College Football 25 Position Needs for Every Scheme in Dynasty

College Football 25 has brought the intensely chaotic strategy of Dynasty Mode back to gaming, and that means many players are still trying to sort out some of the most intricate details. Even if you can work your way week to week, having a better understanding of your team needs and roster in Dynasty will help take your recruiting and depth chart to the next level.

While the main recruiting screen in College Football 25 will give you a general idea of what your team needs each year, it can be difficult to pin down what those larger needs by position actually are. No matter what offensive and defensive scheme you run, we'll break down the general roster needs by position for every team in College Football 25.

College Football 25 Roster Needs by Position

When you work on recruiting each year in Dynasty Mode, you can easily tap a button and check out the game's suggested needs by position. This takes into account the base needs for your scheme, the amount of players on your existing roster, and the number of seniors that you'll have to replace next season. It's not a bad guide, but digging down into what most schemes need will help you sort through recruits and consider position changes down the line.

After digging into several different dynasty mode saves across different teams with their own unique schemes and team needs, there are also some discrepencies where even teams with identical schemes can be shown different overall needs year to year. This could be taking into account the likelihood of transfers or early NFL Draft departures, or it may be shifting based on the tendency of the plays in your specific playbook.

How many players do you need per position in College Football 25?

First, let's take a look at the general team needs and amount of players you'll need per position. Most schemes in College Football 25 have the following roster needs:

• 5 Quarterbacks
• 6 Halfbacks
• 0 to 2 Fullbacks
• 10 Wide Receivers
• 2 to 4 Tight Ends
• 4 Left Guards
• 4 Left Tackles
• 2 Centers
• 4 Right Guards
• 4 Right Tackles
• 4 Left Defensive Ends
• 4 Right Defensive Ends
• 4 to 6 Defensive Tackles
• 4 to 7 Middle Linebackers
• 4 Right Outside Linebackers
• 4 Left Outside Linebackers
• 7 to 8 Cornerbacks
• 4 Free Safeties
• 4 Strong Safeties
• 1 Kicker
• 1 Punter

Positions with a range will depend on your scheme, as some have higher need for specific types of players, but this general outline will always be good to keep in mind. If you want to make things a bit more versatile, you can also group some positions together like aiming for 18 total offensive linemen you could later switch to different specific positions to balance out the numbers at each one. If you want to take your roster management up a notch, check out our guide to switching positions and when it's the right move to make. 

Team Needs by Offensive Scheme and Defensive Scheme

On the offensive side of the ball, your scheme's impact will normally be on your fullback and tight end positions. Pretty much all schemes have the same quarterback and wide receiver needs when it comes to roster makeup, but schemes do impact the strengths you want out of different positions. If you're running a Pro Style offense, great throw power, accuracy, and throw under pressure are most important for your quarterback. At the same time, you'll want your tight ends to have solid route running.

If you're using an Option, Spread Option, or Power Spread playbook, there will often be more need for one or two solid fullbacks and additional tight ends which can both run and catch. Those styles also tend to favor a quarterback with the scrambler archetype who can go on the run when the field opens up or your receiving targets are all covered.

For most Air Raid, Pistol, Run & Shoot, or Veer & Shoot schemes, you'll have more pressure on your wide receivers to deliver and want halfbacks who can catch, whereas you may need fewer tight ends or fullbacks. This can vary based on which formations are in your playbook, so spend some time in Free Practice getting used to what your options will be when a game is underway.

Anyone running a Base 4-3 Defense will usually want a few more defensive linemen whereas someone running Base 3-4 or 3-3-5 could use a few more linebackers on the roster. Teams using the 3-3-5, 4-2-5, and 3-2-6 schemes will want to recruit a few more cornerbacks or safeties. The biggest difference in defensive schemes won't just be the personnel numbers but which strengths you need to lean in at each position.

Players running a 4-2-5 Defense will need linebackers and defensive backs that are versatile enough to defend the run or the pass, and someone who prefers a 3-3-5 Defense will wanna make sure their linebackers are agile enough to attack the gaps or drop into coverage when necessary.

If you're using a Base 4-3 Defense, your defensive line should be able to handle both stuffing the run and breaking through to put pressure on the opposing quarterback. This does put more pressure on your linebackers and secondary to handle any potential passing plays or runs that break through that initial line.

On the other hand, a Base 3-4 Defense is going to push harder on QB pressure at the line and will put some of the run blocking responsibility on linebackers more often. This all might sound overwhelming, but putting the time in from game to game as well as in practice will help you get more accustomed to what your playbook needs and help you build the best possible roster in College Football 25 Dynasty Mode.