Purple Reign must start by pointing out there is no “one way” to approach drafting a CFF team. This guide represents the strategy I have come up with after reviewing the 2025 player pool. You can follow this guide to the letter, or incorporate ideas into the draft strategy you already use. It is purely up to the reader how to use this information.
TIER ANALYSIS
I assign players into tiers based on several pieces of criteria. I start with the fantasy point projection I have made for the player within the specific scoring format. I then review the player’s position battle status and move players down the more uncertain that position battle status is. Then finally I review the profile I have assigned for that player. Players are moved down again based on the level of fantasy production potential.
Tiers go from 1 being the best, then counting their way downward. I consider all players from a position group in the same tier can be viewed as “equal” which allows a drafter to select the player that they like best.
Once I have finished my first round of player rankings I look at how many players from each position group are in each tier. This gives you a feel for how much depth, or lack thereof you can find at different position groups. Green represents rarity while red represents abundance. I’ve only included the top 10 tiers in this breakdown. This information will also help you determine which positions to focus on or wait for during the draft.
Quarterback: There’s a large abundance of QBs in tiers 2-3 that allows you to pass on one of the tier 1 QBs. Since there isn’t another abundance tier again until tier 5, its best to be aggressive in drafting players from tiers 2-3 before they’re gone. Tier 5 is a good place to start building your bench, with a decent amount of players still available in tiers 6-7. Once all the QBs from tier 8 are gone the well really begins to dry up.
Running Back: There is a good amount of players that can be obtained from tiers 1-3. Since tier 1 will be gone by the end of the first round its important to be aggressive in getting the tier 2-3 players while you can. Tiers 4-5 can be tapped into if you were being aggressive drafting players from other positions at high tiers. There’s a huge abundance of RBs starting in tier 7. You could afford to shift to drafting other positions while obtaining the occasional player from tiers 7-8. RB has the second highest amount of players in tiers 9-10, behind the WR position.
Wide Receiver: With only one WR in tier 2, it means you have to decide to reach for a tier 1 WR or wait for a tier 3 guy to be your WR1. If you wait you would want to hit up tiers 3-5 aggressively to fill out your starting line-up with these players. Since the abundance of WR options picks up starting in tier 6, you can afford to wait on WR at this point and prioritize other positions.
Tight End: It’s very important to land a TE in tiers 2-3 before the drop off occurs in tier 4. Once tier 5 comes up you could look at landing your TE2 there since tiers 6-7 don’t have many options available. By the time you’re down to tiers 8-10 you can afford to go after QBs before drafting guys in this range.
ADP ANALYSIS
Its extremely important to have an understanding of when players are being taken in drafts. ADP (Average Draft Position) is the tool used to assess this. I’ve pulled the ADP data from the end of June to use for this analysis. I’ve pulled the average ADP for all players within a tier for this review. Since I have players in tiers that are over-valued and under-valued, you will see players drafted earlier and later than these average numbers. The ADP data listed in this article is the average round & draft pick, with 1.01 presenting the first pic of the first round. Green represents the earliest average draft pick for a specific tier, while red represents the latest average draft pick. This ADP is from all FBS drafts which means players will be taken earlier than shown.
Quarterback: Tiers 1-2 and 4 are the only tiers where QBs rank second for earliest selections. After that window you see QBs drop in frequency. They are at their lowest in tiers 6-9.
Running Back: RBs dominate this chart for earliest draft selections. Tiers 1-6 they are top dog, along with tiers 9-10. This makes them a top priority.
Wide Receiver: There’s fluctuation in the frequency of WRs being drafted but they mainly stay as the earliest drafted or second earliest drafted. Tier 6 is the only tier that shows a significant lull in their draft frequency.
Tight End: For the most part the TE position is an afterthought. They have the latest ADP numbers in six of the seven tiers. Tiers 6-8 appear to be where a late run occurs which you should be ready for.
CONCLUSION
Roster Breakdown: QB-4, RB-7, WR-7, TE-2
Rounds 1-2: 1 RB tier 1-2, 1 WR tier 1-2
Rounds 3-5: 1 QB tier 2-3, 1 RB tier 2-4, 1 WR tier 1-4
Rounds 6-10: 1 QB tier 3-4, 2 RB tier 3-6, 1 WR tier 2-3
Rounds 11-15: 2 QB tier 3+, 1 RB tier 6+, 2 WR tier 4+
Rounds 16-20: 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE (best available)