Perfect Fantasy Football Draft: 4th in a 10-Team ESPN PPR League

The fourth pick is one of my favorite spots to draft from this season. The early rounds are fun to navigate, as there are a number of different superstars you could select to control the way your team is constructed. The only real downside with the fourth pick is that it is somewhat in “draft order purgatory”—managers will never have selections closer than seven picks together, leaving them more susceptible to having a pick stolen from them.

In this article, I will walk through my favorite players in each round that should be available to me based on ESPN ADP and discuss my overall draft strategy from this draft spot.

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 Fourth

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

It’s important to always remain flexible in drafts, but here’s a general overview of how I’d like my draft to pan out when picking fourth in a 10-team PPR league. First and foremost, I’m looking to take one of the top receivers in the first round. That usually works out great from the 1.04, as Christian McCaffrey is the only running back consistently going in the first three picks of drafts. After that, I wouldn’t place too much emphasis on any particular position and prefer a more balanced positional allocation breakdown. I would also aim to take either an elite QB or an elite TE in the first five or so rounds.

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

Round 1, Pick 4 (4) - WR Tyreek Hill, Dolphins

This might be a reach on paper—Hill’s ADP is seventh overall in most leagues—but with Justin Jefferson, Christian McCaffrey, and Ja'Marr Chase off the board, I feel Hill is the best player available. He had an astounding first season with the Dolphins last year, racking up 1,710 yards on 119 receptions en route to an overall WR2 finish. He was able to put up such gaudy numbers despite quarterback Tua Tagovailoa missing four games due to injury. With Tagovailoa expected to be healthy for 2023, Hill could put up even better numbers this year. He can be penciled in for 150 targets (he had 170 last season) and it goes without saying that he is arguably the most dynamic player in the NFL with the ball in his hands.

I strongly considered taking Cooper Kupp here, but news of his hamstring strain worries me. Kupp is already coming off a high ankle sprain, which has a high re-injury risk, and hamstrings are also notoriously difficult to fully recover from. In all likelihood, Kupp will be fine, but in the first round, I want to minimize risk as much as possible. I would prefer both Hill and Kupp to Austin Ekeler, as locking in an elite receiver is more valuable in PPR formats.

My top alternatives: Austin Ekeler, Cooper Kupp, Travis Kelce

Round 2, Pick 7 (17) - RB Nick Chubb, Browns

Chubb is the ideal RB1 to complement a first-round receiver. He has finished as an RB1 in each of the last four seasons, and is widely regarded as the best pure rusher in the NFL. While he doesn’t catch passes at the same rate as some of the other elite fantasy running backs, his prowess on the ground more than makes up for it. With the Browns' offense expected to take a jump with a full season of Deshaun Watson under center, Chubb should comfortably finish as a top-12 RB once again and has top-5 upside if this offense lives up to its potential.

My top alternatives: Tony Pollard, Derrick Henry, Garrett Wilson

Round 3, Pick 4 (24) - TE Mark Andrews, Ravens

Sticking with a balanced approach to the draft, I’m going to address the tight end position early and take Andrews, the consensus TE2. Andrews was a bit of a disappointment in fantasy last year, finishing as the TE4 and scoring just 10.3 fantasy points per game. However, there’s reason to believe Andrews is ready to bounce back. Quarterback Lamar Jackson missed five games due to injury last season, and Andrews averaged nearly five fantasy points per game less in those games. Andrews is also the clear No. 1 option in the Ravens' offense and presumably will lead the team in targets. I’m willing to bet that Andrews will get back to his usual productivity and once again challenge Travis Kelce for the overall TE1 throne.

My top alternatives: DeVonta Smith, Tee Higgins, Josh Allen

Round 4, Pick 7 (37) - WR Keenan Allen, Chargers

Allen dealt with injuries for a big part of the first half of last season, but he was incredibly useful once he came back in Week 11. In fact, from then on, Allen was the overall WR4 in fantasy behind only Davante Adams, Justin Jefferson, and A.J. Brown. In other words, even though Allen isn’t the most exciting player, he proved that he is still capable of being an elite fantasy asset. The Chargers' offense should only get better this season with a healthy Justin Herbert and Kellen Moore calling plays instead of Joe Lombardi, so I’m confident that Allen will continue to be a rock-solid WR2 for our team.

My top alternatives: Terry McLaurin, Jahmyr Gibbs, Najee Harris

Round 5, Pick 4 (44) - RB Aaron Jones, Packers

Jones is one of my favorite players to target in drafts this year. He is the only running back in the NFL to finish as an RB1 in each of the last four seasons and hasn’t really had any changes to his situation. He has seen around 200 carries and 70 targets every year since 2019 and has proven that he can produce alongside competitors like Jamaal Williams and A.J. Dillon. Jones could see more work through the air than usual considering the unproven Packers receiving corps, and should be a very reliable RB2 this season.

My top alternatives: Tyler Lockett, Drake London, Miles Sanders

Round 6, Pick 7 (57) - WR Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers

We’ve taken a lot of dependable but unexciting players thus far, so let’s spice things up and take Aiyuk, one of the most explosive receivers in the NFL. Aiyuk had a very solid 2022 campaign, leading the 49ers in receptions and receiving yards. He has also lit up 49ers training camp and looks ready to take his game to another level. With news that quarterback Brock Purdy should be ready to go to start the season, the 49ers' offense should also continue to be among the top units in the league. Aiyuk’s weekly consistency might not be great because the 49ers have so many offensive weapons, but our other receivers have high enough floors that we can afford some volatility, especially because Aiyuk has legitimate top-15 upside.

My top alternatives: Chris Godwin, Marquise Brown, Trevor Lawrence

Round 7, Pick 4 (64) - QB Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars

To fill out my starting lineup I’ll take Lawrence, who is the last QB available before we see a significant tier drop to guys like Geno Smith and Dak Prescott. Lawrence had a great sophomore season last year, leading the Jaguars to the playoffs and finishing as the overall QB7 in fantasy. He still hasn’t made the so-called “leap” yet, but with another year in Doug Pederson’s offense and receiver Calvin Ridley entering the fold, Lawrence looks poised for a breakout season. Lawrence is also capable of adding some production on the ground, which boosts his fantasy floor. He’s a solid value in the seventh round and can be a set-and-forget starter for us at quarterback.

My top alternatives: Mike Evans, Alexander Mattison, Darren Waller (if no tight end yet)

Round 8, Pick 7 (77) - WR Jahan Dotson, Commanders

Dotson has been receiving a lot of hype out of Commanders training camp after quietly having a solid rookie year. He totaled 523 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns in 12 games and was the clear No. 2 in the offense behind Terry McLaurin.

August 4 reminder that Jahan Dotson is good at footballpic.twitter.com/GG6aKnMSj4

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) August 4, 2023

While the Commanders’ quarterback situation is a little concerning—Sam Howell and Jacoby Brissett are currently battling for the starting job—I’m willing to bet on Dotson’s talent and draft capital (he was taken with the 16th pick of the 2022 NFL Draft) in the later rounds of drafts, as we won’t be relying on him to start for us.

My top alternatives: Gabriel Davis, Zay Flowers, Javonte Williams

Round 9, Pick 4 (84) - RB James Cook, Bills

Cook had a promising rookie season in 2022, displaying talent as both a rusher and pass-catcher. He led the league in breakaway run percentage and earned a top-15 receiving grade among running backs per PFF. The main issue with Cook is that we don’t know how much volume he will receive. The Bills signed bruising running backs Damien Harris and Latavius Murray this off-season, and they will likely take the goalline work along with Josh Allen. Similar to Dotson the round before, I’m betting that Cook’s talent will win out and he earns close to a three-down role for the Bills. Considering Nick Chubb and Aaron Jones are two of the most consistent running backs in the league, the reward outweighs the risk with Cook.

My top alternatives: James Conner, Alvin Kamara, Elijah Moore

Round 10, Pick 7 (97) - WR Elijah Moore, Browns

Moore was traded to the Browns this past March after a rollercoaster ride with the Jets where he showed flashes, but also openly complained about his usage. His fantasy value is tied closely to Deshaun Watson’s play—if Watson improves from last season and makes the Browns a legitimate offense, Moore could thrive in the WR2 role next to Amari Cooper. At 23 years old Moore is still very young, and worth a shot this late in drafts.

My top alternatives: Devon Achane, Odell Beckham, A.J. Dillon

Top Late-Round Targets

Overall, I’m very happy with the way this draft turned out. We have a lot of no-nonsense players that are guaranteed to produce barring injury, and supplemented them with exciting breakout candidates in the later rounds, which is exactly the mold of most championship teams. Here are some players I’d consider selecting to close out the draft. Note that we definitely do not need to roster more than one QB or TE as we have premier options at both of those positions.