Perfect Fantasy Football Draft: 8th in a 12-Team Yahoo Half-PPR League

Aug 28, 2025

Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Drafting from the middle of the first round gives you a very different feel than being on either end. You don’t get the luxury of back-to-back selections, but you also avoid the long wait between picks, which can leave you chasing positional runs. Sitting at No. 8 means you’ll usually miss out on the elite tier of consensus top-5 picks, but you’re also in the sweet spot to grab a foundation piece while staying flexible for whatever comes back in Round 2.

The key here is balance: building a roster that maximizes upside without getting boxed into a single strategy too early.

In this article, I walk through my favorite likely available targets each round based on Yahoo ADP via 4for4’s Multi-Site ADP tool, with a discussion on strategy from the 8-spot.

The 4for4 staff uses the Draft Hero software for all of our leagues. Draft Hero syncs directly to your league and optimizes each pick using projections and value-based rankings from 4for4. Draft Hero lets you customize your draft experience with settings on which rounds you want to draft a position, how many players you want at each position, and players to target or avoid.

For those new to Draft Hero, be sure to explore this walkthrough of the app.

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My Plan of Attack from the 8th Position

Roster Settings: 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex (WR/RB/TE), 1 Kicker, 1 DEF, 7 bench spots

The middle of the board is a different kind of challenge. You don’t get the luxury of pairing picks together like you do on the turn, but you also avoid the long waits that can cause you to miss entire positional runs. At pick eight, you’re typically out of range for the consensus top-5, but you’re in the sweet spot to land a strong anchor and stay flexible with your roster construction.
I don’t go into drafts with hard rules on who I have to take, but the key is staying disciplined through the natural ebbs and flows of the room. You won’t need to reach far beyond ADP since the turn comes back quickly enough, but you should be prepared to pivot if a positional run takes shape.
The straightforward half-PPR format in Yahoo default leagues also makes Best Player Available (BPA) a much easier plan of attack. Without any quirks like TE premium or points per first down, you can draft for value early while leaving room to layer in upside later.

Continue reading for a breakdown of my favorite picks through Round 10 and a list of the best late-round targets at each position.