The Process
Dynasty Fantasy Football rankings can be interpreted in many ways. During the spring these rankings will be ranked as if we are using them for a start-up draft, during the season they will be focused on winning championships without destroying long-term value. During the winter these rankings will reflect trade value with a scaled 3-year outlook.
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Start-up Season is Coming Soon
These rankings are designed for drafting your Dynasty Fantasy Football team, most dynasty league start-up drafts happen between February and May so we are going to start preparing you now. Before you start drafting, it is a good idea to develop a plan and then build a coherent draft strategy around it. Building a plan means deciding when you expect your team to establish its long-term dominance over the league.
Some strategies include, Win Now, Win Soon, and Productive Struggle.
Win Now:Â Establish your dominance immediately. While your competitors focus on youth in the startup draft, scoop up proven veterans at discounted prices and build a roster that will be a favorite for the league title in Year 1.
Win Soon: Focus on youth but mix in some proven veterans. Your young roster might not have the juice to win right away, but you’ll have a collection of players whose value will likely be higher a year from now, positioning you to contend in Year 2.
Productive Struggle:Â (Ryan McDowell of Dynasty League Football is credited for coining the term.) Committing to a slow build that will put you in title contention in 2-3 years. Focus heavily on youth in the startup draft and be willing to trade startup picks for picks in future rookie drafts.

Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings
When examining these dynasty fantasy football rankings take into consideration that we are looking at positional ranks, not flex or overall rankings. Rookies will be added periodically, with most being added after the NFL Draft. The emphasis on scouting for rookies is one of the most exciting parts of dynasty fantasy football. Preparing for rookie drafts is an integral part of team management in a dynasty league. A major influence on a rookie’s value is draft capital and the situation of the team that drafts him.
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Quarterback
When ranking quarterbacks for dynasty fantasy football we can take a VERY long-term outlook (5-10 years) while factoring what type of QB we are examining. We always want a QB that is going to give us a nice rushing floor, but we must keep in mind that rushing production is also the first thing that fades away as players get older.Â
Running Back
Dynasty Fantasy Football rankings for running backs aren’t very different from regular season rankings, although we tend to devalue running backs over 25 years old. Running backs tend to get injured more often than other positions and when an older RB gets injured it tends to be career ending or marks a sharp decline in production. In 2024 we saw a counter argument for this philosophy, but it was likely an outlier year, we shouldn’t expect the trend to continue. As soon as a running back turns 26 years old we will consider them to have a 1-year window.
Breece Hall was projected to be a top-tier fantasy running back in 2024, with many analysts considering him in the top-3, due to his explosive rushing ability, strong receiving skills, and expected increased workload within the Jets offense with a supposedly healthy Aaron Rodgers. Hall finished as the RB18 in fantasy mostly due to the Jets inept offense. He saw 19 fewer targets and 21 fewer receptions than he did in 2023 despite the supposed upgrade at QB. The Jets also built a stable of running backs in the 2024 draft that capped Hall’s upside early in the season. I expect a new head coach and quarterback will lean on Hall in 2025, he should still be considered a top-8 RB in all formats.
James Cook was the RB7 in 2024 with; 1009 rushing yards (4.9 yards per attempt), 16 rushing touchdowns, 2 receiving touchdowns, 258 receiving yards, and 0 fumbles lost. Of his 16 rushing TDs this season, only two of them were from inside the 10 yard line, Cooks is very much a two-down, between the 10’s running back. He only tallied 207 rushing attempts and 38 targets, while conceding goal line carries to Ray Davis and third-down targets to Ty Johnson. Cooks clearly has talent, and probably deserves more opportunity, but the Bills really like their other two running backs and Josh Allen is always going to be the first option inside the 5 yard line.
Wide Receiver
The wide receiver position is of the utmost importance in dynasty fantasy football. Most dynasty leagues use PPR scoring, and most require you to start at least three wide receivers every week (usually with the option to start additional receivers in flex spots). These settings make it imperative to get extra depth at WR. The average NFL lifespan of a wide receiver is longer than the average NFL lifespan of a running back, and top receivers are often productive through their late 20’s.
Jaylen Waddle posted the worst receiving line of his career in 2024, finishing as the WR48, with 58 receptions, on 83 targets for 744 yards and only two touchdowns in 15 games played. This was the first year of his four year career, with fewer than 100 targets,1000 yards and 70 receptions. If not for an ankle injury he suffered in the season’s final month, missing two and a half games, he may have reached all of these marks despite Tua Tagovailoa also missing four games. With news of Tyreek Hill possibly wanting out of Miami, Waddle could be in store for a huge jump in usage in 2025.
Tight End
There are more quality tight ends than there has ever been, but there’s still a finite supply of difference making tight ends.
Rookies
This is just a preliminary ranking with about a third of the players that will be in our detailed rookie rankings. We will have a detailed report on the rookies before entering the NFL draft and another directly after the NFL Draft. About half of a rookies value depends on draft capital and landing spot, opportunity is just as valuable as talent when we start counting points.
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