- Trey McBride provides another safe floor: The Arizona Cardinals similarly kept their offense nearly identical to last season, making McBride the safest tight end option in the draft.
- Bijan Robinson ideally falls to third: While some might consider Robinson the top overall option in the draft, in the typical draft, he is a value at Pick 3 after Ja’Marr Chase and Saquon Barkley.
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Estimated reading time: 13 minutes
This perfect draft strategy for 12-team, single-quarterback, redraft, PPR fantasy football leagues uses a consensus of current average draft positions (ADPs) from ESPN, Sleeper and Yahoo! to deliver a round-by-round guide for managers picking third overall. To find more information about any player mentioned in this article, click on the player's name to find their fantasy football player profile.
Last updated: Wednesday, August 13
Round 1, Pick 3: Draft a running back
Ja’Marr Chase has the highest ADP at ESPN, Sleeper, and Yahoo!, which means he is the only player likely to be off the board at this point. There is some level of risk to every other wide receiver on the board. Justin Jefferson is playing with a new quarterback, and CeeDee Lamb is coming back from injury with a quarterback who is also returning from injury and wasn’t playing well last season before the injury. This means that picking the top running back is the best option. Typically, Saquon Barkley is picked second overall, allowing you to pick the top running back in our rankings, Bijan Robinson. However, if Robinson is picked second, it’s better to pivot to Jahmyr Gibbs instead of Barkley.
Top Target: Bijan Robinson
Bijan Robinson was a rare top-10 NFL draft pick at running back, leading to hefty expectations. He began meeting those expectations over the second half of 2024, consistently playing over 70% of the Falcons' offensive snaps and running at least 17 times in all but one game. This led to 22.4 fantasy points per game over the last nine weeks. He didn’t see as many 15-plus-yard carries as other great running backs, even though he’s got the talent and speed to have those runs. It’s possible some positive regression could greatly help his fantasy production this season. He lost Drew Dalman at center and still has an elite backup in Tyler Allgeier, so there is also some room to lose fantasy value.
Possible Targets: Jahmyr Gibbs, Christian McCaffrey, Ashton Jeanty, Bucky Irving, De'Von Achane
Round 2, Pick 22: Draft a tight end
It is generally helpful to select a tight end early or a quarterback early. This allows you only to pick one player at those positions and place them in your lineup each week. That gives you more roster flexibility to add additional high upside options at running back and wide receiver, increasing your odds of selecting this year’s breakout star. We can be more confident in the late-round quarterbacks this season relative to the tight ends, and it can also be easier to select which quarterback to start each week based on matchups. The best way to ensure you can get a top-three tight end at a decent value is with Trey McBride at this pick, as Brock Bowers is likely off the board, and if McBride is gone by Round 3, it will be a little early for George Kittle.
Top Target: Trey McBride
McBride became the Cardinals' primary tight end in the middle of the 2023 season, and he’s been an elite fantasy option at the position ever since. He averaged at least 15 PPR points in both seasons once he became the starter. McBride led the league in both receptions per game (6.9) and receptions per route (0.21) last season. His yards per game (71.6) and targets per game (8.7) were both second-best. The Cardinals kept the coaching staff and players on the offense essentially the same as last season, making it easier to expect more of the same from McBride. If anything, we can expect a few more touchdowns after his low touchdown total from last season.
Possible Targets: George Kittle, T.J. Hockenson, Sam LaPorta, David Njoku, Tucker Kraft
Round 3, Pick 27: Draft a running back
While a wide receiver is at least worth considering, it’s fine to pick a second top-12 running back. There will be several high-upside wide receivers available in the next several rounds to form a strong starting lineup. On the other hand, a lot of the running backs you would want in your RB2 spot will be off the board by this time in Round 4. Therefore, running back is the right position to pick here.
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