Fantasy Football 2025 Best Strategy for Each Pick in 12-Team Mock Drafts

With the NFL world barreling toward the opening kick of the 2025 campaign, the fantasy football world has entered the heart of mock draft season.

These pressure-free practice drafts give fantasy managers the opportunity to engage in actual drafts with actual participants, only without any season-long stakes attached. They're among the most valuable tools in the draft-preparation kit, although they're really only helpful if they're conducted correctly.

Which brings to our primary purpose here: Providing an early round guide to all 12 selection spots. While you should always include personal preferences in this process, these strategic tips will help you make the most of your mocks.

Picks 1-4

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This year's top pick, arguably regardless of scoring format, is Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase. He's been a fantasy elite for a while now, but he took things up a notch this past season by converting his career-high 175 targets into personal-bests of 127 receptions, 1,708 receiving yards and 17 touchdown catches.

He's the kind of fantasy superstar who offers both an elevated floor and an uncapped ceiling. He'll have at least a handful of matchup-deciding monster efforts throughout the season, and he's almost incapable of producing a dud. No one else offers this combo of safety and security.

Once Chase is off the board, you should be selecting from a three-player pool of Bijan Robinson, Saquon Barkley and Justin Jefferson. That's the order in which we'd select them, but you can divvy them up however you like.

Since it'll be a while before the draft snakes back around your way, you'll want to make sure you can maximize your next two picks, too. That's typically done by making sure you leave round three with your first three selections filled by running backs and receivers (at least one of each), although stopping a sliding Brock Bowers with an early third-round pick would be awfully inviting, too.

Picks 5-8

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The tier gets wider in this range, which creates less clarity regarding what you should do. Unless, of course, someone like Saquon Barkley or Justin Jefferson falls into your lap, in which case you should race to make the pick while sending a quick thank you message up to the fantasy gods.

The closest players to crack the top tier are CeeDee Lamb and Jahmyr Gibbs, so those should be your first priorities assuming the top four picks go as planned. After that, you'll be leaning on your gut feelings to separate what should be six players for the final two spots: Malik Nabers, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Puka Nacua, Nico Collins, Brian Thomas Jr. and Christian McCaffrey.

If you favor a process-of-elimination approach, then you might want to rule out some of the riskier players in this range. McCaffrey's injury history is terrifying. Nabers' quarterback situation isn't great in New York (although his opportunity shares are elite) and Thomas could be competing for targets with No. 2 pick Travis Hunter. You might see things differently, but we'd value St. Brown, Nacua and Collins above the rest.

As for the second and third rounds, bouncing between backs and receivers is a strong option, but this is where you could consider grabbing the first tight end or one of the top quarterbacks. If you're thinking of taking a tight end or a signal-caller with a top-three selection, just make sure you have a top-shelf running back in place by then. You don't want to get to round four and have to decide whether Breece Hall, Kenneth Walker III or Alvin Kamara should be your RB1.

Picks 9-12

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If this is where you wind up, you'll be waiting a bit to make your first pick. Remember, though, you'll have one of the first cracks at the second round, so think of these picks as almost a two-player combo.

If the first eight picks follow our general guide, that should leave a clean four-player set for the first round with whomever is remaining from the Nabers-St. Brown-Nacua-Collins-Thomas-McCaffrey group. Again, we'd advise trusting your own instincts, albeit with the general direction that St. Brown, Nacua and Collins are our preferences.

A top-16 pick feels too early to veer away from running backs and receivers, so we'd recommend sticking with these positions for your first two picks. Since there aren't many running backs in this range, it'll be easier to balance your roster if you went McCaffrey with your first pick, but if you start with a receiver and really want a running back, this is a fine place to take one of De'Von Achane and Ashton Jeanty.

By the back of the third round, you could consider taking an elite quarterback or tight end if the right one slips. If not, it's all about the best available playmaker. At running back, that's hopefully someone like Chase Brown, Jonathan Taylor, Bucky Irving or Kyren Williams. At receiver, your options could include Tyreek Hill, Mike Evans, Davante Adams and Marvin Harrison Jr.