Perfect Draft: 9th in a 10-Team ESPN PPR League

Aug 13, 2021

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The ninth spot in a 10-Team league is a very interesting one for fantasy managers. There are a wide variety of ways that you can start off your draft that would lead to many different types of teams. One big advantage of picking here is the control you have between your picks. With selections just two apart, you can make decisions in pairs, and it’s easy to think one step ahead. Conversely, the big downside to this is the long turns. With a 17 selection gap, it could get frustrating seeing many of your targets fly off the draft board.

Draft Hero Settings

Roster Settings: 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex (WR/RB/TE), 1 Kicker, 1 DEF, seven bench spots
No restrictions on when to draft positional players: Even though it’s often recommended to wait on drafting some positions, I’ll remove restrictions in case any values present themselves. With this being said, I’ll almost definitely only take a defense and kicker in the last few rounds.
Limit 1 TE, K, DEF: Limiting these less important positions to just one makes the draft a lot more realistic and challenging.
Targets: Terry McLaurin and Jaylen Waddle. I’ll explain why I like these specific targets in their respective draft rounds, assuming I am able to land them.

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Round 1, Pick 9 (9) - WR Tyreek Hill, Chiefs

The first eight picks of the draft went down similar to how I expected it to, with seven running backs, a tight end (Travis Kelce), and a receiver (Davante Adams) going off the board. This positions us nicely to select 4for4’s number two projected receiver in Tyreek Hill. The speedy Chiefs wideout finished as the overall WR2 last season, posting over 1200 receiving yards and 15 receiving touchdowns. Hill also proved that he could consistently be great for fantasy, having just one week with below five fantasy points. He's one of the rare players that can single-handedly win you your week–just look at his 269 yards, three touchdown performance from last year. Hill is an excellent player and a good way to start off our draft.

If you aren’t appealed by Hill, receiver Stefon Diggs is another solid pick here. Diggs had a breakout season in Buffalo last year, and should once again be near the top of the league in targets. As far as running backs go, both Austin Ekeler and Aaron Jones are viable selections at ninth overall as well.

Suggested alternatives: Calvin Ridley, Stefon Diggs, DeAndre Hopkins, Austin Ekeler

My top alternative: Stefon Diggs