Joe Burrow and Jamarr Chase could headline your championship team, Courtesy Cincy Jungle
Kevin Gazzale
There’s few things that can win your fantasy league during the draft and the main two are draft strategy and hitting on rookies or 2nd year players. Over the many years of playing fantasy football, and performing relatively well, I have honed my draft strategy to the point where I can implement it no matter where I am in the draft order.
All of my offseason prep centers around identifying ideal QB/WR handcuff options and identifying 2nd year players that may improve. Strength of schedule, depth charts, coaching changes are all things people point to for good reason, however I zero in on a few metrics. Warren Sharp releases his NFL Preview every summer, and while extremely in depth with stats that may not be super pertinent to the casual fan, there are a few metrics that are very useful building a fantasy team.
For me the most important is his Run and Pass Defense rankings, these rankings are unique in that they are a metric comparing a particular team’s strength of schedule from last year to this year. This allows you to identify offenses and specific players that may have had a down year in 2025 but are facing much easier competition in 2026 which will allow you to find some value in the draft.
When preparing for my draft the main pillar of my strategy is I am going to wait on taking a QB until the last possible moment. And when I do take a QB I will try my hardest to take a handcuff of one of my 1st or 2nd round skill position draft choices. It’s not a very scientific strategy but in this era of the NFL where offense is exploding there are plenty of back half of the league QB’s you can take that will still steadily go for 20-25 points weekly which allows you to grab another WR or RB that will score 10-15 points more than someone taken 3-4 rounds later.
Now, let me get into some of my personal rankings and predicitions for 2026.
Top 5 Handcuff Options for 2026
- Puka Nacua/Matthew Stafford: Puka Nacua has elevated into one of the 3 best WRs in the NFL over the past 3 years. His only downside is that he is legit stupid and there’s a non-zero chance he may do something off the field that may get him suspended for a few games. Now, this combo tops my list because Matt Stafford is the perfect QB in the sense that he will not be one of the top 5, maybe even 10 QBs taken and you will be able to grab him late. Matt Stafford scored 46 TDs last year and he will be facing collectively the 29th ranked Pass Defenses this year. If you land in the top 5 picks I would be taking Nacua and holding out for Stafford later.
- Joe Burrow/Jamarr Chase: As an LSU grad I am contractually required to talk about Joe Burrow and Jamarr Chase. If he can stay healthy, which has been a big ask over the past few years, he is primed for another breakout season. The Bengals have improved their team overall, the OLine is still not the best but they have a manageable schedule and will be facing the 26th ranked Defenses this year. You could potentially get Burrow decently late in your drafts as people may be scared off with the injury risk. Jamarr Chase, it goes without saying. He is the best WR in the league in my biased opinion. I will also be betting on the Bengals to win their division and get back to the Super Bowl.
- Amon-Ra St. Brown/Jared Goff: Detroit as a whole is primed for a huge bounce back season. The reason they are ranked 3rd here is just because Gibbs is likely going to outscore these two so if you have an opportunity to draft Gibbs, you do it. It was an up and down 9-8 year for Detroit last year. They get a huge schedule break with the 28th ranked pass defenses face and 28th ranked rush defense faced. They have the 14th ranked offensive line. Jared Goff can easily be taken super late, likely in the 10-15 QB taken range. That offers a lot of other opportunities to grab skill players. If you have a late first round pick I would look at St. Brown and then grab Goff late.
- Justin Jefferson/Kyler Murray: You cannot put a price or projection on good coaching. I think Kyler Murray is going to have a great year. He’s now on a team with a good coaching staff, especially an offensive coaching staff. He gets paired up with one of the best WR rooms in the league, playing behind the 12th best offensive line in the league according to Warren Sharp. On top of that he will be throwing against the 31st ranked pass defenses. Justin Jefferson is due for a bounce back year with a QB who has proven he can play and get the ball to his playmakers.
- Carnell Tate/Cam Ward: Ok, this one may be a bit of a reach but this also might be the combo that wins your league. Cam Ward is coming into his second NFL season which can provide a little bit of a jump up as we would expect. He goes from legitimately the worst coaching staff to Brian Daboll as his OC who is undoubtedly one of the best OC’s in the NFL. Added benefit is that they will be facing the 22nd ranked pass defenses this year. Carnell Tate was a standout WR at Ohio State who has been doing a good job at producing NFL talent at WR lately, looking at Emeka Egbuka.
Rookies and 2nd Year Players To Take Or Fade
Take
Tre Harris, LAC: Tre Harris coming into his second NFL season. Justin Herbert is primed for a big year, they are getting a benefit of facing much easier pass D this year, 29th ranked. Herbert will be operating behind the 8th best offensive line and Tre Harris will be competing for receptions with Quinton Johnston who is certainly not a Bonafide number 1.
Carnell Tate, TEN: Not much else to say that I didn’t say above. He has the college and NFL coaching to have him hit the ground running.
Jadarian Price, SEA: I’m going with the other ND running back. Price steps into a nice situation with Kenneth Walker leaving for KC. He will compete with Zach Charbonnet for carries which could lead to him being the lead back by the middle or back half of the season. Seattle bringing back the 9th best OLine, facing the 31st ranked rush defenses.
Fade
Jaxson Dart, NYG: I think Dart takes a step back this year, mostly because I never really believed he was very good in the first place. I think he benefitted more than we think from being with Daboll and being coached by him. Daboll may not have been a good HC but he is a proven great OC. He will be facing the 8th ranked pass defenses this year behind the 20th ranked OLine along with a totally new coaching staff. Pass.
Fernando Mendoza, LV: I know he won the Heisman and went undefeated and looked flawless doing it. I don’t know, he just never moved the needle for me. And now he moves into a situation where he will be behind Cousins for a bit and under the tutelage of a no name coaching staff. I’ll circle back next year and see how this kid does.
Jeremyiah Love, ARI: Don’t get me wrong, this kid is awesome and runs like Adrian Peterson. I just think he got drafted onto the worst possible team. Outside of him and Trey McBride the roster is dreadful. They will be facing the 5th toughest run defenses and he will be running behind the 26th ranked offensive line. Pass.
The NFL has become so offense heavy over the past few years that you can work out a nice draft no matter where you land in the draft order. The key is maximizing your picks and finding the 1-2 guys late that can transform your team come November/December.
Good luck!
