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We’ve covered picks 1-9 so far, and you can see those here ⬇️

There are endless ways to go about your fantasy football drafts. This is why practicing and studying early is so important. Today, we discuss picks 10-12.

The tenth pick will be walked through on its own, while picks 11 and 12 will be analyzed together. Jonathan Taylor should be taken at pick 10. It is worth noting that his early-season schedule is difficult: he faces the Ravens, Chiefs, Texans, Steelers, Vikings, and Jaguars in his first eight games. All those teams were either stout against the run in 2025 or have a new defensive scheme that should improve their run defense this season. However, his schedule in the back half of the season is very advantageous. He faces the Titans and Bengals in the fantasy playoffs. With how explosive Taylor was in 2025, there are very few other players to consider here, if any.

I will get into what those with picks 11 and 12 should do in rounds 1-2 later in this article. Spoiler Alert: four RBs should go off the board. With that being the case, here who’s likely to be available to you in round two.

Because this is a 12-team league and RBs run thin more quickly than WRs do, I suggest taking a second one here. Depending on how many RBs go after your round-two pick, you could consider implementing the Robust RB strategy. For more info on how to do so, read here:

As outlined in that newsletter, Omarion Hampton is one of my favorite RBs to target when using the Robust RB strategy. He will be our round-two pick. His ceiling and pass-catching ability make him the ideal RB to pair with JT, a back who relies more on yardage and touchdowns.

In the mock draft I did for this, the top player on the board, based on Positional Value Over Replacement, is Travis Etienne. He will be our round-three pick. He is on an ascending offense while also providing weekly PPR upside. This team now has three RBs with a ceiling of RB6 or higher who rank inside Walter's top 12.

In the next two rounds, you need to address WR. There’s a good chance that high-end QBs and TEs could still be on the board for your next two picks, but prioritizing the thinner, more important WR position is the responsible choice, especially when factoring in how many high-quality QBs and TEs there are.

At the 4.03, if Ladd McConkey is on the board, he’s the easy choice here. He’s the WR1 on a revamped offense with a top-tier play-caller. He’s proven to have an excellent rapport with Justin Herbert, and is expected to fit in well with Mike McDaniel’s offensive system. If McConkey is taken before your next pick, other options to consider include:

They’re all WR1s on their teams, and rank comparably with Ladd McConkey in the WalterPicks app.

In the fifth round, there a few WRs worth consideration. These are the options I’ve seen consistently be available.

Considering our current roster, Mike Evans is my personal preference among this group, and he is more likely to be available in your real draft than Terry McLaurin. Evans is entering his first season as a 49er, and if he remains healthy, he will be a stabilizing force that consistently contributes to the potent RB room we have.

After five rounds, we’ve built a Robust RB roster with three exciting RBs, as well as two WRs that are entering new, high-octane offenses. In a 12-team league, this is a very encouraging start.

Bonus Tip: After taking these first five picks, I’d recommend going after high ceiling options at QB and TE in the later rounds. Take a swing for the fences!

For QBs, think Jaxson Dart, Tyler Shough, Malik Willis, and Dak Prescott. For TEs, think Isaiah Likely, Chig Okonkwo, Kenyon Sadiq, and Sam LaPorta.

Now, here’s how to handle the 11/12 turn.

Picks eleven and twelve are coupled because the builds are as similar as they are fun! Do NOT sleep on the last two picks this year.

As I mentioned earlier, drafting two RBs with your first two picks is an excellent tack to take from picks 11 and 12, and that is what we are going to do. With the 11th pick, De'Von Achane is Walter's and my preference. We are aware of the different situation he is in this season, but in 2025, he was fifth in fantasy points per game (20.2), third in target share among RBs (19.4%), and fourth in yards per carry (5.7). He was nothing short of electric.

With the 12th pick, I would recommend starting your draft with James Cook. (I guess if we are going back-to-back RBs, it does not really matter which comes first, but I will show Cook the respect he deserves.) After many fantasy football players refused to believe he could replicate his 2024 fantasy production in 2025, he exceeded it. He averaged 18.8 PPR points per game and scored 26 or more points four times.

Your round-two picks are immediate, and it is crucial we get these right. There is a lot of time between these picks and your round-three and round-four picks. So, if you have players you have heavy conviction about, you will likely need to take them here, and I am not against you doing so. However, I do not know you, so I will be operating under the idea of taking the best players available. Here are the top RBs available:

There are two RBs in a tier above the rest here: Saquon Barkley and Ashton Jeanty

Each of them pairs particularly well with one of the two RBs taken before them. For the sake of synergy, I recommend the 11th-pick team select Saquon Barkley to pair with De'Von Achane. Barkley is, in my opinion, less exciting than Ashton Jeanty, but he does possess a safer floor. While not a huge difference, Barkley's floor is RB15, while Jeanty's floor is RB16 in the WalterPicks Draft Tool.

For the team with pick 12, I recommend taking a swing on Jeanty to pair with James Cook's locked-in workload and weekly reliability. The RB duos on both these teams will be some of the strongest in your league. We could go after Robust RB builds here, but in many cases, there are WRs with massive upside on the board at the end of round three. Some of these include:

Of that group, my favorites are McMillan, Higgins, and Wilson at this point in the draft. McMillan and Wilson are the bona fide locked-in WR1s on their offenses, and both have excellent opportunities to take a leap this year. Higgins is on one of the highest-volume passing offenses in the NFL and has proven to be a top-tier fantasy option when healthy. If McMillan is available here, the 11th-pick team should select him. However, his ADP has steadily risen, and it appears increasingly unlikely that he’ll be available to you.

If he is gone, the 11th pick team should take Tee Higgins, and the 12th pick team should take Garrett Wilson. Now, each of these teams have two elite RBs, as well as a WR with weekly ceilings inside the top-10.

The fourth and fifth rounds are where these teams differ in strategy a bit, depending on how the board shakes out. In almost every mock I have done, Emeka Egbuka and Colston Loveland are still available in this range. These two players have immense ceilings and are two of my favorite selections in round four. After selecting Garrett Wilson, the 12th-pick team should take whichever of the two they prefer. For this newsletter, we will take Egbuka.

The 11th-pick team should take Loveland. He is the last "elite" tight end, has an opportunity to lead his team in targets, and will bolster this roster with a weekly positional advantage few other teams can replicate.

In the fifth round, we’ll consult Walter’s VORP chart in the draft tool. Simply put, this chart recommends what position/player to target based on what positions you’ve already taken, as well as how we project them! Every time you’re on the clock, it updates with every additional player taken in your draft.

In the fifth round, the chart for the 11th pick team will recommend selecting Bhayshul Tuten for, assuming he’s still up for grabs. While taking him will result in your team only have one WR through five rounds, he provides your team a better long-term chance of success than the WRs available at this point in the draft: Marvin Harrison Jr., Brian Thomas Jr., and Rome Odunze.

For the 12th-pick team, the chart will recommend selecting D'Andre Swift. He is the top RB on the Bears and has been an underrated beacon of fantasy football consistency for the last six seasons. He is who I would recommend taking.

There is a bit of a lesson here in round five. Walter's projections advise selecting RBs with locked-in workloads before taking speculative WRs. To each their own, of course, but RB in round five may be the way to go from ANY pick.

This team is very strong through five rounds, and if you hit on some later-round WRs, as well as find a valuable QB, your team will be tough to beat in 12-team leagues!

The best part of fantasy football is how many different ways you can go about drafting! Please make your own decisions, but hope you enjoyed this series and found it helpful!

Sidenote: the available players will vary based on league size. Mock drafting with your league settings is super important for this reason…and you are able to do this in the Mock Draft tool HERE.