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The 2024 NFL regular season has come to a close. There have been plenty of surprises, but at the top of the food chain, there were only a few players who had enough talent to compete for the chance of being the No. 1 overall pick in fantasy football in 2025.
While NFL players tend to not care about fantasy football, a season of putting up monster stats helps them secure a massive payday down the road. That's not even remotely insignificant. There are likely players who have produced their way into record-breaking deals in the near future.
So which one of these players will end up being the first off the board in 2025 fantasy football drafts?
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2024:- Quarterback fantasy football rankings
- Running back fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver fantasy football rankings
- Tight end fantasy football rankings
- Kicker fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Superflex fantasy football rankings
- IDP fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Who Will Be The First Pick In Fantasy Football in 2025?
There's a fair amount of debate between Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley and Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, and the answer to who should be the first pick actually comes down to which format you play. If you play in PPR leagues, it should be Chase, and if you play in a non-PPR league, it should be Barkley.
Of course, in Superflex/2QB leagues, the first overall pick should always be the best quarterback, and that is Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, whether or not you play in a six-point passing touchdown league. For the sake of simplicity, though, we will focus on the two above players for this piece.
PPR League No. 1 Overall Pick For 2025: Ja'Marr Chase
Chase had an absolutely absurd season in 2024. He caught 127 of his 175 targets for 1,708 yards and 17 touchdowns. He also didn't fumble the ball a single time, and were it not for him, his team would have won far fewer games than they did.
JA'MARR CHASE 70-YARD TD.
FIVE TOUCHDOWN PASSES FOR Joe Burrow.
📺: #BALvsCIN on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/XJKCC0bWOb— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024
Where he shines most is after the catch. His ability to create huge gains on long plays after catching the ball, often when he seems dead to rights from the outset, is simply remarkable. He's one of the best wideouts in history at getting more from plays than the defense gives him. And that's something that quarterback Joe Burrow recognizes well.
OH MY JA'MARR CHASE. ELECTRIC 63-YARD TD.
📺: #CINvsCAR on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/KwYspR7roj— NFL (@NFL) September 29, 2024
NFL defenses haven't found many ways to stop him yet. He's just 24 years old and already has 395 catches for 5,425 yards and 46 touchdowns to his name. And he isn't showing any signs of slowing down yet. In fact, the Bengals offense was ridiculously productive this season. And with their defense playing so poorly, that doesn't seem likely to change soon.
11 CATCHES
264 YARDS
3 TOUCHDOWNSHAVE A NIGHT JA’MARR CHASEpic.twitter.com/C4p1D6KZSf
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) November 8, 2024
Burrow's chemistry with his favorite receiver is important to this ranking as well. The two played together in college, and Cincinnati selecting both in subsequent NFL drafts was perhaps the best pair of decisions the organization has made in its history. Chase is set to break the bank with a massive payday.
Leaving Ja'Marr Chase 1 on 1 with Cory Trice. What a concept. WHAT A FREAKING CONCEPT pic.twitter.com/MANJDvGI8N
— Austin Wader (@austin_wader) January 5, 2025
He's an elite player who is likely bound for the NFL Hall of Fame one day. But there's plenty of unfinished business. If you're in a PPR fantasy league next season and are lucky enough to have the No. 1 overall pick, take Chase with it, strap yourself in, and enjoy the ride. He just might carry managers to another championship next season.
Non-PPR League No. 1 Overall Pick For 2025: Saquon Barkley
In leagues that don't award points for receptions, Barkley should be the player that you select first overall. While Chase's monster season shouldn't be ignored, and he's a fantastic player to select in the top 5, the Eagles running back scored 20.1 standard fantasy points per game to Chase's mere (in comparison) 16.2.
Like this if you love Saquon Barkley.
RT this if you love Saquon Barkley.
Reply that you love Saquon Barkley.@saquon | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/0h0Whzyn49— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) November 25, 2024
The running back position is insanely valuable in standard, much more so than in PPR. In fact, the PPR format was originally created in the days of ridiculously dominant backs. Players like former Los Angeles Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson dominated to such a degree that league winners were almost exclusively the ridiculously high-volume tailbacks who put up monster seasons.
THROWBACK: Saquon Barkley’s 3 TD performance in his Eagles debut! pic.twitter.com/Q4ZsdcOYu7
— SaquonMuse⚡️ (@MuseSaquon) January 5, 2025
Scoring nearly a full four PPR points more than the best receiver (who had a historic season, by the way) almost feels like a throwback to those days. Barkley's role is safe as well, as he's easily a million times more talented than his backup, Kenneth Gainwell. He's also on a well-run team with a great offense that's loaded with talent at pass-catcher and in the trenches.
3) Just watch the Eagles 5 offensive lineman here. Can you block this any better? All 5 of them look fantastic. It turns out having an outstanding OL and an elite running back leads to a good running game... pic.twitter.com/djcxo4SuXW
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) December 31, 2024
Barkley on the Eagles is a match made in heaven. His ridiculous (historic, really) speed, acceleration, change-of-direction ability, and power are massively enhanced by fantastic run-blocking, which regularly allows him space to pick up massive gains. In fact, he logged 1,328 rushing yards before contact this year. In just 17 games, his YBCon would have ranked seventh overall in the league were it simply overall rushing yards.
SAQUON BARKLEY IS NOT OF THIS WORLD.
📺: #JAXvsPHI on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/UtCENDw6no— NFL (@NFL) November 3, 2024
He checks all the boxes you could want in a fantasy football player, and he's signed with the Eagles for at least another year. They'll almost certainly extend him past that, but for next season, he'll continue to be part of the same consistently successful franchise.
Yes, the offense struggled early in the season, but some growing pains were to be expected. They passed the ball quite a bit less than they did in 2023, and the biggest reason for that is they simply didn't have to throw it as much to win. They overhauled their defense, which is now one of the best in the league, and they could continue to play from ahead often next season.
Barkley presents to fantasy managers the perfect marriage of situation and talent. While Chase had a historic season, he had 127 fewer points in non-PPR leagues with standard scoring rules than he did in PPR formats.
Saquon Barkley goes over 2,000 yards rushing for the season
— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) December 29, 2024
Take Philadelphia's RB with the first pick in standard leagues. Like Chase, he's bound for Canton one day as well.
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