What order should you draft positions in fantasy football? Draft strategy, best picks by round, and more

Fantasy Football managers can find sustained success by using several different strategies. The most important time of the year to have a beneficial strategy is ahead of the fantasy draft for a new season.

A botched draft can make it extremely difficult to contend for a league championship, while a strong one puts any manager in a good position to compete.

Fantasy Football draft strategy

FF draft strategy

The goal for any managers during their fantasy football drafts is to build the best team possible with the highest likelihood of competing for a league championship. To do so, they will not only need to target the right players but also select them at the proper times. Over-drafting a player can affect the value of the rest of their roster, while waiting too long may cause them to miss out on a preferred option.

Prioritizing certain players and knowing which rounds to target them in has often been a winning strategy in fantasy leagues. When approaching the draft, it's also important to have a strategy for filling out all of the positions on a starting roster.

While being deep in certain areas can be useful, having a strong bench isn't as important as making sure the starting lineup is optimized.

In what order should you draft positions in fantasy football?

League settings play a significant role in determining which positions to target in each round of a draft. For example, in Superflex and 2QB formats, quarterbacks should be targeted as early as possible, while in traditional 1QB formats, it usually makes sense to wait until the mid-rounds to select a quarterback.

When building a draft strategy around late-season league settings, the best approach is usually to target a combination of running backs and wide receivers in the first three rounds. Across the next five rounds, it can be beneficial to land a quarterback and a tight end, but running backs and wide receivers with significant value are always the priority.

To build a roster, fill the mid-to-late rounds with as many high-use targets as possible across all attacking positions. Kickers and defenders do not necessarily need to be addressed until the late stages, as over-drafting either of them rarely pays off. It is frequently more beneficial to increase the depth of other positions, particularly running backs and wide receivers.

Best fantasy football picks by round

The following list represents some of the best players to target in each round of a fantasy football draft, based on their current ADP.

Managers should also utilize Sportskeeda's Who Should I Draft tool. This will help them to directly compare fantasy projections and make a more informed decision on who the best pick is when they are on the clock.

Round 1

• Bijan Robinson
• Breece Hall
• Amon-Ra St. Brown

Round 2

• Garrett Wilson
• Kyren Williams
• Puka Nacua

Round 3

• Chris Olave
• Jaylen Waddle
• Drake London

Round 4

• James Cook
• Trey McBride
• Lamar Jackson

Round 5

• George Pickens
• Dalton Kincaid
• Zay Flowers

Round 6

• Kyle Pitts
• Rhamondre Stevenson
• Kyler Murray

Round 7

• Zack Moss
• Christian Kirk
• Jake Ferguson

Round 8

• Devin Singletary
• Ladd McConkey
• Javonte Williams

Round 9

• Christian Watson
• Ezekiel Elliot
• Caleb Williams

Round 10

• Keon Coleman
• Jaxon Smith-Njigba
• Jameson Williams

Round 11

• Trevor Lawrence
• JK Dobbins
• Khalil Shakir

Round 12

• Rashid Shaheed
• Josh Palmer
• Aaron Rodgers