- Brian Thomas Jr. found his rhythm: Over the last seven weeks, Thomas consistently scored fantasy points and had the third-most points among wide receivers during that stretch.
- George Kittle is a top priority in the third round: There is a massive dropoff between the top three tight ends and everyone else at the position, making Kittle a hot commodity at this point in the draft.
- Subscribe to PFF+: Get access to player grades, PFF Premium Stats, fantasy football rankings, all of the PFF fantasy draft research tools and more!
Estimated reading time: 13 minutes
This perfect draft strategy for 12-team, single quarterback, redraft, PPR fantasy football leagues uses current average draft positions (ADPs) specifically from ESPN to deliver a round-by-round guide for managers picking at the late middle of the draft — specifically from Picks 7, 8 or 9. 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: Friday, July 25
Round 1, Picks 7-9: Draft a wide receiver
Anyone picking from the middle of the first round to the end is either selecting their top available wide receiver or a running back, such as Ashton Jeanty or Derrick Henry. There are six wide receivers ranked third to eighth, where seemingly no two analysts have the receivers in the same order. All of them could end up as the top overall wide receiver if everything goes well, but all are going through some changes with some combination of new play-callers, new quarterbacks and new competition for targets. In Brian Thomas Jr.’s player profile, I detail why I believe he is the best option of the group, but there are legitimate reasons to pick a different receiver.
© 2026 PFF - all rights reserved.