Perfect Draft: 10-Team Non-PPR (updated Sept. 1)

You should go into every fantasy draft with a general plan of attack.

Of course, you’ll need to be able to adjust throughout the draft and pounce on value wherever it presents itself. That’s where the Draft War Room with customized, dynamic rankings comes into play.

But building a round-by-round strategy beforehand certainly helps. That’s exactly what we’re doing with the Perfect Draft series — using the Draft War Room and ADP to get an idea of where the value will be in each round.

This is the 10-Team non-PPR Perfect Draft. Each strategy guide assumes 16-round drafts and starting lineups of 1 QB, 2 RBs, 2 WRs, 1 TE, 1 Flex, 1 K and 1 DST. The Draft War Room will help you adjust your strategy if your league settings are different.

Note: Sept. 1 updates are in bold. Remember to check your Draft War Room for the most up-to-date rankings customized to your league's rules.

Pick 1

Round 1

Without the reception scoring, this is the Jonathan Taylor spot. The DMVP gap between Taylor and #2 Derrick Henry on this board gets you from Henry down to #6 on the initial board.

Rounds 2-3

QB: Josh Allen
RB: Saquon Barkley, James Conner, Cam Akers, Leonard Fournette
WR: CeeDee Lamb, Tyreek Hill, Tee Higgins

This turn looks like RB-WR, even if you need to start 3 wideouts. Barkley and Conner sit well ahead of the next group at RB.

Rounds 4-5

RB: Breece Hall, Travis Etienne, Elijah Mitchell, Josh Jacobs, AJ Dillon
WR: Mike Williams, D.J. Moore
TE: Kyle Pitts

If you only start 2 WRs, then the board wants you to grab a 3rd RB around this turn, followed by a pass-catcher. Williams and Moore will lead the board after you grab that RB. Or if you start 3 WRs, they’ll lead the board at your 4th-round slot.

Even in that case, the board favors a 2nd RB with the other pick. There should be enough at RB over the next couple of turns to allow a doubling up on WRs at this turn. What will the WRs look like if you grab that RB3? Let’s see …

Rounds 6-7

QB: Kyler Murray, Russell Wilson, Tom Brady
RB: Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Miles Sanders
WR: Courtland Sutton, Allen Robinson, Brandin Cooks, Jerry Jeudy
TE: Dalton Schultz, Dallas Goedert

Murray is a strong pick here if he makes it. The ADP says you’re lucky if he gets here, though. If Murray’s gone, the board wants you to look into the next QBs. The ADPs say Wilson and Matthew Stafford won’t make it to your Round 8 turn. Brady, Dak Prescott and Trey Lance probably will.

If you’d rather wait on QB, then TE is an option. And neither of these guys is a strong bet to last to the 8-9 turn.

If you’re choosing which 1-starter position to address here, there’s more upside to QB. But the absence of reception scoring also makes it easier to wait on WRs and fill both “onesie” positions at this turn. Schultz, Goedert and Dawson Knox (if he gets here) gain some attractiveness because they should be in strong offenses (re: TD upside).

Rounds 8-9

QB: Tom Brady, Trey Lance, Dak Prescott
RB: Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Devin Singletary, Rhamondre Stevenson, Cordarrelle Patterson, Chase Edmonds
WR: Rashod Bateman, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Darnell Mooney, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Tyler Lockett
TE: Dallas Goedert

Goedert might make it here; you just can’t count on it. The QBs are options if you waited.

RBs likely continue to lead your Draft War Room recommendations, even if you already have 3 rostered. But the DMVP gap between the top RBs and WRs around this turn isn’t large. Grab 1 of each if you already addressed QB and TE. Buzz on backfield mates in K.C. and Buffalo seems to have pushed a couple more RB candidates down into range here.

If your draft goes 16 rounds like this, then your board switches into Upside Mode with Round 9. That weighs our ceiling projections more heavily, along with the likelihood of players reaching those ceilings, to highlight guys with the most upside.

If you’d rather stick with the straight projections, then you can turn off Upside Mode just above the player rankings on your board. And if your draft goes longer than 16 rounds, then Upside Mode should turn on when you reach the halfway point.

Rounds 10-11

RB: Darrell Henderson, James Cook
WR: Brandon Aiyuk, Tyler Lockett, Drake London

If you’ve already filled QB and TE, this looks like another turn to grab a RB and a WR. Of course, that could change to doubling up on either position if you chose to double up the other last turn.

Rounds 12-13

QB: Trevor Lawrence, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Fields
RB: Rachaad White, Isiah Pacheco, Khalil Herbert, Jamaal Williams, Sony Michel
WR: Drake London, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Treylon Burks, Chase Claypool, George Pickens, Garrett Wilson

A backup QB is fine to grab at this turn, especially if you waited to select your starter.

You’ll probably see team defenses climb near the top of your recommendations here, but you can wait at least 1 more turn to address that position.

Grab an upside WR to go with your backup QB at this turn – or a WR and a handcuff type at RB if you’d rather skip the backup QB.

Rounds 14-16

Your final 3 selections will include fortifying any positional weakness or grabbing a high-ceiling reserve. You’ll also mix in a kicker and a defense.

You can almost ignore the overall team-defense rankings, which are based on full-season projections. That’s because we’d generally rather stream the position to take advantage of matchups as much as possible.

To that end, these look like attractive options …

Cleveland: at Panthers, vs. Jets, vs. Steelers, at Falcons
Denver: at Seahawks, vs. Texans, vs. 49ers
San Francisco: at Bears, vs. Seahawks

Pick 2, 3 or 4

Round 1

RB: Derrick Henry, Christian McCaffrey
WR: Cooper Kupp

There’s a decent-sized gap between Henry and McCaffrey here. Not quite as large as the DMVP difference between Jonathan Taylor and Henry, but a little larger than the separation between McCaffrey and Austin Ekeler, the next RB on this board. It’s also significantly larger than the gap between McCaffrey and Kupp.

Kupp, meanwhile, sits solidly ahead of Ekeler and WR2 Justin Jefferson.

Round 2

RB: Joe Mixon, Saquon Barkley, James Conner
WR: Stefon Diggs, CeeDee Lamb

Barkley looks excellent here, even if you started with a RB. Mixon also appears to be sliding into this area more often now, whereas Alvin Kamara's ADP has risen since the original article.

Diggs jumps to the top if you start 3 WRs, with Lamb and Tyreek Hill climbing as well.

Round 3

RB: James Conner
WR: CeeDee Lamb, Tyreek Hill, Tee Higgins
TE: Mark Andrews

If you start with a pair of RBs and find this crew available, then you’re in good shape. Grab 1 of the pass-catchers that lead your recommendations. If you selected a WR last round and find Conner on the board, however … you’re also in good shape.

Leaving this turn with 2 RBs and 1 WR looks like the best start for a non-PPR format, whether you start 2 or 3 wideouts.

That said, Andrews might lead your board if you get here with 2

Round 4

RB: Breece Hall, J.K. Dobbins, Elijah Mitchell, Josh Jacobs, Travis Etienne
WR: Mike Williams, D.J. Moore
TE: Kyle Pitts

RBs likely top your board here even if you already have 2 of them. Hall carries some risk of continuing to split work with Michael Carter, but he also wins on upside in case that share doesn’t persist.

If you start 3 WRs, Williams and Moore jump ahead of the RBs, with other wideouts further behind.

Round 5

QB: Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson
RB: Elijah Mitchell, Josh Jacobs, Travis Etienne
WR: Mike Williams, D.J. Moore, D.K. Metcalf
TE: Kyle Pitts, Darren Waller

If you already have 3 RBs, it’s time for a pass-catcher. Murray climbs into view here but sits behind Moore (if he lasts) and the 2 TEs. Williams' ADP now says he has a pretty good shot of getting to you here. ADP also says you’ll get another shot at Murray next round. But there’s also a chance he and Jackson leave the board before your next turn.

Leaving this round with 3 RBs, 1 WR and Pitts gives you plenty of upside, with time left to fill out the WR group.

Round 6

QB: Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts
RB: Miles Sanders, Tony Pollard, Clyde Edwards-Helaire
WR: Brandin Cooks, Allen Robinson, Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, Marquise Brown
TE: Dalton Schultz

If you get here without a QB and find these 2, you’re making out pretty well. Both Murray and Hurts look like they have upside to the top of the position.

If neither is staring at you, go WR. Any of these wideouts can work out as your #2. The questionable RBs make it easier to understand why your War Room pushed a 3rd RB earlier.

Round 7

WR: Allen Robinson, Courtland Sutton, Brandin Cooks, Marquise Brown, Gabriel Davis

I followed board recommendations and selected 1 QB, 3 RBs, 1 WR and 1 TE through the first 6 rounds. These were the top 5 players on the resulting Round 7 board. Count it as further evidence that waiting on wideout in non-PPR can work out.

If you chose a different path through Round 6, of course, your recommendations might look different.

Round 8

RB: Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Rhamondre Stevenson, Cordarrelle Patterson, Chase Edmonds, Devin Singletary
WR: Rashod Bateman, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Darnell Mooney, Tyler Lockett
TE: Dallas Goedert

If you waited on QB, then Tom Brady, Dak Prescott and Trey Lance likely sit high on your board. All would be fine picks at this stage.

Get here without a TE, and Goedert will sit high. This will probably be your last shot at him, and he’s worth a selection.

If both of those positions are filled, your board is probably favoring RB. You can opt for Davis or Bateman if you’d prefer. Either path includes some upside options, but also players with questions about opportunity share.

Round 9

QB: Tom Brady, Trey Lance
RB: Rhamondre Stevenson, Cordarrelle Patterson
WR: Rashod Bateman, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Darnell Mooney, Brandon Aiyuk, Amon-Ra St. Brown
TE: T.J. Hockenson

If your draft goes 16 rounds like this, then your board switches into Upside Mode with Round 9. That weighs our ceiling projections more heavily, along with the likelihood of players reaching those ceilings, to highlight guys with the most upside.

If you’d rather stick with the straight projections, then you can turn off Upside Mode just above the player rankings on your board. And if your draft goes longer than 16 rounds, then Upside Mode should turn on when you reach the halfway point.

It’s likely WR time here, but there are options elsewhere if you’ve gone against previous board recommendations and get here with more than 2 wideouts.

Rounds 10-11

QB: Trevor Lawrence, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Fields
RB: Darrell Henderson, Alexander Mattison
WR: Brandon Aiyuk, Tyler Lockett, Drake London, Marquez Valdes-Scantling

The smallish starting lineup here makes a backup QB viable, but you can also skip the position if you’d rather – especially if you already drafted a top-7 QB.

Behind Lance sits Henderson and then the 2 WRs, followed by RBs. Either Henderson or Mattison would be a fine stash on a roster set with 3 starter-level players.

Here, I’m taking a WR to give me 4, plus 4 RBs, 1 QB and 1 TE. Around the turn in the 11th, the board favors a 5th RB, with backup QB just behind. The ADPs on the QBs following Lance make me feel comfortable in waiting on that position (if I draft it at all).

Rounds 12-13

QB: Tua Tagovailoa, Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields
RB: James Robinson, Rachaad White, James Cook, Tyler Allgeier
WR: Drake London, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Treylon Burks, Chase Claypool, Garrett Wilson
TE: David Njoku, Hunter Henry

This QB trio climbed into view in Round 11, so they’re fine to consider here – especially if you waited on your QB1.

At RB and WR, it’s late enough to overlook question marks and target upside.

If you opted to punt TE earlier or just got unlucky with players going ahead of you, Njoku and Henry each has the potential to finish among the position’s top 12 this year.

Rounds 14-16

Your final 3 selections will include fortifying any positional weakness or grabbing a high-ceiling reserve. You’ll also mix in a kicker and a defense.

You can almost ignore the overall team-defense rankings, which are based on full-season projections. That’s because we’d generally rather stream the position to take advantage of matchups as much as possible.

To that end, these look like attractive options …

Cleveland: at Panthers, vs. Jets, vs. Steelers, at Falcons
Denver: at Seahawks, vs. Texans, vs. 49ers
San Francisco: at Bears, vs. Seahawks

Pick 5, 6, 7 or 8

Round 1

RB: Austin Ekeler, Joe Mixon, Dalvin Cook, Saquon Barkley
WR: Cooper Kupp, Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase

The top available RB is likely leading your board here, though it’s a slim margin – slim enough that any of these 6 players makes from a quality start in this range.

The ADP feed for this format still says Barkley has a pretty good chance of making it back to you in Round 2. Only bet on that happening if you’re OK with missing him, though.

If your league starts 3 WRs, then Kupp, Jefferson and Chase lead the board in this range. There will be good enough RB options over the next 2 rounds to support that.

Round 2

RB: Joe Mixon, Saquon Barkley, James Conner, Alvin Kamara
WR: Stefon Diggs, CeeDee Lamb
TE: Travis Kelce

I chose RB in Round 1 for this exercise and now find 3 RBs plus Kelce leading my recommendations. That shows some space between the Round 1 WR recommendations and this set. It also indicates some drop-off from the Round 2 RBs to those expected to be available over the next 2 rounds. And if Mixon's now getting here commonly, the RB group gets even stronger.

If you start 3 WRs and opened your draft with a RB, then Diggs jumps to the top of your board. If you grabbed a Round 1 wideout in that format, however, the Draft War Room is feeding you RBs up top at this turn.

Kelce is fine as an option here but loses some of his edge over the position without reception scoring.

Round 3

RB: James Conner
WR: Tee Higgins, Deebo Samuel, A.J. Brown
TE: Mark Andrews

Here’s a measure of how undervalued Conner has been early in drafts: Even with 2 RBs already rostered in this exercise, he arrives tied with Andrews atop the pick recommendations here. If trusting Conner in Round 2 or 3 makes you uncomfortable, remind yourself that he has finished top-6 across formats twice in the past 4 years, and that Arizona just paid up to extend him.

Rather than forcing yourself to start your draft with a 3rd straight RB here, though, factor Conner’s potential availability here into your RB-or-WR decisions the first 2 rounds.

Leaving this turn with 2 RBs and a WR looks good, though Andrews would be a fine option here as well in place of a Round 3 WR.

Round 4

RB: Breece Hall, J.K. Dobbins, Elijah Mitchell, Josh Jacobs
WR: D.J. Moore, Mike Williams, Michael Pittman
TE: Kyle Pitts

If you get here with 2 RBs and a WR rostered and these players available, your recommendations will likely lead with Pitts and then RBs. Tee Higgins was in the mix previously, but ADP now says you shouldn't expect to see him.

Pitts carries plenty of upside in any format, but he does lose some luster without reception scoring. It’s tough to see this year’s Falcons offense providing him a high TD ceiling. That said, there's a crowd at WR behind him, including players with a solid-to-good chance of getting to you in Round 5 -- with even a few more you might seen in rounds 6 and 7. So there's nothing wrong with Pitts here.

You’ll probably find smaller DMVP gaps between players at this turn than previous, and that will continue to be the case through most of the rest of the draft. That opens up the strategy a bit at each turn.

There’s enough at WR this round and next (and probably beyond) to support reaching Round 4 without drafting 1.

If I follow top board recommendations from the 6th spot here, I hit the round with 2 RBs and Mark Andrews, and find the DWR favoring pass-catchers. Taking Kelce or Andrews among the first 3 picks is OK. Beyond that, you can wait and still find TD upside at the position.

If you pass on the top 2 TEs, then leaving this turn with either 3 RBs and 1 WR or 2 of each will start you well.

Round 5

QB: Patrick Mahomes, Kyler Murray
RB: Breece Hall, Josh Jacobs, Travis Etienne
WR: Mike Williams, D.J. Moore, Allen Robinson, Courtland Sutton
TE: Darren Waller

Get here with 3 RBs and 1 WR rostered, and you’re likely looking at Williams and Moore atop your board – with a large DMVP gap before the next WR. If you have 2 RBs, 1 WR and a TE, then RBs probably jump to the lead – though that lead is likely just a few DMVP points.

Williams and Moore look like good targets in either case. Hall is attractive as well, though, if you don’t yet have 3 RBs and he gets here.

QBs start creeping into view at this turn but don’t reach the top of the board. It’s OK to wait on that position, especially because Murray might make it back to you 1 more time. Lamar Jackson appeared here previously, but ADP now seems to have him earlier and Mahomes sliding. Jalen Hurts also doesn't seem likely to get past this range in most drafts.

Round 6

QB: Kyler Murray
WR: Mike Williams, D.J. Moore, Jerry Jeudy
TE: Dalton Schultz, Dallas Goedert

For our purposes here, let’s say our first 5 selections included 3 RBs and 2 WRs. This is a good time to grab a high-upside QB, but you can also try waiting 1 more turn. Murray's ADP has slipped to the 2nd half of Round 7 since our 1st edition of this article.

You’re likely to still get at least 1 more shot to draft at least 1 of these TEs. Williams almost certainly isn’t making it beyond this range, if he even gets here. He just might be your top option if you arrive with only 1 WR rostered. Allen Robinson sits next, with a shot to make it back to you in Round 7 and a bit of a gap behind Williams.

Round 7

QB: Kyler Murray, Russell Wilson
RB: Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Tony Pollard, Kareem Hunt, Chase Edmonds, Devin Singletary
WR: Courtland Sutton, Allen Robinson, Brandin Cooks, Marquise Brown
TE: Dallas Goedert, Dalton Schultz

If I get here with 1 QB, 3 RBs and 2 WRs, and I find Goedert leading the recommendations pretty easily. He does so despite sitting nearly a round behind Schultz in ADP. That difference means the DWR does not expect Schultz to reach you in Round 8, whereas Goedert is expected to. So the fact that Goedert is the top recommendation here points to our well-above-market position on him this year.

Unless you simply disagree with us on Goedert this year (no hard feelings), this is a good time to go ahead and grab him.

You certainly can take a chance that he gets back to you in Round 8, though, and favor a 4th RB or 3rd WR here if you prefer.

If I passed on QB to this point, I find Murray and Wilson at the top of the board.

Round 8

RB: Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Rhamondre Stevenson, Cordarrelle Patterson, Devin Singletary
WR: Brandin Cooks, Gabriel Davis, Rashod Bateman, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Darnell Mooney
TE: Dallas Goedert

If you passed on Goedert last turn and still find him available, the board is forcefully telling you it’s time. You can take some runs through our Mock Draft Trainer (“Mock Draft” button on your Teams & Boards page) to test out picking vs. passing on Goedert in Round 7. For this exercise, I went ahead and selected Goedert in Round 7, getting me to this turn with 1 QB, 1 TE, 3 RBs and 2 WRs.

In that scenario, I find CEH, Cooks, Stevenson and Patterson leading my pick recommendations, with mild separation among them. Cooks stands out less in a scoring format that leans away from reception volume and toward TD upside, so I’d likely pass on him here.

ADP says Smith-Schuster and Bateman should make it back to me in Round 9. Don’t count on ADP holding in this range if you covet a guy, though.

For this exercise, I’m taking an upside RB4 here.

Round 9

QB: Tom Brady, Trey Lance
RB: Rhamondre Stevenson, Cordarrelle Patterson
WR: Rashod Bateman, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Brandon Aiyuk, Darnell Mooney, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Elijah Moore

If your draft goes 16 rounds like this, then your board switches into Upside Mode with Round 9. That weighs our ceiling projections more heavily, along with the likelihood of players reaching those ceilings, to highlight guys with the most upside.

If you’d rather stick with the straight projections, then you can turn off Upside Mode just above the player rankings on your board. And if your draft goes longer than 16 rounds, then Upside Mode should turn on when you reach the halfway point.

This is a great time to grab your next WR, especially if our Breakout Player makes it this far.

The QBs sneak back into view here, if you already drafted 1. But you can also look to Brady and Lance as a guide for what would be available if you wait on the position. Either would still be fine as a QB1. And you could grab a 2nd QB within the next few rounds to hedge/platoon.

Round 10

QB: Trey Lance
RB: Darrell Henderson, Cordarrelle Patterson, Kenneth Walker
WR: JuJu Smith-Schuster, Brandon Aiyuk, Tyler Lockett, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Elijah Moore

Lance leads my board here as a backup QB. It’s OK to pass on backup QB altogether, as there are likely to be fill-in options on the waiver wire throughout the season in most 10-team leagues.

If you don’t go Lance, then RB and WR both look attractive. The WR options are more likely to be startable without a teammate getting injured.

Round 11

RB: Darrell Henderson, Tyler Allgeier
WR: Tyler Lockett, Drake London, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Chase Claypool, Treylon Burks, Kadarius Toney, Christian Kirk

RB and WR options lead the way here as well. David Njoku comes up next among TEs but should be available for at least a couple more rounds. Same for the next batch of QBs if you get here without a 2nd QB.

Rounds 12-13

RB: Rachaad White, Brian Robinson, Jamaal Williams, Isaiah Pacheco
WR: Drake London, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Chase Claypool, Christian Kirk, Treylon Burks, Garrett Wilson
TE: David Njoku, Hunter Henry

You should be hunting for upside in this range. That can mean handcuff types at RB, that can mean talented WRs with uncertain volume outlooks. That can even mean a backup at QB or TE, especially if you waited to grab your 1st guy at the position.

Rounds 14-16

Your final 3 selections will include fortifying any positional weakness or grabbing a high-ceiling reserve. You’ll also mix in a kicker and a defense.

You can almost ignore the overall team-defense rankings, which are based on full-season projections. That’s because we’d generally rather stream the position to take advantage of matchups as much as possible.

To that end, these look like attractive options …

Cleveland: at Panthers, vs. Jets, vs. Steelers, at Falcons
Denver: at Seahawks, vs. Texans, vs. 49ers
San Francisco: at Bears, vs. Seahawks

Pick 9 or 10

Rounds 1-2

RB: Austin Ekeler, Joe Mixon, Saquon Barkley, Nick Chubb
WR: Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, Stefon Diggs
TE: Travis Kelce

ADPs vary wildly from the middle of Round 1 through the end. So you might find Ekeler, Jefferson and/or Chase in play. Or all 3 might be long gone by your pick. The specific players reaching you here will significantly impact the pick recommendations. We'd grab at least 1 RB among these 2 picks for a non-PPR roster, though.

Try out different paths in our Mock Draft Trainer (“Mock Draft” button on your Teams & Boards page) to see which you prefer.

If you start 3 WRs and draft a RB 1st, then Diggs, CeeDee Lamb and Davante Adams should leap to the top of your recommended picks. Leaving Round 2 with 1 RB and 1 WR looks good for that format.

Rounds 3-4

RB: James Conner, Cam Akers, J.K. Dobbins, Elijah Mitchell, Josh Jacobs, Travis Etienne, David Montgomery
WR: Tee Higgins, A.J. Brown, Mike Williams, D.J. Moore
TE: Kyle Pitts

Get here with 2 RBs already rostered (in a 2-WR format), and you’ll still probably see Conner leading your board. That’s a testament to his place in our rankings, which is a testament to the workload lying in front of him. You’ll still be able to put together plenty of WR upside over the ensuing rounds.

That said, it’s OK if you feel comfier grabbing a WR here to go with your 2 RBs.

Rounds 5-6

QB: Kyler Murray
RB: Breece Hall, AJ Dillon
WR: Mike Williams, D.J. Moore, Allen Robinson, Jerry Jeudy, Jaylen Waddle, Marquise Brown
TE: Darren Waller, Dallas Goedert

If you get here with 3 RBs and 1 WR, then it’s a good time for that WR2. Grab Williams or Moore in Round 5 if available.

Around the turn, Murray likely leads your board. Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts joined Murray here in the original article, but ADP says neither is likely to reach you here now.

We’d pass on TE at this turn. And the board will have likely recommended that you get 3 RBs before this turn.

Rounds 7-8

RB: Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Tony Pollard, Rhamondre Stevenson, Cordarrelle Patterson, Devin Singletary
WR: Courtland Sutton, Brandin Cooks, Marquise Brown, Gabriel Davis, Rashod Bateman, Amari Cooper
TE: Dallas Goedert, Dalton Schultz

WR looks especially loaded at this turn, even with Allen Robinson likely no longer in the mix.

TEs also jump to the top of the board if you passed on Kelce (and others). If you’re picking 9th and both these TEs reach you, then you should obviously be able to wait around the turn to address that position. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Goedert sits 5th in our non-PPR projections at the position but 8th in ADP.

Leaving Round 8 with 3 early-round RBs, 3 WRs, 1 QB and 1 TE will have your squad in good shape. You can also get away with 4 RBs and 2 WRs if you prefer to fortify the backfield. If you do that, we’d recommend rounding out your draft with a couple more upside wideouts later.

If you did not draft a QB earlier, then Tom Brady, Russell Wilson and Matthew Stafford will likely pop at or near the top of your board around this turn. All are solid-to-strong QB1 options.

Rounds 9-10

QB: Trey Lance
RB: Rhamondre Stevenson, Darrell Henderson, Cordarrelle Patterson, Kenneth Walker, Alexander Mattison, James Cook
WR: Rashod Bateman, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Brandon Aiyuk, Tyler Lockett, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Elijah Moore

If your draft goes 16 rounds like this, then your board switches into Upside Mode with Round 9. That weighs our ceiling projections more heavily, along with the likelihood of players reaching those ceilings, to highlight guys with the most upside.

If you’d rather stick with the straight projections, then you can turn off Upside Mode just above the player rankings on your board. And if your draft goes longer than 16 rounds, then Upside Mode should turn on when you reach the halfway point.

Stevenson likely tops your board if he makes it to this turn. He’s trending up, though, so don’t count on him getting here.

RBs still lead the way – even if Stevenson’s gone – if you arrive with 3 rostered. Stashing any of these options as your 4th RB looks solid.

If Bateman gets to you in Round 9, though, grab him ahead of the turn. The upside for Baltimore’s new lead wideout is tremendous, especially at this stage in your draft.

Lance checks in as a high-upside QB2 if you waited on your 1st – or an intriguing “wait on a QB” starter. If you do already have a QB at this turn, though, we’d likely pass here.

Rounds 11-12

QB: Tua Tagovailoa, Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields
RB: Tyler Allgeier, Rachaad White, Khalil Herbert, Isiah Pacheco
WR: Drake London, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Kadarius Toney, Chase Claypool, Treylon Burks, Christian Kirk, George Pickens, Garrett Wilson
TE: David Njoku

A lot of names here, and that’s on purpose. You should be targeting upside at this point, and that’s more nebulous than straight projections. Your board has flipped to Upside Mode to help highlight the guys that we believe bring the highest ceilings. It’s also OK to target your favorites in this range.

Njoku and most of the QBs at this turn will likely stick around until your pick in the 13th (and maybe beyond).

Rounds 13-16

You’ll be targeting upside once again at the 13-14 turn. The specific names available will vary quite a bit by draft, but your goal shouldn’t. Don’t be afraid to take chances and/or grab players with question marks.

Of course, the final few rounds will also include your team-D and kicker selections. Picking at the turn makes it easier to wait for your final 2 picks to address those spots, because you don’t have to wait for the rest of the league to make their selections.

You can almost ignore the overall team-defense rankings, which are based on full-season projections. That’s because we’d generally rather stream the position to take advantage of matchups as much as possible.

To that end, these look like attractive options …

Cleveland: at Panthers, vs. Jets, vs. Steelers, at Falcons
Denver: at Seahawks, vs. Texans, vs. 49ers
San Francisco: at Bears, vs. Seahawks