Picking from the middle of a fantasy football draft is tough from a prep standpoint. Picking at the turn (on either side) allows you to dictate tempo a bit with two picks in short order, and there is a level of comfort in doing so.
That said, many managers land in the middle portion of the draft, and you can very much build a powerhouse from that slot, even if it requires more willingness to pivot than the others.
Fantasy Football Draft Strategy With James Cook Rostered
You never want to lock into a single strategy because of the chaos that can occur in any given draft, but once I hear that I’m picking in the middle-to-late portion of the first round, I’m very much assuming an RB-RB build.
Who doesn’t want to party like it’s 2006?
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For me, building like this is as much about my concerns regarding true depth at the position as it is about any level of confidence in the specific names on the board. Waiting to address your second RB signs you up for a dangerous game of chicken where every team picking between your selections is going to be draining the remaining backs that call one of my top three tiers home.
Running Back Tiers
Tier 1
- Bijan Robinson
- Jahmyr Gibbs
Tier 2
- James Cook
- Ashton Jeanty
- Christian McCaffrey
- Jonathan Taylor
- De’Von Achane
- Chase Brown
Tier 3
- Jeremiyah Love
- Derrick Henry
- Javonte Williams
- Omarion Hampton
- Kenneth Walker III
After that start, you’re naturally going to lean toward the WR position and, for me, that means pushing your chips to the middle of the table on Zay Flowers.
Declan Doyle is the new OC in town, and he comes over from Chicago, where he was attached to the hip of Ben Johnson, an OC who is the apple of our eye in the fantasy world.
That feels like a good thing. With him operating in this role, the Bears ranked third in YPA when throwing short of the sticks in 2025, and that just so happens to be a place where the former first-round pick thrives.
Career, Targets Short of the Sticks
- 171 targets
- 139 catches
- 81.3% catch rate
Yep, that’ll play. The players ranking in the Flowers range in terms of catch rate on those passes over that stretch are the receivers you’re drafting with all sorts of confidence this year:
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba (83%)
- Ja’Marr Chase (81%)
- Nico Collins (79.7%)
- Puka Nacua (79.5%)
Luther Burden is a different type of player, but he was identified as the most dangerous pass catcher on that offense, and they schemed up magic for him on those shorter targets (31 catches on 35 targets).
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The upside isn’t elite like those alphas, and I’m not arguing otherwise. But I will say that all of his pass-catching metrics level up a touch when Isaiah Likely is off the field (he’s a Giant now, so 100% of Flowers’ routes will come without that risk) and that he’s a soon-to-be 26-year-old who has seen his yards per route increase with each passing season.
If you want to soft bet against Derrick Henry continuing to be DERRICK HENRY in his age-32 season (2,662 career carries) or want to bet on Lamar Jackson without spending up at the QB position, Flowers is the man for you.
I’d say that regardless of how your roster is constructed, but it fits perfectly when picking in this range. Some view Flowers as boring, and that’s resulted in him falling in some early drafts I’ve done. That’s a mistake you pounce on and ride to a championship.
I’m not going to tell you exactly who to pick in the middle rounds because that is very much a matter of taste and reliant on how your specific draft unravels. That said, Rashid Shaheed is the easiest click I’m making in the later rounds, and I’d encourage you to do the same in instances like this where you’re passing on the position early.
His impact with the Seahawks was felt much more by the team than by fantasy managers last season. The splash plays on special teams were nice, but he had just two games, including the playoff run, with 3+ receptions, and that is just never going to get it done.
Fantasy managers seem to be taking a “they won the Super Bowl last year, don’t fix what’s not broken” approach to the explosive athlete entering his age-28 season, but I’m not so sure that’s right.
Sam Darnold Deep Pass Rankings, 2025
- 1st in yards per pass
- 3rd in TD rate
- 3rd in CMP%
- 7th in passer rating
Does that read to you like a profile that can’t maximize what it is that Shaheed does?
Last season was the year of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and when it wasn’t, Walker put this offense on his back. This is a cheap way of betting against those things happening with the regularity that they did a season ago, and, at this cost, you only need to be right a few times.
It’s unlikely that Shaheed works his way into your starting lineup on a weekly basis. His skill set and the slow play of this team are going to suppress his mean expectations, but if you’re in the business of chasing upside when you have holes to fill in your lineup, this is a player you want exposure to. When you’re picking in the double-digit rounds, you’ve effectively taken all of the risk out of this profile while keeping the reward intact.
If you’ve been following along, you’re aware that I’m about as big an Isaiah Likely fan as you’re going to find, and this is also his range. I wrote about where I stand on him inside the TE Rankings piece, and I’ll be peppering you with Likely propaganda for the next six weeks, so I thought I’d give you a break and a new name for this piece.
You’re going to notice that Jordan Mason appears on most of the content that I push with mock drafts attached to them, and that’s not a mistake. I dove deeper into my Must Have Players earlier this summer, and nothing has changed!
My Starting Lineup
- QB: Jared Goff
- RB: James Cook
- RB: Chase Brown
- WR: Zay Flowers
- WR: Ladd McConkey
- TE: Isaiah Likely
- FLEX: Terry McLaurin or D’Andre Swift
