Fantasy football draft season is upon us, and with it comes the quest to assemble a championship-caliber team. With the right draft strategy, you can set yourself up for success from the second overall pick. In this article, we will guide you through the best fantasy football draft strategy for each pick in 15 rounds, ensuring you build a competitive team capable of dominating your league.
Round 1: The Safe Bell Cow RB
McCaffrey is most likely gone but there are still great options. I think it is still too early to draft a WR or Kelce at this point. You should be aware of the RBs who are starting to create a stir about the RB market, so you know who to keep a close eye on. Those players are Ekeler, Taylor, Barkley, Pollard, and Jacobs. While Ekeler should still be a stud, I love the Browns O-line and Chubb too much to pass him up.
Pick: Nick Chubb
Round 2: Steal the TE from the Turn
There is a high probability that the next TE will go at the 3:01 giving that team a top tier RB and TE to pair with the high upside receiver they took in the second. Don’t let this happen, you can get your RB 2 or starting WR in two more picks. Draft a healthy Lamar Jacksons favorite red zone target.
Pick: Mark Andrews
Round 3: RB 2 Time
Wide receiver is the deepest position outside of QB. If you don’t take your RB 2 here, there are 20 picks until your next turn and a majority of them will be RBs depleting your pool to choose from. Wait on WR. You’ll be happy you did.
Pick: Aaron Jones
Round 4-5: WR’s with Good QB’s/Coaches
Since we faded receivers to start, we have no use for good receivers who are in either bad offenses or are connected to poor QB’s. Wave goodbye to McLaurin, Hopkins, and London. Instead, we are going with guys who will have the volume to be elite with great QB play or coach scheming.
Picks: Keenan Allen & Jerry Jeudy
Round 6: Upside RB 3 with a Safe Floor
You may want to draft another WR here and if a receiver you like is available go get him. Otherwise, I think this is your best chance to get your flex RB without worrying about him going at the turn. I’m all in on a guy who could have a solid season and has the floor to be valuable, even without a breakout.
Pick: Brian Robinson Jr.
Round 7: Target Hog WR 3
At this point in the draft, we are looking at either WR 1s who will see a ton of work or WR 2s who have high upside and won’t see the defenses top DB. This will be the trickiest pick in your draft. Stay away from injury prone players and look for who will see the highest opportunity share in the best offense.
Pick: Treylon Burks
Round 8: Swing for the Fences RB
The RB options and it’s time to go big for our final RB. I don’t want any guy buried on a depth chart that could climb up to start at the end of the season. It’s too late then. I want a guy who will play early, and I think will pop off to be a valuable bye week filler and flex player.
Pick: Khalil Herbert
Round 9: QB with the best Options
The best QBs based on skill are gone but there are still some intriguing options left on the board. With another long wait ahead, it’s time to pull the trigger. I’m watching out for Geno Smith, Aaron Rodgers, and Russell Wilson.
Pick: Aaron Rodgers
Round 10-14: RB and WR Express
It’s time to start stock piling depth. This area is where you should draft on a players opportunity share. There are a lot of talented guys, but if you don’t get the ball then what’s the point? I would recommend getting a QB 2 to hedge my bets and have another high upside player at a critical position.
Picks: Adam Thielen, Skyy Moore, Brock Purdy Jerome Ford
Round 15: It’s Kicker Time
Even in a perfect world where every team waits until the final two rounds to draft a K and Def, you aren’t getting the best of either. That’s ok. Both of these positions are extremely stream able and should be streamed according to circumstance. I lean taking a K first as weather is the main thing that turns me off from a kicker. A good defense match up could mean more FG opportunities, so it balances out. I don’t care if I have the best defense in fantasy, I’m not playing them against Mahomes or any top tier talented offense. If you stream whichever defense plays Arizona each week this season, I guarantee you will have more points than whatever the top scoring DST team gets. Shoot for Kickers who play in domes. Otherwise, just get the kicker linked to the best offense available.
Pick: Jake Elliott
Round 16: Draft your Week 1 DST
You’re going to stream defense all year, and you can because you’ll have time since the rest of your team is solid. Look at the Week 1 schedule and pick which teams are playing offenses that should be bad due to either a rookie QB or lack of play making options. The top options will be gone but you can get a team like the Commanders who have a good defense and are playing the Cardinals offense with their QB coming off a torn ACL and an offense in general disarray.
Pick: Washington Commanders
Congrats, you have a team ready to compete for a championship!
1:02 Nick Chubb
2:11 Mark Andrews
3:02 Aaron Jones
4:11 Keenan Allen
5:02 Jerry Jeudy
6:11Brian Robinson Jr.
7:02 Treylon Burks
8:11 Khalil Herbert
9:02 Aaron Rodgers
10:11 Adam Thielen
11:02 Skyy Moore
12:11 Brock Purdy
13:02 Jerome Ford
14:11Jake Elliott
15:02 Washington Commanders
Want personalized fantasy advice?
Make sure to subscribe and tune into
our lives every Monday at 6/5c.
Comments