If you’ve played fantasy football for any length of time, you’ve seen various drafting strategies come and go. Some have staying power, such as Shawn Siegele’s “ZeroRB” or JJ Zachariason’s “Late-Round QB,” but new ideas are always pushing forward. The whole point of having a draft strategy is to take advantage of opponents’ weaknesses while finding a unique edge. For example, when everyone loads up on running backs in the early rounds, you can uniquely come away with three or four of the best wide receivers in the league, or vice versa.
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Some approaches to the draft are less about a well-researched strategy and more about the persona. We all know people who rely heavily on tried-and-true veterans for their fantasy squads as well as those who can’t resist the shiny new rookie class. Others come unprepared to the draft and just go by the draft site’s rankings, consensus ADP, or worst of all, they auto-draft. Finally, there’s “that guy” who reaches for all the buzziest players, determined to show he’s the smartest person in the room.
I did a mock draft, using PPR scoring and a standard roster (1 QB, 2RB, 2WR, 1TE, 2 FLEX) to test out the different strategies through 10 rounds of drafting. Below, I’ll show you the teams I created by sticking as closely as possible to the identifying strategy — what your team could look like if you were steadfast in your philosophy. Your results will vary based on draft position and whether anyone in your league picks up on your strategy and intentionally derails you by sniping your obvious players. I will do a follow up in December to see how each of these fantasy teams actually performs this season.
- For a larger view of the draft results board, click here
- Also, be sure to check out our previousstrategy mock draft
Late-Round QB
So much comes down to draft position in fantasy football (the sooner you know yours, the better your strategizing can be), but very few people will not take McCaffrey first overall in redraft single-QB leagues. The “Late-Round QB” strategy is all about maximizing depth and upside at the flex positions. Picking first overall hurts this drafter’s chances at a truly elite WR, but they nail a top-tier TE with Travis Kelce, and in Drake London they get a WR who, with an upgrade at QB and play-calling, has a chance at a Top 10 finish. They’re able to secure two more starting majority-workload running backs and two additional WR1s from Chicago and Washington. Both are breaking in rookie QBs this season, but Terry McLaurin should be getting the best targets of his career. Zach Charbonnet is a common “ZeroRB” target late in drafts but fits this build particularly well. With many QBs coming off the board early, this drafter had the patience to wait for their favorite late rounder, Brock Purdy. Last year he finished as QB6 but is routinely drafted as QB11 despite returning the same talented offensive roster as last year, when San Francisco was the second-highest scoring team in the league. Not a bad start for “Late-Round QB.”
ZeroWR/Classic
This person isn’t overly attached to the “new” draft strategies. They learned to play fantasy football a long time ago and they don’t fix what isn’t broken. It’s important to them to fill out their starting roster early in drafts, so don’t expect them to select four WRs before a TE or QB. Sensitive to perceived scarcity at running backs, they lock up two potential Top 10 finishers. Bijan Robinson is a no-brainer and Derrick Henry should be reinvigorated in a more exciting Ravens offense. He follows this line of reasoning with Lamar Jackson in the third round and must be pleased that Mark Andrews fell to him in the fourth round. Stacking isn’t necessarily the goal, but in this case, it came together nicely and I suspect this drafter will be happy managing several pieces of this high-powered unit (fourth in points per game last season). They’ve taken two more RB1s, but playing for New England and NY Giants, they do come with questions. The biggest wild card here is the WR room. This could be a contender, but it could also turn into a management nightmare with injuries to aging players and few opportunities on low-scoring offenses.
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Rookies/Young Players
This person is ageist and they know it. We don’t know who hurt them, but they’re definitely not going back to that well. Novelty is attractive to most people – not to mention most animals – and can work well in a fantasy draft as long as there are reasons besides youth to draft certain guys. I think this person nails the first three rounds – I’d be thrilled with this trio (Amon-Ra St. Brown, De’Von Achane, Chris Olave) to start any PPR draft. Malik Nabers comes into the league with elite talent, for sure, but after buying into the Giants’ breakout 2023, I’m steering clear of their pass game in 2024. Dalton Kincaid could be a difference maker in fantasy leagues this year. Wide receiver is clearly the strength of this roster, with the RB group leaving me uninspired after Achane. Jordan Love is the perfect up-and-coming QB who left us wanting more as Green Bay exited the playoffs after an unexpectedly good run. Expect a fun and hopefully strong showing in PPR formats from this young team.
ADP/Value
Prepared for the draft or not, this person is looking for others’ oversights. They get excited when they can say, “OMG, I can’t believe he’s still available!” They trust the ADP in a humble sort of way (kind of the opposite of the “buzzy” guy drafting later) and are more inclined to take the best available player than target specific positions during specific rounds. We see this in Round 4, where they would have probably liked to draft any of Brandon Aiyuk, Stefon Diggs or Jaylen Waddle, but pivoted to a third RB in Alvin Kamara once those WRs were off the board. Kamara is another wild-card player who could figure prominently in a retooled Saints offense and has a PPR pedigree that’s hard to ignore here. Round 6 is a smart time to lock in the last of the proven Tier 2 QBs in Dak Prescott, who should combine with CeeDee Lamb to create a formidable matchup for any of this team’s opponents. Dallas was the highest scoring team in the league last year and Prescott led them with 36 passing touchdowns (most in the league). This value-based drafter has put together a nice balance of fantasy stability (e.g. James Conner) and upside (e.g. DK Metcalf and Christian Watson) here. I’m not thrilled with the Dallas Goedert pick, but at least they didn’t reach for him and he’s a TE who it’s pretty easy to move beyond if he isn’t very involved in the Eagles’ game plans early on.
HeroRB
In this strategy, the drafter needs an elite first-round RB to anchor the position, then basically drafts WRs until the right TE/QB/RB falls to them. It’s my personal favorite draft strategy, even as it played out here. Ironically, the right player in Round 2 is Kyren Williams, despite the intended strategy. He was RB2 last year in fantasy points per game, while every available WR needs a lot to break right to approach that kind of finish. We all need another hero, am I right? They get back to the roots of the plan in the next several rounds, locking down quality WRs on high-powered offenses. All four finished last season with over 100 targets and 1000 receiving yards. Joe Burrow can be a bit polarizing but is being drafted as QB7 this year and could certainly finish Top 5 at the QB position if he and Ja’Marr Chase stay healthy and on the same page this year. They’ve taken a chance with Brock Bowers given the hype and subsequent disappointment around highly drafted TE Michael Myers last season (plus, the Raiders simply don’t inspire a lot of offensive fireworks), but I love the last pick in Jerome Ford. Not exciting, but if you think Nick Chubb has a long road ahead of him to be back in fantasy-league-winning shape, Ford can fill out your roster as needed for the first few weeks of the season.
Veterans
This squad shows that just because you’ve been around the league for a while doesn’t mean you can’t be exciting. Lots of old faces in new places here. Saquon Barkley is one of the buzziest picks in the first round, with expectations running sky high now that he’s finally free of the Giants. Josh Jacobs and Joe Mixon are both solid picks with upside in Rounds 3-4. Raheem Mostert a bit later is also a nice fit, as I’ve said elsewhere, he’s got less wear and tear than most backs his age and the offense is poised to be blazing fast again. The receivers are the glaring question mark here. All are aged 31-32 years but coming off great 2023 efforts. Keenan Allen should make a nice security outlet for Caleb Williams, but there is no shortage of receiving weapons in Chicago. DeAndre Hopkins and Davante Adams would benefit a lot from improved QB play this season. If Jared Goff can run Detroit’s offense as efficiently this year as he has been, he’ll be a solid, if unspectacular, anchor to this roster. This is my least favorite fantasy team, but it’s in no way dead in the water.
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ZeroRB
ZeroRB is the new normal, especially in PPR formats. The strategy demands optimizing your WRs early while lying in wait for the later-round pass-catching RBs. It’s executed well here, with Tyreek Hill, Marvin Harrison Jr. and StefonDiggs all being weekly auto-starts on great offenses. They also snag Trey McBride, who would surprise no one by being TE1 come January, which makes drafting Kyler Murray in the fifth round kind of mandatory. If the Cardinals play to their combined potential, this is going to be a fierce fantasy competitor. I think they did a nice job of pouncing on the late RB talent, with Tyjae Spears being an especially good pick. D’Andre Swift can certainly hold his own in PPR formats, although I’d prefer to draft him after a good long look at the Bears under Caleb Williams. Gus Edwards should at least provide a strong start to the season, though he’s not a pass-catcher and I have doubts as to whether he’ll get as many goal line chances with the Chargers. When I look at this team, I see them making a few more dart throws at RB before the draft ends.
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Auto-Draft
Last year’s auto-drafted team was a fan favorite and finished second in our estimated scoring (through Week 14). It missed major landmines and had a core of solid producers. It doesn’t really deserve any commentary – if you can’t show up for your draft, why should I critique your team? Note, all teams are me so I can be rude. This roster has a strong skeleton but no depth. With Rashee Rice and Jordan Addison potentially facing off-field issues, it’s easy to see how they both fell to this unit. It’s possible that they’ll be able to parlay their QB redundancy into a decent RB1, but given the demonstrated laziness, it’s equally possible that Stroud’s talents are wasted in this imaginary league. By the way, don’t be the person who rosters two must-starts at QB — you’ll hate it, everyone you ask which guy to start will hate it, and even your dog would disapprove.
EliteQB
The strategy is simple. Quarterbacks score more fantasy points than any other position and you are not leaving the first two rounds without one of the best dual-threat QBs. Period. This team gets very lucky with “Only Good Offenses” electing to stack Eagles so that Josh Allen falls to them in the second. I get why they took Ja’Marr Chase in the first – he was the last of the top tier WRs available while there are, at the time of the 1.09 pick, still 5-6 elite QBs on the board. Still, Allen is the QB1 for most drafters and this is a great start. After locking up their QB, this squad turns to more of a best player on the board plan. They acquire solid production at WR, RB and TE through Round 8, then get a steal with Austin Ekeler in the ninth. He’s one of my favorite “change of scenery” picks. There’s a great opportunity for Keon Coleman to be Allen’s WR1 or 2— getting him in Round 10 is a boon for “EliteQB.” Overall, this is a quality draft with a high floor and decent upside.
Buzzy Players
This fantasy manager is smarter than all of us. Combined. They have spent the offseason picking up juicy tidbits here and vital usage stats there. They follow all the smartest people and believe that the combined wisdom endows them with drafting sense the rest of us simply lack. They’re going to be a step ahead of you throughout the draft. Players you had queued for Round 6? On their roster in Round 4. To be fair to this drafter, he didn’t have too many reaches until Jameson Williams in the ninth. While the other guys who made it to the cool kid’s roster are getting buzz, this draft position allowed a lot of them to fall rather naturally into his lap. Puka Nacua, Garrett Wilson and Anthony Richardson are buzzy, but this start is nonetheless enviable. Upside galore. George Pickens is kind of a sneaky pick in this range of drafts. Bad QB play almost made us forget how talented Pickens is, and with no Diontae Johnson in town, he’s in the running for a Top 10 WR finish. Zamir White, Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle could easily make up the “ZeroRB” team’s rushing attack, but they could all wind up exceeding value. And that’s what “Buzzy Players” is all about… while you and I dream of exotic vacations in the Mediterranean, he’s dreaming of Kyle Pitts finally finishing as fantasy’s TE1.
EliteTE
This drafter has probably been burned one too many times by the unpredictability and inevitable disappointment of the tight end position in fantasy. They’re getting the best in Sam LaPorta, and then shoring the position up with Evan Engram in the sixth. Had this person not had the 1.11 or 1.12, they probably would have reached on LaPorta in the first round. Despite the irrational fear of “losing” at TE, this roster isn’t bad. No roster with Patrick Mahomes is objectively bad, right? Aside from TE and QB, this roster’s WR and RB kind of run the gamut — there’s no obvious archetype. Mike Evans is hitting that 31-year-old wall this season, but like his aforementioned peers, he finished 2023 with great numbers. It’s likely that Baker Mayfield continues to run this offense efficiently enough for Evans to thrive when he’s on the field. Jonathan Taylor proved, eventually, that he wasn’t washed up last year and should be an anchor for this squad on an exciting Colts team. Tony Pollard and Nick Chubb are players I’m avoiding and I don’t know what to expect from Rome Odunze – again, crowded receiving room in Chicago. I know I won’t end up with this kind of fantasy team, but I am curious to see how it fares.
Only Good Offenses
This player has probably tried and failed to get through a fantasy season with a “best player on a bad team” philosophy. I’m guilty (it was Kelvin Benjamin and the Bills — never forget). It’s an idea that makes sense in practice, and we have seen good fantasy finishes from individual players on terrible offenses. But we typically see more, and better, fantasy performances from players on good teams. It’s not rocket science. This drafter is after Eagles, Bills, 49ers, Chiefs, Lions, Ravens, Texans and Packers. They could deal with Dolphins, Rams, Cowboys too. It’s simply following the points. I use this strategy as a tie-breaker if I’m between two similarly ranked players. Deebo Samuel or Pickens? This guy takes Deebo. It’s a fairly well-balanced fantasy team incorporating some veterans, some buzzy players and plenty of upside (A.J. Brown, Tank Dell, Jayden Reed). We’re much better at predicting offense than defense, so this is a reliable way to draft if you don’t feel strongly about any of the position-based techniques.
Remember, every draft is different and executing one of these strategies from another draft position will produce a unique variant of the plan. Which one do you like the best? Let me know in the comments and tell me how you prefer to draft (does it change depending on the league/roster settings?).
(Top photo of Derrick Henry: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY)
Renee is an Associate Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Rochester. She has been an avid fantasy sports player and analyst for many years, writing for numerous platforms. Her book, Cognitive Bias in Fantasy Sports: Is your brain sabotaging your team?, helped her recognize the intersection between her two passions--sports and the brain--which shapes her fantasy writing today. Follow Renee on Twitter @reneemiller01
