If you’re heading into your first fantasy football season, or still getting your bearings, here’s something to understand: A strong draft doesn’t guarantee you’ll win your league, but a bad one can make a championship nearly impossible.

That’s why I’ve created a step-by-step guide to help you hit the mark with your first three picks – giving your team a strong foundation, regardless of which draft slot you have.

This advice is built for 12-team, point-per-reception (PPR) formats, but even if your league settings differ, there’s plenty here to help shape your strategy. To keep things grounded in reality, I’m focusing on players with better than a 50 percent chance of being available at each slot. These projections are based on up-to-date average draft position data from Fantasy Football C

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