While everyone will have their rankings and tiers, I consider the “elite” and “near-elite” tiers of players to consist of seven RBs, nine WRs and arguably two TEs. Having the eighth pick in a 12-team, 3-WR, PPR league gives you the chance to draft two of those “elite” or “near-elite” guys. This is a great pick to have in the draft, and while you could go in any direction with your first two picks, I strongly recommend drafting at least one WR, as that position seems to drop off more quickly than RB. This is especially true in a 3-WR league.
While I was tempted to pick Puka Nacua in Round 1 and secure that elite WR, I can’t pass on Christian McCaffrey. He is my #3 overall player. I’m willing to overlook injury concerns and take him in many of my Fantasy drafts. After McCaffrey, I knew I’d be able to select another star player and that was A.J. Brown. I took Brown over Trey McBride because he is a little more proven and has been WR7 per game in two of three seasons in Philadelphia.
My next two picks were interesting and unexpected. Even though QB is deep this season, I’d rather have an elite QB than a RB or WR that I have a lot of questions about, so I took Josh Allen in Round 3 and paired him with George Kittle (the #1 TE per game in 2024) in Round 4. This allowed me to focus solely on RBs and WRs for the remainder of the draft.
It was strange to draft four different positions with my first four picks. It left me with a team that lacks WR depth, but still has enough talent to compete for a championship.
My Draft from No. 8 overall:
As a reference point, all touchdowns in this league are worth six points, and we award one point for every 10 yards rushing and receiving and one point for every 25 yards passing. We also award one point for every reception. We feature a starting lineup of QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, TE and FLEX (RB/WR/TE).”
1.8: Christian McCaffrey, RB, 49ers
2.5: AJ Brown, WR, Eagles
3.8: Josh Allen, QB, Bills
4.5: George Kittle, TE, 49ers
5.8: Joe Mixon, RB, Texans
6.5: Jameson Williams, WR, Lions
7.8: Aaron Jones, RB, Vikings
8.5: Matthew Golden, WR, Packers
9.8: Christian Kirk, WR, Texans
10.5: Kyle Williams, WR, Patriots
11.8: Ray Davis, RB, Bills
12.5: Jerome Ford, RB, Browns
13.8: Nick Chubb, RB, Texans
14.5: Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jaguars
Fantasy Football is about acquiring elite players and filling in the gaps with mid-to-late-round picks and the waiver wire. The first four picks for this team should all be elite or close to it. After that, it’s a little dicey. The WR depth could be a problem. The hope here is that Allen and Kittle pay off in a big way and cover up some of the depth issues for this team.
Favorite pick: Christian McCaffrey
Ja’Marr Chase, Bijan Robinson, Christian McCaffrey. Those are my top three players for 2025. Either you care about McCaffrey’s injury history or you don’t. I don’t. He has as good of a chance as anyone to be the MVP of Fantasy Football.
Pick I might regret: Joe Mixon
Mixon kind of terrifies me. Taking him 56th overall was logical because he has finished as a Top 12 RB on a per game basis in six of the last 7 seasons. Mixon left two games early either due to injury or due to the Texans resting their starters. If you remove those two games, he averaged 19 PPR points per game. That’s elite! So why am I scared? Mixon has been dealing with foot and ankle issues, has Nick Chubb on his team and is entering his age 29 season. I recommend drafting Chubb late if you have Mixon.
Player who could make or break my team: A.J. Brown
In three seasons with the Eagles, Brown has been WR7 per game, WR7 per game and WR13 per game in PPR. To justify a Top 20 pick in drafts, Brown has to finish closer to WR7. Another season as WR13 would be very disappointing. I believe the Eagles will throw more this season which will of course lead to more targets and production for Brown.
