The perfect fantasy football draft is a fun idea. In reality, we know there is no perfect draft (unless you played our perfect draft contest last year!), but we can try to get really close to it by hitting our targets. There is a line between the proper value and roster construction, and that is what I will attempt to build.
While I had a good 2025 ranking, the highest among my FantasyPros co-workers in the rankings contest for draft season (highest in RB ranks and second highest in WR ranks next to Dbro), and finished top-5 overall amongst everyone in sleeper ranks, I looked back at my perfect team last year with a smile, some disgust, and a few “what was I thinking?” faces. My best pick was Christian McCaffrey in the second round and my late target of Drake Maye, but my most laughable pick, Brian Thomas Jr. in the first, will keep me up at night.
Let’s tackle this exercise again with my 2026 perfect draft of targets per round. My team will be based on a 12-team half PPR format while constructing this.
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Welsh’s Perfect Fantasy Football Draft Strategy
Round 1
Early Pick: Christian McCaffrey (RB – SF)
Later Pick: Justin Jefferson (WR – MIN)
We are at the point that the only discussion around Christian McCaffrey is his ability to stay healthy. When he’s out there, he is the RB1, if not a top-three RB, week in and week out. Only three weeks of the season did he not have a top-12 finish at RB in half-PPR. In 8 of 17 weeks, he had a top-5 finish. He’s an easy click around pick four or five in your draft. If I am later in drafts, I love getting Justin Jefferson. Kyler Murray is going to target Jefferson all day, every day. With catchable targets, Jefferson can return to fighting for the top wide receiver spot in fantasy. He is a perfect fit around 10-12 in drafts.
Round 2
Early: Chase Brown (RB – CIN)
Later: Drake London (WR – ATL)
Getting a top-flight WR and then backing it up with a top-tier RB is ideal. We can justify going a bit heavier with RB than in years past, and Chase Brown, after finishing 8th at RB in half PPR, should be in line for even more positive production with Joe Burrow back for a healthy season (fingers crossed). On the later side, if we locked up McCaffrey, getting a guy like Drake London near the back half of the second is huge. I will admit the QB play is scary, but he still finished 17th overall at WR while logging only 12 games. FantasyPros projections have him as a top-five WR in half PPR.
Round 3
Early: Malik Nabers (WR – NYG)
Later: Zay Flowers (WR – BAL)
Before you start saying it out loud, I totally understand the concerns about Malik Nabers. Bad injury and quick turnaround. That doesn’t always work, but Nabers is a freak of a talent. The cutting he was doing before camp opened had me excited, but seeing him out in practice, running routes, catching balls, and showing that explosiveness already makes me believe the reality that we get him in Week 1. He had dominant target shares and first-read shares prior to the injury. I am willing to take the shot that he returns first-round value. Round 3 is all about big returns on WR, and Zay Flowers could easily be a target earlier in the round. He is the number one option in Baltimore. Slight improvements in the pass game and positive touchdown regression could move him into a top-10 WR with very few needed improvements.
Round 4
Early: Emeka Egbuka (WR – TB)
Later: Bucky Irving (RB – TB)
I guess it’s a round of Bucs for me. Give me all the shares of Emeka Egbuka this season. Moving to Z WR and moving around the offense should be huge for him to return to that monster first half he had, where he finished as WR7 in weeks 1-10. Many drafters seem scared of Bucky Irving with Kenneth Gainwell in town, and I will just take the discounts (frankly, getting him in Round 5 happens quite a bit as well). He still managed 20 touches a game last year with Rachaad White eating into production, and that enabled him to finish 17th in points per game. Before getting injured in Week 4, he was RB10 overall over the first month. Join Fitz and me in our Bucky shares.
Round 5
Early: Tyler Warren (TE – IND)
Later: Mike Evans (WR – SF)
While many see Colston Loveland as the McBride discount, Tyler Warren going one to two rounds after Loveland is my target. Michael Pittman is gone, Alec Pierce is hurt, and Warren is in line for a high first-round share and tons of targets. Mike Evans may be one of the most mispriced players this year. He moves into a 49ers offense that will feature him in the red zone. Evans has a legit shot to not only be the number one targeted WR for the 49ers, but don’t be surprised when he battles out for the lead in receiving touchdowns.
Round 6
Early: Bhayshul Tuten (RB – JAC)
Later: Rome Odunze (WR – CHI)
There are a lot of questions around whether Chris Rodriguez will take the job or eat into Bhayshul Tuten’s share, but Travis Etienne last year finished RB10 in half PPR in the Jags system while fighting off Tuten. Laim Cohen seems to love Tuten, and a ton of his risk seems to already be baked into his cost. Luther Burden is already banged up; the Bears are a top-10 projected offense according to Vegas and a defense that will probably turn the ball over to the offense quite a bit. Rome Odunze looks sharp despite the foot worries and is a great mid-round target.
Round 7
Early: Parker Washington (WR – JAC)
Later: Jonathon Brooks (RB – CAR)
There are a lot of cooks in the kitchen, but only one can be the head chef, and Parker Washington is that guy. The team cannot stop raving about him, and he is working out of the primary Z spot. This is another one of those guys where a lot of the risk that it doesn’t work out is baked into his cost, and the hype hasn’t gone nuts for him. Now, with Jonathon Brooks, we might be living on a dream here. There was a time you could get him much later, but that is in the rearview mirror now. Hubbard is banged up, and the hype train is full-go with him pushing possibly even into the 5th or 6th. He is so explosive and will be featured in the pass game. He is worth the risk.
Round 8
Early: Trevor Lawrence (QB – JAC)
Later: Michael Wilson (WR – ARI)
If I am playing later QB and can’t get a deal on Drake Maye or maybe even Jalen Hurts, Trevor Lawrence is the best target, just outside the elite tier but above the latest-round tier. He finished as QB4 last year and was one of six QB’s to throw for 4k yards or more. On the other side, there is a camp for Marvin Harrison Jr. this year, but I am Team Michael Wilson. In the first preseason game, Marv did get the red-zone target, but the drive was driven by Wilson. I think that continues this year. He costs WR4, but can return WR2.
Round 9
Early: Josh Downs (WR – IND)
Later: Stefon Diggs (WR – WAS)
Like Tyler Warren, Josh Downs moves into a massive new target share with Pittman gone and Pierce down. He likely won’t change roles much in the offense, but should see more targets. Stefon Diggs’ value still has not caught up in most draft rooms, but Jayden Daniels will likely be running for his life this year and looking to sling the ball downfield. Diggs finished inside the top-20 at WR despite having a limited snap percentage with the Patriots. That likely goes up, and Diggs may be an easy click around this area.
Round 10
Early: Wan’Dale Robinson (WR – TEN)
Later: Jacory Croskey-Merritt (RB – WAS)
Wan’Dale Robinson was one of my sleeper picks from last year that helped me reach that top-5 finish. Despite some success, he’s still going outside the top-40 WRs. This offense might be in trouble this year, but Wan’Dale will be the safety net. He should see a ton of targets whether Ward does or doesn’t figure it all out. Jacory Croskey-Merritt looks to be set to be RB1 with the Commanders. They’ve got a couple mouths to feed with a banged-up offensive line after Tunsil went down, but RB1’s are hard to find in this range, and he’s a great gamble for massive early down work.
Later Round Targets
Based on some of these targets, a few things went well for us, like JCM falling a bit and Brooks not moving up into the 6th round, while also being comfortable reaching in a few spots, like with Parker Washington and Michael Wilson. Now that we have a baseline, we’ll just focus on targets of mine outside the top-120 based on whatever need you might have during your roster construction.
There you have it, my perfect team/targets per round. Tell me what you think, and if any of these guys are must-haves on your roster this year.
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