44 Key Stats to Know Before Your Fantasy Football Draft

Jul 31, 2025

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

I just finished my annual task of writing fantasy football draft blurbs for most of the fantasy-relevant players in the league heading into the 2025 draft season, so I thought I’d once again share some of the more interesting stats and splits that I ran across during the time spent researching each position. The draft blurbs can always be accessed on the rankings page (click the little text box next to the player’s name) and on each individual player page.

I discovered many of these stats while using 4for4’s Market Share Splits App, developed by 4for4 Contributor and data scientist Kevin Zatloukal (Twitter: @kczat). The excellent site, Stathead.com, was also a helpful resource. When discussing receivers, I'll often reference Matt Harmon and his excellent site, Reception Perception.

Here’s a link to last year’s article for those who want to view the receipts. There are always a few duds, but I think for the most part, the stats were pretty actionable in 2024.

Khalil Shakir’s efficiency points to a potential breakout.

Khalil Shakir quietly delivered a solid season in 2024, finishing WR35 overall and WR42 on a per-game basis. Dig a little deeper, though, and there are signs of a potential breakout. [1] He ranked 18th in yards per route run and an elite 5th in yards after catch per reception, showing he's making the most of his opportunities in a pass-heavy Buffalo offense. Harmon even floated the idea that Shakir’s career could follow a trajectory similar to Amon-Ra St. Brown’s. Playing with Josh Allen doesn’t hurt, either.

Buffalo could have an elite defense in 2025.

The Bills were third in defensive fantasy scoring last season, and they were active both in free agency and in the draft. [2] They spent a net of $30.6 million on the defense in free agency, signing linebacker Michael Hoecht, pass rusher Joey Bosa, defensive end Larry Ogunjobi, and cornerback Tre'Davious White, though they traded away Kair Elam (50th/127 in PFF coverage grade). In the draft, they took cornerback Maxwell Hairston in the first round, defensive tackle T.J. Sanders in the second round, and defensive end Landon Jackson in the third round, so clearly the defense was the priority this offseason. Even as the No. 6 defense off the board, the Bills offer good value.

Jaylen Waddle is being drafted as a WR3, but was a WR4 last season with Tua Tagovailoa healthy.

[3] Jaylen Waddle took a step back in 2024, averaging just 4.1 catches for 58 yards and 0.20 touchdowns on 5.3 targets in 10 games with Tua Tagovailoa—production that landed him in WR4 territory on a per-game basis. That’s a far cry from the high-end WR2 output he posted in 2022-23, when he averaged 4.8 catches for 79 yards and 0.44 touchdowns in 27 games with Tagovailoa.