Fantasy Football Today: The FFT team's early favorite value draft picks, players they must draft for 2025

Adam Aizer makes the case for a pair of early-round RBs as top-tier value plays in 2025.

By Dan Schneier

Feb 17, 2025 at 11:16 am ET • 3 min read

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It was Valentine's Day last week so the Fantasy Football Today team decided to run through the players they're going to "love" drafting for the upcoming 2025 season. Things will change as the NFL's landscape shifts this March and April in free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft, but these players stand out as excellent early values according to the guys.

Today we'll focus on the players each of the FFT analysts are targeting. We'll start by taking a deeper dive into Adam Aizer's favorite values and players he doesn't want to leave his drafts without in the coming seasons and I'll share my early thoughts on their 2025 outlook.

Aizer's favorite picks:

1. Josh Jacobs, RB, Packers

Jacobs averaged 4.4 yards per carry in his first season with the Packers and if you take a Week 18 game where he played just 31% of the snaps out of the sample size, he was on pace to total 1,726 yards with 37 receptions and 16 touchdowns. After the Packers' bye week, Jacobs exploded in the red zone with 11 total rushing touchdowns. This spoke to a change in philosophy that suited the Packers well and they ended the season just 30th in pass attempts (behind only the Eagles and Ravens). Among 46 running backs with 100 or more carries, Jacobs ranked 27th in target per route run -- in the range with backs like James Cook and Tyrone Tracy Jr. This is an area of his game that can evolve in 2025 and Adam expects him to finish in the 45-50 reception range -- a major boost to his value in PPR formats.

Schneier's take: Jacobs was one of my favorite values heading into last season after the Packers made it clear they signed him early in free agency with a plan for their run game. Jacobs provided something Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon never could as a consistent option between the tackles. The Packers offense has a chance to take another jump in 2025 if they add more talent at wide receiver and Jordan Love can return to his 2024 form. This would mean more scoring opportunities for Jacobs. He'll remain one of the best values at the position.

2. Chase Brown, RB, Bengals

Brown averaged 4.3 yards per carry in his first season as the Bengals lead back after taking off as a rusher and receiver. The Bengals offense averaged 5.7 yards per play (13th) and 23.3 offensive ppg (12th) in Weeks 1-8 before the Zack Moss injury. They averaged 6.0 yards per play (6th) and 30.5 offensive ppg (3rd) in Weeks 9-17 with Chase Brown as the lead RB. It's clear that Brown played a big role in the offense taking a jump forward. In those finals Weeks 9-17, Brown finished as a top-six RB overall in all formats that award points for receptions. If you take Brown's numbers from Week 9 on after Moss was placed on injured reserve, he would've totaled 1,976 yards, 81 receptions, and 12 total touchdowns. Among 46 RBs with 100 or more carries, Chase Brown ranked 8th in conversion rate on 3rd and 4th down (86%). He also was 11th best in % of carries for 0 or negative yards after struggling with that in 2023. The Bengals had been 10th-13th in pass rate inside the 5-yard line (usually around 48.0%) in each of Joe Burrow's 1st 4 seasons, but then that jumped to 2nd in 2024 with a pass rate of 66.7% (2nd behind NYJ). But they also saw a huge jump in plays inside the 5-yard line.

Schneier's take: Brown was a special player in a special offense in 2024, but his track record suggests he may not be suited for a workhorse role. Brown served as a workhorse just one season in college and now for a half-season stretch at the NFL level. In what is deemed to be the deepest running back draft class in the last decade -- and maybe ever -- a Day 3 draft pick could immediately settle into the Moss role in 2025. Without the volume, Brown will be overdrafted in 2025.