2025 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Pick 5 Strategy

CINCINNATI, OH – DECEMBER 10: Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown (30) reacts after scoring a touchdown during the game against the Indianapolis Colts and the Cincinnati Bengals on December 10, 2023, at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, OH. (Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

When preparing for your draft, looking at a fantasy football mock draft is one of the best things you can do. While it’s not going to look the same as every real draft, these are much more helpful than just a generic set of rankings.

In a fantasy football mock draft, you get to see how your draft might play out. Today, we’ll be doing a fantasy football mock draft from pick five.

If you have a different pick than this, make sure you check out some of the other draft slots below. This fantasy football mock draft will be completed on ESPN in a 12-team, PPR, 1QB format.

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2025 Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: Pick 5

While the 5th pick is right next to pick six, this mock draft had much different results. Based on the players that are available, you need to be ready to pivot and adjust your draft strategy.

Heading into the mock draft, though, we’re going to be looking to implement a balanced strategy. In almost every league, these are how many teams are constructed due to how strong the strategy is this year.

What that means is you’re going to be avoiding drafting an elite quarterback or tight end. Instead, focus on only your running backs and wide receivers. You’ll want to make sure you try to alternate between the two positions early on without giving up too much value.

2025 Fantasy Football Mock Draft

Round One: CeeDee Lamb

Round Two: Chase Brown

Round Three: Tee Higgins

Round Four: Breece Hall

Strategy For Rounds 1-4

CeeDee Lamb is my 2nd ranked player, but with an ESPN rank of six, you’ll be able to get him from a number of spots this year. From there, the balanced strategy was in full effect, landing two running backs and two wide receivers in the first four rounds.

Another strong move from these rounds was being able to pair Chase Brown and Tee Higgins in a “stack”. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, that just means having multiple players on the same offense.

While some aren’t fans of this, it helps you correlate your selections. When drafting Chase Brown, you’re predicting that the Cincinnati Bengals will be a good offense.

If that’s the case, why not correlate your prediction by selecting another player who will benefit if your prediction is right? This strategy allows you to shoot for a ton of upside.

Round Five: Marvin Harrison Jr

Round Six: T.J. Hockenson

Round Seven: Rashee Rice

Round Eight: Chris Olave

Strategy For Rounds 5-8

Typically, you would want to draft at least one running back in this range, but the opportunity didn’t present itself. Marvin Harrison Jr ended up falling slightly past his rank due to an underwhelming rookie season last year.

Then, after selecting T.J. Hockenson, who is a good value this year, there was a massive run on the running backs. Rather than reaching for a player just to fill my running back need, it’s best to take the value on the board.

From there, you can use these players as trade leverage once they start to produce in the season. Once that’s the case, you can shop around for a running back to add to your bench.

ARLINGTON, TX – AUGUST 22: Dallas Cowboys running back Jaydon Blue (34) mingles with other players after the preseason game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Atlanta Falcons on August 22, 2025 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.(Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Round Nine: Justin Fields

Round 10: Quinshon Judkins

Round 11: Jaydon Blue

Round 12: Bhayshul Tuten

Strategy For Rounds 9-12

Round nine was an example of the late-round quarterback strategy in action with Justin Fields. After missing out on running back earlier, the best thing you can do is draft rookie running backs with upside.

These rookies could have a big role in their offense, and that’s typically how you find league winners. Since we’re in the later rounds of the draft anyway, if these picks don’t work out, you can replace them with waiver wire options once the season starts.

Round 13: Kyle Williams

Round 14: Ollie Gordon

Round 15: Chris Boswell

Round 16: Arizona Cardinals D/ST

Strategy For Rounds 13-16

Kyle Williams and Ollie Gordon are my two favorite late-round picks in every league. Williams was a fantastic player in college, and he has a very good situation heading into the 2025 season.

Gordon had a monster year at Oklahoma State during the 2023 college season before a down year caused him to fall in the NFL Draft. On top of that, Gordon has had a strong preseason, and the Miami Dolphins RB1 De’Von Achane is banged up right now.

Overall, this fantasy football mock draft confirmed that the 6th slot is a good one to have this year, even if you may not be able to grab a ton of running back depth.

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