Fantasy Football No. 8 Draft Pick Strategy: How to Win From the Eighth Overall Spot

Michael Fabiano | Jul 30, 2025

Eagles RB Saquon Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards and finished second in fantasy points among running backs last season. / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Back in 2011, mega-producers Steven Spielberg and J.J. Abrahms came out with a science fiction thriller called Super 8. It was about a group of kids in a small Ohio town that found that an alien had been unleashed in their area after a train wreck. It was kind of a mix of movies like The Goonies and Stand By Me, the latter starring my pal Jerry O’Connell.

For many in the fantasy football world, you’ll have the eighth overall pick in your draft … and I’m here to help you make it “super.”  I’m here to avoid any scary alien monsters (busts and duds) while keeping your draft strategy on the right (train) track en route to building a team that will not only compete for a playoff berth, but also a fantasy league championship.

The benefit, of course, is that unlike being at the top or bottom of the draft, you won’t have too long a wait in between making picks. Being at No. 8, you also won’t miss out on one of the top players in fantasy football. In fact, there’s a chance that you’ll be able to land the No. 2 running back in PPR leagues a season ago or a potentially elite No. 1 wide receiver.

Being at this point in the draft order, you have your choice of all but seven 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 eighth overall pick, here’s a look into my fantasy football headspace and the decisions I would make in each and every round from No. 8. 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. Also, check out my Top 200 player rankings to help make smart decisions.

Alright, let’s kick things off!

All Picks: No. 1 | No. 2 | No. 3 | No. 4 | No. 5 | No. 6 | No. 7 | No. 9 | No. 10 | No. 11 | No. 12

No. 8 Fantasy Football Draft Pick Strategy

Rounds 1-2

Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, Falcons running back Bijan Robinson, Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley and CeeDee Lamb are the top five picks based on FantasyPros ADP data. I’m in agreement in four of those five, but I have Jahmyr Gibbs fifth … ahead of Barkley. I also have Malik Nabers ahead of Barkley (you might disagree), but this is where I see the Eagles running back coming off the board.

Again, he might (and likely will) be gone at this point in most drafts, especially if you’re in a league with folks who are more casual and see his high level of success in 2024. That’s fine. But I’m trying to draft this year’s best team, not last year’s. And with regression almost a guarantee (and an appearance on the Madden cover), I’ve got Barkley at eighth overall.

In Round 2 (pick No. 20), and assuming I landed Barkley 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 A.J. Brown, Garrett Wilson or Ladd McConkey. You might get lucky and get Drake London, but that would be less likely based on the data.

The potential for Barkley to regress in the stat sheets or get hurt after a huge 2024 workload is a concern, so I would be sure to finish the draft with strong backfield depth. I’ll let you know exactly where I would start that part of my draft build a little 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 near the end 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. 8): Barkley
Fabs’ ideal Round 2 picks (No. 17): Brown/London/Wilson/McConkey

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. 31 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 McConkey, Terry McLaurin or Tyreek Hill at this spot.

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 since you’re as close to the middle of the draft order as possible without being there.

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. 32): Wilson/McConkey/McLaurin/Hill
Fabs’ ideal Round 4 picks (No. 41): 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 closer to 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 56th 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. Courtland Sutton, DeVonta Smith, Xavier Worthy and Jameson Williams 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. Rookies like RJ Harvey or TreVeyon Henderson or a veteran like David Montgomery 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. 56): Mixon/Conner/Sutton/Smith/Worthy/Williams
Fabs’ ideal Round 6 picks (No. 65): LaPorta/Henderson/Harvey/Montgomery

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. The best available players are likely to be on the tier of Brian Robinson Jr., Jerry Jeudy 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.

Towards the top 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, Odunze or Ricky Pearsall.

Fabs’ ideal Round 7 picks (No. 80): Hockenson/Kelce/Robinson Jr./Jeudy/Odunze
Fabs’ ideal Round 8 picks (No. 89): Nix/Murray/Warren/Odunze/Pearsall

Rounds 9-10

With the eighth 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 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 Issac Guerendo or Zach Charbonnet. Other good options who will be available at this point in drafts include Jakobi Meyers, J.K. Dobbins or Evan Engram … again, this is all based on how your roster is built. Veterans like Cooper Kupp and Mark Andrews 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 fifth pick of the 10th round (113th 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 Justin Fields 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. 104): Purdy/Prescott/Williams/Dobbins/Skattebo/Charbonnet/Guerendo
Fabs’ ideal Round 10 picks (No. 113): Fields/Goff/Warren/Spears/Skattebo/Burden III

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.