A new draft is underway, and the fantasy football season begins soon enough.
While drafting an elite running back is often a top priority in these early rounds, it’s worth considering some of the value options at wide receiver this year. There’s a small tier of players who are almost guaranteed to see a hefty share of targets, including Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, Puka Nacua, Malik Nabers and Amon-Ra St. Brown. There’s also some promising rookies who could challenge for WR2 jobs, such as Achane, Jeanty and Omarion Hampton.
The quarterback waiting ends here, as a handful of talented players are available with the potential to be fantasy studs this season. The gap between QB6 and QB22 is fairly narrow this year, thanks to an abundance of teams with skilled offensive weapons and coaching staffs capable of elevating passers.
In the late third, there’s a lot to like about Tyler Warren and Cam Skattebo, but they both have some injury risk. Instead, look to bolster your deep bench by targeting high-volume anchors on questionable offenses. Alvin Kamara was the PPR RB9 on one of the league’s worst teams last year, while Breece Hall is another example from the year before.
Rounds 4-7 are ideal for adding a running back or wide receiver who will fill in on bye weeks or in cases of injuries to the starting unit. There’s plenty of insurance RBs to consider, including Jerome Ford (CIN), Ray Davis (BUF) and Braelon Allen (NYJ). TEs Isaac Guerendo, Tyler Allgeier and Jerome LaPorta are also solid picks, as they could see significant work behind starting backs such as James Conner and Kyle Waddle.