We love a little friendly debate here at DraftKings Network, especially among folks who don’t just know ball, but love it. When we set out to create this duality series, I knew just which writer’d be able to match my energy and approach when it comes to fantasy football drafting strategies for 2025: the venerable Sean Barnard. You can read his analysis (in which he deftly uses my own rankings against me—scoundrel move, Sean) on why he’s all-in on drafting running backs as your premier fantasy football assets this year. I, on the other hand, am here to advocate for our wide receiver brothers-in-air-yardage-arms. They are indeed the S-Tier fantasy assets in the meaty, meaningful, title-winning rounds this year. This narrative that the feature back has returned is hullabaloo. In explaining that, I’ll also evaluate whether or not we should be hitting a full Zero-RB strategy.
Here’s another link to Sean’s analysis. You can find a one-stop shop for all my fantasy draft kit content here (coming soon), including positional rankings, ranking tiers, drafting strategies, sleepers, busts—you name it, I’ve got it here for you at DraftKings Network.
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Approaching WRs vs. RBs in 2025 fantasy drafts
I’ll be approaching this strategy based on my own running back/wide receiver rankings for this year, which you can find in total at the links below:
- Fantasy football 2025 WR ranks: Top 30 wide receivers to target on draft day
- Fantasy football 2025 RB ranks: Top 25 running backs to target on draft day
Overview
In 2025 PPR (points per reception) formats, my draft board makes it clear: wide receivers dominate early and often. The structure of my rankings reflects not just a preference for elite WR talent, but an evidence-based approach grounded in usage metrics, positional depth trends, and offensive ecosystem analysis. The modern NFL is passing more than ever—league-wide pass rate over expectation (PROE) sat at 3.8% in 2024, its highest since 2007—while top-tier RB usage continues to fragment under committee backfields.
My top-12 overall (top-150 ranks coming soon) features seven wide receivers inside the first-round range, with Ja’Marr Chase, Malik Nabers, and Justin Jefferson commanding target shares over 28% in their healthy stretches last year. Nabers’ rise to WR2 in my ranks (WR ranks here) comes directly from projecting Brian Daboll’s pass-heavy philosophy (Giants were top-five in neutral pass rate over the final eight weeks of 2024) and the deep-ball tendencies of both Russell Wilson and Jaxson Dart. Even with Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs breaking into the top-five overall (full RB rankings), the scarcity at RB is less impactful than the weekly separation elite WRs create in full-PPR scoring.
Advanced metrics strengthen this case. Eight of the top ten players in weighted opportunity rating (WOPR) last season were WRs, and six return in similar or improved offensive contexts. Meanwhile, no RB cleared a 70% opportunity share in 2024, the lowest mark in over a decade. Players like Garrett Wilson (WR7) and Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR6) are locked into 150+ target trajectories, while second-year players like Marvin Harrison Jr. (WR13) bring immediate alpha profiles—keep in mind, Harrison posted a 33% college target share at Ohio State, placing him in the 98th percentile historically. That’s still in his profile.
Middle-round tactics
The middle rounds are where WR dominance really takes hold. Between WR9 (Brian Thomas Jr.) and WR16 (Davante Adams), my board identifies a cluster of players with 24–27% projected target shares and significant YAC upside. By contrast, my RB10–RB20 range—names like Chase Brown, Breece Hall, Jonathan Taylor, James Cook, De’Von Achane, and Kenneth Walker III—carries workload uncertainty, committee exposure, low-value touches, situational bugaboos, or legitimate injury scares. Many project under 40 receptions and sub-50% route participation, which severely caps their ceilings in PPR formats. For the same draft capital, the WRs in this range offer higher floors, greater spike-week potential, and far less volatility.
This isn’t a pure Zero-RB approach—we’re operating in a middle lane that still values elite RB production when the right opportunity arises. My RB16–RB25 tier—Omarion Hampton, James Conner, Alvin Kamara, Chuba Hubbard, D’Andre Swift, and late options like Tyrone Tracy—holds sneaky PPR value. These players, often drafted multiple rounds later than RB10–RB15, can still deliver 45+ receptions and goal-line equity. That allows us to stockpile elite WRs early, then selectively target this RB pocket to fill out the position without overpaying for riskier backs. In some drafts, that means grabbing one true workhorse in the early rounds and then building RB depth later—more of a Hero RB variation than an outright avoidance of the position.
Final Verdict:
Not exactly!
My flag-plants reinforce a WR-heavy-but-not-totally-zero-RB philosophy. We’re higher than consensus on Garrett Wilson, Marvin Harrison Jr., Zay Flowers, Jameson Williams, Travis Hunter, Ricky Pearsall, and Josh Downs—all players positioned to outproduce RBs drafted in their range, especially when you consider consensus ADP. Wilson’s 2.20 yards per route run despite erratic QB play suggests a leap is imminent. Flowers’ 28% target share in games without Mark Andrews points to a WR1 outcome in Baltimore’s evolving offense. Williams’ 16.4 average depth of target aligns perfectly with Detroit’s vertical play-action game. Harrison and Hunter project to lead their teams in both targets and red zone looks from Day 1, while Pearsall and Downs bring high-volume slot roles in schemes (Shanahan, Steichen) which can leanm pass-heavy.
The takeaway is straightforward: 2025 PPR drafts reward those who lock in WR volume early, avoid the RB dead zone, and exploit the depth of mid-round pass-catching backs. RB talent still matters, but the supply curve has shifted; you can find usable RB production later, but you cannot replicate the ceiling of an alpha WR (even alpha WR2s like Tee Higgins, Davante Adams, and DeVonta Smith) once the draft is over.
