This article runs through the various fantasy football draft strategies you can utilize when drafting from one of slots 1.07, 1.08 or 1.09. The presumed format is 12-team leagues starting QB/2RB/3WR/TE/flex, with either PPR or 0.5PPR scoring.
Any strategy is permissible and some strategies become more or less viable as your draft order unfolds — it makes more sense in general to go "Zero-RB" if your early round RB options are subpar, for instance — but based on the current ADP this pick range is arguably best-suited to a balanced approach. There are quality running back and wide receivers through your first four selections, though if you indulge one too much you might find yourself thin at the other.
As a general note: the longer you need to wait between picks, the more you should probably consider what could go wrong between your selections. If you need a quality RB2 and otherwise stare down the possibility of getting sniped before your next pick, then you might want to consider taking one of your acceptable answers in the meantime.
Read our other fantasy football draft strategy for:
Slots 1-3
Slots 4-6
Slots 10-12
Drafting from Early, Mid, Late Draft Positions
First Round - Picks 7-9
This range of the ADP is not as solidified as the top of the round, where some combination of Jahmyr Gibbs, Bijan Robinson and Ja'Marr Chase almost always go in the first three picks. Similarly, Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba tend to round out the top 5 in whatever order.
With the seventh pick the ADP generally lines up with Amon-St. Brown, and he's certainly a strong option at that slot. Sometimes Christian McCaffrey can fall to the seventh pick, but whereas St. Brown can be understood as a high-floor player with a pretty good ceiling, McCaffrey's durability history says he's more of a boom-or-bust option, whose otherwise much greater risk is justifiable due to greater best-case upside.
The more common running back options in this range are Jonathan Taylor and James Cook, who arguably have a higher floor than McCaffrey but with a much lower best-case ceiling due to Taylor and Cook's comparatively light pass-catching work.
In addition to St. Brown, the best floor option in this range could arguably be Justin Jefferson, depending on how much you believe in Kyler Murray or/and blame J.J. McCarthy for Jefferson's down 2025 season. If Jefferson has even league-average quarterback play this year then he has WR1 upside, let alone WR5. If not St. Brown or Jefferson, your main wideout target in this range would probably be CeeDee Lamb.
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Second Round - Picks 16-18
No matter whether you went running back or wide receiver in the first round, you should have decent options available at the other position by the time of your second pick.
As much as it would be justifiable enough to go running back in the first round and then take a running back like Saquon Barkley, Chase Brown, Derrick Henry, De'Von Achane or Kenneth Walker as your second pick, going RB-RB should generally be understood as an aggressive and risky strategy, pursuing running back upside at the expense of wide receiver depth. While there are a handful of solid WR1 candidates in the late 20s/early 30s of the ADP, those players are sometimes gone by the time your third pick comes up.
There are quality WR1 candidates on the board in the second round, including A.J. Brown, Drake London, George Pickens and Nico Collins. If Malik Nabers has good luck with his knee then he would quickly crash this category, too.
Going RB-WR or WR-RB on your first two picks might seem like playing it safe to a boring extent, but doing so leaves you more flexibility going into the subsequent rounds and leaves you less vulnerable to sniping. If you take, say, James Cook in the first round and Nico Collins in the second then you would not be compelled to take any particular position by the time your third-round pick comes up. If you go Cook and then Achane, though, you'll be sweating your wait for the third round and might get zapped by a wide receiver run. Similarly, if you go St. Brown and then London, then you might be underwhelmed by the RB1 options by the time of your third selection.
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Third Round - Picks 31-33
Receiver is arguably more plentiful in this range than running back. Players like Chris Olave, Zay Flowers, Emeka Egbuka and DeVonta Smith have fantasy WR1 upside, so if you can get one of them as your fantasy WR2 with an otherwise solid running back pick in the first two rounds you'd have a nicely balanced roster going into the fourth round. If you went RB-RB in the first two rounds then one of these receivers should easily suffice as a fantasy WR1, though there's no guarantee any of them makes it back to your third pick.
This is arguably one of the best draft slot ranges to target Trey McBride, who goes just enough later than Brock Bowers to conventionally land in this pick range of the third round. You probably wouldn't want to take McBride if you went RB-RB in the first two rounds — your resulting WR1 in the fourth round probably would be nothing to brag about — but if you went WR-WR or have one each at RB/WR then McBride could be a nice fit for your team.
For those who waited on running back to this point, your best options will generally be Breece Hall, Kyren Williams and Javonte Williams. If any of them suffice as an RB1 by your standards then by all means, consider a WR-WR start to your draft. If you need better than one of those three as your RB1 then you'll probably need to spend one of your first two picks at the position.
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Fourth Round - Picks 40-42
Two of the few wide receivers in this range who could return WR1 value are probably Garrett Wilson and Luther Burden, though both have various questions facing them that the earlier wideouts do not — Wilson limited by the quality of his quarterback play, and Burden requiring projection as a player who is expensive but has not yet broken out conclusively. Terry McLaurin has his own strong case to make with he and Jayden Daniels healthy, though McLaurin's age and Daniels' ongoing durability concerns are arguably a basis to put McLaurin behind Wilson and Burden. Tetairoa McMillan and Jaylen Waddle also both conventionally go in this range, but McMillan has similar quarterback concerns as Wilson but is likely the lesser talent of the two. Waddle is a proven WR1 commodity in real-life terms, but the Broncos are deep with rotational options and aren't dependent on Waddle to move the ball. Whatever way you view them, these five wideouts project conventionally better as fantasy WR2 types.
This is also a good pick to target your RB2. Travis Etienne, Josh Jacobs and Cam Skattebo have strong cases to make as clear starters who should breeze past 40 receptions in each case. Any of the three might even suffice as a fantasy RB1, especially if you're loaded at receiver or/and tight end.
This pick range is one of the best spots to grab Colston Loveland, who has the talent to finish as the top fantasy tight end even though he costs a lot less than Bowers or McBride.
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Fifth Round - Picks 55-57
Someone like David Montgomery or D'Andre Swift would be a dream RB2 if they were to fall to you in this range, though most of the time they don't. Generally the top running backs in this range include Bhayshul Tuten, TreVeyon Henderson, Quinshon Judkins and Bucky Irving. If the likes of the latter four do not convince you in an RB2 capacity then you might want to secure your RB2 before you exit the fourth round.
Granted, while Tuten/Henderson/Judkins/Irving could have various things go wrong for those investing in them as an RB2, the wide receivers in this range are starting to show their warts, too. Mike Evans and Davante Adams are both aging with recent hamstring troubles in their history. Jameson Williams and Christian Watson have mostly functioned as downfield specialists to this point, which can be challenging for their target rate compared to receivers who draw targets more easily underneath. DJ Moore has been on a downward trajectory and now enters a run-heavy Buffalo offense that prioritizes run blocking. Carnell Tate might be one of the next big things at receiver, but it might not be fair to expect that outcome in his rookie season, especially with Wan'Dale Robinson likely leading the team in targets. These wide receivers are much easier to sell in a WR3 capacity than WR2.
The cleanest pick in this range in terms of talent might be Lamar Jackson, who mostly slides into this range due to general devaluing of the quarterback position in the ADP. You can sometimes get him as your fifth pick, which is a nice loadout especially if you're looking pretty at running back and receiver going into the fifth round.
Sixth Round - Picks 65-67 & Onward
The next wideouts and last conventional potential WR3 candidates are usually Brian Thomas, Parker Washington, Jordyn Tyson, Marvin Harrison, DK Metcalf and Alec Pierce. All but Washington and Tyson have dubious target rates, which leaves them vulnerable to cold stretches, but they can also do big damage when the big plays are hitting. Tyson is an easy pitch especially in PPR scoring — his college production implies the ability to draw chain-moving targets at a rapid rate — while the sales pitch for Thomas/Harrison/Metcalf/Pierce is a little easier in 0.5PPR scoring, where their modest target rates hurt less and their touchdown/big-play upside goes a little further than in full PPR. Washington might be thought of as something like a wild card — he can clearly draw PPR-friendly targets like Tyson, but it remains to be seen how much playing time there is for Washington when Thomas, Jakobi Meyers and even Travis Hunter might cut into the snap supply.
If you did not take Bowers, McBride or Loveland at tight end then this pick is a prime spot to target Tyler Warren, who has clear top-3 upside at tight end in his own right despite the arguably preferable playing situations of the Big Three ahead of him in the ADP.
If you took A.J. Brown or Terry McLaurin earlier then you might cross your fingers and hope Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels makes it to your sixth pick as a pairing interest with your earlier wideout pick. Joe Burrow also goes in this range, though it might be hard to acquire a pairing interest with Ja'Marr Chase almost always gone by the third pick.
