategy, you will need to listen to the draft board and be ready to pivot as needed.
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