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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 11: Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs reacts after throwing a pass for a touchdown in the third quarter against the San Francisco 49ers during Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium on February 11, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
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Fantasy football is a growing game with new users each year. If you’ve never played fantasy football before, this article has you covered.
Below, we’ll be talking about the basics of fantasy football and outline how you can put yourself in a position to crush your league mates. Let’s dive right into it!
How to Play 2025 Fantasy Football
If you’re not familiar with how fantasy football works, the premise is that you draft a team and watch these players in real time. Based on how players play in real NFL games, you get a certain number of points.
These points are centered around yards, catches, and touchdowns. While a ton of different formats, in almost all of them, you face off against someone else in a head-to-head matchup.
After competing in a regular season, the top teams make the fantasy football playoffs. From there, the winners advance until a champion is crowned.
Beginners Drafting Guide
There are a few important things to note. Make sure you know your format and how your roster is constructed.
For example, in a typical ESPN league, you’ll often only have one quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, a flex spot, a tight end, a defense, and a kicker. In those leagues, getting top talent is crucial.
While you’re going to want to target your running backs and wide receivers first, drafting a quarterback or tight end in round three makes more sense than if you have multiple flex spots.
You’re going to be able to find average players on your waiver wire (we’ll talk about this below), so it’s important to shoot for upside. That means targeting players such as rookies who have a low floor but high ceiling.
How to Make Trades
Going off that same principle, if your league has a shallow starting lineup, you should always want to acquire the best player in a deal. That means that doing two or three for one trades is almost always best for the player getting the top guy.
The reason why is that in these shallow leagues, this “depth” production is very replaceable from the waiver wire.
How to Use the Waiver Wire
We’ve mentioned the waiver wire a few times, but what is it? The waiver wire is a pool of players who are not currently on a roster.
However, you can’t just add these players at any time. Once they start their weekly game, they become locked.
Then, once the previous week is over, you can submit a claim or bid for these players. There are two common formats for waivers.
FAAB and waiver priority. FAAB just means that you get a set amount of fake dollars per season to spend on free agents. FAAB does not reset, and whoever gets the highest bid for a player gets to add them.
For waiver priority, it typically runs based on the standings for the previous week or the entire season. The pro tip here is that most people are too cautious when it comes to the waiver wire.
While you shouldn’t overreact or go overboard, the best players typically come in the first few weeks. Be aggressive early on without being reckless.
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – FEBRUARY 09: Jalen Hurts #1 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 to win Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome on February 09, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
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How to Crush Your Fantasy Football Draft
This final section is the most complex, so we’ll provide you with a few more articles to look into. The overarching takeaway is that you need to be flexible and able to adapt.
Coming in with a specific draft strategy and only sticking to it is a bad idea. These strategies are meant to be used as guidelines, but if you follow them to a tee, you might be in trouble.
Make sure to read this article from myself below. It includes a comprehensive 2025 fantasy football draft guide with all the information you could ever need. The last tip is that you should just try to learn as much as possible leading up to your draft.
ForbesHow To Draft The Perfect Fantasy Football Team In 2025By Steve Bradshaw
My author page is a great way to do so, but knowing what’s going on in the NFL realm often leads to a ton of success.
Have Fun!
The most important thing when drafting is to have fun. Fantasy football is just a game, and you should treat it as such.
While things can get serious at times, remember what it’s all about. Use Fantasy football as a way to enjoy the NFL, connect with friends, and have a good time!
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