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Fantasy Football: Perfect draft strategy, round by round for 10-team leagues, pick No. 5

  • Jaxon Smith-Njigba is a solid option in the middle of the first round: The Seattle Seahawks wide receiver has recorded at least 90 receiving yards in all but three games this season.
  • Add three running backs early: It generally makes sense to draft two running backs early, but 10-team leagues make it easier to add a third without sacrificing balance at the other positions.
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This perfect draft strategy for 10-team, single-quarterback, redraft PPR fantasy football leagues is built on a consensus of current average draft positions (ADPs) from ESPN, Sleeper and Yahoo. It's your round-by-round guide to building a winning roster.

Last updated: Wednesday, Aug. 26


Round 1, Pick 5: Draft a wide receiver

Typically, the first four picks will include two running backs and two wide receivers. If that happens, it makes sense to take the best remaining wideout. Every running back outside of Gibbs and Robinson carries notable risk, while the top wide receivers are relatively safe barring injury. Teams picking this early should have plenty of opportunities to address running back in the second and third rounds.

Top Target: Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Smith-Njigba was incredibly consistent in 2025, finishing with at least 90 receiving yards in all but two games. He’s also the youngest of the early first-round wide receiver options, making further improvement more likely than with the others. The reason Smith-Njigba ranks a little lower in redraft is that the Seahawks underwent more significant changes this offseason, most notably losing offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak to the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coaching job and replacing him with former 49ers tight ends coach Brian Fleury. The reigning Offensive Player of the Year should have consistency at quarterback with Sam Darnold, who ranks among the top-10 quarterbacks in PFF grade over the last two seasons, though Darnold hasn't been as good as Burrow or Stafford. No one is going to come close to taking Smith-Njigba's spot as the top receiving weapon in the offense, but he remains on top in dynasty rankings thanks to his age, and the situation for each wide receiver is temporary.

Possible Targets: Justin Jefferson, Amon-Ra St. Brown, CeeDee Lamb, Drake London, A.J. Brown


Round 2, Pick 16: Draft a running back

A running back is the right call in most second-round situations, regardless of who you took in the first round. A few teams have shown a firm commitment to a single running back in a strong offense, leading to significant consistency among the top running backs over the past two seasons.

In addition, some teams have recently made major investments in a running back, either a first-round pick or a highly paid free agent. This creates a notable tier gap between the top 15 running backs and everyone else, and most of them will come off the board within the first two rounds or the early third round. That means roughly 12 or 13 of the first 22 or so picks will be running backs.

Ideally, you'll be one of the teams with two of these backs on your roster, or even three if you're comfortable relying on several mid-round wide receivers.

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