Fantasy Football No. 6 Draft Pick Strategy: How to Win From the Sixth Overall Position

Michael Fabiano | Jul 30, 2025

Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown has emerged into one of fantasy football's most durable and consistent receivers. / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Dead center. It’s where you want to hit all of your golf shots (wouldn’t that be nice?), or where you’d like your throws to hit in a game of darts. If you’re a baseball fan, it’s also where a batter would love for every pitch to be to hit the ball a country mile.

Hello, Aaron Judge!

For countless fantasy football fans, dead center is also the preferred position to be when you’re having your upcoming 2025 fantasy drafts … right in the middle.

The benefit, of course, is that unlike being at the top or bottom of the draft, you won’t have an extended wait in between making picks. Being at No. 6, you’ll have exactly 12 picks in between every pick. You also won’t miss out on one of the top players in fantasy football.

In fact, there’s a chance you’ll be able to land the No. 1 or 2 running back in PPR leagues a season ago. You can also still get one heck of a good wide receiver to start your build.

Being at this point in the draft order, you have your choice of all but five players in the first round and you won’t be bored to death while waiting to make your next pick(s). As a result, it’s imperative to have a good strategy that will help you build a championship-level roster.

That’s where I come in! 

To help you draft the best possible fantasy football squad from the sixth overall pick, here’s a look into my fantasy football head space and the decisions I would make in each and every round from No. 6. Also, I’ll give you some of the actual 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 can also check out my Top 200 player rankings to help prep for the draft.

Alright, let’s kick things off!

All Picks: No. 1 | No. 2 | No. 3 | No. 4 | No. 5 | No. 7 | No. 8 | No. 9 | No. 10 | No. 11 | No. 12

No. 6 Fantasy Football Draft Pick Strategy

Rounds 1-2

Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, Falcons running back Bijan Robinson, Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson and Eagles running back Saquon Barkley are the top four picks based on FantasyPros ADP data. I’m in agreement in the top three, but I have CeeDee Lamb fourth and Jahmyr Gibbs fifth … both ahead of Barkley. My guess is that Gibbs will be gone at No. 6 (he could go as high as No. 2 or 3 overall), but Barkley could still be on the board.

However, I’m going to pass on him for fear of regression.

If you decide to take Barkley here, I wouldn’t have a huge issue with it. But I’d prefer to let someone else grab him off his magical season. Instead, I’d go with the best wide receiver still on the board. In most cases, that wide receiver will be Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown.

That’s what makes the sixth pick different than the top five … you can follow my rankings, use your own or go with your gut. And to be honest, there are several players who have yet to be drafted in the top five (like Barkley, St. Brown, Malik Nabers or Puka Nacua) who are worth it. So, again, this pick will come down to personal preference in a lot of leagues.

In Round 2 (pick No. 19), and assuming I landed St. Brown in the first round, I’ll look for the best available running back or wide receiver in most cases. Based on FantasyPros ADP data, that’s going to give me a choice of running backs like Derrick Henry, Jonathan Taylor or Christian McCaffrey or wideouts like A.J. Brown, Garrett Wilson or Ladd McConke.  

McCaffrey’s injury issues scare the heck out of me so I would more than likely pass on him, but you might not be as concerned. If you do draft CMC, make sure to get Isaac Guerendo later in the draft as insurance. I’ll let you know exactly where a bit later in this article.

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 at the middle 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 you will 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. 6): St. Brown
Fabs’ ideal Round 2 picks (No. 19): Henry/McCaffrey/Taylor/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. 29 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 one of Brown, Wilson or McConkey at this spot in the draft.

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 are still on the board into the fifth round, and you won’t have too long a wait to make a pick.

It’s important to keep tabs on whether or not 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.

In this case, I’m going with the best available player between the running backs and wideouts. Based on ADP data, that could be Kenneth Walker III, Alvin Kamara, DJ Moore, Chuba Hubbard, Joe Mixon or DK Metcalf.

Fabs’ ideal Round 3 picks (No. 30): Wilson/McConkey/Tyreek Hill
Fabs’ ideal Round 4 picks (No. 43): Walker III/Kamara/Moore/Hubbard/Mixon/Metcalf

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Michael Fabiano (@michael_fabiano_)

Rounds 5-6

The beauty of having a pick smack-dab in the middle of the draft is that you never have to wait too long to make a pick. 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 54th overall pick.

In the first scenario, I’m grabbing my second running back here (maybe Mixon or James Conner). If I already have an RB2, I’ll likely go with the best available back or wideout in the fifth round. More than likely, it will be the latter to grab that third receiver. Metcalf, Courtland Sutton, DeVonta Smith and Xavier Worthy could be on the board.

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 wideouts, 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. The best options based on ADP would be guys like Kaleb Johnson, Isiah Pacheco, Jaylen Waddle or Chris Olave.

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. 54): Mixon/Conner/Metcalf/Sutton/Smith/Worthy
Fabs’ ideal Round 6 picks (No. 67): LaPorta/Johnson/Waddle//Pacheco/Olave

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, the trio of Patrick Mahomes, Baker Mayfield or Bo Nix could be on the board. I’d still wait, however, looking instead to get a younger running back or wide receiver. The best available players are likely to be on the tier of Kaleb Johnson, Olave or Rome Odunze.

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, it’s either time to fill your 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 player options like Jaylen Warren, Rome Odunze or Ricky Pearsall.

Fabs’ ideal Round 7 picks (No. 78): Hockenson/Kelce/Hunter/Henderson/Odunze/Johnson
Fabs’ ideal Round 8 picks (No. 91): Nix/Murray/Warren/Odunze/Pearsall

Rounds 9-10

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

This is also a good time to grab sleepers or even a handcuff such as Isaac Guerendo or Zach Charbonnet. Other good options who will be available at this point in drafts include Jordan Mason, Jakobi Meyers or Evan Engram … again, this is all based on how your roster is built. But getting depth with upside is important in these mid-to-late rounds.

Looking ahead to the sixth pick of the 10th round (115th 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, Fields or Jared Goff.

You could also continue to bolster your depth with some young players like Travis Etienne Jr., J.K. Dobbins, Jordan Mason or Michael Pittman Jr. will likely still be on the board.

Fabs’ ideal Round 9 picks (No. 102): Purdy/Prescott/Guerendo/Charbonnet
Fabs’ ideal Round 10 picks (No. 115): Fields/Goff/Etienne Jr./Dobbins/Mason/Pittman Jr.

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 is often value to be had. 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.