Best Early-Round Fantasy Football Draft Picks to Target

Everyone loves a fantasy football mock draft, myself included. But if you want to make the most out of your mock drafts, don’t just fire them up and see where the wind takes you. The best way to use mock drafts is to test out different approaches. There’s no better way to evaluate a draft strategy than to do a fantasy football mock draft using your intended strategy to see how your team turns out. The strategy I will be testing out for this draft is streaming quarterbacks. I love the idea of a late-round quarterback build this year. After the big four dual-threat quarterbacks at the top, things get very flat at the position. There are still high upside options that go undrafted in normal-sized leagues, let alone last until the late rounds. Here are a few of our favorite fantasy football draft picks to target using this strategy.

Fantasy Football Draft Picks to Target

Ja’Marr Chase (WR – CIN)

There’s not much to say about this one. After a historic 2024 season, Ja’Marr Chase is the consensus first-overall pick in all formats. He’s number one in my rankings, too, and I am always happy to draft him when given the opportunity.

Trey McBride (TE – ARI)

Normally, I might not have taken Trey McBride here. However, in drafts where I plan to punt one of the two one-off positions (quarterback/tight end), I like getting an elite option at the other one. I might have to spend two roster spots all year filling my quarterback position, but McBride provides peace of mind for my tight end slot.

Kyren Williams (RB – LAR)

This was my first real decision of the draft. Technically, my rankings have Ladd McConkey ahead of Kyren Williams. However, I knew that if I drafted McConkey here, I would feel forced to take two running backs at the next turn or fall behind at the position.

With the late-round quarterback approach still in the back of my mind, I didn’t want to have to stress about a second position. Especially given that he was just given a vote of confidence in the form of a new contract, I love Williams’ chances to run it back as an absolute workhorse and fantasy stud in this Rams offense.

Ted Chmyz is a fantasy football contributor for FantasyPros.com. Find him on Twitter and Bluesky @Tchmyz for more fantasy content or to ask questions.

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