Best Draft Position Fantasy Football 10-Team: What the Data Says About Where to Pick

Your draft position plays a big role in the fantasy football team you’re able to put together in a 10-team league.

You can certainly build a championship-winning team from any spot. But after running the numbers you'll see below, it's clear that some draft positions are more advantageous than others.

Let's look at the best draft position for 10-team fantasy football drafts and how you can optimize your draft from any spot.

What’s the Best Draft Position in Fantasy Football 10-Team Leagues?

The best draft position in 10-team leagues varies from year to year depending on the fantasy landscape. It also changes based on your league's scoring system (PPR, half-PPR, non-PPR).

What’s shaping up as the best draft position for 2025? We ran the numbers … and the results might surprise you.

Best Draft Position for 10-Team PPR Leagues

The best draft position for 10-team PPR leagues changes drastically depending on how closely you follow ADP. You can get a big edge over your competition by shunning ADP and drafting optimally. Let's look at the specifics.

Based on ADP

The table above shows the total fantasy value (we call it 3D Player Value) you would capture from each draft position in a 10-team PPR league, according to the most recent ADP data.

Draft positions are ordered from most total 3D Value points to fewest.

Here’s a more detailed look at where ADP lands players at each draft position:

The No. 4 pick is the best draft position in 10-team PPR leagues if you draft according to ADP. The fourth pick gets off to a fine start with Justin Jefferson and Brock Bowers in the first two rounds. But it really crushes with RBs Chase Brown, Omarion Hampton, and Alvin Kamara the next three picks -- all strong values at cost.

Pick Nos. 9 and 3 are next-best spots in 10-team PPR leagues. The 9 spot nets strong values in Christian McCaffrey (Round 1), Tee Higgins (Round 3), and Jayden Daniels (Round 4). Pick No. 3 lands above-average values in Round 1, 3, 4, and 5.

The No. 7 spot is the worst draft position in 10-team PPR leagues, according to ADP. Our projections show Amon-Ra St. Brown (Round 1), Kyren Williams (Round 3), and Rashee Rice (Round 5) as relatively poor values from that draft spot.

The No. 7 pick captures 8.4% fewer 3D Value points than the No. 4 pick through six rounds.

Based on Draft Sharks Rankings

We just looked at the best draft positions if you were picking exactly by ADP.  That's clearly not optimal. You can do better.

How much better?

We ran through the same exercise as above ... but instead of picking based on ADP, we picked the most valuable player at each spot according to the custom and dynamic fantasy football cheat sheet on the Draft War Room.

The result was a significant increase in total 3D Value and a new answer to the question of best draft position.

In 10-Team PPR, the best draft position is pick No. 1

Draft position No. 1 nets you Ja'Marr Chase, the most valuable player in PPR leagues. Then you can land two more top-20 players in our rankings in Jonathan Taylor and Tee Higgins. Alvin Kamara, Ken Walker, and Jaylen Waddle also stand out as strong values.

Drafting optimally from the No. 1 spot in 10-team PPR drafts nets you 366.6 points of 3D Value. That marks a 10.5% increase over the 331.9 points you'd land by picking straight by ADP from the No. 1 spot.

Best 10-Team PPR Draft Positions Ranked

Here's how all 10 spots stack up in terms of maximum 3D Value points in 10-team PPR drafts. I've also included the 3D Value at each spot drafting by ADP, plus the percent increase you'll get using Draft Sharks rankings.

Pick No. 9 just barely trails pick No. 1 for the best draft spot in 10-team PPR leagues. The 9 spot can land you a Christian McCaffrey-Nico Collins start, plus nice values in Tee Higgins, Jayden Daniels, James Conner, and Tetairoa McMillan.

Most importantly, the Draft Sharks optimal nets more 3D Value points at every single draft position -- and 8% or more at five spots.

In fact, the worst spot by Draft Sharks rankings (pick No. 10) nets you more 3D Value points than the best spot by ADP (pick No. 4).

Best Draft Position for 10-Team Half-PPR Leagues

The best draft position in 10-team half-PPR leagues depends on whether you're drafting by ADP or optimally with Draft Sharks rankings. Let's dive into the numbers and find out where you want to pick from.

Based on ADP

The table above shows the total fantasy value (we call it 3D Player Value) you would capture from each draft position in a 10-team half-PPR league, according to the most recent fantasy ADP data.

Draft positions are ordered from most total 3D Value points to fewest.

Here’s a look at where ADP places players by draft position in 10-team half-PPR leagues:

Pick No. 1 is EASILY the best draft position in 10-team half-PPR drafts, if you're drafting by ADP. There's then a 15.7-point drop in 3D Value to the next-best draft position, pick No. 6.

The No. 1 spot gets the top player in half-PPR leagues, Ja'Marr Chase, plus strong values in Drake London (Round 3) and Ken Walker (Round 5).

On the flip side, you don’t wanna be drafting by ADP from the No. 10 spot in half-PPR leagues. You'll be stuck with 44.1 fewer 3D Value points than the No. 1 spot.

Based on Draft Sharks Rankings

We just looked at the best draft positions if you were picking exactly by ADP.  That's clearly not optimal. You can do better.

How much better?

We ran through the same exercise as above ... but instead of picking based on ADP, we picked the most valuable player at each spot according to the custom and dynamic fantasy football cheat sheet on the Draft War Room.

The result was a significant increase in total 3D Value at every spot ... and a new answer to the best draft position.

In 10-Team Half-PPR, the best draft position is pick No. 2

Drafting optimally from the No. 2 spot lands you a strong start of three RBs and three WRs. You'll net 369.9 points in 3D Value -- an 8.4% increase over the points you'd accrue picking straight from ADP.

Best 10-Team Half-PPR Draft Positions Ranked

Here's how all 10 spots stack up in terms of maximum 3D Value points in 10-team half-PPR drafts. You'll also find the 3D Value at each spot drafting by ADP, plus the percent increase you'll get using Draft Sharks rankings.

Pick No. 2 just barely edges out No. 1 as the best draft position in 10-team half-PPR drafts. The difference comes in the No. 2 spot landing Omarion Hampton in Round 4. (Pick No. 1 has to settle for Mike Evans there.)

The final four picks of Round 1 are the worst draft positions in half-PPR. Still, drafting optimally nets you considerably more 3D Value points than you'd get picking straight by ADP.

In fact, the worst draft positions (pick Nos. 9 and 10) accrue more 3D Value points than all but one spot picking by ADP.

Best Draft Position for 10-Team Non-PPR Leagues

The gap between the best draft position and worst in 10-team non-PPR leagues is wide. Let's dig into the numbers and look at how you can save your fantasy season even from a bad draft spot.

Based on ADP

The table above shows the total fantasy value (we call it 3D Player Value) you would capture from each draft position in a 10-team non-PPR league, according to the most recent fantasy ADP data.

Draft positions are ordered from most total 3D Value points to fewest.

The No. 9 spot checks in as the best draft position in non-PPR according to ADP, just edging out pick No. 1.

Here’s a look at where ADP places players by draft position in 10-team non-PPR leagues:

The No. 9 pick actually gets a poor Round 1 value in Amon-Ra St. Brown. But Derrick Henry in Round 2 and James Conner in Round 5 are two of the biggest values in the first six rounds.

Pick No. 1 checks in as the second-best draft position in non-PPR. Ja'Marr Chase (Round 1), Drake London (Round 3), and Ken Walker (Round 5) are all nice values from the 1 spot.

The No. 10 pick is the worst draft position in non-PPR, netting 11.4% fewer 3D Value points than the No. 9 pick.

Based on Draft Sharks Rankings

Luckily, you don't need to draft straight by ADP. In fact, you shouldn't. You can assemble a strong team from any draft position using Draft Sharks rankings and 3D Values.

We ran through the same exercise as above ... but instead of picking based on ADP, we picked the most valuable player at each spot according to the custom and dynamic fantasy football cheat sheet on the Draft War Room.

The result was a notable increase in total 3D Value at every draft position ... and a new answer to the question of best draft position.

In 10-Team Non-PPR, the best draft position is pick No. 6

Drafting optimally from the No. 6 spot in 10-team non-PPR drafts lands you a whopping 371.3 points in 3D Value. That's an 11.5% increase in the points you'd accrue picking straight by ADP.

Best 10-Team Non-PPR Draft Positions Ranked

Here's how all 10 spots stack up in terms of maximum 3D Value points in 10-team non-PPR drafts. I've also included the 3D Value at each spot drafting by ADP, plus the percent increase you'll get using Draft Sharks rankings.

You generally want to be picking in the back half of Round 1 in non-PPR drafts. The five best draft positions are the final five picks in the first round.

More importantly, the gap between the best and worst draft positions isn't nearly as big drafting optimally as it is drafting by ADP. And we see big gains in 3D Value by drafting optimally from any spot.

In fact, the worst draft position picking by Draft Sharks rankings (No. 3) nets significantly more 3D Value points than any draft position by ADP.

The takeaway: You can win your 10-team non-PPR league from any draft position.

Beat Your Draft Position By Picking Smarter

Most fantasy players aren’t able to choose their draft position. That means you might get stuck in a bad spot.

Here’s the good news: You’re not restricted by ADP. You can draft smarter with a custom, dynamic fantasy football cheat sheet on the Draft War Room.

ADP is just one of 17 value indicators the Draft War Room considers to help you make the best pick every time you’re on the clock.

Learn more about how the Draft War Room works.

Next Up

Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: The Dynamic Draft War Room

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Jared Smola, Lead Analyst

Jared has been with Draft Sharks since 2007. He’s now Lead Analyst, heading up the preseason and weekly projections that fuel your Draft War Room and in-season tools. He currently ranks ninth among 173 analysts in draft rankings accuracy.