How can we tell which fantasy football players actually helped us most in 2025? Look to the 'WAR'
- - How can we tell which fantasy football players actually helped us most in 2025? Look to the 'WAR'
Joel SmythJanuary 13, 2026 at 10:18 PM
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Today’s article answers the question: Who were really the most valuable players in fantasy this season? Fantasy football analyst Joel Smyth goes through the top fantasy “WAR” players of 2025, aka “Wins Above Replacement” (via Fantasy Points Data). The notorious baseball statistic can also help identify the kings of fantasy football.
Quarterback
WAR MVP: Josh Allen (3.71 Wins Above Replacement)
Josh Allen has finished as a top-two QB in fantasy football for six consecutive seasons. To show just how incredible that is, Jalen Hurts is the next closest with two such seasons! Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes each have done it only once over the last six years. Allen can win any fantasy week by himself, scoring 35+ fantasy points three separate times this season. His rushing boost will rarely result in bad weeks, making him easily the No. 1 QB taken off the board next season. In Yahoo leagues, Allen has only been drafted first two times in those six seasons. Don’t make that mistake again.
Top-5 QB Finishes -
Josh Allen, Bills (3.71)
Drake Maye, Patriots (2.90)
Matthew Stafford, Rams (2.81)
Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs (2.49)
Dak Prescott, Cowboys (2.43)
Running Back
WAR MVP: Christian McCaffrey (6.47 Wins Above Replacement)
McCaffrey’s fantasy result has been a consistent cycle: finish top-two, get hurt, repeat. The average draft position has usually been lower during his elite, healthy seasons. He was the seventh player off the board in 2025 and scored 15+ half-PPR points in 14 of 16 games. And don’t worry, it continued with 26.4 points versus Philadelphia in the playoffs.
The injuries are truly the only thing keeping McCaffrey from repeating again in 2026. San Francisco battled through injuries, and McCaffrey’s rushing efficiency was nowhere close to overall RB1 status. In pure yards per carry, CMC ranked 38th of qualified RBs. However, with Kyle Shanahan as the coach and the receiving capabilities of McCaffrey, the efficiency on the ground is much less of an issue. The Niners RB led the position in routes, targets, receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, and nobody would be surprised if he does once again in 2026.
Top-5 RB Finishes -
Christian McCaffrey, 49ers (6.47)
Bijan Robinson, Falcons (5.58)
Jonathan Taylor, Colts (5.44)
Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions (4.81)
De’Von Achane, Dolphins (4.70)
Wide Receiver
WAR MVP: Puka Nacua (4.19 Wins Above Replacement)
The chemistry with Matthew Stafford, a QB who force-feeds top WRs, paid off in full this season for Puka Nacua. Even as a downfield WR, Nacua was targeted 166 times and had the highest catch rate of any WR with 150+ targets since Michael Thomas in 2019 (2nd-highest of 42 WRs in that span) with the Saints. Much like Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs in 2024, when a key counterpart goes down with injury, in a key part of the fantasy season, stars become league-winners. In the final five games with a banged-up Davante Adams on the sideline, Nacua averaged 26.1 half-PPR fantasy PPG — over seven more than any other WR.
Top-5 WR Finishes -
Puka Nacua, Rams (4.19)
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seahawks (4.15)
Amon-Ra St. Brown, Lions (2.95)
George Pickens, Cowboys (2.92)
Ja’Marr Chase, Bengals (2.89)
Tight End
WAR MVP: Trey McBride (3.53 Wins Above Replacement)
Trey McBride is now in talks for 2026 first-round consideration after averaging 15.2 fantasy PPG this season and breaking the TE record for receptions. The last TE to be drafted in the first round was Travis Kelce in 2023 after averaging 15.9 fantasy PPG in 2022. The main question related to McBride will be about his scoring nearly 2x more PPG with Jacoby Brissett than he did with Kyler Murray. With so much up in the air in Arizona this offseason, McBride will have more risks than most former TE1s, similar to Brock Bowers this year.
Top-5 TE Finishes -
Trey McBride, Cardinals (3.53)
George Kittle, 49ers (1.66)
Dallas Goedert, Eagles (1.49)
Brock Bowers, Raiders (1.48)
Tucker Kraft, Packers (1.22)
Key Takeaways
The top six players in this stat are running backs. The positional value stays king in fantasy football, as they have the highest ceiling with much less depth compared to WR and QB. Even after the top players in fantasy, some of the top values in the late rounds of drafts came at the RB position, too. Javonte Williams and Travis Etienne Jr., both drafted in the 30s of RB ADP, finished above the WR3 Amon-Ra St. Brown in WAR.
When it comes to QB, yes, Josh Allen is the safe QB star, but ultimately, the late-round QB stays king. Allen finished 10th in WAR while Drake Maye (19th), Matthew Stafford (22nd), Dak Prescott (26th) and Trevor Lawrence (27th) all destroyed their late-round ADPs.
Source: “AOL Sports”
