2025 Best Fantasy Football Values on ESPN

I am always looking for any sort of edge in fantasy football drafts, and that includes abusing ADP trends across each platform. There are several players at each position that we project to finish measurably higher than all five of the major fantasy football websites do, and who you should be heavily targeting in your drafts.

I’ll provide some of my favorite “dank stats” for each player, while also identifying the platforms where they are most undervalued.

The Best Fantasy Football Picks on ESPN

After completing several home-league drafts on ESPN, I have a much better feeling for how you should attack the ADP oddities on this platform. I can’t remember the last time the first 25 to 30 picks felt this strong, and I believe this year will follow suit with each of the previous three in terms of how you should approach the first few rounds:

That reliability, paired with the upside that the WR position has offered in recent years, lends an advantage to those drafting towards the end of the first round. There are several WRs with a clear path to WR1 overall upside who are going after the 8th pick (Puka Nacua, Malik Nabers, Nico Collins, and Brian Thomas Jr.). You can immediately follow that selection with an RB who possesses top-5 upside (Derrick Henry, De’Von Achane, Bucky Irving, or Chase Brown) in the second round.

The real advantage when drafting on ESPN comes from the WR value we’re being offered in rounds 6-9. Not only are there multiple high upside WR1s still available in this range (Courtland Sutton, Calvin Ridley, Jerry Jeudy, Tetairoa McMillan, and Matthew Golden), but there are just as many WR2s with top-20 upside available as well (George Pickens, Jaylen Waddle, Jameson Williams, Ricky Pearsall, and Emeka Egbuka).

There’s also a similar pattern with both QBs and TEs. There are several players at those two positions with top-10 upside who are going in the 10th round or later. In leagues with 12+ teams or slightly larger roster sizes (such as an additional flex spot), I typically prefer to punt the QB and TE positions in favor of the mid-to-late-round value we are seeing. This is usually a combination of Drake Maye, Dak Prescott, or Jordan Love at QB, with David Njoku, Tyler Warren, Hunter Henry, or Zach Ertz at TE.

My draft strategy on ESPN is heavily predicated on drafting at least two RBs ranked inside our top-20. My drafts typically look like this: 2 RBs in the first four rounds, 3-4 WRs in the first seven rounds, then my QB and TE selections come in round 8 or later. I am not afraid to stock up on one or two high-upside players for my bench before drafting a QB or TE either. These strategies are subject to change in smaller leagues (fewer teams mean less positional scarcity), and in leagues with half PPR scoring.

I have highlighted the platforms where the player is going before (green) or after (red) the average ADP.

The following players are all heavily undervalued on ESPN compared to our projections and the average ADP across the four other major platforms.

Drake Maye (QB, NE)

Drake Maye is one of the most undervalued QBs across all fantasy platforms right now. He has an average ADP of 131.1 (QB16.6), and is going half a round later on ESPN (ADP 138.2). His rushing upside gives him clear top-10 upside, landing him at QB12 in our rankings.

Maye averaged 18.7 FPG (~QB11) in his 9 full starts as a rookie, despite having one of the worst WR corps ^[1] and O-lines ^[2] in the league. The Patriots have addressed their lackluster skill position group this offseason by signing Stefon Diggs in free agency, and adding Kyle Williams and TreVeyon Henderson as Day 2 draft selections. They bolstered their O-line by selecting Will Campbell fourth overall before taking Jared Wilson at the end of the third round, in addition to adding free agents Garrett Bradbury and Morgan Moses.

Maye’s upside is tied to his rushing ability, and his 31.3 scramble YPG ranked fifth-best in the Fantasy Points Data history, which increased to 35.2 scramble YPG across his full games. The Patriots called just 7 designed runs for him as a rookie.

Maye wasn’t just moderately effective in making something out of nothing with his legs; he was one of the most explosive QBs with the ball in his hands.

The Patriots are favored in 10 contests against one of the NFL’s easiest schedules, and we should see an improvement in their ability to score (their 17 PPG in 2024 ranked 30th). With a stronger O-line, a favorable schedule, and additional weapons at his disposal, Maye has a realistic path to finish as a top-10 QB in 2025.

Strategy: If I hit round 10 or 11 without having drafted a QB, Maye becomes one of the easiest selections for me to make. Punting the position to draft Maye at this steep of a discount allows me to load up on high upside RBs and WRs, while maintaining top-10 upside at QB.

RJ Harvey (RB, Den)

Harvey’s outlook has been rising and falling throughout the offseason, changing with each piece of information we receive or acquisition the Broncos make. By far, ESPN drafters have the lowest outlook on him, drafting Harvey nearly 20 picks later than the average ADP across all five platforms.

Harvey sits atop what most people consider the RB “dead zone” (RB20+ range), and there are very few players near his ADP that have as favorable a situation as him. The Broncos have a top-3 O-line, and led the NFL in target share to the backfield last season at 21.3%. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a player going in the 7th round or later that has the level of upside an RB has in a Sean Payton or Joe Lombardi-led offense.

Here is my personal favorite Payton “fun fact”:

Harvey had the best career explosive run rate in the 2025 draft class (21.0%), was one of only 6 RBs in the last decade to average at least 6.5 YPC on both inside and outside runs, and was equally strong against stacked boxes (his 5.28 YPC ranked 2nd-best in the class) as he was against light fronts (his 7.07 YPC ranked best in the class). Most notably, he was a standout in Graham Barfield’s Yards Created — one of the most predictive college-to-pros metrics available — averaging more yards created per carry than all RBs aside from Ashton Jeanty, Christian McCaffrey, Kareem Hunt, and Kamara since 2016.

Strategy: Harvey is massively discounted on ESPN compared to every other platform, and he’s an auto-lock in the 6th or 7th round (even if you have 2 RBs on your roster already).

Brian Thomas Jr. (WR, Jax)

Thomas is my “dark horse” WR going outside of the first round that I believe can finish as the overall WR1 in 2025. ESPN drafters are sleeping on this alpha receiver the most, taking him as the WR8 off the board in the late 2nd round.

I will throw an abundance of data and analysis at you, but if there was one stat I would echo when advocating for Thomas, it would be this one from our lead writer, Ryan Heath: “a rookie’s total fantasy points are the single best predictor of their FPG in Year 2. Thomas’s 284 PPR points were the 4th-most by a rookie since 2010, behind only Odell Beckham, Puka Nacua, and Ja’Marr Chase.”

With the departure of Evan Engram, Christian Kirk, and Gabe Davis (vacating 153 targets), there is an easy argument to be made that Thomas is in line for an even larger role in 2025. When those three receivers were sidelined last season (Weeks 15-18), Thomas recorded 11.5 Targets/G, 107.8 Receiving YPG, and 25.5 FPG (with Mac Jones at QB). Not only did Thomas step up when the Jaguars' WR corps was injury-riddled, but he was also trusted with an increase in his route share and slot participation after their Week 12 bye. Compared to Weeks 1-11, he saw a 14.7% increase in his route share (91.8%) and a 7.6% increase in his slot participation (33.3%) after Week 12.

That increased utilization and his subsequent fantasy success are essential when predicting his ceiling for 2025. Thomas’ stock also receives a massive boost thanks to the coaching upgrade he’ll experience with the hiring of Liam Coen. The former Buccaneers OC just produced the WR2 (Chris Godwin) and WR10 (Mike Evans) by FPG, and has vocalized that Thomas will be more than just a deep-threat vertical WR next season. Thomas led all WRs in Average Separation on fantasy-friendly slants, while running them at just an 18th-percentile rate last year (whereas Godwin and Evans ran slants at an 88th-percentile rate). Remember earlier when I discussed Thomas’s increased usage from the slot last season?

Strategy: I am consistently taking BTJ in the first round when drafting from the 1.10 or later, but I can also get him in the early or even mid-2nd round with my second pick when drafting from the 1.06 to 1.09 range.

Ladd McConkey (WR, LAC)

Ladd McConkey feels like one of the safest picks you can make in the 3rd round right now. He’s going as the WR11 on every platform except for ESPN, where you can draft him at a slight discount (30.8 ADP)

McConkey was the heir apparent to Keenan Allen and then some in his rookie season ^[3]. We so often see talented rookie WRs take the first half of the season to get accustomed to the NFL level, then pop off in the back half of the year. This was the case for McConkey, and from Week 8 onward (including the playoffs), he recorded 98.8 Receiving YPG, 3.24 YPRR, & 19.4 FPG — marks that would have ranked 2nd-best, 4th-best, and 4th-best across the full season.

McConkey isn’t just a slot receiver; he ranked top-5 in first downs per route run when lined up outside (0.156) - ahead of alpha WRs like Nico Collins, Mike Evans, and Brian Thomas. He’s become a top-tier chain mover, which is likely one of the reasons why he doesn’t come off the field on 2-receiver sets (his 81.7% route participation ranked in the top-30). These metrics challenge the perception within the fantasy community that McConkey’s ceiling is capped. His metrics were even comparable to those of triple-crown winner Cooper Kupp.

I am not concerned about the addition of Keenan Allen to McConkey’s role in this Chargers offense. McConkey proved he can perform and excel in any role within this offense. Allen struggled heavily last season on a highly dysfunctional Bears team, and is on the wrong side of the WR age cliff. McConkey is a screaming buy at his current ADP on ESPN, and I only expect that price to continue to drop in the coming weeks.

Strategy: McConkey rounds out the tier of elite WRs I love drafting in the 3rd round, especially if I start with back-to-back RB selections. You can comfortably take him in at any point after Drake London is drafted.

Courtland Sutton (WR, Den)

Courtland Sutton may be the most undervalued WR1 across all platforms right now. Drafters are showing no love for the 2024 WR15, drafting him as the WR24 on average. Nobody is disrespecting Sutton more than ESPN drafters, who are taking him in the 6th round.

There were certainly growing pains for the Denver offense at the start of the 2024 season, which was expected with a rookie QB. Bo Nix eventually found his groove, with Sutton being the biggest benefactor of that improvement. From Week 9 onward, Sutton recorded a 51.5% AY Share, 8.4 Targets/G, 78.2 Receiving YPG, and 18.1 FPG - marks that would have ranked 1st, 10th, 7th, and 7th across the full season. Nix displayed a night-and-day difference between the first and second half of his rookie season, and I expect him to pick up right where he left off in 2025.

Sutton was one of only two WRs with over a 13.0 aDOT to finish within the top-20 fantasy WRs last year. He’s become one of the premier deep threats and end zone targets in the league (Sutton’s 18 end zone targets led the league in 2024). Sutton has earned a high level of trust from his QBs thanks to his ability to make catches nobody else can — his 15 “hero catches” over the last two seasons lead the league. That trust extended into critical situations for the Broncos' offense last season, where Sutton dominated on 3rd downs.

Once considered a “one-dimensional” catch-point bully, Sutton has now shed that moniker, ranking 6th-best in YPRR against man coverage last season. There should be zero doubt that he’ll remain the cornerstone of the Broncos' high-flying passing attack after recently signing a four-year contract extension. Sutton was the only Broncos WR to run above a 75% route share in any game last year, and he’s now gone two consecutive seasons without any significant injury concern.

Strategy: Nothing makes me happier than seeing Courtland Sutton still on the board when my 5th round pick comes around, and he’s an auto-draft for me if I only have one or two WRs up to this point.

Tetairoa McMillan (WR, Car)

At least one rookie WR has finished as the top-6 PPR scorer in four of the past five seasons (Jefferson, Chase, Nacua, Thomas Jr., Nabers), and McMillan is the best bet to reach that level of production in 2025. He is being undervalued across all platforms, with an average ADP of 72.9. This egregious undervaluation is most prevalent on ESPN (82.5 ADP).

McMillan is only the 9th WR drafted with a top-10 pick in the last five years, and those other 8 WRs have averaged 13.2 FPG (~WR23) in their rookie seasons. At 6’4” and 219 pounds, McMillan is a prototypical X receiver with elite vertical ability, RAC ability, and separation ability. He’s already been putting these traits on display in training camp, and could be a major contributor to the Panthers having one of the most improved offenses in the league in 2025.

McMillan posted an impressive 90/1402/10 receiving line as a 20-year-old sophomore in 2023, then followed it up with an 84/1319/8 line in 2024 (in one fewer game). He also performed at a high level against nearly every type of coverage, with a 70.4% success rate against man coverage, an 81% success rate against zone coverage, & a 73.1% success rate against press coverage. There is an argument to be made that McMillan is a perfect fit for this offense, with Dave Canales’ proclivity to hammer horizontally-breaking routes.

Not enough can be said about how much Bryce Young improved in the second half of the 2024 season. He ranked top-10 in accuracy on throws of 20+ air yards, and top-15 when targeting an outside receiver. There is a need for higher-level play outside of the hashes, after David Moore and Xavier Legette dropped 11 of those pass attempts last season (the 2nd-highest rate in the league). As the highest pick the Panthers have ever spent at the WR position (8th overall), I expect McMillan to be given every opportunity to succeed.

With Adam Thielen traded to the Vikings, McMillan has an ever more straightforward path to a highly lucrative WR1 role in Carolina, and with the 3rd-easiest WR schedule in the league, it’s no surprise we have him projected as our WR25 by FPG.

Strategy: There is arguably no WR going in the 7th round or later that has a higher fantasy ceiling than McMillan. I have absolutely no problem reaching for him in the 5th or 6th round, where he is a WR1 shark in a sea of WR2s.

Josh Downs (WR, Ind)

The Josh Downs hype train has left the station on nearly every major platform, all except for ESPN. People are quick to forget that Downs is coming off a WR35 finish in his sophomore season, while enduring the lowest-value passing QB in the league (Anthony Richardson). He has shockingly low WR50 ADP on average, and is going as late as the 15th round on ESPN (laughable, really).

Downs has quickly become one of my favorite candidates for a 3rd-year breakout. The only thing that may hold him back is his usage: Downs recorded a 65.3% Snap Share last season (ranked 73rd), running only 352 routes (ranked 63rd), and remained on the field for 2 WR sets on 6.1% of snaps. I doubt this will change much in 2025, but his hyper-efficiency on the field still makes him a fantastic value.

Speaking of on-field efficiency, Downs was a target hog despite being in a crowded WR room, and his 0.30 TPRR ranked 4th-best in the league in 2024 (behind only Puka Nacua, Drake London, and Malik Nabers). Even though he ran fewer routes than both Michael Pittman and Alec Pierce, Downs outpaced them in Targets/G (7.4), Receiving YPG (57.4), First Downs (40), and FPG (13.1). It’s hard to ignore the level of efficiency Downs displayed in his slot-dominant role last season; he recorded a 2.28 YPRR (17th), 0.114 1D/RR (11th), & 0.52 FP/RR (18th). Downs averaged more yards, first downs, and fantasy points per route run than Malik Nabers in 2024.

Daniel Jones winning the starting QB job should do wonders for Downs’ production in 2025. His metrics last season, when Richardson was out of the equation, were among the top of the league.

Richardson suffocated the fantasy production of nearly every Colts WR, and Downs' 15.5 FPG when any other QB was leading the offense would have ranked 15th-best across the full season. There is an argument to be made that any increase in Downs’ route share, in combination with Jones as the starting QB, should propel Downs to a top-20 WR finish in 2025.

Strategy: With Downs back at practice, I am all in on him having a breakout season in year 3. I have no problem reaching him several rounds earlier as one of the best bench stashes in the league right now.

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