🏆 The best draft strategies are always changing. Here's how to optimize yours now.

The RB market shifted significantly in the last two weeks. Here's what that means for every draft position and how to build the best team at your spot right now.

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September 3, 2026 12:34pm EDT

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The Fantasy Draft Landscape Just Changed. Here's How to Navigate It From Any Draft Position.

We are six days away from the start of the NFL season. If you drafted a week or two ago and have another draft coming up, you should know the best strategies are always changing.

Injuries to Jeremiyah Love and Ashton Jeanty, as well as Josh Jacobs landing on the Commissioner's Exempt list, have made it more difficult to add two running backs you’re happy with. We’ve seen Chase Brown, Kenneth Walker III and Omarion Hampton move from the middle-late parts of the second round to the early parts of the second round in a 12-person league, and Javonte Williams and Breece Hall have moved to the middle of the third round.

Anyone picking at the end of the first round knows they can no longer get a top-16 running back in the third round as they could before, making running back a bigger need for them in the second round. While the third and fourth picks were a fine position to pick from a month ago, it is now much more difficult to get a team you’re happy with. Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson are gone, leaving you with wide receivers as your top option with your first pick. Once the second round rolls around, the top-12 running backs are often off the board, and your best options are again at wide receiver. While you can add a running back early in the third round at a fine price, you are either reaching for a great running back in the first two rounds or gambling at running back in the fourth round or later.

We constantly update our perfect draft strategy articles to reflect these ADP shifts, which can change the strategy. Check out our perfect draft strategy hub to find the strategy that most closely ties to your league size and where you’re picking, and to find the strategies you should know ahead of your draft so you can put together an optimal team.

FIND YOUR PERFECT DRAFT STRATEGY

Nathan Jahnke

Lead Fantasy Football Analyst

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🏆 The best draft strategies are always changing. Here's how to optimize yours now.

The RB market shifted significantly in the last two weeks. Here's what that means for every draft position and how to build the best team at your spot right now.

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