How long should you wait before drafting a running back? Should you invest in a rookie quarterback later in the draft? Which second-tier wide receiver could make a difference this season? When should you draft a defenseman? These are just some of the tough decisions fantasy football players will make on draft day.
To help fantasy football players prepare, we asked our team of fantasy football analysts about their biggest draft concerns and the tough decisions they face heading into the draft.
Knowing the right round to select your running back and wide receiver is just as important as who you pick. To prepare for the different draft scenarios you may face, see how our experts have mapped out below and try our free mock draft now.
Tyler Fulgham: Which obscure backfield spots should you target before preseason begins?
My top three favorite teams are 1. Pittsburgh, 2. Tennessee, 3. Denver. The Steelers ran 487 times in 2023. Arthur Smith's Falcons ran 522 times last year, third in the league. Najee Harris and Jalen Warren are both expected to be above their average draft position (ADP).
In PPR leagues, Tennessee's Tony Pollard and Tyjay Spears are both excellent receiving talents in Brian Callahan's new offensive line, and his father, Bill Callahan, is one of the best offensive line coaches in the league's history.
Sean Payton has always coordinated an offense that lends itself to fantasy production out of the backfield, and the Broncos' pair of Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin are very attainable targets for RB Zero builds.
Liz Rosa: Which second-tier rookie WR should we target?
From Marvin Harrison Jr. to Ricky Pearsall, there are 10 rookie wide receivers drafted in the top 70 fantasy prospects at the position. Nearly half of this group were selected in the 10th round of the 12-team exercise, with overall ADPs between 112 and 117. Included on the list are Ladd McConkey (LAC), Keion Coleman (BUF), Rome Odunze (CHI) and Xavier Worthy (KC).
Each rookie is expected to attract a similar amount of attention (90-100), and all but Coleman will play a top-10 strength schedule. They're even in many ways, so talent will be the necessary tiebreaker, with Odunze having the highest floor. A former track star who is in the 97th percentile in catch radius, the Washington native boasts a stellar draft resume (9th overall) and elite testing numbers. He figures to round out the Bears' receiver corps, working opposite DJ Moore and providing managers with top-40 positional fantasy appeal as a complement to Keenan Allen in the slot.
Fulghum: Should we spend money early in the third round on tight end Sam LaPorta or Travis Kelce?
I don't think it's necessary at all. Tight end isn't the barren wasteland it once was. Dalton Kinkaid could be the most targeted pass catcher in Joe Brady's offense, and Evan Engram is averaging 93.5 pass catches per year since joining the Jaguars. Kyle Pitts finally has a real QB… and a healthy knee. Jake Ferguson and Trey McBride had breakout years in Year 2. If Brock Bowers plays out, he could be a starter every manager can use in 12-team leagues.
Take advantage of this talent-rich market and grab a TE that slips past the ADP, and if it's LaPorta or Kelce, great, but there are plenty of viable options in the fourth through eighth rounds, so don't overdo it with those two.
Eric Karabell: Would investing in a top-tier rookie quarterback before October really make you sad?
I almost always avoid first-year passers in redraft formats, but if you continue with the likely ill-conceived plan of avoiding quarterbacks altogether until around the double-digit rounds and then doubling down on the position, your options tend to shift from old-school staples like Aaron Rodgers and Kirk Cousins to promising rookies like Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels, and rookies boasting fully healthy Achilles heels.
Even with a quarterback, you have to be willing to take some risks. Hmm, maybe I should bet on Justin Herbert and hope a receiver comes up in Los Angeles.
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Field Yates can't hide his excitement for Malik Neighbors
Field Yates believes Giants rookie Malik Neighbors will significantly outperform fantasy managers' ADP.
Tristan H. Cockcroft: How long can you realistically wait before selecting your first running back?
The zero RB strategy is becoming more and more legitimate, but in smaller leagues like ESPN's 10-team standard (or less), waiting too long at the position can be risky. Addressing the wide receiver position early is my priority in this draft season, but not at the expense of losing a running back big in the draft. Always be flexible!
Jameel Gibbs may fall outside the top 15 picks, and Isaiah Pacheco may fall outside the top 20. Joe Mixon, Devon Achan and Rachad White tend to linger longer in the open draft than they do in mock drafts run by our staff. Kenneth Walker III is usually taken in the fifth round, and I think that's about the line at the position where the talent level drops off significantly. If you see any players in this group that look like they could be valuable, you should jump on them.
If not, then by all means, zero in on RBs — this is a good year to do it, especially with the Denver, Pittsburgh and Tennessee backfields as Fulghum points out — and for those following this strategy, Brian Robinson Jr. and Zack Moss of the Cleveland Browns are two strong options.
Karabel: If you invest in every running back prospect late in the draft in almost every draft, won't you end up being disappointed?
Fantasy managers who manage more than a few teams, or even a few dozen, have attended enough drafts to know which players they like. However, selecting the same player over and over again can be risky if that player fails to provide fantasy value or gets injured. I had Cousins on my roster everywhere last season and enjoyed it for a while, but around the same time, I needed a new quarterback everywhere. What a fun week!
For example, I believe Ezekiel Elliott and Nick Chubb will be significant options in fantasy, and I remain invested. Obviously, others disagree. Perhaps more individualized balance in the later rounds is justified.
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Mike Clay: With the excellent value at quarterback and tight end, when would be the right time to make a move?
While I have had success with reliably taking one of the top eight or nine players, I have selected quarterbacks at various points in the draft, and while I don't regret jumping on a player like Jalen Hurts or Josh Allen when the board called for it, it's tough to get a passing player and then watch Joe Burrow fall into the seventh round (bargain!).
The same goes for tight ends. It's tempting to snatch Mark Andrews (5th round) or acquire a young guy like McBride (6th round) or Kinkaid (6th round), but why do that when you can get Engram (7th round) or David Njoku (9th round) later? Figuring out when to pounce on the QB and TE while also being aggressive with the RB and WR was a tricky (but fun!) process.
Field Yates: When is it too early to start a QB or TE run?
In the past, Kelce has been the first TE drafted and we knew that would happen in the first 12 picks, but this year we are seeing different trends at a similar position with QB. I'm not adamant about starting a positional draft race, but drafting the top-ranked players at their positions (Allen for QB, Kelce for TE in my eyes) is appealing for obvious reasons.
But when? Given the depth at tight end this year and the fact that there is a healthy debate about whether LaPorta should be selected ahead of Kelce, I am patient for a better TE strategy. As for QB, I would start with Allen in the mid-to-late 3rd round, but taking another RB or WR and “settling” for CJ Stroud a few rounds later would be no consolation.
Eric Moody: How do you balance your team between solid performers, up-and-comers and breakout candidates?
Having a balanced team is essential to success. It's something I keep in mind every time we draft. Think about last season. Players like Rachad White, Brandon Aiyuk, Laporta and Kinkaid had great success, but players who were expected to make it in the summer like Alexander Mattison, Christian Watson and Damion Pierce did not.
This year, they have aggressively targeted players like Drake London, Zamir White, Jonathan Brooks, Keion Coleman and Tyjay Spears, but have also added a balance of players with a history of success to give them a well-rounded team.
Matt Bowen: Should he target Amon-Ra Saint Brown or Justin Jefferson later in the first round?
Holding a late first-round pick, based on our projections, creates some dilemmas when targeting a WR, as St. Brown and Jefferson both have current ADPs of 7.5. Jefferson is my pick in terms of route traits and explosive play ability. He averaged 20.2 points in 10 games last season. But with a quarterback camp battle looming in Minnesota between Sam Darnold and rookie JJ McCarthy, there's an argument to prioritize St. Brown.
Last season in the Lions' passing game, Brown was given consistent passing volume, isolation matchups and designed passing opportunities to score 20.7 points per game, including four games with 27 or more points. Brown was my target this summer, but Jefferson's breakout potential and overall talent make this a tough decision with both on the board.
Fulghum: Which defensemen and kickers should we target?
I prefer to stream defenses, so I'll wait until the final round to make my selection. Because I'm streaming, meaning I'm picking a new defense off the roster each week based on matchups, I've identified a few defenses in the first week of the 2024 season that look attractive because of their low matchup totals: Saints vs. Panthers (40.5), Vikings vs. Giants (41.5), Buccaneers vs. Commanders (41.5). I also think Chargers vs. Raiders (43.5) will score very low because both head coaches want to play run football.
As for kickers, I like to stream kickers from teams that play indoors in high-scoring environments, which in Week 1 include Texans vs Colts (48.5) and Rams vs Lions (51).
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