When it comes to the late set of fantasy football snake draft picks, a well-prepared and adaptable strategy is essential. It’s no longer about determining which players are good or bad since they are being drafted in Round 1 for a reason. Instead, the focus shifts towards establishing a solid foundation that sets the standard for your roster throughout the draft. Even before making your selection towards the back end of Round 1, it’s crucial to consider your player targets for the crucial Round 2 follow-up. In order to achieve success in this exercise, the importance of preparing tier lists or utilizing FantasyPros’ built-in tiers and rankings cannot be overstated. However, the task becomes more challenging without a top-8 pick, as will be the case in this scenario.
- Early Snake Draft Picks Strategy & Advice | Middle Pick| Late Pick
- Best Ball Draft Primers: QB | RB | WR | TE
- Dynasty Trade Value Chart
- Dynasty Rookie Primers: QB | RB | WR | TE
As we approach the end of Round 1 in the 2023 fantasy football drafts, one question looms large: the debate between selecting RB, WR, or possibly even QB, and how that decision will impact subsequent rounds. Draft slots in the 1.09-1.12 range, where there tends to be more variability compared to earlier in Round 1, are set to offer an exciting experience. In this article, we will consider these selections as “late snake draft picks,” with the early snake picks ranging from 1.01 to 1.04 and the middle snake picks falling between 1.05 and 1.08 in traditional 12-team fantasy football leagues. The ADP source for this discussion will be Underdog and FFPC Best Ball, with the latter serving as the host for the 2023 FantasyPros Championship.
Fantasy Football Snake Draft Strategy for Late Picks
Let the Draft Begin.
Rounds 5-9
In the middle rounds of drafts, it’s critical that you come prepared with an optimal and flexible approach. Following up on a strong start coming out of the early rounds is critical to your success. The player pool isn’t as strong as at the beginning of the draft, but the difference in hitting on the right guys in the range can make or break your roster.
Four rounds deep, you have already drafted a good chunk of your team. So, your strategy may differ slightly depending on the foundation you built during the early portion of your draft. Ergo, if already roster two strong running backs (or at least ones you spent high draft capital on) there’s virtually no need to address the position in any capacity.
However, the overarching approach to the middle rounds is going to remain static for the most part regardless of what you already did. The focus is still on drafting the “best player available” or BPA. Too many times drafters make the mistake of drafting for need in the middle-rounds – when the priority should be filling your roster will as many potential level jumpers or league-winners as humanly possible. Especially at the wide receiver position.
As I identified in the Best Ball WR Primer, the name of the game with wide receivers remains to scoop up value in the middle-to-later portions of drafts, with the position counting for the biggest part of your best-ball roster. Take advantage of WRs that fall in ADP, while other teams “reach” on running backs that they think they need.
Because you will be shocked how quickly the WR position dries up despite the false narrative that the position is deep every year. It’s not deep. If anything, it’s extremely diluted, which makes it much more essential you draft the remaining wideouts toward the start of the middle rounds. You’ll feel (and perform) much better knowing that you aren’t trudging out WRs ranked outside the top 40 as your weekly WR3.
Wide receivers in the middle rounds are often the ones that tend to take massive leaps and vastly outperform their ADP. And when in doubt, just keep drafting WRs that have breakout potential. Chances are they all won’t hit…but all you need is one to hit big to reap the benefits.
Gravitate toward the pass-catchers in a high-powered offense with some target ambiguity versus the guy who has a more obvious high-end target floor in a bad offense. And do not shy away from the real-life No. 2 WRs…as these players often represent the best fantasy values because their ADPs are almost always suppressed as they aren’t their team’s “No.1.”
Some of my favorite WR targets that can be available from late Round 5 into late Round 9 (picks 57 112) include Jerry Jeudy, Chris Godwin, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Diontae Johnson, Tyler Lockett, Treylon Burks, George Pickens, Jordan Addison, Jahan Dotson, Zay Flowers, Elijah Moore and Gabe Davis.
Only once you’ve got a plethora of breakout WRs to work from, I give you permission to dive back into the running back pool before we enter the double-digit rounds.
Because after WRs, breakout RBs are the next target in the middle rounds. Specifically, once the drafts enter the late RB2 early RB3 range (RB20-RB38) or RBs with a top-40 ADP. That group presented the greatest hit rate for fantasy running backs to return a mid-range RB2 (RB17.2) finish as I found in my article from 2022 titled, How to Identify Sleeper & Late-Round Running Backs to Target, which I will be updating later this offseason.
Running backs that hit in this general range last season included: Josh Jacobs, Tony Pollard, Miles Sanders, Rhamondre Stevenson, Dameon Pierce, Devin Singletary, Kenneth Walker III, and Tyler Allgeier.
Keep in mind that the majority of RBs in this range can be found in my Tier 3. You can find the full-tiered rankings in my 2023 Best Ball Leagues Draft Primer for Running Backs.
Some of my favorites with top-115 ADPs include Cam Akers, Rachaad White, James Conner, David Montgomery, Zach Charbonnet, Alexander Mattison, Samaje Perine, Rashaad Penny and Damien Harris.
For the remaining onesie positions, you are once again playing the value game. I am fine taking one of my Tier 2 quarterbacks, but only if one falls. I am not reaching on a quarterback in this range.
My favorite QB in the middle rounds is Deshaun Watson.
The same approach goes for the tight end position. By zero means am I willing to draft a tight end in the middle rounds that doesn’t have elite upside. And again, they need to be drafted at a discount.
That’s why using tiered rankings is so critical to your success – as it helps you unearth draft values by preventing reaches.
For more information on why you need to “stay out of the middle” at tight end, check out my Fantasy Football Best Ball Draft Primer: Tight End Rankings & Tiers (2023).
The only tight ends I am actively targeting in the middle rounds (considering ADP) are Darren Waller and David Njoku.
Rounds 5-9 Takeaways
- Focus on drafting the best player available, particularly wide receivers with breakout potential, as the position tends to dry up quickly in drafts.
- Look for pass-catchers in high-powered offenses with target ambiguity and consider real-life No. 2 WRs who can offer excellent fantasy value.
- Target breakout running backs in the late RB2 to early RB3 range (RB20-RB38) who have a top-40 ADP.
- Utilize tiered rankings to identify draft values and avoid reaching on quarterbacks and tight ends unless they have elite upside.
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