Perfect Fantasy Football Draft: 3rd in a 12-Team Yahoo Half-PPR League

Aug 22, 2023

Perfect Draft: 3rd in a 12-Team Yahoo Half-PPR League

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The No. 3 spot in fantasy football drafts is one of the most fun places to pick from this year. You will get to draft an undisputed superstar in the first round, and the short turns are just five picks long, giving you plenty of control over the way you construct your roster. That does mean that the long turns leave you susceptible to positional runs, but overall, the third pick is a phenomenal draft spot that puts you in a great position to build a championship-worthy team.

In this article, I will walk through my favorite players in each round that should be available to me based on Yahoo ADP and discuss my overall draft strategy from the No. 3 spot in a 12-team league.

More Perfect Drafts

ESPN 12-Team PPR: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |12
ESPN 10-Team PPR: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
Yahoo 12-Team Half-PPR: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |12
Yahoo 10-Team Half-PPR: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

The 4for4 staff uses the Draft Hero software for all of our leagues. Draft Hero syncs directly to your league and optimizes each pick using projections and value-based rankings from 4for4. Draft Hero lets you customize your draft experience with settings on which rounds you want to draft a position, how many players you want at each position, and players to target or avoid.

For those new to Draft Hero, be sure to explore this walkthrough of the app.

My Plan of Attack When Drafting Third

Roster Settings: 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex (WR/RB/TE), 1 Kicker, 1 DEF, six bench spots

It is obviously important to remain flexible during your fantasy drafts, but here’s a general overview of how I’d like to build my roster from the No. 3 spot:

Load up on wide receivers: Because Yahoo leagues start three wide receivers as well as a FLEX, I’m going to prioritize taking several top-notch receiving options in the early rounds as there will be a higher demand for them later on.
Wait on tight end: Picking third overall is a weird place to take a tight end as we miss a lot of the middle-round TEs during our long 3/4 and 5/6 turns, which are 19 picks apiece. So, I’m fine with grabbing a later-round tight end and loading up on the other positions.
Don’t be afraid to reach: I’m not advising you to completely ignore ADP and positional value, but because there might be positional runs during the long turns, don’t hesitate to reach a little on someone who you don’t think will make it back to your next pick.

Take lottery ticket running backs late: I’m going to be highlighting receivers through the early and middle rounds, so it will be important to take lots of high-upside running backs to close the draft as our RB depth will be a little worse.

Continue reading for a breakdown of my favorite picks through Round 10 and a list of the best late-round targets at each position.