Last Updated on July 15, 2026 12:07 pm by Jon Mosales | Published: July 15, 2026

The key to dominating fantasy is as much about knowing when to fade certain players as it about pouncing on players about to level up.  You only have so much powder in a draft and keeping it dry and passing on a player might be the hardest skill to acquire.  Value is hard to pass up and just because you don’t like a player at the end of the second round, doesn’t mean he isn’t then a value at the beginning of the fourth.  We are chasing ceilings in the early rounds, so even a drafting a player because he has fallen way past his ADP isn’t always a sure thing.  You start the draft with a plan and you want to stick to it, but you also have to be adaptable.  For, I like to have a handful of players on my DND (do not draft) list.  Sometimes there are there for spite, but for this list, it will be as objective as possible and with so much fluctuation still to come, this list is written in pencil, no pen.

QB

Drake Maye – NE

I banged the draft Maye drum as loud as possible last season and to my detriment, I barely got him in drafts because all the people I play with eventually jumped on the train one stop before me.  Maye was the QB2, was healthy all season and still has plenty of room to grow.  The Pats also went out and got a WR in Romeo Doubs and AJ Brown.  Everything says draft Maye is still trending up, but peel back the curtain and I worry his ADP has soared way too high.  He’s going as the QB3 right now and while he’s the perfect dual-threat QB, I don’t trust his running game-to-game and I think the offense takes a big step back after last season.  Schedule, schedule, schedule.  The same reason we pounced on the Pats last season is the same reason we are fading them this season.  I fade QB as hard as anyone in 1QB leagues and in Super Flex, taking Maye third overall just seems crazy to me.  Juice isn’t worth the squeeze this season.

Jalen Hurts – PHI

Hurts has been a great fantasy option for several seasons now, but it’s been on the back of essentially a TD every game and not any explosive running or passing stats.  Last season we finally had the reckoning and he didn’t finish with double-digit rushing TDs for the first time in the last five seasons.  He finished as the QB9 and is going as the QB6, where is the value and what is the path towards a top-five season.  Hurts actually had the most passing TDs of his career, a stat I guarantee no one knows off the top of their heads because of how anemic the passing offense was the first half of the season.  AJ Brown is probably on his way out and Saquon Barkley is definitely in the post-peak portion of his career.   This is a defensive team that likes to play mistake-free football and doesn’t care if it wins 10-6, no what we want for fantasy.  Hurts had 200 less rushing yards than two seasons ago and could be the oldest 27-year old in the NFL.  The floor is fine, but you don’t want win fantasy with QB floors.  Dual-threat is the cheat code for fantasy, but is Hurts still that or is he just dual-capable, it’s a distinction with a major difference.

RB

Josh Jacobs – GB

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• About the Author
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Jon Mosales

I have been crazy about fantasy sports even before I knew what it was.  Some people use stats as a tool and some use the eye test.  I like to believe I have the perfect blend of both and that extra special spider sense that separates me from the herd.  I have been nominated for one FSWA Football Article of the Year award and am just getting started.  My only fear is that I will become too good at fantasy football and have to retire early like Michael Jordan. You won’t see me leave my house without at least one of my (four) dogs and if you are lucky enough, you will catch me cruising top-down with all four in tow.

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