Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: Guide to building a dominant roster if you have a top-4 pick

Yahoo Sports’ Justin Boone goes over the best approaches to take in this year’s drafts, depending on which spot you’re selecting from in fantasy football.

Draft Position

• Middle of the round (Aug. 20)

• End of the round (Aug. 21)

Here’s how I’m attacking the draft with one of the first four picks in a 12-team half-PPR scoring league. Average draft position (ADP) can vary from site to site, but consider this a guide to help you build a dominant roster in 2025.

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Round 1

Picks: 1.01-1.04

The first few picks of your draft are fairly straightforward. If you’re in the top two, you’re going to get either Ja’Marr Chase or Bijan Robinson. And if you’re in third or fourth spot, you’ll be picking from Saquon Barkley, Justin Jefferson or Jahmyr Gibbs — depending on your positional preference and concern about Jefferson’s hamstring injury. Bottom line, there are no bad options here.

Others to consider: Bijan Robinson, Saquon Barkley, Justin Jefferson, Jahmyr Gibbs

Round 2

Picks: 2.09-2.12

With Drake London’s ADP rising to the middle and sometimes early second round, I’ve found myself going running back more often at the end of this frame. Whether it’s Chase Brown, Bucky Irving or Josh Jacobs, you’re going to get a top-10 back with top-five upside at the position.

Others to consider: Chase Brown, Brock Bowers, Josh Jacobs, Ladd McConkey

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Round 3

Picks: 3.01-3.04

There’s a bit of a dead zone when it comes to running backs and receivers in the third round of this year’s drafts. That’s pushed me to take an elite quarterback or tight end in this range more than I have in seasons past. The multi-point weekly advantage you get from having elite options at the one-off positions is very enticing. Josh Allen gets the nod over Lamar Jackson here since he has finished as a top-four fantasy QB in each of the last five seasons.

Others to consider: Trey McBride, Kyren Williams, Omarion Hampton, Lamar Jackson

Round 4

Picks: 4.09-4.12

With the balanced approach so far, we could go in a few different directions here. Veteran backs like Alvin Kamara and James Conner have proven themselves year after year, but are also on the wrong side of 30 now. Instead, I’ll take the rising star in TreVeyon Henderson, who has a lot of momentum given his high draft capital, explosive profile, high-end pass-catching ability, quality pass-protection skills and several preseason highlights. Even with Rhamondre Stevenson remaining involved, Henderson can still smash in fantasy the same way Jahmyr Gibbs did as a rookie when he was the RB11 in fantasy points per game despite sharing the backfield with David Montgomery.

Others to consider: Tetairoa McMillan, Alvin Kamara, Xavier Worthy, James Conner

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Round 5

Picks: 5.01-5.04

We’ve reached the area of drafts (Round 5-7) where you should be capitalizing on the receiver values. Pickens went from being the No. 1 wideout in Pittsburgh to the No. 2 behind CeeDee Lamb in Dallas, but with the projected volume in Brian Schottenheimer’s offense, he should actually see an uptick in targets. It also helps that Pickens has been the talk of Cowboys’ offseason practices, as he benefits from the defensive attention paid to Lamb. We’ve seen other overqualified second receivers like Tee Higgins excel in fantasy and Pickens has a similar ceiling if everything goes well.

Others to consider: DeVonta Smith, Travis Hunter, RJ Harvey

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Round 6

Picks: 6.09-6.12

Continuing to attack the receiver position is a priority in this range and also helps us fill out our starting lineup. Ricky Pearsall missed time during his rookie season recovering from a gunshot wound, but flashed his potential when he returned. In the seven contests where he saw at least four targets as a rookie, Pearsall averaged over four catches and 50 yards per contest, which over a full season would have made him the WR23 in fantasy. With Brandon Aiyuk not expected back until midseason and Jauan Jennings dealing with a calf issue, Pearsall has established a strong connection with Brock Purdy and is poised to break out in 2025.

Others to consider: Emeka Egbuka, Tyrone Tracy Jr., Sam LaPorta

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Round 7

Picks: 7.01-7.04

The race to fill my Flex spot ends now with an underrated running back in New York. Beat writers have made it clear that Tracy is the Giants’ lead back and should enjoy something close to a 70-30 split this season with Cam Skattebo and Devin Singletary battling for snaps behind him. That projection makes sense after Tracy performed well in the starting role last season, averaging RB1 fantasy stats over the final 14 weeks. He’s one of the better running back values in drafts at the moment.

Others to consider: Sam LaPorta, Matthew Golden, Jordan Addison

Round 8

Picks: 8.09-8.12

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We round out our starting lineup with my favorite tight end to target when I miss out on the elite players at the position. Kraft is coming off a low-end TE1 fantasy result last year, when he led all tight ends in yards after the catch. This offseason, the Packers have repeatedly talked about getting him the ball more. With no clear No. 1 receiver in Green Bay, it’s possible Kraft could be a focal point of the passing attack, which would give him an outside shot at a top-five finish.

Others to consider: Tank Bigsby, Braelon Allen, Josh Downs

Round 9

Picks: 9.01-9.04

The Jaguars’ backfield is one of the hardest to forecast this season since they have a new coaching staff, three potential lead back candidates (Tank Bigsby, Travis Etienne Jr., Bhayshul Tuten) and unpredictable usage from the preseason and training camp practices. This could go any way, including one of the veterans being traded at some point. But after seeing what Liam Coen did with the Buccaneers offense last season, this is an uncertain situation I want to take shots on. Bigsby appears to have the inside track at starting in Week 1, so I’ll take him as my first bench stash.

Others to consider: Braelon Allen, Josh Downs, Zach Charbonnet

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Round 10

Picks: 10.09-10.12

Coleman is one of my favorite sleeper receivers this year and allows me to grab someone who could emerge as Josh Allen’s top target. With Khalil Shakir recovering from a high-ankle sprain and Coleman earning tons of praise throughout the offseason, it’s possible the 22-year-old could step up entering his second season. Ceiling outcomes are my focus the further into the draft we get and Coleman has a chance to be a double-digit touchdown scorer in 2025.

Others to consider: Bhayshul Tuten, Travis Etienne Jr., Dalton Kincaid, Colston Loveland

Late rounds

Once you’re outside the first 10 rounds, you can stop paying close attention to ADP and simply focus on loading your bench up with as many high-upside stashes as possible — with one-injury-away running backs offering the quickest path to value.

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You should also consider passing on a defense or kicker and instead using those final two bench spots on more running backs and receivers who could see their value rise before the season. When we get closer to Week 1, you can drop whichever stashes don’t increase their stock or make trades to free up a roster spot.

Draft Position

• Middle of the round (Aug. 20)

• End of the round (Aug. 21)