☝️ The no. 1 draft STRATEGY in 2023

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It's The Touchdown Press Newsletter. Your #1 source for all things fantasy football, DFS, and sports betting, along with 10,000+ fellow degenerates.

It’s hump day! May your Wednesday be filled with more TDs than midweek blues can handle.

Today in 5 minutes or less, you’ll learn:

• What to do in each round of your draft 🤷‍♂️

• How to build a winning roster 📈 

• Specific names to target in all phases ✍️

• Fantasy-relevant NFL player news 🏈

Round 1: Draft the best at your spot

Wide receiver? Running back? Travis Kelce?

Anyone who’s played fantasy football knows the one rule for the first two rounds: don’t miss.

It’s super important to grab a highly productive player who you can build your whole team around. To that end, you have some really great options in round 1.

My favorite options if you have a top 5 pick:

• Justin Jefferson 🔥 

• Ja’Marr Chase

• Christian McCaffrey

• Cooper Kupp

Any of these guys can carry your squad. If you’re picking later in the round, you will still get a great player. Any one of:

• Stefon Diggs 🔥 

• Austin Ekeler

• A.J. Brown

• Bijan Robinson

I tend to be of the opinion that Travis Kelce’s price is a little steep for my blood, but I understand the strategy of grabbing a guaranteed advantage at fantasy’s trickiest position.

Round 2: Draft a top WR or RB

Round 2 is about drafting guys with the most possible production. If you got Ekeler, CMC, or Bijan Robinson in round 1, you’ll definitely want to focus on WR, especially in PPR leagues.

It’s alright to grab your RB1 here as well.

Here are some of my favorite round 2 targets:

• Amon-Ra St. Brown

• Garrett Wilson

• Nick Chubb

• Jaylen Waddle 🔥 

• Saquon Barkley 🔥 

• Tony Pollard

You can feel good here walking away with a great WR-RB combo, or even with 2 top WRs.

Round 3: Draft guys with top-5 upside

Again, I like to stick to WRs and RBs that have the potential to finish higher than this draft position suggests.

Yes, you’ll start to miss out on some of the top QBs here. That’s ok, unless you’re playing superflex. I think you can start to look for big-time QB value starting in round 5 or so.

You need to BE AWARE of some of the risks in this spot too. Guys like Jonathan Taylor and Josh Jacobs look amazing on paper as 3rd-rounders, but they have a lot of drama with their clubs and their situations are unsettled. For those reasons I tend to be a bit more risk-averse with them.

So who do I like in round 3?

• Rhamondre Stevenson 🔥 

• Tee Higgins

• Jahmyr Gibbs 🔥 

• Amari Cooper

• Keenan Allen

Any of these guys has a legitimate shot to rise to the upper echelon at their positions.

Rhamondre Stevenson is 3rd in target percentage and WOPR, and RB2 in RACR, according to @MBFantasylife.

Round 4: Read the draft room

ADP is great for research and preparation, but not all leagues are created equal. Some groups will have started an extended run on QBs by now, while you may still be able to grab a guy like Josh Allen or Justin Fields in round 4.

If you feel comfortable with your first 3 picks, you can go that route if you need to, but I tend to feel like there are guys on the board who will give your team a better return at other positions.

Some guys with high ceilings going in the 4th:

• Jerry Jeudy

• Christian Watson

• Travis Etienne

• D.J. Moore 🔥 

• Breece Hall

Rounds 5 and 6: Play the value game

At this point, you want to look at who’s on your team and who’s still available. I’m alright with starting to look at QB if a guy like Joe Burrow or Justin Herbert falls to you.

Some of my favorite values in this range include guys who may see a higher target share or who are being undervalued:

• Brandon Aiyuk

• Aaron Jones

• Diontae Johnson 🔥 

• Mike Evans

• Cam Akers

They should all provide some solid value for this point. Check out Diontae Johnson’s highly-ranked target numbers (per Matthew Berry’s Fantasy Life website):

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Rds 7 and 8: TE time OR stay the course

At this point you’re getting into the territory where you can find some of my favorite value TEs.

• Darren Waller 🔥 

• Dallas Goedert

• Kyle Pitts

• Evan Engram

All of them are in situations where they could believably challenge for top-5, while others have already drafted George Kittle and Mark Andrews, who I view as riskier.

If you don’t land in a spot for these guys, there are still some excellent targets at the other positions left on the board:

• James Conner

• Jahan Dotson 🔥 

• Zay Flowers

• Dalvin Cook

• Skyy Moore

Rounds 9 and 10: QBs with high floors

Do you have your QB yet? If so, you can stay the course and keep searching for those good values.

If not? Don’t sweat it. Your roster is stronger at the other spots, and you can find some excellent options this late.

Just keep in mind that since you waited, you might want to turn around and draft a backup QB in the next couple of rounds to maximize the odds of hitting on a good one.

These are my favorite late QB targets who I think are capable of rising into the top 10:

• Geno Smith

• Daniel Jones 🔥 

• Kirk Cousins

• Dak Prescott

Other great options in this range:

• Antonio Gibson

• Pat Freiermuth 🔥 

• Nico Collins

• De’Von Achane

Rounds 11+: Sleepers and handcuffs

Here’s where you take a look at your roster’s depth and find the values associated with those positions.

Some guys I like after pick 120 or so:

• Ezekiel Elliott

• Rondale Moore

• Chig Okonkwo

• Jayden Reed

• Kenny Pickett 🔥

• D.J. Chark

• Luke Musgrave

• Isaiah Hodgins

Ultimately, you don’t want to waste any picks, but keep in mind guys who are being drafted low who have good situations around them and a possibility to contribute.

Last Rounds: Defense and Kicker

These two positions get a bad rap.

It makes sense, since there’s more variable here than with the standard offensive guys.

Still, I feel it’s worth it to know which teams are stronger on defense. It’s convenient to set it and forget it each week.

My current top 5 D targets:

• Dallas

• San Francisco

• New England

• Philadelphia

• Buffalo

Some people will advise you to forgo a kicker completely, as it becomes a streaming position for many of us.

I’m of the philosophy that you should draft a guy from a strong offense who will get more chances to produce points:

• Justin Tucker

• Evan McPherson

• Jason Myers

• Younghoe Koo

• Tyler Bass

And that’s all she wrote!

Taking this strategy into 2023 has already helped me build some strong-looking teams, and I hope it does for you too.

🎉 Gesicki Back at Practice: Pats' TE Ready to Go

🏃‍♂️ Ty Montgomery Returns: Pats' RB Battle Heating Up

🏈 Browns' RB2 eyes Week 1: Hopeful Ford on the Mend

🩹 Redskins' Star Receiver Toes the Line

🚑 Sanders Ready for Week 1: Panthers' RB Groin to Shine

🤕 Shenault in Protocol: WR Takes a Concussion Hit

🔧 JSN's Wrist Surgery: Seahawks' Rookie WR Faces Repair

🏈 Mayfield Named Starter: Bucs QB Derby Ends with Baker

🚫 Beware of Bijan: Falcons' Rookie RB Could Disappoint

🤕 Walker's Groin Not a Worry: Seahawks RB Ready to Roar

It’s crunch time now everyone! If you haven’t drafted yet, what are you waiting for? Get out there and make it happen.

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