How I Drafted the Perfect PPR Fantasy Football Lineup From Pick Number 4
Our Fantasy Sports On SI team gathered for its yearly fantasy football draft. The format is simple: 10-team PPR with: 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 2 FLEX, 1 TE, 1 DST, 1 K, and 5 Bench spots. Be sure to click on our NFL tab for everyone's own draft analysis. For me, I picked 4th overall in the snake draft, and this is what I came up with.
1.4 — Puka Nacua
The usual suspects were taken: Jahmyr Gibbs, Ja'Marr Chase, and Bijan Robinson. Despite the suspension risk, I believe Nacua may not be knocked out in his projection. He is my WR1, per my projections.
2.7 — De'Von Achane
Miami is not the best football team, but how bad can they really be? No matter how bad, Achane will get a ton of touches. Especially since he is heavily involved in the passing game, Achane should be near 100 all-purpose yards per game; my PPR RB5— as of August 17.
3.4 — Josh Allen
Allen projects to have 2.9 more points per game than any other quarterback. Why should that be high-risk? When healthy, Allen is running the same offense that he has run in previous years. He is a big value over the field with that point advantage.
4.7 — Tetairoa McMillan
Amongst all Flex players, McMillan projects to have the 27th-most fantasy points in PPR formats, per my projections. Yet, I get him all the way at 47th overall. Little risk for the Panthers WR1 in 2026. This proves that ADP data will never be the most precise. Unpredictability is evident.
5.4 — Jaylen Waddle
The ceiling for Waddle is much higher than most expect. He has spent a great deal of his Dolphins career as a WR2. He comes into Denver as their WR1. Yes, the gap is small to Courtland Sutton, but he is it. While some may view it as a downgrade in offensive play-calling, let's not be so quick to assume. Sean Payton is a Hall of Fame-level offensive mind. He is my PPR WR16. Waddle is for sure a WR2 in fantasy football, and my No. 1 Flex player in this drafted roster.
6.7 — DJ Moore
The latest injury seems low-level for Moore. He should be good to go come Week 1. I will always take the Bills WR1, especially when they are the NFL's T-1 rated offense. He is my WR15, but I'm taking him behind Waddle due to the slight injury risk that Waddle currently doesn't have.
7.4 — Chuba Hubbard
The Panthers are going to use and trust Hubbard. He is a good pass protector and that matters a lot in Dave Canales ', offense. While Jonathan Brooks contends that Hubbard is unlikely to stumble. When he returned from his 2025 injury, let's remember that Hubbard ate into Rico Dowdle's workload with relative ease.
8.7 — Tucker Kraft
Honestly, it's crazy that I got Kraft this far down the draft board. People are nervous about his injury and snap limitation. I am not — read more here. He is my TE5.
9.4 — Dalton Kincaid
I am of the mindset that drafting two tight ends is a smart call. Especially with two Flex positions, you might as well have insurance. Kincaid is actually my TE4, but with less TE1 upside than Kraft, hence the draft pick strategy.
10.7 — Blake Corum
Corum is widely hailed as the best running back handcuff in the NFL. In fact, the Rams plan to give Corum a split with Kyren Williams. I foresee that split being about 50-35% in favor of Williams, but perhaps even closer in the red zone.
11.4 — Jakobi Meyers
Meyers fell 3 more rounds than Parker Washington and Brian Thomas Jr. That is bananas. Meyers could certainly be the Jaguars' WR1 on volume. I have about a three-way tie between the trio. If someone "thinks" they know what happens here, they don't.
12.7 — Seahawks D/ST
This is about time one picks a defense. Kickers had already been going off the board. I'll go early on the NFL's top-rated defense in an area where I can find near-equal value at skill positions a round or two later.
13.4 — Alvin Kamara
With the latest injury news regarding Jordyn Tyson, do not be surprised if this leads to a 3-5% jump in Kamara's passing-game volume. I actually have him well above consensus as the RB26. An absolute steal.
14.7 — Will Reichard
Reichard was the 3rd-most accurate kicker in 2025, by a minimum. 25 attempts. One of his two misses hit a SkyCam cable.
15.4 — Bo Nix
With so many options heading to post-draft free agency at skill positions, I would rather have my projected QB10 as insurance for Josh Allen.
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.