The Perfect Fantasy Football Draft (No. 3 Pick): Target Jahmyr Gibbs & Garrett Wilson

The NFL season starts on September 4th, giving fantasy drafters a month to fine-tune their draft plans. For the most part, I’m not in draft shape despite having a good feel for the player pool. Each fantasy site and format has a different draft flow, requiring timing and thought to execute a winning draft plan.

For this exercise, I’m using NFFC ADPs from August 1st to August 10th for their RotoWire Online Championship. This format uses 3RR (third-round reversal) with PPR scoring. Quarterbacks score six points for passing touchdowns, with minus two for interceptions. Each draft is 20 rounds with these starting roster slots.

Roster Requirements

Quarterback (1)

Running Backs (2)

Wide Receivers (3)

Tight End (1)

Flex (RB, WR, or TE (1)

Team Kicker (1)

Defense/Special Teams (1)

When drafting a perfect team, I can’t speculate that any player will slide beyond their ADP. Therefore, my draft plan then becomes a script.

1.3 Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions

The coin toss for me was between Gibbs and CeeDee Lamb. Ultimately, my options on the second round dictated my first draft choice.

Jahmyr Gibbs/Garrett Wilson
CeeDee Lamb/Jonathan Taylor or Josh Jacobs

Gibbs was a beast to edge last year, but the Lions will certainly rotate in a second running back. Lamb was a special player in 2023 (135/1,862/14), and I expect him to bounce back this year after battling injuries last year.

2.10 Garrett Wilson, New York Jets

Based on ADP, my top four wide receiver options are Wilson, Tyreek Hill, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Tee Higgins. If all players stayed healthy for 17 games, Higgins would be the player who has the highest ceiling and the best quarterback throwing him the ball. Unfortunately, he misses too many games for me to trust him as a true WR1.

Hill brings the best career resume, despite coming off a down season, and already has a couple of sidebars to his 2025 profile (an oblique issue and possibly wanting to be traded this year). His ceiling screams tee me up.

The rising young studs are Smith-Njigba and Wilson. Seattle should throw the ball more, but Wilson is the uncontested WR1 in the Jets offense, and he played with Justin Fields in college. I’m hoping for a DJ Moore 2023 season (96/1,385/9) from him.

Garrett Wilson had a 31% target share before Davante Adams arrived in 2024.

Adams arrived, and Wilson’s fantasy value waned.

Now Adams is gone. Wilson is the WR16 in ESPN Leagues. Buy the dip.pic.twitter.com/SsyM4ru3Nm
— Moody (@EricNMoody) August 2, 2025

3.10 Davante Adams, Los Angeles Rams

As the 17th-ranked wide receiver in August in this format, Adams appears to be an overlooked asset. He ranked 12th in fantasy points (PPR) last season (241.30) despite sitting out three games with a possible phantom hamstring issue (wanted to get traded). In 2022 (third) and 2023 (tenth), he also ranked highly at wide receiver while also being a beast the two previous years (115/1,374/18 and 123/1,553/11).

Last season, the Rams’ wide receivers led the NFL in catches (268), receiving yards (3,357), and targets (404). They accounted for 73.0% of LA’s completions and 81.8% of their receiving yards. Los Angeles barely throws to their running backs, and they don’t have a standout third receiving option. The only negative about Adams is his age (32).

4.3 James Cook, Buffalo Bills

Because I can see the outcome of the draft in advance, I can cherry-pick players in rounds I like. Here are the top three wide receivers and running backs by ADP available in the fourth round for my team:

WR – DJ Moore, DK Metcalf, Tetairoa McMillan
RB – Kenneth Walker, James Cook, Alvin Kamara

My decision at running back was based on the highest-scoring offense. I hate the Saints’ quarterback situation, and have a feeling Kamara’s season could go sideways either due to an injury or a trade. Cook is also discounted due to him holding out for new contracts. These situations sometimes end with groin or hamstring issues, so buyer beware.

I prefer Moore over Metcalf based on expected passing offense and the Bears’ offensive weapons. I didn’t take him here because I’m targeting Rome Odunze next round. In addition, can I take an unproven McMillian over two veteran wide receivers? Last year, that worked out in a big way for someone who moved up Brian Thomas in drafts.

From @NFLGameDay Kickoff: The hold-in for #Bills RB James Cook took another odd twist on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/tjQYk6Tg0C
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 10, 2025

5.10 Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears

In this format, Odunze probably has a slightly better than 50% chance of reaching my pick in the fifth round. He has a minimum pick of 54 and a maximum of 70 over the first 10 days of August. I’m teeing up upside as my WR3, based on his potential to be a beast in catches, receiving yards, and scoring.

6.3 Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions

I choose to get in front of the next grouping at tight end by selecting LaPorta, even with Travis Kelce and TJ Hockenson expected to make it back to me in round 7. I’m hoping he regains his rookie form (86/889/10), which would be an edge at tight end over two-thirds of most leagues.

The top running back on the board was D’Andre Swift, and I like his value in the sixth round. I need to reflect on whether Cook/LaPorta is a better combo than an open choice with Swift in my team build. If I don’t do this in a real draft, I could make a poor decision on the clock by not thinking it out. My Gibbs handcuff (David Montgomery) is priced too high for me.

I was tempted to move up Stefon Diggs. I like his reports this summer, and expect him to lead New England in all receiving categories. I would be investing in a veteran player rather than dancing with a string of rookies (Emeka Egbuka, Ricky Pearsall, and Travis Hunter) and injury-prone/bad offense Chris Olave.

7.10 Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs

Here’s the dilemma in this draft, which I can dictate my decision by knowing where players get drafted. First, did I make a mistake by taking LaPorta last round? Is Kelce/Diggs better than possible thoughts over my next two picks?

Is Cooper Kupp a better flex option than Travis Kelce or T.J. Hockenson? Kelce averaged 11.55 FPPG in PPR formats, which should be higher than the top flex option by 20 to 25 points based on the results over the last few seasons. Hockenson averaged 12.94 FPPG in 2023.
Over the next two rounds, do I want to take my first quarterback – Baker Mayfield, Dak Prescott, or Bo Nix? If not, I should add a third running back and my top playable flex option.

Kupp seems mispriced this year based on his potential, but why did the Rams phase him out of their offense late in 2024? His opportunity should be high for Seattle. In earlier drafts, Jayden Reed was on my radar, but he has a foot issue that could keep him out of the start of the year.

Kelce almost feels like a coward pick by me – chasing his previous resume while seeing his demise last year, glowing in his yards per catch (8.5).

8.3 Baker Mayfield, Tampa Buccaneers

Here’s my plan on the fly – I’m taking Mayfield over Dak Prescott due to better overall weapons to move. His season was unbelievable last year, and I could live with a drop-off in touchdowns and still be happy with this selection. I expect Dallas to throw the ball more, and they should struggle to run the ball for touchdowns.

Late-Round Strategy

I considered moving up Jaylen Warren or Travis Etienne, but I felt I would get behind the curve at quarterback, and my goal is to secure the backend running backs in this team structure. If I had cheated the quarterback position to round 11, my stable of running back depth would be better.

In the ninth round, I’m moving up Trey Benson. His role should be higher this year, and James Conner isn’t getting any younger. My next running back selection has to be Ray Davis to protect my investment in James Cook.

My wide receiver depth is rounded out with Rashod Bateman and Keenan Allen. I’m looking to take a flier on Nick Chubb with Joe Mixon not healthy in August. Jalen Royals will be my late deep-sleeper wide receiver swing.