JACKSONVILLE, FL – August 17: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Running Back Bucky Irving (7) catches a ball during the preseason game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Jacksonville Jaguars on August 17, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, FL. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
If you’re reading this article, my home league 2025 fantasy football draft has already happened. As the proud owner of the 4th pick, I’ll be walking you through how to crush your draft from this slot. Today we’ll be doing a fantasy football mock draft, but I’ll share those real money draft results shortly.
I’ve done two other draft slots so far, so make sure to check those out below. For this exercise, we’ll be jumping into an ESPN, 12-team, PPR mock draft before showing my team and explaining the strategy.
2025 Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: Pick 4
Similar to the third pick, you’re going to want to prioritize a balanced draft. Since you’ll have times where your picks are far apart, try to avoid going heavy at one position.
Early in the draft, it’s best to alternate between running back and wide receiver as best you can. When drafting from pick four, going for an elite quarterback or tight end isn’t optimal.
2025 Fantasy Football Mock Draft
Round One: CeeDee Lamb
Round Two: Bucky Irving
Round Three: Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Round Four: Breece Hall
Strategy For Rounds 1-4
Starting off your draft with one wide receiver and one running back is the best strategy from this slot. That’s because you should be able to land Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Breece Hall from this slot every time.
Since Hall and Smith-Njigba are great values at two different positions, you’re now in a perfect spot going forward. With your most important positions already covered, you’re not safe from any unnecessary reaches later in the draft.
Round Five: Tetairoa McMillan
Round Six: RJ Harvey
Round Seven: Evan Engram
Round Eight: Ricky Pearsall
Strategy For Rounds 5-8
Somewhere in this range, you’re going to want to grab a tight end. Drafting one too early isn’t a great plan from this spot, but waiting isn’t the best idea either.
Targeting either T.J. Hockenson, Sam LaPorta, or Evan Engram is the best move you can make. Other than that, make sure you get at least one running back.
I’ve found that targeting one in rounds six or seven is the sweet spot. Rounds five and eight are fine, but if you can avoid that, do so.
Round Nine: Justin Fields
Round 10: Josh Downs
Round 11: Travis Etienne Jr
Round 12: Brandon Aiyuk
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 31: Travis Etienne Jr. #1 of the Jacksonville Jaguars runs the ball during the fourth quarter against the Carolina Panthers at EverBank Stadium on December 31, 2023 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Courtney Culbreath/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Strategy For Rounds 9-12
This range is where you draft your late-round quarterback. While Justin Fields, you can feel good about taking just one, but Anthony Richardson is a great 2nd option as well. That’s up to how the draft board plays out later.
In this range, you’ll want to make sure you get one more running back. For these rounds, 10 and 11 are the sweet spot.
Round 13: Kyle Williams
Round 14: Jacory Croskey-Merritt
Round 15: Brandon Aubrey
Round 16: Arizona Cardinals D/ST
Strategy For Rounds 13-16
Once you get your second running back for the bench, it’s best player available from here. You should be familiar with Kyle Williams by now, but Jacory Croskey-Merritt is a great addition as well.
Croskey-Merritt has crushed training camp and has a real shot to take over the RB1 job from Brian Robinson Jr. Yet, he’s going so late in drafts that even I forgot about him for a few articles.
The 4th spot is extremely strong this year for fantasy football drafts. Overall, this fantasy football mock draft went very well, and anyone who drafts a team similar to this should be excited about their upcoming season.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevebradshaw/2025/08/18/2025-fantasy-football-mock-draft-pick-4-strategy/