Fantasy Football Experts Draft Commentary

DataForce’s annual Experts Charity league is widely recognized as one of the strongest fantasy football competitions anywhere. I think we can thank our own Fantasy Sports writer Matthew Hill for assembling this cast of superstar drafters, and keeping it pretty much intact over the years.

The 2025 draft finished a few days back, and our experts have compiled their notes about the draft. Here’s a peek at the draft board, also available at DataForce here.

Each contributor was posed a series of questions about the draft, and asked to just pick a couple to respond to.

Meet all of the experts here

Drafting at #1: Joshua Larky
Follow: @JLarkyTweets
Playing for: Feeding America

Anytime I’m in a start-3WR PPR league, I know that nailing the WR position is the most critical aspect of the draft. Also, I knew every other manager would have to play catch-up if I double-tapped positions at the turn. Starting WR x4 with a Bengals super stack, followed by RB-RB in Rounds 6-7, along with double tapping K/DEF for six straight picks later on gave me the ability to dictate a little more of how every other manager drafted. I know how volatile Kicker and Defense can be week-to-week, so I wanted to make sure I had three options to rotate through at each position in this best ball format.

Like every fantasy manager in history, I **love** my team. However, I’d be very happy with Pat Thorman’s team, since I think his draft is a more balanced version of mine. He didn’t need to go ZeroRB like I did to achieve a strong WR room.

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Drafting at #2: Jake Ciely
The Athletic
Follow: @allinkid
Playing for: Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters

It was really fun — and by that, I mean frustrating — watching Boone take Taylor in the second and Walker in the fourth. Forced me to pivot away from leaning into a “stud RBs” approach. 

If Lamar Jackson repeats his MVP level of play, and Brock Bowers turns into new Travis Kelce, I should have a real shot at winning it all. That said, I’m playing it risky with the thinness behind both and dicey RB and WR depth. 

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Drafting at #3: Justin Boone
Yahoo Fantasy
Follow: @justinboone
Playing for: Alzheimer’s Association

I got sniped in Round 10 when Tucker Kraft went one spot ahead of me. Whenever I miss out on the elite TEs, I normally target one of Kraft, Kincaid, Warren or Loveland.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get any of those guys here, but ended up happy with my eventual tight-end-by-committee approach featuring Ferguson, Pitts and Okonkwo. 

I snagged a sleeper in Round 11 in J.J. McCarthy. Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell has had fantasy success with almost every QB who’s started for him in Minnesota, turning Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold into low-end QB1s, while Joshua Dobbs and Nick Mullens averaged top-15 numbers during their brief starting stints. If O’Connell can resurrect Darnold’s career and make him the QB11 last season, what can he do with a handpicked first-rounder like McCarthy?

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Drafting at #4: Matthew Hill
DataForce
Follow: @MatthewHill_FF
Playing for: Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

My strategy going in was to start WR heavy, securing one of the elite receivers with the #4 pick, and pairing him with another WR1 in the second round, then hoping to grab another 4-5 quality receivers before the double-digit rounds. I was targeting Chase Brown with my 3rd pick as my anchor RB, and was content to target rookie rushers and lead backs in timeshares to fill out the remainder of my running backs.

My best pick was Woody Marks in the 18th. Even if Joe Mixon returns to full health prior to Week 1 and Nick Chubb has one more productive year left in his legs, Marks should have a role in the passing game. If Mixon’s injury woes continue and Chubb struggles, Marks, whom the Texans gave up a future 3rd to secure, would be a late-round steal. 

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Drafting at #5: Sean Koerner
The Action Network
Follow: @The_Oddsmaker
Playing for: Colon Cancer Alliance

I snagged a sleeper in round …
Jordan Mason in Round 9 (RB35) was a steal. He could earn enough work in a committee to pay off this price, plus he has RB1 upside if Aaron Jones misses time or struggles.

I like my chances because …
Stacked Caleb/DJ Moore/Loveland and Stroud/Higgins. Plus, Jameson Williams in the 5th gives me the kind of boom-week upside I always target in best ball formats.

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Drafting at #6: Patrick Fitzmaurice
FantasyPros.com
Follow: @Fitz_FF
Playing for: The Michael J. Fox Foundation

I got sniped in round …In Round 9, when Sean Koerner took Jordan Mason right in front of me. I’m not usually a handcuffer, but I wanted to lock down the Minnesota backfield with Mason and my seventh-round pick, Aaron Jones.

I snagged a sleeper in round …In Round 14 with Anthony Richardson. It’s a very modest investment in a third QB who has a Sistine Chapel type of ceiling because of his rushing ability. Richardson has become a fantasy pariah, but the upside remains immense.

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Drafting at #7: John Paulsen
4for4.com
Follow: @4for4_John
Playing for: Children’s Hospital of Orange County

My strategy going in was to go with a Hero RB approach since these industry drafts tend to be WR-heavy early, and I didn’t want to be behind at the position. So I nabbed Bucky Irving in the second and got good value with Tony Pollard as my RB2 in the seventh round. Then I have a few guys who could move into RB2 territory with an injury (Trey Benson, Jaylen Wright, Blake Corum, and Emanuel Wilson).

I snagged a sleeper in Round 13: Tank Bigsby is the third Jacksonville back off the board, but he led the backfield down the stretch last year and is leading the backfield again in camp. Bigsby led all qualified running backs in yards after contact per attempt.

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Drafting at #8: Chad Parsons
UTHDynasty.com
Playing for:
HappyDoggo.com

My best pick was Stefon Diggs in Round 7. There has been a consistent drumbeat of Diggs being ready for Week 1 and his role as the WR1 for the Patriots is secure. Considering I did not get the ideal wide receivers in the early rounds (missed on Davante Adams in Round 3, passed on wide receiver in Round 1), Diggs is a critical piece on this team.

I got sniped on Kyren Williams in Round 3 and Drake Maye in Round 9. Williams hurt quite a bit as I settled for Breece Hall, but Maye was my ideal QB2 (already had Jayden Daniels) and ended up with Geno Smith and Daniel Jones to fill out my quarterback depth chart.

The best team that is not my own is Pat Thorman. I love his wide receiver depth and upside with Chris Olave as his WR4 and getting Marving Harrison Jr. in the later third round. Being a little lighter at running back is the lone flaw but Omarion Hampton, Jaylen Warren, and Dylan Sampson offer an array of RB2 options at various points in the season.

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Drafting at #9: Joe Dyken
Fantasy Nerds
Follow: @ffnerd
Playing for: Stand Up To Cancer

My best pick was probably Jalen Hurts in the fourth. With RB/WR/WR to give me a solid foundation, I got a Top 5 QB in a round that I was comfortable taking a QB in. 

I got sniped in the first two rounds (CMC and King Henry), but that’s how it goes. 

I snagged a sleeper in the 21st round with Taysom Hill who will give me two games of big contributions, and in a best ball format, I’ll take that out of my 21st pick any day.

The team I’m most interested in seeing perform would be Jake Ciely’s. He took the top RB, TE, and QB (in my opinion) right away. His RB situation isn’t particularly pretty and it looks like he’ll be banking on some guys to really outperform their ADP, but he’ll trot out some heavy artillery in those lineup spots. The other roster that I find most interesting is Patrick Fitzmaurice’s. He waited on the QB position gobbling up RB’s and WR’s instead. He then grabbed Love and Goff in the 11th and 12th – great value and he creates a nice blueprint to those who wait for getting solid starters.

Editor’s Note: Joe Dyken also contributed a full draft overview, and we will publish it in full tomorrow.

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Drafting at #10: Pat Thorman
EstablishTheRun.com
Follow: @Pat_Thorman
Playing for: Boston Children’s Hospital

My best pick was George Pickens at the end of the fifth round (5.10). I’ve been happy to take him at the 4/5 turn in best ball drafts, as he could easily top his career high in targets by 20.

Aside from the tiny detail of having to face the sharpest minds in the industry, I like my chances because I stayed balanced while grabbing 3 viable players at QB, TE, K, and DEF – which RotoViz research has advocated as an optimal construction.

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Drafting at #11: Rob Waziak
Fantasy Life
Follow: @WazNFL
Playing for: Nourishing Hope

My strategy going into the draft was to lock in at least two wide receivers early, then scoop up running back value (pre-Mixon news) before the good tiers dropped off . What I enjoyed most was building some upside stacks as the draft unfolded. I paired Dalton Kincaid and Josh Palmer with Josh Allen, and stacked Brian Thomas Jr., Travis Hunter, and Christian Kirk (sleeper alert) with Trevor Lawrence. Here’s to hoping!

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Drafting at #12: Kev Wheeler
WheelRouteFF.com
Follow: @FF_Wheeler
Playing for: The Children’s Village

My best pick was Justin Fields at 10.01, Fields being drafted as the QB9/10 is ridiculous. If Fields is healthy the whole season he will finish as a top-5 QB. There is no risk of being benched this year, he has a top-12 caliber WR and RB as weapons and the offense is being designed around his skill set. 

My strategy going in was to get RB early. Last year I drafted from the seven-hole and went zero-RB, my first RB drafted was David Montgomery in the seventh round and I ended up in last place. I’m definitely not saying that zero-RB isn’t a viable strategy, but in this draft many of my opponents will be drafting off their projections and most have a redraft mentality, so running back tends to disappear quickly. 

I got sniped in round five, I really wanted Travis Hunter. The rookie has a boom-bust profile because he may play more on defense in certain weeks, but in the best-ball format he should give Waz 5-6 big weeks and several usable weeks. 

The best team not my own is either Josh Larkey or Chad Parsons. Larky was on the other side of the board, but seemed to grab all the guys I was hoping might slide back to me. If Cincinnati is dominant this year Larky could easily take second place (behind me of course). Parsons seems to get some extreme values that just fall in his lap in five of the first seven rounds. 

I snagged a sleeper in round 19 with Michael Wilson. Wilson is the third target in what should be a high octane offense and is being slept on everywhere I have drafted this year. Trevor Etienne is also a steal in the last round 24. He was drafted just a few picks behind Cam Skataboo and Bayshel Tuten, and ahead of Jarquez Hunter, Woody Marks and Dylan Sampson. Etienne could easily take over Rico Dowdell for pass-catching duties in the emerging Carolina offense.

I like my chances because I have a strong floor team build with some very-high upside players like Devon Achane, Mike Evans, Tetairoa McMillan, Jayden Reed, Justin Fields, Tyler Warren, and Bhayshul Tuten. I am slightly concerned that maybe I should have drafted one more WR, but if my guys stay healthy I should be the league champion. 

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