President Andrew Jackson once famously stated, "You can't win your fantasy draft in the early rounds, but you can certainly lose it."
This could be interpreted as simply not picking the players who wind up busting, but that's obviously easier said than done in hindsight. After all, it's possible to paint a fairly convincing bear case for every first-round pick if you try hard enough (I tried hard enough), and predicting injuries isn't exactly a straightforward science.
That said: Where I do agree with this idea is in terms of roster construction? Every position has different sweet spots and soft spots that drafters should attempt to optimize. There's nothing inherently wrong about starting your draft with back-to-back running backs or wide receivers, but your initial picks should help decide what you need to be focusing on in the following rounds.
This brings us to today's topic: What should the first eight rounds of your fantasy draft look like depending on your draft position?
We'll touch on additional Round 6-and-onward targets and theories as well, but let's face it: Things become a lot less certain 60-plus picks into any given fantasy draft, so let's not completely overstate our ability to predict the future.
This week, RotoWire ran draft-strategy articles focused on drafting from:
Slots 1-3
Slots 4-6
Slots 7-9
Slots 10-12
This article offers a broad overview of each of those draft slots. A one-stop shop for the above articles, if you will.
As always: It's a great day to be great.
Early Pick Position: 1.01-1.04
The following draft board denotes current Yahoo ADP in Rounds 1-5:
Round by-round ideas:
- Round 1 (RB or WR): Things are pretty easy from the start: Landing a top-4 draft pick means you get one of the consensus top-two RBs or WRs. Congrats to you, a scholar, for doing so.
- Round 2 (elite TE or WR): It'd be nice if Derrick Henry or Chase Brown falls back, but more likely you're going to be looking at low-end WR1s and/or an elite TE. My personal favorite draft strategy this season is "Super Bowers" which is especially viable if you managed to come away with an RB in Round 1.
- Round 3 (elite QB, the right RB, or WR):Josh Allen is very much in play, he's historically paid off his early round price tag, as is more top receivers and perhaps the *right* RB. I'm down for Javonte Williams or (pending legal issues getting resolved) Josh Jacobs at this price, but would rather not invest too heavily in someone on what figures to be a BAD offense (Cardinals, Jets).
- Round 4 (elite TE or WR): Drafters who missed out on Bowers or Trey McBride still might have a chance at landing Tyler Warren or (my preference) Colston Loveland in Round 4. If not, there are plenty of great WRs to choose from. One of my favorite bold calls this season is that Jaylen Waddle finishes as a top-5 player at the position.
- Round 5 (RB or WR): This is one of the big points where your previous picks will help influence the right move to make. Already snagged an elite onesie and two great receivers? It's probably a good time to take a look at David Montgomery or D'Andre Swift. Came away with two great RBs in Rounds 1-3 but lacking firepower at WR? Come on down, Luther Burden, or feel free to attack the "Unc" veteran WR tier.
Moral of the story: Early draft position gives you a pretty great chance to come away with two-plus solid receivers, an elite QB or TE, and at least one awesome RB. I'd be most likely to draft an elite onesie and build a Hero-RB (1 RB inside the first three rounds) from picks 1.01-1.04. Note that I'd rather refrain from using two of my first five picks on both onesie positions, as they will inevitably leave the RB or WR cupboard pretty barren going into Round 6 and onward.
Some if/then scenarios after this:
- 1 TE, 2 RB, 2 WR: My preferred build; this allows us to use the next 4-5 picks on solidifying the RB and WR rooms alike while waiting until Round 10-plus to attack the rather loaded late-round QB range. Your starting roster requirements will help determine whether you should prioritize WR (if you have to start three) or RB (if you only need two starting WR), though in general I really try to have five receivers by the time double-digit rounds come along. The late-round handcuff RB scene is far superior to the WR darts.
- 3 RB, 2 WR: Draft like you're right: If you have three RBs in the first five rounds, you probably don't need to take another one until we're entering pick 100-plus. It's more imperative to ensure you get at least three receivers in the next five picks to avoid falling too far behind at the position, especially if you wind up taking a long look at a mid-round QB or TE.
- 1 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE or QB: I would want at least four RBs inside the first nine rounds if deploying a "Hero RB" build. The good news is the RB1 spot should be locked and loaded with a stud, so we can moneyball the RB2 position and build it with a collection of RB3 types from ambiguous backfields. The Steelers and Commanders RBs fit this build very well, as do guys like Jonathon Brooks, Kenny Gainwell and Jordan Mason: Later-round options with reasonable flex-worthy standalone value and potential for more, perhaps even without the benefit of an injury elsewhere on the depth chart.
Test your draft strategies with the RotoWire Mock Draft simulator and be prepared for the 2026 fantasy football season.
Middle Pick Position: 1.05-1.08
The following draft board denotes current Yahoo ADP in Rounds 1-5:
Some round-by-round ideas:
- Round 1 (RB or WR): Pick 1.05 is where Round 1 gets pretty interesting. Fortunately, the world is mostly your oyster here thanks to the likely reality of having a chance to get a stud top-12 RB in the middle of Round 2. Each of CMC, JT, JSN, and Amon-Ra have their respective bull and bear cases: Choose your fighter!
- Round 2 (Brock Bowers, RB, WR): I'm not trying to cop out and list every position here, but hey, it's a top-20 pick: There are a lot of good options! Deploying the aforementioned "Super Bowers" draft strategy is most ideal from this middle range thanks to the potential to still get another quality RB in a good offense if necessary in Round 3. I lean RB over WR here due to the way the position can dry up in a hurry after the first handful of rounds.
- Round 3 (WR or the *right* RB): Again: I don't want to use a top-36 pick on a Jet or Cardinal. Sue me. The receivers in this range still look pretty freaking awesome, otherwise I'm cool with Javonte Williams or Josh Jacobs.
- Round 4 (WR or Colston Loveland): I'm team late-round QB this season, so Lamar Jackson isn't exactly my cup of tea here. If you do want to go early-TE and missed out on Bowers, this is your chance to get the next-best thing.
- Round 5 (RB2 if needed, or another WR): If you only have a single RB or WR at this point, now is the time to go ahead and click on your second one. This is especially one of the last chances to get an RB2 that you can rationally talk yourself into having a big-time season.
Moral of the story: Middle draft position is a bit annoying at first due to the dropoff after 1.04, but does set up well for elite TE and/or superhero RB (RB-RB start) builds. I'm much more fine with having zero WR than zero RB entering Rounds 3 or 4. This probably isn't the pick position to get carried away with an early round QB unless Josh Allen falls past the first 30 or so picks (unlikely).
Some if/then scenarios after this:
- 2 RB, 3 WR or 3 RB, 2 WR: These would be the sorts of starts that would have me most willing to play the mid-round QB/TE game. Starters are secured at RB and WR, and while I would still want to ideally have at least three RBs and four WRs by Round 9 no matter what, having such a strong start at each position does allow one to stray to the onesies sooner rather than later. Note that the latter would certainly mean refraining from additional RBs until Round 10 if you do want to add a mid-round QB and TE.
- 1 TE, 1 RB, 3 WR: The likelihood of having a strong RB candidate in Round 2 or 3 makes this start a bit more risky, but it's fine as long as you accordingly play catch-up and take three RBs in your next four picks. Of course, this makes late-round QB more of a necessity, which hey, I'm fine with considering all the great options going outside the top-100 picks in home leagues.
- 2 RB, 1 TE, 2 WR: The focus needs to be on WR with three of the next 4-5 picks, especially if you're required to start three receivers every week. This is due to the reality that late-round WR booms are far and few between; already having multiple stud RBs inside the first five rounds is a luxury that affords you the opportunity to wait at the position and simply stock up on RB3/4 flex/handcuff types later. Don't waste it!
Check out the industry-leading fantasy football live draft assistant to get custom rankings for your league and follow along with a live draft on most major platforms.
Late Pick Position: 1.09-1.12
The following draft board denotes current Yahoo ADP in Rounds 1-5:
Some round-by-round ideas:
- Rounds 1-2 (RB, RB): I'm more and more inclined to simply double-tap RB when drafting from 1.09-1.12. Could Justin Jefferson and CeeDee Lamb boom and make this look dumb? Sure, they're fantastic football players, after all. But the former is far from guaranteed to have a considerably better QB situation than the one that reduced him to a WR3 last season, and the latter has a non-zero chance of being the second most-productive WR in his own offense. Give me James Cook, Saquon Barkley and/or Chase Brown over that.
- Round 3 (WR): It feels like overkill to go for three RBs to start especially if in a league where you need to start three receivers every week. Good news: There are still some nicey WR values at this point; I'm particularly fond of buying the injury discount on Malik Nabers or going after guys like Emeka Egbuka, Ladd McConkey and Zay Flowers, three solid candidates to provide WR1-worthy numbers at more affordable mid-range WR2 price tags.
- Round 4 (WR or TE):Colston Loveland would be the man worthy of snagging in the early parts of Round 4, otherwise, I'd prefer to just get another shot at the aforementioned pool of high-upside WR2s.
- Round 5 (WR or QB): Going with an elite TE *and* QB is going to require you to be pretty perfect with your next handful of picks. Not an impossible task, but I'd rather play the late-round onesie game than fall too far behind at receiver. That said, 2-RB, 2-WR starts give you the opportunity to go after a Joe Burrow type at this point and still be able to get another quality WR3 (DJ Moore? Christian Watson? Parker Washington?) with your next pick in Round 6.
Moral of the story: Late pick positions set up best for a "superhero RB" (RB-RB) start before stacking up wide receivers. I'm also most inclined to take a mid-round QB from this starting spot if I don't get Colston Loveland in Round 4. Many drafters have embraced getting two RBs early this year (what could go wrong when seemingly the whole fantasy community finally all agrees on something?), and I'm most inclined to follow this crowd from the 1.09-1.12 draft positions.
Some if/then scenarios after this:
- 2-RB, 3-WR: Similar to our mid-round discussion: This start provides optimal balance through the first five rounds to give you the freedom to attack the TE5-9 and QB3-8 range. The likelihood that your two early-round RBs carry superior projections to your WRs makes me far more willing to wait at the former position through the middle rounds if you do decide to embrace the onesie spots.
- 1-RB, 1-TE, 3 WR: Your next four picks should feature 2-3 more RBs and 1-2 more WRs. I'm fine taking a QB and TE in Rounds 6-9 if balanced through five rounds, but prefer to take a page out of Ricky Bobby's playbook and go "first or last" if tipping the toes in the elite waters early. Example: If I get Colston Loveland in Round 4, I'm probably not drafting a QB until Rounds 9-10, just like I'd prefer to play the waiting game at TE if spending a Round 3 pick on Josh Allen.
- 2-RB, 1 TE, 2-WR: Three of your next four picks really need to be focused on receivers, particularly when considering you likely used Round 3 and 5 picks on them.
Final thoughts
Not to make fantasy football sound too fancy, but any given team is essentially like a stock portfolio: It's fine to feel more strongly and have extra eggs in one particular asset (position), but we still want to strive for some level of balance overall, and it's MUCH easier to get said balance at RB and WR inside the first nine rounds of your draft than by being forced to play catch up with dudes ranked outside the top-50 of their position in the double-digit rounds.
