NFL Fantasy Football 1st Round Draft Selections
By Steve Dempsey
It’s that time of year again. Fantasy Football league commissioners are activating their leagues for the yearly shot for glory in workplaces, homes and friend circles. That 16 week quest to have bragging rights for another year where you prove you know the most about NFL compared to your peers. But let’s make one thing clear, while all the knowledge in the world about the prowess of the latest rookie class and how that translates into “real” points on the board, the fact is this: Fantasy Football really comes down to a hell of a lot of luck.
We can convince ourselves otherwise and there’s a million podcasts, advice columns and even TV slots that fill our feeds with conflicting viewpoints to help us along the way. Minor ranting aside, the sheer joy and distraction Fantasy Football brings, especially if your team is tanking or is a perennial organizational shitshow (insert team of choice here _______*coughs* Browns).
With your league activated, you’ve probably been assigned your draft order for your upcoming draft and are sitting mulling your options ahead of the selected draft day. It’s now the month that people suggest doing mock drafts, to see how it may pan out. The cagey among us don’t even mock realistically so that we gain an edge in the lottery. We talk aloud about who we think should be drafted first, all the while, keeping our own cards close to our chests. Before I digress down the road of fantasy conspiracy theories I’m going to run through a top 10 list for the first round in a 10 person league.
Pick 1: Saquon Barkley – I’ve always drafted RB first but the league is has changed to a high scoring WR league. That being said, give me consistency day long. If your base line weekly score starts at an average 15pts.. Sign me up.
Pick 2: Ja’Marr Chase – The best WR in the league with one of the more elite throwing QB’s. Burrow to Chase is a great stack up until their bye week (week 10).
Pick 3: CeeDee Lamb – CeeDee puts up consistent numbers but he’s at the damned if you do, damned if you don’t, Cowboys. Dak is sure it’s their year. Not sure we’ve ever heard that before, but hey, take a punt on CeeDee who is bound to have more open space due to the addition of the distractive Pickens.
Pick 4: Amon-Ra St. Brown – This has to be the year that the Lions deliver. I rate Amon-Ra above Justin, purely because he has an established quarterback in Goff who is on a score every possession team.
Pick 5: Justin Jefferson – Will J.J McCarthy be worth his salt as starting QB in his 2nd year but first proper season? The success of Justin Jefferson hinges on this and this alone. Will #JJ2JJ become a thing??
Pick 6: Jahmyr Gibbs – Offense, offense, offense. Dan Campbell goes for everything and for that reason, you have to pay attention to Jahmyr Gibbs in the first round for Fantasy. Another reliable point banker.
Pick 7: Bijan Robinson – Stats speak volumes for running backs and Robinson locked down 1456 yards with 14 touchdowns last season. In addition to this he had 61 catches for over 400 yards. Don’t ignore him if he is available at pick 7.
Pick 8: Puka Nacua – For me, Puka is in last chance saloon for Fantasy. His stock will either go up or down forever from this season. For 2 straight years his average target volume is decent (9ish). The Rams are hit or miss for me but he’s their best player and a decent pick if you need a WR as your first round pick.
Pick 9: Malik Nabers – The 7th best receiver in fantasy last year got a QB “upgrade” in Russell Wilson for 2025. Even if Russ fails to cook, Jaemis Winston is not averse to flinging the ball around. Expect a glut of targets and hope he delivers for the G men and your team.
Pick 10: Ashton Jeanty – I’m dropping Jeanty into the first round because sometimes you just have to roll the dice. Pete Carroll used Marshawn Lynch as a bell cow back in the legion of boom days and there’s no reason to think he won’t do the same with Jeanty. Go for it, and let’s face it, you can snag Henry or McCaffery at 11 in the snake draft. Draft AJ so you can say “I told you so”.
This little list of Round 2 notables really gives hope for picking up a solid base to your team. Pick Bowers at 11 and watch the TE frenzy begin.
Round 2 notables: Christian McCaffery / Nico Collins / Brock Bowers / Derrick Henry / De’Von Achane / AJ Brown / Bucky Irving / Tyreek Hill
So there you have it. As I mentioned at the start, it’s another slew of advice into a melting pot of advice. Let Gaelic Gridiron know who you think should be in the top 10 .
Have all the fun in 2025 Fantasy Football, and remember, by week 5, it’s the worst game ever and you’re definitely not playing next year…. Until next year comes around.