Preparation for fantasy football drafts have been published and bought in many different forms.
While fans still can pick up plenty of fantasy magazines with strategy tips, the internet now offers piles of information through which we can browse. You can even complete a mock draft using your league's exact settings in a matter of minutes.
With the information overload, unprepared drafters can get left in the dust quickly and painfully. Of course, many winning players can sift through which information will help and which can be ignored.
Regardless of your league format or scoring settings, The Sporting News' Fantasy Football Draft Kit is covering your plan from every angle.
If you're someone who is brand-new to fantasy football and needs to be coached through their first draft, we have, among many other playbook materials, our PPR fantasy cheat sheet and non-PPR overall fantasy rankings. (We'll explain what those terms mean, too.)
If you're a seasoned veteran who's been playing fantasy since scores were kept by hand, we can still give you a boost. Regardless of experience level, every drafter stands to benefit from a handy cheat sheet that compiles all of the relevant advice in one spot.
Fantasy players at any level should use our brand-new suite of stats and news features for season-long help:
NEW - FANTASY FOOTBALL TOOLS: News | Player Stats | Transactions | Depth Charts | Injury Reports
With the countdown to your draft day(s) running out, let us at The Sporting News explain all things fantasy draft-related. We're quickly approaching NFL Kickoff on Sept. 4, when the Philadelphia Eagles, the defending Super Bowl champions, host the Dallas Cowboys.
We'll be consistently updating this cheat sheet almost daily with fresh, new content until Week 1 rolls around. Bookmark it!
Fantasy Draft Guide Contents
Click to jump to these strategy topics:
- PPR Rankings and Tiers
- Non-PPR Rankings
- Rookie Rankings
- Sleepers
- Busts
- Draft Strategies
- Auction Values (PPR and Standard)
- Fantasy IDP Draft Guide
- Draft Player Tips
- Injury Impacts
- More strategy tips
- Players & News
Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: PPR Rankings and 2025 Position Tiers
These rankings are designed for fantasy managers who compete in leagues that reward one point (or half a point) for every catch recorded by one of their players.
Updated 8/29:
Top 300 PPR Overall: It's printable! How many wide receivers should be drafted in Round 1? Is CeeDee Lamb a better bet than Justin Jefferson? Read more about how PPR leagues differ from other formats, including the types of players to focus on (hint: targets).
Quarterback Player Rankings: While getting the rushing advantages from the top names always works, the low-end QB1 tiers look profitable once again.
Running Backs in PPR: De'Von Achane is one of the most polarizing yet hyped players once again. Is he worth a Round 1 pick?
Wide Receivers in PPR: Loading up on the top wideouts over the first 3-5 rounds will prevent a lot of uncertainty in the middle tiers.
Tight Ends in PPR: Will heavy TE investments in Brock Bowers and Trey McBride backfire?
Flex PPR Top 200 Rankings: Isolate the RB, WR, and TE on your draft board to find the best values as you fill out your team in the middle and late rounds. Positionless football!
Defense and Special Teams: Sure, play the inseason matchups, but teams like the Denver Broncos will put you in great position early on.
Kickers: If you're forced to leave draft day with a kicker, might as well go with these top names.
Fantasy Football Non-PPR Rankings and 2025 Position Tiers
Updated 8/27:
Top 300 Non-PPR Players: Don't worry: "King" Derrick Henry deserves plenty of draft love.
Running Backs in Non-PPR: We're diving back in for Christian McCaffrey.
Wide Receivers in Non-PPR: Big plays and touchdowns dominate: Forgive Drake London and buy back in.
Tight Ends in Non-PPR: Target TD hogs here again like David Njoku, Mark Andrews, Tucker Kraft.
Fantasy Football Rookie Rankings 2025
Fantasy Rookie Rankings: Read the list of top fantasy football rookie rankings for the 2025 season, with additional tips for dynasty league draft planning. Omarion Hampton comes in strong. The Steelers' first-year back will prevail. Power through the negative buzz around TreVeyon Henderson.
Fantasy Football Sleepers & Breakouts 2025
1 sleeper from each NFL team: All 32 NFL teams ... Vinnie Iyer gives one sleeper from each ... from top backup running backs like the Arizona Cardinals' Trey Benson, to underappreciated quarterbacks and tight ends.
Quarterback sleeper picks: If you haven't seen enough positive takes on Drake Maye, we'll feed you more.
Running back sleeper picks: This optimism reports includes undervalued starter Travis Etienne and deep names bound to pile up stats if given the opportunity.
Wide receiver sleeper picks: A new 49ers alpha? A seamless Buccaneers stud emergence?
Tight end sleeper picks: Rookies and bargains and a Joker inside.
Defense sleeper picks: Our favorite undervalued D/ST made arguably one of the best draft picks in years.
2025 Fantasy Value Picks: Not all sleepers have to be unknown names. Undervalued players can be just as valuable. Vinnie Iyer identifies his favorite QB/RB/WR/TE bargain buys.
Deep sleepers: 12 breakout players, including several top rookies and a running back with blazing-speed who's ready to break defenses again.
Late-round breakout candidates:
- This Year's Baker Mayfield? Quarterbacks can already deliver incredible value. Will a 2025 bargain QB have a similar impact to Money Mayfield from last year?
- This Year's Bucky Irving? A preseason ADP surger headlines our list of late-round backs who could
- This Year's Brian Thomas Jr.? See who we're identifying as difference-making wide receivers in the middle and late rounds.
- This Year's Brock Bowers? Late-round tight end candidates who could deliver huge value.
Fantasy Football Busts 2025
Top 2025 Busts: Does anyone really want to draft Tyreek Hill at this point?
Do Not Draft List for 2025: Warning: You might be offended by Vinnie Iyer's chatter about some of your favorite players (see: Lamar Jackson).
Fantasy Football Draft Strategies 2025
Strategy tips
How to prepare for your fantasy draft: Click to see the most important things to know before you go into your draft room (in-person or online).
Who is the best No. 1 fantasy draft pick?: Is Ja'Marr Chase the undisputed first overall selection? We examine whether other names have a strong case.
What is the best fantasy draft position?: With the right strategy, you can win from any snake draft spot. But if you could pick, which slot should you grab?
Expert roundtable tips and bold predictions: Our fantasy writers give their picks for fantasy MVP, biggest bust, and more honors and dishonors in predicting the upcoming 2025 season.
6 biggest draft mistakes to avoid: It's not just taking Brian Robinson's sticker when you meant Bijan Robinson....
He is never living this down
— Sheffield Shuffler (@SheffieldShuff) August 18, 2025
Took Brian Robinson Jr instead of Bijan Robinson 🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/bOSrD3GWmv
Snake Draft Strategy: Vinnie Iyer lines up the best ways to attack each position, when to reach for your favorites, and when to let the draft come to you.
Auction Draft (Salary Cap) Strategy: Sloan Piva walks you through a mock auction draft to detail the best ways to build a team among the chaos.
Boom-or-Bust Fantasy Picks: Griffin Missant built a team of the biggest high-risk, high-reward selections you could make to destroy either your competition -- or yourself.
Best QB stacks for redraft leagues: Use a tried-and-true DFS strategy in your regular fantasy league and maximize your QB and top receiver's scoring ceiling every week.
Mock Drafts practice 2025
12-team PPR Mock Draft for 2025: Sloan Piva navigated this popular fantasy league format. Read his best and worst picks, along with the best strategies to use.
12-team Half-PPR Mock Draft for 2025: Vinnie Iyer does his own 12-team mock, but with a lower reward for catches -- which does change things quite a bit.
Fantasy Football Auction Values 2025: PPR and standard leagues
Overall: Stars and scrubs is a difficult strategy to pull off, so you better decide which one or two top names you'll chase while planning for bargain buys.
Quarterbacks: Those top QBs better be stacked with your top receiver. Otherwise, this is where so many bargains can be found.
Running Backs: The fantasy world might be underestimating Jonathan Taylor.
Wide Receivers: Those Round 1-level wideouts will force you to pinch pennies elsewhere, but they're almost always worth it in PPR.
Tight Ends: If you want to top tight ends, you'll have to plan stringently at the other positions. Is it worth it?
Defenses: If you really want to spend $2 on a defense, you have a few that make sense. (But please don't.)
Kickers: Again, if we're forced to buy a kicker, get that $1 bid ready.
Fantasy Football IDP Draft Guide
IDP rankings, strategy, and sleepers: Whether you're trying individual defensive players (IDP) fantasy leagues for the first time, or you're a seasoned IDP veteran, we have the LB/DL/DB rankings and top sleepers to target.
Fantasy Football Draft Player Tips
Draft Malik Nabers or Brian Thomas Jr.?: Read which elite sophomore wide receiver to draft in the middle or end of Round 1.
Draft Chase Brown or Bucky Irving?: Which Round 2 RB should be your choice?
Draft Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts, or Patrick Mahomes?: Draft the Super Bowl LIX quarterbacks -- or a top 2025 NFL MVP candidate?
Fantasy Football Injury News 2025
Preseason Injury Tracker: Injuries during training camp and preseason games can lead to players getting off to a slow start in the regular season -- if they're even active.
Get all the injury updates you need in one place so you can avoid draft pitfalls.
Fantasy Football Information & Research 2025
ADP Risers and Fallers 2025: We checked in during mid-August to see which players were surging and dropping in fantasy draft rooms.
Running Back Handcuff Depth Chart: It's always painful, but running backs get injured at a high rate. Know which RB to pick up or stash in case of a backfield injury or coach's decision.
Bye Weeks Tracker: Plan ahead in case you draft a few stars with the same vacation week. Beware Weeks 8 and 10, in particular.
Fantasy Strength of Schedule 2025: See how to manipulate FantasyPros' easiest and toughest player matchup slates to your advantage.
Exploiting Yahoo, ESPN default rankings to find sleepers: A league app's default pre-ranks can sometimes reveal value picks and easy player fades. Vinnie Iyer outlines some of the most glaring discrepancies that could create a huge profit on draft day.
Best Fantasy Football Team Names: Read our exhaustive, eye-popping list of the funniest, and often inappropriate, team name suggestions for your fantasy league.
Best Fantasy Football Loser Punishments: Our 2025 update of the best (worst) ways to make your league's last-place finisher suffer.
Best New Rules to Improve Your Fantasy League: Make these 5 changes to your league settings to improve your experience.
Fantasy Football Player Notes & News Analysis
Best offensive lines for fantasy football offenses: Vinnie Iyer ranks all O-lines from 1-32 and chats about how they'll help -- or hurt -- their offensive attacks.
How Travis Hunter could break your fantasy league: Click to find the best fantasy format to draft the blossoming WR-CB star.
De'Von Achane calf injury: Should fantasy football players worry ahead of drafts? Who's the best handcuff?
James Cook's fantasy value after new contract: The Bills running back cemented his expensive yet risky place on fantasy draft boards with his new deal.
Rashee Rice fantasy suspension update: The Chiefs wideout is suspended for the first 6 games of the season. Read how to handle him and the Kansas City offense in fantasy drafts.
What Jordan Addison's suspension means for fantasy football drafts: I'm not sure we should fade him at all, really....
Quinshon Judkins legal fantasy update: The Browns rookie running back's situation is murky, but recent news has helped his value skyrocket.
Matthew Stafford injury: Adjust Puka Nacua, Davante Adams fantasy rankings?: Stafford's back injury has cleared up before Week 1 but serves as a reminder of how fragile the receivers' value can be in 2025.
Preseason recaps and fantasy tips: Week 1 | Week 2
What is a fantasy football draft kit guide?
This is The Sporting News' 2025 fantasy football draft guide, which helps players execute their perfect fantasy football draft ahead of the NFL season.
It's a collection of fantasy football preseason analysis articles written to explain round-by-round draft strategies, with tips on players, teams, statistics, and helpful resources that help prepared fantasy players win.
Fantasy cheat sheets and draft kits cover every aspect of a player draft. Positional and overall rankings, sleeper lists, bust candidates, strategy tips, injury reports, and more information typically earn the spotlight in draft kits.
While fantasy managers should certainly use their own insight, instincts, and gut feelings (yes, they matter) when they're on the clock, digesting information from winning experts with useful fantasy football advice will help them make informed decisions on selecting their players, building their roster, and navigating the treacherous draft board.