Latest / Fat Daddy Sports / 8 MUST-DRAFT Players Who Will CRUSH Their ADP in 2026 | Ep. 023
Transcript
- Craig: Everybody has those guys in fantasy football that they can't leave their draft without, their flag plants, the guys that they absolutely must draft. Today we're taking a look at my guys for the 2026 season. And if you're new here and you find any value today, go ahead and hit that like button, hit that subscribe button, leave a comment, and let's jump into it. Today I'm gonna list two guys at every position that I believe are going to outperform their ADP this season. And we will jump right into the quarterback position starting off in Los Angeles with Justin Herbert. He's currently being drafted as quarterback nine in that eighth and ninth round. I've even got him as late as the tenth round in a few drafts. I I just think there's no way he doesn't outperform that ADP. They bring in Mike McDaniel ⁓ to be the new offensive coordinator there in Los Angeles. He's got Quentin Johnston, who's apparently making leaps and bounds ⁓ from where he's been in the past. Ladd McConkey, I think, gets back to his rookie season. And I think that that run game is really going to be a lot better. The the offensive line should be a lot better this year. I know that they have already gotten a little banged up this offseason or this preseason, but I still think that that offensive line is going to be a much improved unit. And I think Justin Herbert is going to have a top five season at the very least. ⁓ a top seven season. And so being drafted as that quarterback nine right now in a position that you can wait until later in the draft. I've been very vocal all off season about ⁓ how you can wait at the quarterback position this year specifically. I think Justin Herbert is a perfect guy to wait on and pick him up late in the draft, especially if you end up getting Ladd McConkey earlier in the draft, you know, in that three I guess lad goes in the fourth or fifth round, but ⁓ if you get him there and then you can wait and get Justin Herbert later in the draft in that ninth round, I think that's a perfect stack to have for the season. I think Justin Herbert's going to light the league on fire kind of like he did when he came in as a rookie. ⁓ their offense should be very, very explosive, very dynamic, lots of pre-snap motion. Really should light up the scoreboard this year. And I think Justin Herbert is a phenomenal pick later in the draft. Moving over to the running back position, another guy that I've been pretty vocal about this offseason, and he's a a running back in a new home for my favorite team, the Kansas City Chiefs, and that is Kenneth Walker. ⁓ a guy who necessarily hasn't done it so far for fantasy football and been an elite running back for you. He's shown glimpses of that. He's been a very solid fantasy running back. But this year I think he explodes up. Kansas City has needed a dynamic running back. They went out, they got Kenneth Walker after his Super Bowl MVP award. They paid him the money. They brought him in. He's going to be the three-down workhorse that Kansas City desperately needs. That offense is going to run through him, especially early in the season with Patrick Mahomes coming back from injury. They are going to lean on Kenneth Walker early and often all season long. They've raved about him all offseason, about his pass catching ability, his work in pass protection. ⁓ he is going to be on the field so much and have so many opportunities, especially when they get into those short yardage situations ⁓ down by the red zone. They are going to turn and hand it off to K9 all the time. If you look historically, they've gotten down into that red zone and they've tried ⁓ The little plays where they flip it to Travis Kelsey or they line Kelsey up in the backfield or they turn and hand it off to Kareem Hunt. And those things have worked at times, but consistently they have not had a grinder that they could just turn and reliably give it to down in the red zone. And they now have that in Kenneth Walker, a guy who he could score from anywhere on the field, but he is so good at ⁓ missing or forcing missed tackles and breaking those longer runs. I think Kenneth Walker is definitely going to outperform his ADP. You're currently going as the running back eleven right now, going in that second round. You know, if you end up if you're at the end of the first round and you end up taking Kenneth Walker, I don't blame you at all. Obviously, I have a little bit of biasy just because I am a Chiefs fan and I I think that he is gonna be very, very good for him. But I also, as a Chiefs fan, know the need for a dynamic running back. ⁓ and that's why I'm so high on Kenneth Walker this year. He's gonna have a big, big year for the Chiefs. Moving over to the wide receiver position, a guy who I don't believe would be being drafted as the wide receiver 13 right now in the beginning of the third round, ⁓ had he not suffered an injury last year. And that is Malik Neighbors. ⁓ all signs point to him being full go for week one. And I think that that Giants offense is definitely gonna run through him. He may break ⁓ the NFL record for targets in a season this year, I think he's gonna be peppered early and often. ⁓ nonstop throws, two Malik neighbors, short throws, medium throws, long throws, screen passes, ⁓ maybe even some rushing attempts. I think neighbors is going to be used all over the field. And like I said, right now he is being drafted as the wide receiver thirteen in that third round. So if you have one of those early picks, you know, you may be able to get a Jameer Gibbs or a B. John Robinson and then ⁓ have it come back to you in the second round and maybe snag another running back later in the second round like ⁓ chase brown or somebody ⁓ and then still be able to get Malik neighbors in the beginning of that third round. If you're in a 10 team league, you definitely can do that. In a 12 team league, it's a little bit harder. He he tends to start creeping up into that early or late second round now. ⁓ but if you could get him early in the third round, I think that's an absolute steal. He would undoubtedly be going as a top wide receiver in that first round right now. ⁓ you know, w are right up there with those guys like JSN, Aman Ra, ⁓ just after Puka and Jamar Chase, I believe. I think he definitely goes ahead of Justin Jefferson right now, just with the way things are in Minnesota and the uncertainty. I think he would definitely be a first round pick. And if you can get him in the third round, that feels like a steal of the draft. Moving over to the tight end position and a guy in Chicago who I think could lead the ⁓ lead the league in all tight end categories this year. He's going to be on a very explosive offense. He led their team last year as a rookie. I think he's gonna have a big, big year. I've kind of gone back and forth a little bit, and I still don't know that I personally will draft him as high as where I believe he should go. but If I do, I'll be very, very happy. And that's Colston Loveland in Chicago for the Bears, currently being drafted as the tight end three. ⁓ you can get him around that round four price tag. And I think that that's a smash deal. ⁓ I think he's gonna be right up there with Bowers and McBride. ⁓ he could very, very well pass them in all categories. And if you're ending up getting him, you know, a couple rounds after those two guys, that is the definition of a steal right there. Colston Lovelin do for a big season for the Bears. We go back and forth all the time about the wide receivers and is it gonna be Odunze? Is it gonna be Burden? What's the running game gonna look like? And I think the answer all along has been Colston Lovelin. I think they are gonna pepper him all day with targets, line him up all over the field. Colston Lovelin, go get him in the fourth round. Back to the quarterback position. This is a guy I've been pounding the table on even before he was named the starter, and a guy that you can get in the 13th round, currently going as quarterback 19. There is absolutely no way he does not outperform that ADP. And that's Kyler Murray. ⁓ I get it. I get the nervousness to draft him. I too have been burned by Kyler Murray in the past and his inconsistency. He starts off the season really strong. He falls off when the new Call of Duty comes out. I get it. But In Minnesota with Justin Jefferson, with Jordan Addison, Juwan Jennings, TJ Hawkinson, that running game they're gonna have, Kevin O'Connell, Kyler Murray is going to produce on a top, probably a top 10 ⁓ weekly basis. I just think at quarterback 19, that is a steal. There's no way he's gonna be that low week in and week out, and over the course of the season. If you wait at quarterback, Kyler Murray is a perfect guy to get late in the draft, even if he's your quarterback too. Let the season kind of play out. I think by, you know, week four, week five, he's gonna be your weekly starter, somebody that you can trust majorly every single week. He's gonna put up big fantasy numbers. He has that safe rushing floor. And I really don't think that the that his job is in much jeopardy at all. I think he's gonna play out the full season. And I think he's gonna have a big season. He's gonna have a bounce back year. We've seen it with guys in Minnesota. And I think he's gonna be added to that list of guys that go to Minnesota, bounce back a little bit, and kind of have a resurgence in their career. Staying right there in Minnesota at the running back position, Jordan Mason is a guy who I think you can get in the tenth round and could win you your league. You know, we saw guys last year like Travis H. And ⁓ go in the ninth round and be you know, helpful league winners. And I think right now in the 10th round, getting a guy in Jordan Mason who they have publicly come out and said, We want to run the ball. We need to run the ball. We're changing our scheme. We're going to be a lot more run friendly. ⁓ this benefits Jordan Mason. They go back to kind of how ⁓ the 49ers handled Jordan Mason and what benefited him best running the ball there. I think Jordan Mason's going to have a big year for the f for the Vikings. And right now he's kind of being forgotten about Going in that 10th round. He's going as running back number 39 right now. ⁓ he's definitely got the capability to be a running back two for your squad. So jumping up, you know, nearly 15 spots to get into that running back two territory, I think, is a somebody that I'm willing to take a swing on in the 10th round later in the draft. You look at guys that are going around him, and ⁓ he's got a lot more upside. He plays in a much better division that's going to be scoring a lot of points. And I think, you know, he's going to be used in ⁓ the pass game. He's going to be used in the run game. He's going to have a big, big season for the Vikings. Go get Jordan Mason late in your draft when everybody else is starting to check out. They're looking at defenses. They're looking at kickers. They're looking at guys that they're trying to find the next breakout. Go get Jordan Mason and get yourself a running back too. Back to wide receiver, a guy going as wide receiver 20 right now, kind of going in that four or five round range. And it's Garrett Wilson in New York. ⁓ not somebody at the beginning of the offseason I thought I'd be talking about as my flag plant for the season. But I just I as the preseason has gone on, I'm more and more convinced that Garrett Wilson is going to get a ton of targets. He's going to get fed the ball. ⁓ Frank Reich has come out and said that he is their bell cow. ⁓ he wasn't even asked about Garrett Wilson, and yet he brings him up unprompted, talks about how good Garrett Wilson is and how they're going to feature him so much. I think Garrett Wilson, in that, you know, if you can get him in the fourth round, if he falls to the beginning of the fifth round and you snag him there, that is a huge blessing for your team. Garrett Wilson's gonna be a target monster in PPR formats. You look at last year and before his injury, he was in that like top six range. He was dominating on a bad Jets offense. It's going to be another bad season for the Jets. There's really no doubt about that. But Garrett Wilson's going to have so much work that it's not going to even matter. I don't know how many touchdowns he'll have, but his targets are going to be off the chart and what he can do after the catch. He's a spectacular player. Nobody doubts the talent there in Garrett Wilson. It's really just the The stigma of the Jets that surrounds him while everybody else is zigging at that point in the draft. You need to zag and go get Garrett Wilson. He will help win you a fantasy championship this year. And the final player that I will be planting my flag with this season is a guy that I've talked about extensively here at the tight end position. And that is Tucker Kraft. ⁓ if you miss out on Colson Levelin in that fourth round, Go get yourself Tucker Kraft in that sixth or seventh round, depending on where he falls to. This is a guy who last year was dominating the league at the tight end position before his injury. And I think had he not gotten hurt, he would be right up there with those elite tight ends that we talk about. He's gonna get a ton of work in Green Bay. They love to spread the ball around. They have some dynamic wide receivers that are gonna, you know, force some coverage issues. And I think Tuckercraft is gonna slip out and be wide open on some routes that. That LaFleur draws up for him. Jordan Love has already, you know, proven that he likes to go to Tucker Kraft and that Kraft is a reliable target. They came out, or I guess Tucker Kraft came out a little while ago and said that he's going to be on a little bit of a pitch count for the beginning of the year, maybe half of the season. And then a few days later he came out and said, No, I'm done with that. We're not doing that. I'm full go. ⁓ so it'll be interesting to see how that shakes out as the season goes on. But even with that limited pitch count. Whatever, I still think he's gonna dominate. I still think he can easily be a top five tight end. And right now he's going as tight end six. So I I think he's definitely gonna outperform that tight end six position. Tuckercraft in the seventh round, even in the sixth round, feels like a very, very sure thing. Go ahead and get yourself Tucker Kraft. And while you're at it, drop a comment down below who is somebody that you are planting your flag with this season. Who's a guy that you are not leaving your draft without? Let me know down in the comments. Hit that like button, hit that subscribe button, and I'll catch you guys on the next one. See ya.