Perfect Fantasy Football Draft: 8th in a 10-Team ESPN PPR League

Aug 25, 2023

Perfect Draft: 8th in a 10-Team ESPN PPR League

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Although picking in the back of the order can sometimes be difficult, the eighth pick is one of the better spots to draft from in fantasy football this year. There are a plethora of players worthy of a late-first-round pick going near the first turn, meaning you will get a pair of excellent tier-two players to start your draft picking eighth. The No. 8 spot also offers plenty of flexibility to managers, as there will be top-notch players at both receiver and running back available in the first few rounds. Although the long turns between picks are an obvious downside, the eighth pick is still a great draft spot that will allow you to build a league-winning lineup.

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 the No. 8 spot in a 10-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 Eighth

Roster Settings: 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex (WR/RB/TE), 1 Kicker, 1 DEF, seven 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 8 spot:

Go Anchor-RB: The eighth pick is a great place to try out the Anchor-RB strategy, as we can take an elite RB in the first and then load up on other positions in the following rounds. I’m not going to be picking my second RB until after the dead zone ends in about the seventh round.

Prioritize pass-catchers over big-play threats: This is a full-PPR league, meaning receivers who catch a lot of passes hold a lot more value. So, slot receivers who will be peppered with targets likely make more sense in this format than lower-volume, downfield options. This also applies to running backs, as they will have higher floors if they contribute to the passing game.

Take a high-end QB and TE: Because I’m going to wait on my second running back, I have more leeway in the middle rounds to take other positions. As a result, I’m hoping to secure a top-five quarterback and tight end so we don’t have to worry about the position in the later 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.'