Fantasy: Strategy for drafting at the top of the round

Get ready for your season with theScore's 2016 Fantasy Football Draft Kit.

In this three-part series, theScore's fantasy editors break down the best ways to approach your draft depending on where you're selecting in the round.

Draft Position

• Picks 1-4
• Picks 5-8
• Picks 9-12

Here's a look at how you can attack your draft if you've been assigned one of the first four picks in a 12-team standard scoring league.

Average draft position (ADP) data courtesy of FantasyFootballCalculator.

Round 1

Picks: 1.01-1.04

Whether you're in a standard scoring or PPR league, if you have one of the top four picks your aim should be to secure one of the uber-elite receivers, Antonio Brown, Julio Jones, or Odell Beckham Jr.

If you have the No. 1 overall selection, congratulations - you'll be drafting Brown. After that it's a coin flip between Jones or Beckham, but for the sake of this article we'll take the Giants star.

If you have the fourth pick and watched that trio go off the board ahead of you, I'm open to taking your favorite running back, which for me would be Todd Gurley.

Round 2

Picks: 2.09-2.12

Keeping a balanced roster during your draft will allow you to grab value whenever it appears, and luckily for us there are still a couple strong RB1 options at the end of the second round.

Mark Ingram is going off the board as the 11th running back in fantasy drafts, but I have him ranked sixth at the position. He's playing behind an above average offensive line and last season he was a top-five fantasy back before hitting the IR in the last month of the year.

Other options here include LeSean McCoy and Doug Martin.

Round 3

Picks: 3.01-3.04

In an effort to establish a strong core built around quality WRs, we'll turn our attention back to the position and take Alshon Jeffery. A hamstring injury early in camp kept the Bears' top wideout on the sidelines for a week or so, which may have caused his ADP to dip into the third round. If it rises, there are plenty of other suitable receivers in this zone, like Sammy Watkins and T.Y. Hilton.

When you're picking near the end of a round, as opposed to in the middle, you can be flexible with your decisions. For example, if a receiver you like fell into the late second round, you should snag him and then look for a RB at the top of the third.

As the draft goes on, make sure you know which positions the players around you still need to address, especially those picking outside of you on the turn.

Round 4

Picks: 4.09-4.12

There are a lot of strategies being pushed in the fantasy world, Zero RB, Zero WR, and everything in between, but the teams I end up most pleased with are the ones that come out of the first four rounds with three solid WRs and a reliable RB1.

With the running-back options not exactly jumping off the page (Jeremy Langford and Jonathan Stewart), we'll lock down Jeremy Maclin, an underrated receiver with a good chance to finish in the top 20 for the third straight year.

Round 5

Picks: 5.01-5.04

With three receivers on our roster, we need to find a second running back or a starting tight end with our fifth-round pick. Greg Olsen should be available, but this price tag seems too high given the depth of talent at tight end.

If Stewart or Langford were to drop into our laps early in the fifth I would pull the trigger, but in this case we'll select Ryan Mathews. The Eagles' offense will look much different under Doug Pederson, but Mathews is slated to get the bulk of the early-down work and if he stays healthy he should far exceed his current ADP. It's a calculated risk we can afford to take with our RB2.

Round 6

Picks: 6.09-6.12

Since we're not overly sold on Mathews as an RB2, given his injury history, we'll take another back with upside who could emerge as a weekly star - Duke Johnson.

The Browns' offense might be a more potent unit than we expected if Robert Griffin III can find his game. Even so, Cleveland is likely to be trailing often this season, meaning lots of passing targets for Johnson while the team is in comeback mode.

Depending how your draft falls, you could elect to go with Gio Bernard or Rashad Jennings instead, if they are still around.

Round 7

Picks: 7.01-7.04

Our team already boasts one of the best fantasy receiving corps in our league, but we'll need depth to get through bye weeks and deal with possible injuries.

Marvin Jones is a talented receiver, who will get a chance to flourish in the Lions' offense. With Calvin Johnson no longer catching balls in Detroit, Jones has a chance to lead the team in receiving, or at worst share the load with Golden Tate.

If they aren't scooped up in the sixth round, Tyler Lockett and DeVante Parker are other breakout candidates going around this area of drafts.

Round 8

Picks: 8.09-8.12

While we wait on QB and TE, we can continue to stock the shelves at RB and WR. Tevin Coleman is another high-ceiling runner, who is a Devonta Freeman injury away from being a fantasy superstar.

The coaching staff has said it plans to get Coleman more involved this season, but he remains more of a lottery ticket for fantasy owners. That's exactly the kind of player you want to fill your bench with.

Round 9

Picks: 9.01-9.04

It's finally time to choose our starting tight end. Fantasy owners annually undervalue Antonio Gates because of his age and every year that proves to be a foolish decision.

Gates is eight touchdowns away from breaking Tony Gonzalez's tight-end touchdown record and Philip Rivers has stated that he plans on making that happen this year. Gates doesn't have a top-three TE season in him any longer, but he's assured to be mid- to low-end fantasy starter.

Round 10

Picks: 10.09-10.12

Waiting on a QB has its risks, but Tyrod Taylor is a nice reward. The Bills' starter showed great chemistry with Sammy Watkins down the stretch last season and has a high fantasy floor thanks to his rushing ability.

Taylor is capable of finishing in the top five if he stays healthy, but even if he misses time the depth at QB will allow you to pick up a replacement on the waiver wire, which is where most fantasy owners found Taylor last season.

Late Rounds

After the 10th round, ADPs are kind of out the window. Our starting lineup is set and we have quality backups at the two most important positions.

Depending on the size of the benches in your league, your late picks will be dedicated to filling out your depth with as many high-upside players as possible, with the focus on running backs and receivers. If they don't work out, you can always drop them in favor of early-season waiver-wire stars.