FANTASY FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYERS
Who was this year’s player that was on the most championship teams in fantasy football? Does the position or the player make the difference in constructing your championship team? Going into the draft everyone has an idea of what the most important position or who that singular player is to make their team the best. We have all heard the “Zero RB” draft strategy or the “wait on QB” drafting strategy. Then every year there is a consensus #1 guy on everyone’s draft cheat sheet right at the top. When it boils down to the Fantasy Playoffs does any of it matter, and how can we use this data to help construct a championship team?
In 2024 according to google Christian McCaffrey was the consensus #1 draft pick across Fantasy Football platforms. This pick to me seemed a little risky, with his workload over the past few years and his injury history. Of course, its easy to make that prediction now after the season is over and we all know how that worked out. ESPN rounded out the top ten in PPR with Bijan Robinson, Breece Hall, CeeDee Lamb, Tyreek Hill, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, Jonathan Taylor, and Saquon Barkley. This would make all the first-round selections from the RB or WR position in a PPR league. In this same ranking the first QB taken would have been #35 off the board with Josh Allen. I am ok with taking a QB in round 3, after you lock in a solid RB1 and WR1 first. Don’t fall into the late round QB scenario it is a disaster waiting to happen.
Now let’s look at how these players actually finished in terms of a percentage that these players were on fantasy championship teams. The player that was on the most championship rosters in 2024 was Lamar Jackson at 38%. Then rounding out the top ten players was Ja’Marr Chase 37%, Jahmyr Gibbs 37%, Justin Jefferson 37%, Amon-Ra St. Brown 37%, Brock Bowers 35%, De’Von Achane 35%, Saquon Barkley 34%, James Conner 33%, and Josh Allen 32%. This list shows that RB and WR are not the only positions that make a difference when you’re drafting your team. There are 2 quarterbacks and even a tight end that made the top 10.
Were the 2023 finishers any different, according to ESPN CeeDee Lamb was the player on the most championship teams at 30%. Then the top ten rounded out with, Amon-Ra St. Brown 24%, Kyren Williams 23%, Sam LaPorta 23%, Christian McCaffrey 21%, Puka Nacua 21%, Brandon Aubrey 20%, Breece Hall 18%, Josh Allen 18%, and Justin Jefferson 17%. Once again, the list features more than just RBs and WRs, this year we even had a kicker in the top 10. Don’t take this to mean you should be drafting a kicker in the first round, or even in the top 10 rounds for that matter. But it does support my claim that you need to have a balanced roster.
Do all these statistics actually mean anything, and can they help you draft a winning team in 2025? First, don’t get locked in drafting one position more heavily than another. Balance is the key to a successful fantasy roster, along with hitting on at least one late round draft pick. Fill out your starting roster with the best available players, before you start drafting back up players at any position. The only exception to that rule is the defense and kicker position, who should be selected in the last few rounds of your draft. If your draft is 16 rounds, I like to pick the kicker and defense with picks 13 and 14. That leaves the final two picks for fliers on rookies or sleepers.
CeeDee Lamb the most common player on ESPN Fantasy Football Championship Rosters, by Tristan H. Cockcroft, retrieved on 1/29/25, ESPN Fantasy Football, www.espn.com
Lamar Jackson leads list of most common players on fantasy finalists’ rosters, by Tristan H Cockcroft, retrieved on 1/29/25, ESPN Fantasy Football, www.espn.com
