Fantasy Football No. 10 Draft Pick Strategy : How to Win From the 10th Overall Spot

Michael Fabiano | Jul 30, 2025

Dolphins RB De'Von Achane projects to be a first-round pick in 2025 fantasy football drafts. / Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

A Perfect 10.

It’s a term that can be used to describe a perfect score on a test, a person or thing that’s of the highest possible quality, or simply an exceptionally attractive person. In the world of fantasy football, I’m going to use the term to describe how to draft from the No. 10 spot.

If you’re reading this article, there’s a good chance you’re getting ready to draft your fantasy football team … it’s one of the most enjoyable parts of playing our great game, and it’s also one of (if not) the most important parts of being competitive and winning your league.

Unlike me, who participates in way too many leagues (LOL), you might have just one or two leagues to prepare for each season. As a result, you can focus your attention on how to successfully draft from one particular spot in the order. In this case, it’s the No. 10 pick.

The benefit, of course, is that you’ll have two picks in six spots between odd and even rounds, but you’ll also have an extended wait (20 picks) when the rounds go from even to odd. Being at No. 10, you’re very unlikely to get a top three running back or a top five wide receiver. Maybe you’ll get lucky and one will fall to you, but I wouldn’t count on it. And while you’ll still get a solid player, you might have to make a difficult decision in Round 1.

As a result, it’s imperative to have a good strategy for that 10th overall pick and the rest of the draft that will help you build a championship-level fantasy football roster.

That’s where I come in! 

To help you draft the best possible fantasy football squad from the 10th pick, here’s a look into my fantasy football head space and the decisions I would make in each and every round from that spot. Also, I’ll give you some of the players I’d most like to target in each round in a best-case scenario based on the average draft position data over at FantasyPros. You should also check out my Top 200 player rankings to get ready for the season.

Alright, let’s kick things off!

All Picks: No. 1 | No. 2 | No. 3 | No. 4 | No. 5 | No. 6 | No. 7 | No. 8 | No. 9 | No. 11 | No. 12

No. 10 Fantasy Football Draft Pick Strategy

Rounds 1-2

I mentioned earlier that managers with the 10th overall pick would have a tough choice to make … the choice is whether to draft Raiders rookie running back Ashton Jeanty or 49ers superstar (but injury -prone) running back Christian McCaffrey. Jeanty comes in at No. 10 based on FantasyPros ADP data, while CMC is coming in eighth (and rising very fast).

Selecting a first-year player might freak some managers out, and that’s understandable, but so is drafting a player like McCaffrey. He has played in seven or fewer games in three of the last five years. What’s more, I have Jeanty coming off the board with the No. 9 overall pick, and I don’t have CMC coming off the board until the second round (No. 16). If you want to take the risk on McCaffrey, feel free (and make sure you get Isaac Guerendo).

But for this exercise, I’m taking Miami running back De’Von Achane. He’s young at just 23 years old (24 in October) and he’s coming off a 2024 season that saw him score almost 300 PPR points. He has been and will continue to be a huge part of the Dolphins offense.

In Round 2 (pick No. 15), and assuming I landed Achane in the first round, I’ll look for the best available wide receiver in most cases. Based on FantasyPros ADP data, that’s going to give me a choice of wideouts like Brian Thomas Jr., Drake London or A.J. Brown. I’d take any one of this trio to be my No. 1 fantasy wide receiver heading into this new season.

If you want Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson, this is probably where you’ll need to take one of them since they might not be on the board near the bottom of Round 3. That’s not my personal jam, however. The same goes for the tight end. If you want Brock Bowers or Trey McBride, you’ll have to take them here or lose them because they’ll be gone by Round 3.

I typically wait on a quarterback and tight end though, and I might not even take a field general until the eighth or ninth round. It’s a deep position so I’d rather focus elsewhere.

Fabs’ ideal Round 1 pick (No. 10): Achane
Fabs’ ideal Round 2 picks (No. 15): Thomas Jr./London/Brown

Rounds 3-4

With a running back and a wideout on my roster, I’ll very likely be looking at a second wide receiver with the No. 34 overall pick. If you’re of the Hero-RB mindset (drafting one back in the first five to six rounds) you’ll definitely go with a second wide receiver in this spot. In that scenario, I could still get Garrett Wilson, Jaxson Smith-Njigba or Terry McLaurin.

You could also go with a tight end if Bowers or McBride fell, but don’t expect that to happen. Bowers is at No. 19 and McBride’s ADP on FantasyPros has him off the board at 26.5.

In Round 4, I’m going with the best player available at running back or wide receiver. If it’s a receiver, that’s fine to have three before you get your second runner. You’ll find good backs who are still on the board into the fifth round, so I would probably side with a wideout. In that case, I’ll have gone with three straight wideouts after taking Achane at No. 10. I wouldn’t force the issue if a good back fell to me, however, so keep tabs on the draft flow.

It’s important to keep tabs on whether there’s been a run at a particular position, leaving it a bit thinner in terms of depth and if you want to grab a player at that spot now or punt it down the line instead. The best players on the board in Round 4 based on Fantasy Pros ADP data include Joe Mixon, Alvin Kamara, Omarion Hampton, DK Metcalf, or DJ Moore. If you want a quarterback (I’d wait), Jalen Hurts could still be on the board.

Fabs’ ideal Round 3 picks (No. 34): Wilson/Smith-Njigba/McLaurin
Fabs’ ideal Round 4 picks (No. 39): Mixon/Kamara/Hampton/Metcalf/Moore

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Rounds 5-6

If you’ve followed my strategy, you have either one running back and three wide receivers or a pair at each position heading into the 58th overall pick. If I only have one running back, I’m grabbing my second here. Kamara or Mixon could still be on the board in some drafts, and Chuba Hubbard is also an option. If I already have an RB2 from a previous round, I’ll likely go with the best available wide receiver in the fifth round.

It’s at this point that I might look into a tight end based on who is available. My ideal first five rounds includes a pair of runners and three receivers, and tight ends like Sam LaPorta, T.J. Hockenson or Travis Kelce could still be on the board. If LaPorta were gone, however, I'd most likely punt the position down the line and grab another runner or wideout. Rookies like RJ Harvey or TreVeyon Henderson or a veteran like D’Andre Swift would make sense.

If you don’t have a quarterback yet, don’t fret … there will be plenty of good options in future rounds.

Fabs’ ideal Round 5 picks (No. 58): Kamara/Mixon /Hubbard
Fabs’ ideal Round 6 picks (No. 63): LaPorta/Henderson/Harvey/Swift

Rounds 7-8

I would continue to focus on the best player available strategy here, picking either a back or a wideout (assuming you took a tight end in Round 6). If you’re still without a tight end, now could be the time to target that position. Hockenson and Kelce could still be options. If they’re gone, I’d likely wait and punt the position down the road a few more rounds.

I’d also be looking at the draft flow and seeing what quarterbacks are on the board. Based on Fantasy Pros ADP, Bo Nix or Kyler Murray could be available. I’d still wait, however, looking instead to get a young running back or wide receiver like Quinshon Judkins, Kaleb Johnson, Rome Odunze or Travis Hunter. All could still be available at this point in drafts.

Don’t be afraid to keep kicking the quarterback position down the road, either. Again, there will be plenty of good players at the position still on the board in Rounds 8 and 9.

At the end of the eighth round, you can either fill that quarterback position (depending on the depth that’s left) or continue to bolster your offensive skill spots with potential sleepers. There’s a chance Murray could have slid to this round in some leagues. Otherwise you can look for upside players like Brian Robinson Jr., Jauan Jennings or Khalil Shakir.

Fabs’ ideal Round 7 picks (No. 82): Hockenson/Kelce/Hunter/Judkins/Odunze/Johnson
Fabs’ ideal Round 8 picks (No. 87): Nix/Murray/Robinson Jr./Jennings/Shakir

Rounds 9-10

With the 10th pick in the ninth round, you can go in any number of directions. Those who waited at quarterback, you can grab players like Brock Purdy, Dak Prescott or Caleb Williams. If there’s still depth at the position, you can still wait another round or two.

This is also a good time to grab sleepers or even a handcuff such as Guerendo or Zach Charbonnet. Other good options who will be available at this point in drafts include Jakobi Meyers, J.K. Dobbins Jordan Mason or Evan Engram … again, this is all based on how your roster is built. Veterans like Michael Pittman Jr. and David Njoku are also potential options based on ADP, but I like getting depth with upside players in these mid-to-late rounds.

Looking ahead to the third pick of the 10th round (111th overall pick), you could get a second quarterback (unless you took an elite player in the first five rounds, then I would wait a few more rounds). That would be borderline QB1s such as Prescott or Jared Goff. You could also continue to bolster your depth with some young players like rookie tight end Tyler Warren, runners Tyjae Spears, rookie Cam Skattebo or wideout Luther Burden III.

Fabs’ ideal Round 9 picks (No. 106): Purdy/Prescott/Williams/Meyers/Dobbins/Mason/Engram
Fabs’ ideal Round 10 picks (No. 111): Prescott/Goff/Warren/Spears/Burden/Jayden Higgins

Late Rounds (11-plus)

Once you’re in the final rounds, you should continue to focus on sleepers and players with upside (or just players who might have fallen a few rounds and are now bargains). There will still be a lot of good young quarterbacks, such as veterans like Justin Herbert or Jordan Love and sleepers like Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy.

I also like to grab a second tight end (unless I have one of the top five players) as another choice for my starting lineups. I mentioned Warren as an option in the previous round, but he could fall to Round 11 too. Jake Ferguson or Tucker Kraft are other attractive picks, and fantasy fans who like rookie tight ends who missed Warren could grab Colston Loveland.

Deep sleepers should be targeted, too. Think about players like Trey Benson, Jaylen Wright, Marvin Mims Jr., Cedric Tillman or Brenton Strange (to name a few). Throw those darts at players with a path to workload/targets or an injury away from being thrust into a big role.

You’ll also be rounding out your roster in these final stanzas, including drafting a kicker and a defense if they’re required (many leagues have removed both positions). I’d wait to draft those until the last two rounds, unless you want to grab a high-end kicker (Brandon Aubrey or Jake Bates) or defense (Broncos, Eagles, Steelers) in the third-to-last round.