2026 Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: Round-by-Round Guide to Ace a Yahoo Fantasy Football Draft

Fantasy football draft season is FINALLY upon us.

Remember: Friends, family and jobs come and go, but fantasy championship banners hang forever!

This brings us to today's goal: Round-by-round strategy, targets and fades for a traditional 12-man, PPR league at Yahoo fantasy sports. 

Note that as always: Don't hate the player, hate the ADP. Targets reference guys who I'm above consensus on (my full ranks are right here), while fades are intended to highlight guys who I'm reluctant to pull the trigger on at cost.

We'll assume base roster sizes of QB, 2 RB, 3 WR (important), TE, flex, K, DST. Hey, relax: I don't like kickers in fantasy leagues any more than you do, but some charlatans still insist on going on with the charade, forcing me, an alleged fantasy football expert, to offer advice. Cool? Cool.

As always: It's a great day to be great.

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Round 1

• Brief strategy: My preference is to land a stud RB to build around, but any of the consensus top-4 receivers will do just fine as well. No need to get cute in the early going.
• Targets: Any of the consensus top-4 overall players. My No. 1 RB at the muddled Round 1-2 turn: Chase Brown. I just have the fewest questions about his entire profile. After him, Saquon Barkley and James Cook stand out as 300-plus touch workhorses with awesome offensive lines in offenses that have been great more years than not.
• Fades:Jonathan Taylor is the man, but I'm awfully worried about this already banged-up Colts offense struggling mightily to match its early season 2025 production. CeeDee Lamb's ceiling just doesn't feel quite the same with George Pickens in town, while Justin Jefferson unfortunately might not be getting the sort of QB upgrade we were hoping for if training camp reports are to be believed.

Key question: What pick position is optimal if given the choice?

My lean is anything inside the 1.01-1.04 range. This sets you up to get Jahmyr Gibbs, Bijan Robinson, Ja'Marr Chase or Puka Nacua *and* has you in the sort of range in Round 2 to perhaps land Brock Bowers. Landing a hero-RB in Round 1 followed by Bowers, maybe another RB and then a bunch of stud receivers is my favorite draft strategy this season — the kids are calling it "Super Bowers."

And hey, a Round 2 tight end isn't for you? No worries: Stud receivers like Drake London, Nico Collins and A.J. Brown also frequent this range. Josh Allen is also in play at the turn. The potential to get *three* top-25-ish talents inside the first three rounds is awfully appealing, especially with middle-to-late draft spots having a few more early questions with the great wall of RBs who frequent the Round 1-2 turn.

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Round 2

• Brief strategy: I'm down to clown with Brock Bowers right around the mid-point of Round 2. Otherwise, particularly if in a two-starting WR league format, I'm looking to solidify one of my starting RB spots with a consensus top-12 option.
• Targets:This year's JSN AKA Mr. Brock Bowers. The Chiefs have 43 million reasons to force-feed Kenneth Walker the football. And if going WR? I really do think a motivated version of A.J. Brown joining forces with Drake Maye could be cinema. Last year was a down year for Brown … and he still finished as the WR11 in PPR points per game!
• Fades: It's not you, De'Von Achane, it's your potentially league-worst offense that now has a scrambling QB who might be as inclined to check the ball down at the first sign of pressure. It's also not you, Trey McBride, it's your sneaky-crowded, also potentially league-worst offense (at least according to Vegas) that could be starting a day two rookie by the time the fantasy playoffs come around.

Key question: What does using a Round 2 pick on Brock Bowers mean for the rest of your draft?

Here's how I see it playing out:

• Round 1: We take a sweet running back,
• Round 2: Come on down, Mr. Brock Bowers,
• Rounds 3-6: We possibly take the right RB2, otherwise this is where we attack the very fun WR2-3 range,
• Rounds 7-9: We play catch up at RB2 and go after the muddled/ambiguous backfields that populate RB3 territory. By the end of this point we should have 3-4 RBs, 4-5 WRs and Bowers!
• Round 10+: Late-round QB for the win along with more handcuff RBs.

The big sacrifice is largely passing on the top-10 or so QBs, but man, the waiting game is awfully fun this year: I managed to get Bo Nix and Jared Goff in Rounds 13-14 in this recent draft of alleged fantasy experts.

Anyway, feel free to try out the strategy yourself with RotoWire's (free!) mock draft tool. It's an easy way to get reps in and decide for yourself what strategy really has you feeling nicey ahead of your draft.

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Round 3

• Brief strategy: I'm cool with taking the RIGHT RB — mostly just Javonte Williams or Josh Jacobs *if* his legal situation gets smoothed out — but otherwise, let's take a sure thing in Mr. Josh Allen OR begin attacking this loaded tier of wide receivers.
• Targets:Josh Allen is in play IF you didn't go with Bowers in Round 2. Otherwise sign me up for whatever borderline WR1 you fancy. Now-healthy Malik Nabers and the artist known as DeVonta Smith-Njigba sit atop my ranks for this range.
• Fades: Round 3 Rashee Rice isn't as egregious as Round 2 Rashee Rice, but I still have my concerns. I've also had a far easier time clicking these receivers than investing in Breece Hall or Jeremiyah Love, who are great real-life talents, but sadly exist in offenses that we pretty much all expect to, you know, suck.

Key question: How often do bad real-life offenses produce really good fantasy players?

Not all that often, but some positions have certainly been more immune to porous offensive environments than others.

This mostly applies to the running backs in this draft range, and a quick look at that position specifically reveals that the heavy majority of top-performers in bad offenses managed to catch a LOT of passes. In fact, that's largely how Breece Hall managed to turn in a top-6 season in 2023.

But still: We haven't seen more than two RBs pull this off in the same season over the last decade. Teams like the Falcons, Raiders, Dolphins, Cardinals and Jets certainly look like prime candidates to rank 23rd or worse in scoring this year. History says not to expect more than two of these backs to post elite fantasy numbers. Just saying!

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Round 4

• Brief strategy: Choose your favorite breakout WR fighter OR take a long, hard look at Colston Loveland if you didn't happen to come away with Brock Bowers in Round 2. I'm not thrilled about the running backs in the range.
• Targets: I have several of these receivers ranked as Round 3 caliber players: Ladd McConkey, Jaylen Waddle, Zay Flowers and Emeka Egbuka (in that order) stand out as my favorite WR targets here.
• Fades: The available RBs are from bad offenses (Breece Hall, also probably not still available in more leagues than not), coming off major injury (Cam Skattebo), and/or could be in more of a timeshare than originally anticipated (Travis Etienne). I'm a bigger fan of the Round 5 RB scene.

Key question: What early round WRs have some concerning bust profiles?

I recently tackled this question over in dem YouTube streets. The criteria for a "bust profile" was someone who: 

• Has a top-24 ESPN ADP at the position
• Is in an offense that Vegas ranks 16th or worse ahead of 2026
• Finished WR24 or worse in PPR points per game last season

Five names checked these boxes:

• Justin Jefferson (Offense: 20th. 2026 finish: WR32)
• Tetairoa McMillan (Offense: 26th. 2026 finish: WR24)
• Emeka Egbuka (Offense: 18th. 2026 finish: WR36)
• Jaylen Waddle (Offense: 21st. 2026 finish: WR29)
• Terry McLaurin (Offense: 16th. 2026 finish: WR37)

Now, just because someone has the profile of a potential bust doesn't mean they will bust. I'm particularly not scared off by Jaylen Waddle, who enters an entirely new offense and situation.

That said: Are we POSITIVE Egbuka and McLaurin are going to dwarf Chris Godwin and Stefon Diggs when it comes to targets? And can Tetairoa McMillan overcome a QB who has struggled to reach even 3,000 passing yards in each of the last three seasons? The volume, talent and offensive upside pictures are far clearer for guys like McConkey and Flowers in this range.

Check out our fantasy football ADP report for a comprehensive tool with live-updated ADP data for multiple league formats and sites.

Round 5

• Brief strategy: If we only came away with one RB inside the first four rounds, I'm looking to get a second one here. Otherwise, let's keep on keeping on with some quality receivers! We'll see that position start falling off in a hurry soon.
• Targets:D'Andre Swift has never finished outside the position's top-24 in PPR points per game during his career. Seems like a decent Round 5 value! I'm also fine taking David Montgomery in a hero-RB build, or Travis Etienne if he happens to fall this far. In the WR streets, buying the dip on Luther Burden is fine by me, otherwise, I'd be looking to beat my leaguemates to the punch on Christian Watson or Parker Washington.
• Fades: I'm holding off on QB here, while the Tucker Kraft price is also a bit steep for someone coming back from a rough knee injury who NEEDS to be operating at peak capacity to make the most out of his low-aDOT/YAC-minded role. Bucky Irving and Bhayshul Tuten look like candidates to lead three-RB committees in the dreaded "between-the-20s" role. This seems a bit early for Terry McLaurin now that he has to at least somewhat split targets with Stefon Diggs.

Key question: What sort of positional counts should you make sure to have by this point?

Some if/then scenarios to know what to do in the upcoming rounds:

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 3) or RB (if you only need 2 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 another three-plus 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.

Round 6

• Brief strategy: This is the point where getting a QB or TE is feasible *if* you're balanced and already have your starting RBs and WRs acquired. Otherwise? I'm (again) a bigger fan of the available receivers than backs.
• Targets: If you fancy a mid-round TE like Tucker Kraft or Sam LaPorta, or a higher-end QB like Justin Herbert or Caleb Williams: This is the round to get them. Otherwise, I'm (again) signing up for Christian Watson or Parker Washington. Also not against Mike Evans — don't worry, we'll get back to running backs soon.
• Fades: The increasingly optimistic recovery timeline of Zach Charbonnet has me a bit bearish on taking Jadarian Price with so many quality receivers still on the board. I've also generally preferred Ricky Bobby-esque "first-or-last" approaches at QB and TE this season, so while this IS the range for the middle class of the position, I'll probably only be doing so in balanced 2 RB-3 WR builds.

Key question: Who is THE priority mid-round QB target?

At QB I'm all in on Mr. Justin Herbert. After all, Herbert is one of just 10 QBs ever with multiple career seasons averaging north of 22 fantasy points per game, so the ceiling is certainly there. The man has a 5,000-yard passing season to his name, and his QB10 finish in fantasy points per game last season was heavily aided by a career-high 498 rushing yards.

It'd make sense if better health from both the offensive line and Herbert himself (broke his left hand in Week 13), combined with an improved scheme courtesy of new OC Mike McDaniel, leads to bigger and better things for this passing game. After all, McDaniel has pushed the "easy buttons" more than just about anyone over the years.

Vegas has the Chargers ranked 12th in scoring entering 2026, and Herbert's +1000 MVP odds are tied for the third-best in the league. Ultimately, I'm betting on one of the most physically gifted QBs that the Shanahan-McDaniel system has ever seen making the most out of an offensive environment filled with playmakers and (finally) a healthy, badass offensive line. Drinking all the Chargers Kool-Aid in August. What could go wrong?

Round 7

• Brief strategy: Drafters who have risked it with just one RB to this point can now turn their attention to attacking the RB3 range for the next few rounds. This is the first point in a minute where I prefer the backs to receivers. 
• Targets: The answer to which Steelers RB to draft might just be "yes" considering this offense produced multiple top-24 producers last season. It also helps that both Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle are one injury away to the other from seemingly assuming a legit-RB1-worthy workload. If you do want to go WR, Parker Washington and Jordyn Tyson stand out as the best bets with an ADP in this range.
• Fades: I've been out on Alec Pierce since we found out about his spring ankle surgery, and the lack of pretty much any positive updates since then certainly doesn't have me feeling any better about him now. The third-year "Jr." receivers in Marvin Harrison and Brian Thomas also don't exactly float my boat in this range.

Key question: Who are the prime RB candidates in the muddled and ambiguous RB3 range?

A few stick out:

• Steelers RB Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle: A committee of some shape or size looks likely here; just realize both RBs have flashed rather awesome real-life ability and figure to both push for 12-15 opportunities per game. Historically, elderly QBs like Aaron Rodgers have REALLY fed their RBs in the pass game.
• Panthers RB Jonathon Brooks: Looks poised to work alongside incumbent starter Chuba Hubbard in at least a decent capacity. There's rare takeover-without-an-injury upside here considering how things went down with Hubbard and Rico Dowdle last season.
• Vikings RB Jordan Mason: RotoWire Projections have Mason pretty easily leading the backfield one year after posting top-8 marks in yards over expected per carry and yards after contact per carry. There's double-digit touchdown upside here if the Vikings offense can go from bad to good.
• Washington RB Rachaad White and Jacory Croskey-Merritt: Perhaps we'll get a better feel for the pecking order throughout the season. But for now? That very mystery is the only reason why both are as cheap as they are. Both are accordingly solid targets at cost — the winner will be rising up the ranks in a HURRY as the lead back of an offense that finished fifth in scoring the last time Jayden Daniels was healthy. I lean White thanks to his proven pass-down ability.

Round 8

• Brief strategy: We ideally want to have 5 WRs in the first nine picks to set us up to attack handcuff RBs and any necessary late-round QB or TE options in the double-digit rounds. There are some quality WR3 options in this range to help accomplish this goal.
• Targets: We've been talking about Parker Washington for three rounds and we have finally reached where he is allegedly going in drafts. Otherwise, Chris Godwin and Jordyn Tyson (someone I'm also dubious will still be on the board) are the next-best bets at receiver. Trevor Lawrence and George Kittle offer the most upside from the onesie spots.
• Fades: Expecting big things from old man Travis Kelce in the big 2026 feels like wishful thinking; I'm out at this price. This is also a bit steep for Kyle Monangai; I'd rather have cheaper options like Blake Corum, Jonathon Brooks, or Kenny Gainwell straight up.

Key question: How many wide receivers should we look to have inside the top-10 rounds?

To reiterate: At least five! This is because of the sad nature of the position once we get into the double-digit rounds. You do NOT want to still be addressing the position come Round 11 and likely earlier in more competitive leagues.  

Round 9

• Brief strategy: All set with three RBs and five WRs? Well then, *Bruce Buffer voice*, it's TIME to get that late-round QB! Brock Purdy stands out as a fantastic value at this point in the draft, while it's also possible someone like Trevor Lawrence slid through the cracks. Just be mindful of how many of your leaguemates already have a QB: You might be able to push things another round or two further if everyone between you and your next pick is already set!
• Targets:Brock Purdy offers legit top-5 upside at a low-end QB1 cost. A similar sentiment is true for Dalton Kincaid — he would probably be at least the TE5 if we knew he was getting a full-time role this season. Otherwise, Blake Corum and Jonathon Brooks are two RBs with the sort of "flex with benefits" profile that I love having on my bench.
• Fades: This is about the point where I'm over wide receiver. Fantasy football is supposed to be fun, so miss me with the idea of drafting Courtland Sutton. I'm also dubious of Michael Wilson's breakout considering the history of receivers who achieved similar second-half turnarounds on dead-in-the-water teams. Makai Lemon is a great talent who will probably have an awesome career, but a slow start should be expected given his annoying and ongoing hamstring injury.

Key question: What does the late-round QB scene look like this year?

Pretty great! My two favorite options:

• Lions QB Jared Goff: The man has smashed his ADP in four consecutive seasons since coming to Detroit. Goff has ripped off three consecutive seasons with at least 4,500 passing yards. The rest of the NFL has *six* combined. Fantasy nerds will cry about Goff "not having upside" even though he has eight top-5 finishes the last two seasons, which only trails Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts and Joe Burrow. The Lions are fully expected to be a high-flying offense and don't have a problematic road game until Week 17. Sign me up!
• Vikings QB Kyler Murray: KOC's latest (hopeful) reclamation project has struggled in real life in recent years, but his fantasy upside hasn't gone anywhere. Fun fact: Even with last year's injury/benching, Kyler still has the same number of top-5 fantasy weeks in the last two seasons (5) as guys like Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert and Trevor Lawrence. This is largely thanks to the reality that high-volume rushing QBs are cheat codes in fantasy land: Since 2016, there have been 28 QBs with 100-plus rush attempts in a season, and 26  (93%) finished as a top-12 fantasy QB in fantasy points per game.

Round 10

• Brief strategy: This is the time to get that QB or TE if you've been waiting. There are just enough decent receivers left to perhaps get one more, otherwise we're onto stashing handcuff RBs.
• Targets: I'm skeptical that talents like Quentin Johnston, Josh Downs, Jayden Reed and Stefon Diggs will still be available here, but hey, hell yeah if so! Otherwise, Jordan Mason, Kenny Gainwell and the Washington RBs (I slightly prefer Rachaad White) are your best bets.
• Fades: This might be the time when your league mates start taking a kicker or DST. Don't join them. Even if there's a fire. We'll talk more about when and how to address these positions in a bit, but it's definitely not now.

Key question: Are there ANY wide receivers worth taking this late in the draft?

My preference in order of receivers with an ADP this late include:

• Packers WR Jayden Reed
• Commanders WR Stefon Diggs
• Chiefs WR Xavier Worthy
• Packers WR Matthew Golden
• Jaguars WR Jakobi Meyers
• Seahawks WR Rashid Shaheed
• Browns WR KC Concepcion
• Jaguars WR/CB Travis Hunter (last-round dart) 

Will they likely be available at this point in your leagues? I kind of doubt it! But hey, if so, go for it, man.

Round 11

• Brief strategy: Any somewhat sharp league will be dried up at receiver by now, leaving you to either fortify your QB/TE rooms OR keep bolstering the RB reserves. Remember: This is re-draft! We don't need prospect WR5/6 types who will forever be impossible to know when to start. Instead, continue stashing RBs *one* injury away from being on the cover of waiver-wire articles.
• Targets:Jordan Mason is one of my single-favorite targets at cost regardless of position. Run, don't walk, to the podium if he's still around.
• Fades: The wide receivers around this point in general. I'm also skeptical of Aaron Jones paying off: Jordan Mason looked poised to handle a larger chunk of the early down work than last year, and rookie Demond Claiborne possesses enough big-play/pass-catching chops to perhaps be a major hindrance to A-aron's upside.

Key question: Who are the top late-round handcuffs to stash?

My top-5 favorite LATE-round handcuffs in order of preference:

• Packers RB MarShawn Lloyd
• Eagles RB Tank Bigsby
• Bills RB Ray Davis
• Cowboys RB Jaydon Blue
• Falcons RB Brian Robinson

I'm also interested in both Keaton Mitchell and Kimani Vidal, while guys like Isiah Pacheco, Mike Washington, Jonah Coleman, Kaelon Black, Nicholas Singleton, and even old man Alvin Kamara are likely just *one* injury away from being awfully enticing waiver wire options in leagues of most shapes and sizes.

Round 12 & Onward

• Brief strategy: More handcuffs and MAYBE address the DST and kicker positions. More on that below.
• Targets: Aforementioned handcuffs like Tank Bigsby, MarShawn Lloyd, Ray Davis, Jaydon Blue and Mike Washington stand out as pretty, pretty, pretty great bench stash options. If I am going to draft another position late, I'd like it to be a WR with a chance of getting traded and finding more opportunity (Kayshon Boutte? Jerry Jeudy?) or a TE with the potential to rise drastically in the ranks with *one* simple good usage data point (looking at you, Terrance Ferguson).
• Fades: Random wide receivers outside the top 60 who you will never feel good enough to start. These sorts of guys are always available on the waiver wire anyway.

Key question: What are we doing about DST and kicker?

Ideally playing in leagues without them!

But unfortunately that's not always the case. That said: If you are drafting in early-to-mid August, and your league allows it, I'd still rather not draft a kicker or DST at all! Keep loading up on handcuffs who have the opportunity to SHOOT up the ranks with an ill-timed injury to their starter. We'll have plenty of available DST and kicker options on the waiver wire by the time Week 1 rolls around, at which point we'll cut the last man standing on our bench.

Not for you? Fine. I did some research last summer that indicated elite fantasy kickers (top 6) are negatively correlated with their team's scoring offense ranks. This means it's been better to target good-not-great offenses, which makes sense since those teams settle for field goals more often.

Combining this WITH kickers who were top-8 in 50-plus yard field goals last season *and* should benefit from good weather at home would lead me to target Vikings K Will Reichard and Texans K Ka'imi Fairbairn.

As for defense: The Texans, Rams, Seahawks, Broncos and Eagles sure look a LOT like the league's top-5 defensive units, but that also means they could cost a premium pick in fantasy drafts. If you're trying to wait just a bit and play the streaming game, I prefer the following two units who look like solid enough real-life units *and* have pretty awesome starts to the season:

• Ravens DST: It'd make sense if the defense builds off their strong second half thanks to new head coach Jesse Minter. This group starts off the season with the Colts (Daniel Jones' first game since tearing his Achilles), before facing the Saints (fine), Cowboys (that's the one rough spot), Titans (okay), Falcons (OKAY) and Browns (OKAY!). A good real-life football team with a potentially really good real-life defense with five quality matchups in the first six weeks. Not too shabby!
• Chargers DST: Minter's old squad looks a lot like a great option for the first two weeks of the season: They get the Cardinals and Raiders–both at home! Things are rough after that (BUF, SEA, DEN, KC, BYE), but hey, we'll worry about Week 3 streaming DST options another time.

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