• Start with a balanced team: Selecting A.J. Brown and Jahmyr Gibbs in the first two rounds opens up various strategic options for the rest of the draft.
• Add a quarterback and tight end early: The best quarterbacks and tight ends have an ADP of around 30, giving someone picking here a unique opportunity to add elite options at all four positions.
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Estimated reading time: 14 minutes
The Perfect Draft series integrates current ADPs from both expert and casual drafts to identify the best available picks at each selection. This draft strategy is tailored for 10-team PPR leagues, specifically for those picking ninth.
Last updated: 7:15 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 29
Round 1, Pick 9: Draft a wide receiver
In most leagues, the top three running backs are selected in the top six picks, making the value in the second half of the first round at wide receiver. While Jonathan Taylor and Saquon Barkley have ADPs in the later part of the first round, they are both older players who had their best season a few years ago. There is reason to be optimistic about them this year, but they also might not return to glory. The far safer play is picking a wide receiver in the first round.
Top Target: A.J. Brown (Player Profile)
Brown has been a consistently elite wide receiver throughout his career, although he doesn't run an elite number of routes. He and Jefferson are the only wide receivers who have averaged 2.5 yards per route run or better on at least 300 routes in each of the past three seasons. Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are the only other players who have done this twice in the past three years.
Brown has an ADP of WR6 as a late first-round pick, which is fair. He has ranked higher than that in total points and slightly lower in points per game, and he is likely to finish around that ranking again. He likely won't exceed this ranking unless top wide receivers get injured and Brown stays healthy, and he may even lose a few targets. Even if that happens, he can still easily end up as a top-10 fantasy wide receiver.
Possible Targets: Puka Nacua, Garrett Wilson, Davante Adams, Marvin Harrison Jr., Chris Olave
Round 2, Pick 12: Draft a running back
The only viable options here are at running back and wide receiver, as the top quarterbacks and tight ends typically aren't selected until the end of the second or start of the third round. I lean toward running back in this spot due to the difficulty of finding value at the position in the next few rounds.
Top Target: Jahmyr Gibbs (Player Profile)
Gibbs consistently excelled in ideal situations. On perfectly blocked plays, when he could follow his intended point of attack and against seven or fewer men in the box, he ranked between the 95th and 99th percentile in PFF rushing grade. He finished eighth in PPR points last season. It’s hard for him to reach the Christian McCaffrey level without more rushing attempts per game, but there is reason to believe his fantasy points can improve with either more touches, improved production in the receiving game and/or the offensive line helping him even more than before.
Possible Targets: Derrick Henry, Isiah Pacheco, Saquon Barkley, Kyren Williams, De'Von Achane
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