Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: NFFC Primetime Review

With NFL cut-downs in the rear-view mirror and Week 1 around the corner, the last day of August marked my entry into the fray in the 2025 NFFC Primetime contest.

NFFC will continue to host drafts through Saturday, Sept. 6, offering multiple formats and other high-stakes leagues, including more Primetime contests and the RotoWire Online Championship.

Our friends at NFFC report that once again it's been a record year for both contests, with the Primetime on track to top 1,000 teams with a $250,000 grand prize and the RotoWire Online Championship set to surpass 4,500 teams with a $250,000 grand prize.

There are still openings available every day for both contests, but please note that spots are limited!

Here's a link to a recap of my 2024 entry, which ended up being a good squad, despite my real-time call (at the first/second round turnaround) to pass on Saquon Barkley, in favor of Jonathan Taylor and against an RB/RB approach that I hadn't employed for several years prior. Looking back, I see several missteps, but thankfully Lamar Jackson, George Kittle and Seattle's 1-2 punch of Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet came through for me.

Now on to the squad I drafted Sunday night in a 12-team, 20-round, third-round reversal format.

This time around, I drew the No. 7 pick overall. It's a slot that I don't mind in this contest, because it put me in a position that I figured would ensure me either my choice of RBs beyond this year's Big Three or an elite WR I like. I was thus able to set a couple of basic goals/strategies for the earlier stages of the draft, as I had a pretty good idea of which players would be on the board for me in the No. 7-18 pick range. 

As usual, I tried to stick with a 'go with the flow' and don't over or under-react mindset. Now with the benefit of a good night's sleep and some strong morning coffee, I can make a clear-eyed assessment of my draft and evaluate how I think my team shapes up overall.

The folks in this league were extremely sharp drafters, which is a constant in this contest. As a result, I predictably just lost out on a number of players I was targeting. That will happen in any draft of course, but I must constantly remind myself that if I really want a player, it's better to be the early-bird than the coulda-woulda-shoulda fantasy manager. 

In all, I'm as comfortable with this team as I can be, in spite of my fantasy over-thinking tendencies! It has decent balance, a couple of upside plays and with a little (okay a lot of!) injury luck and waiver-wire mojo, I think I can stay competitive all season. I understand that I'll need to add an unexpected early-season riser or two (in a shallow free agent pool) in the coming weeks, ideally at RB or WR. While it looks like I'll have to agonize over which player to use in the FLEX spot in the lineup, I do at least have some options. 

Below is the full draft board, followed by some round-by-round commentary about my picks:

Rd. 1, pick 7 – RB Christian McCaffrey I figured there was pretty good chance that I'd be looking at a Christian McCaffrey versus Malik Nabers call at this slot, unless someone in the chalk top six fell to me. That didn't happen, so once Saquon Barkley went sixth overall, I was ready to take the McCaffrey plunge. To say the least, it's not the safest pick, given the obvious injury risk, but the upside is just as clear, and I decided to swing for the fences in a contest where that's not a bad approach. At this point, I already knew that I would be targeting his top backup, Brian Robinson.

Rd. 2, pick 18 – RB Chase Brown With McCaffrey as the centerpiece of my team, I became far more open to an RB/RB approach out of the gate, with an eye toward not having to scramble at the position, both in this draft and during the season in the event of a McCaffrey injury. That said, if one of my preferred WRs had dropped this far, I would have gone in that direction. By pick No. 14, that pivot wasn't an option, and in the midst of an RB run I snagged Brown, who is entrenched in a lead role in a top offense. That's a stable context which pairs well with my risky top pick, and this feels like a year where the RB drop-off arrives uncomfortably early, while the list of WRs of interest feels a bit longer than usual.

Rd. 3, pick 30 – QB Lamar Jackson  I could have gone WR here, and there were a handful of solid options, but once Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Garrett Wilson came off the board, I was undecided on which player(s) among the next tier of WRs I liked best, while seeing a path that would lead to someone I liked out of that group being available at my next turn. And frankly, I do enjoy having an elite set and forget QB in this contest, and if things go my way I could end up with the top scorers at both RB and QB this year.

Rd. 4, pick 43 – WR Tyreek Hill I had to take a WR here, and as I hoped there were still some good players available. Hill didn't live up to his lofty draft position last year, but this juncture of the draft feels like the right spot to take a player who has a chance to bounce back in a big way. That outcome is far from a lock, which explains his availability here, but it's gamble I decided to make, though Davante Adams and Tetairoa McMillan were also on my mind as the clock started ticking on my allotted 60 seconds.

Rd. 5, pick 54 – WR Calvin Ridley Though WR was clearly a big need here, TE George Kittle was sliding, and it looked like I may have to double-down on the San Francisco offense. However, once he went at pick No. 52 and teammate Ricky Pearsall was taken next, I went with Calvin Ridley. There were handful of WRs in my queue here, but Ridley is easily his team's top passing target and if he clicks with rookie QB Cameron Ward, then I've landed a viable WR2 for my team.

Rd. 6, pick 67 – WR Zay Flowers After I took my second WR, I was leaning toward grabbing a third RB, but following a run that led to James Conner going one pick before my turn, I went with Flowers, who has a strong rapport with my team's No. 1 QB, thus solidifying my WR3 slot.  

Rd. 7, pick 78 – TE Travis Kelce I thought about Zach Charbonnet here, but decided to grab one of my preferred TEs rather than come up short at the position in the next round. While Kelce isn't going to match the production he put up during his peak years, he still caught 97 passes in 2024 and remains a trusted target for QB Patrick Mahomes. With uncertainty in the Chiefs pass-catching corps in the wake of Rashee Rice's suspension, there should be enough volume for Kelce to produce good value relative to his landing spot in this draft.

Rd. 8, pick 91 – RB Jordan Mason It's time to take another RB, and things are starting to thin out at the position, so it's players in time-shares and backup lottery ticket time. Once Jaylen Warren is gone, the call is Jordan Mason, who shares a backfield with Aaron Jones, but has some sleeper appeal if he can make the most of his carries as he did with the 49ers.  

Rd. 9, pick 102 – RB Brian Robinson Compared to his ADP, this is a reach, but I'm willing to pay up for McCaffrey insurance and would have been bummed if someone snagged Robinson before my turn in Round 10. This selection led to me missing out on a couple of WRs I had been waiting on, but that was mitigated by the relief I felt by protecting my investment in McCaffrey.

Rd. 10, pick 115 – WR Christian Kirk The player I targeted in this slot (Cooper Kupp) would have continued a trend of trying to hit pay dirt with former fantasy stars at a reduced cost, but once he was taken, I decided to go with Kirk, a player who's coming off a rough patch but could benefit from a change of scenery and has a chance to maintain a steady role in Houston's offense while working behind Nico Collins.

Rd. 11, pick 126 – RB Tank Bigsby I don't pretend to have a great handle on how Jacksonville's backfield will play out this season, but it's time to throw RB darts and Bigsby should at least be an early-down factor in his team's offense. I almost took Najee Harris here; it was pretty much a coin flip, so we'll have to see if my call in the air was the right one.

Rd. 12, pick 139 – WR DeMario Douglas I'm not sure what to expect from Stefon Diggs at the start of the season, and in general the pecking order of the Patriots WR corps is a mystery. What is clear though, is that Douglas is going to be heavily involved out of the slot in Josh McDaniels offense while things out wide play out. At a minimum, I have a dependable bye-week plug in, and possibly a reasonable FLEX option if second-year QB Drake Maye ascends as hoped.

Rd. 13, pick 150 – TE Kyle Pitts With a TE drop-off brewing, I'm buying low on a player who's been a disappointment relative to his draft pedigree, but there's some untapped potential, nonetheless. After all, QB Michael Penix can't always throw to WR Drake London.

Rd. 14, pick 163 – QB Justin Herbert The QB board is starting to thin out here, so I'm willing to wait until my next pick to take a Team D/ST. I hope Lamar Jackson's bye week is the only time Herbert appears in my lineup, but he gives me a backup with some ceiling, in any case.

Rd. 15, pick 174 – Team D/ST Baltimore Ravens The timing is right to grab a defense, and this should be a pretty useful one that I can utilize most weeks without hesitation.

Rd. 16, pick 187 –  RB Tahj Brooks While I was committed to landing Christian McCaffrey's backup, Brooks – who's in the mix along with Samaje Perine to back up Chase Brown -- is a player I figured I could exercise some patience with, and taking him in this slot makes sense to me, based on what's left at this stage of the draft.

Rd. 17, pick 198 – WR Amari Cooper We're at the "why not?" part of the process, and if Cooper has anything left in the tank, then he could yield some production in a Raiders WR corps currently led by Jakobi Meyers and introducing a pair of rookies to the mix. At this point Cooper could be a steal, but at the same time there's no shame in dropping your 17th round pick when the waiver wire presents opportunities.  

Rd. 18, pick 211 – Team D/ST San Francisco 49ers There's not much on the board that jumps out at this point, so here goes the 49ers D as a streaming option and to cover Baltimore's Week 7 bye (if I hang on to both defenses that long.)

Rd. 19, pick 222 – Team Kicker Denver Broncos I decided to leave round 20 to a dart/painless-drop type and grabbed the Broncos here. Their Week 12 bye is a nice bonus.

Rd. 20, pick 235– RB Jaylen Wright The 2024 fourth-rounder is on track to miss time early on this season, which opens the door for Ollie Gordon to back up De'Von Achane in Week 1. Wright could have some value provided his absence doesn't linger too long though, otherwise he's a player I can consider dropping when I add this year's Puka Nacua.

If you've made it this far, thanks for checking this out and best of luck in all your leagues and contests this season!

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