How to handle each position in the early rounds of 2020 fantasy football drafts
By TJ Hernandez, 4for4
Special to Yahoo Sports
Ii’s important to have a plan when preparing for a fantasy football draft, but it’s equally important for flexibility to be built into that plan. One way to do that is by studying ADP and building a list of draft targets at each position. This process can assist in mapping out what your team might look like based on where you are drafting and build confidence when one of your targets goes off the board right before your selection.
The team at 4for4 has compiled a list of their favorite early round targets at each position, broken down by early (picks 1–4), middle (picks 5–8), and late (picks 9–12) draft slots.
Full Positional Strategy Guides: QB | RB | WR | TE
The writers at 4for4 offered these thoughts on their early round strategies for each position:
Quarterbacks (Chris Allen): You’re swinging for the fences. Drafting either of the top QBs at their ADP imposes risk on your squad. The earliest to consider would be the 3/4 turn to allow for an optimal start at the core positions.
Running Backs (Justin Edwards): When the chips are on the table and I have to put my money where my mouth is, my preferred strategy is to accrue as many “workhorse”-type RBs that I can —even if that means I can only acquire two— in the early goings of the draft and then come back around later on as I see value opening up. If you miss out on all of those top-12 or top-15 guys you’re going to need to attack the waiver wire with vigor and a lot of your bench spots will have to be allocated to running backs waiting in the wings for their chance to shine.
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Wide Receivers (Alex Gelhar): Whether or not you follow the pack and draft a running back at the top of Round 1, there will be a true wealth of options that you can and should choose from in the next two rounds. Exiting the early rounds of the draft with an elite running back and two or three wideouts will have your squad well-positioned for fantasy success in 2020.
Tight Ends (Jen Eakins): There are several strategies at attacking the tight end in 2020, and it really depends on how you choose to start the draft. If having an elite tight end and alleviating the stress throughout the season is a priority, then you will need to take one within the first four rounds. After that, there are a handful of players in the next few rounds with solid floors and upside who can produce for your squad each week, but know that you are giving up some really good players at both wideout and running back in those middle rounds.
With that, here are the players to target in the early rounds of your fantasy football draft:
Early-Pick (Picks 1–4) Targets
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | |||||
Rd 1 | ||||||||
Rd 2 | ||||||||
Rd 3 | Todd Gurley | |||||||
Rd 4 | Lamar Jackson |
Middle-Pick (Picks 5–8) Targets
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | ||||
Rd 1 | M. Thomas, D. Adams | ||||||
Rd 2 | |||||||
Rd 3 | |||||||
Rd 4 |
Late-Pick (Picks 9–12) Targets
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | ||||
Rd 1 | |||||||
Rd 2 | |||||||
Rd 3 | |||||||
Rd 4 |
Follow TJ on Twitter @TJHernandez
More analysis from 4for4: Wide Receiver Sleepers, Values and Targets
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TJ is a former full-time poker player who has been playing fantasy football for more than a decade. After online poker was outlawed, TJ ended his poker career and dedicated himself to fantasy football. His background in poker statistics and analytics translates to success in both daily and season-long fantasy football.
