ESPN Fantasy Football 2025: Must-Draft Sleepers, Updated Rankings & Expert Strategy Tips

ESPN Fantasy Football is celebrating its 30th anniversary with the biggest overhaul in its history, and millions of fantasy managers are racing to download the all-new ESPN Fantasy App before draft season kicks off. Here’s everything you need to know about the 2025 refresh, key dates and expert tips to gain an edge in your league. A fresh design built for speed The redesigned home screen now ranks every starter in your lineup against ESPN analyst consensus, so you can spot weak links at a glance. Swipe-friendly matchup views keep your league’s scores in one place, while live in-game projections update in real time as each snap happens. Player cards have been rebuilt to surface career stats, game logs and depth-chart context without leaving the roster page, and a new “quick-add” button lets you grab trending free agents without opening an extra screen—perfect for beating your league-mate to the waiver wire. Introducing Gridiron Gauntlet & Auto-Reactivate For managers who crave more competition, ESPN is rolling out the Gridiron Gauntlet, a season-long tournament that crowns a single overall champion across the entire platform. Standard private leagues also get an Auto-Reactivate toggle, so commissioners can spin up last year’s league in seconds and lock in that draft date before summer schedules fill up. ESPN BET FanCenter joins the party A small “Find a Bet” icon now appears on roster and matchup screens. Tap it and the app surfaces personalized betting markets tied to your fantasy lineup, then ports selections directly into an ESPN BET slip. If you manage multiple fantasy teams, each squad gets its own curated slate of markets so you can ride—or hedge—your player exposure on Sundays. 26-hour Fantasy Football Marathon returns Aug. 11-12 Draft prep shifts into overdrive with ESPN’s nonstop television event beginning Monday, Aug. 11 at 8 p.m. ET. Field Yates, Stephania Bell, Mike Clay and the entire Fantasy Football Now crew will host live segments, mock drafts and a commercial-free 10-team draft streamed simultaneously on ESPN2, the ESPN App, YouTube and Facebook. Bookmark those dates; last year’s marathon moved Average Draft Position (ADP) data by more than half a round for several breakout candidates. Expert content now 100 % free Every ESPN Fantasy Football article—including the 2025 Draft Guide, cheat-sheet central, mock drafts and tiered rankings—is unlocked for all users this season. That means Tristan H. Cockcroft’s “Best Picks by Draft Slot,” Mike Clay’s “The 192” and Eric Karabell’s annual Do-Not-Draft list are just a click away, with no paywall between you and your championship blueprint. NFL highlights coming to the app A new licensing agreement between ESPN and the NFL will allow short-form highlights and exclusive NFL film to surface inside the Fantasy App later this season, giving managers faster context on injuries, role changes and breakout plays without leaving the matchup screen. 3 quick tips to maximize the new tools 1. Turn on push alerts for the Dynamic Roster Dashboard so the app pings you when a trade offer hits or a priority waiver claim opens. 2. Use the Analyst’s Picks module each Tuesday morning to scan trending pickups before waiver bids process. 3. During live games, keep the matchup view pinned; when projections swing, capitalize on in-game adds to secure backup running backs in case of injury. How to get started • iOS & Android: Search “ESPN Fantasy Sports,” update to version 30.0 or later. • Web: fantasy.espn.com > Football, then click “Reactivate League” or “Create New League.” • Draft rooms open immediately after updating, and the app now supports true cross-device drafts—start on desktop, finish on your phone. With a modern interface, more data than ever and a direct pipeline to expert analysis, ESPN Fantasy Football 2025 is built to help you draft smarter, swap faster and celebrate those Monday-night comebacks like never before. Download the update, lock in your league date and let the countdown to kickoff begin.