Last Updated on July 21, 2026 10:30 am by Jon Mosales | Published: July 21, 2026

As much I hate cliches, they often come in handy.  One of my favorite go-to euphemisms is that you can’t win your draft in the early rounds, you can only lose it.  There is nothing worse than busting with an early pick, either chasing a player too early in his career or too late and it can leave you one-handed in the wars to come.  It’s not enough to just draft well, you also have to avoid the landmines littered throughout your draft.  The only problem is that you don’t know who is a landmine until they blow up your team, or do you?  It’s a mixture of reading the signs, playing the odds and trusting your gut.  No one can go 10/10 for I am going to see how many red flag players I can sus out to help you and me from self-sabotaging.  So without further ado, one player from each of the first 10 rounds I will avoid drafting by any means necessary.

Round 1 – Christian McCaffrey – RB – SF

CMC was the RB1 with a bullet, finishing with 47 more fantasy points than the RB2 (Bijan Robinson).  Not only is the RB1 spot cursed, (Saquon Barkley, CMC, Austin Ekeler), CMC is coming off the highest usage season of his career (which for him always means doom), he’s now 30 and on the wrong side of the age cliff.  You just have to trust his recent history.  Now, it’s not like he’s never had b2b great seasons (RB1/RB2 in 2022/2023), but that was was his prime and we just saw him average under 4.0 YPC for the first time in the last five seasons.  In the last 13 years, only one of those RBs was a top-5 fantasy RB the next year. after seeing 400-plus touches.  CMC is going in the first half of the first round and I’m not sure I would take him in the second round.

Round 2 – Saquon Barkley – RB – PHI

This one is tougher because buying the dip can win you a fantasy league.  Barkley went from the RB1 to the RB14 and saw his YPC dip from 5.8 to 4.1.  That’s a massive dip and if you look at his history, maybe the 2024 season was the exception and this is closer to who Barkley is.  The other problem is the PHI offense isn’t exactly dynamic.  The second round is full of elite RBs and I would rank Barkley last behind Chase Brown, Omarion Hampton, Ashton Jeanty and De’Von Achane and it’s not close.  The o-line should be solid, but  2024, Barkley had an insane 3.55 yards before contact per attempt, which easily led all running backs.  Last year, that number fell to 2.11.   Barkley should be fine, but he’s not a lock to finish as a top-10 RB and that’s what he’s priced as.  I’m fading the Eagles until they show the offense isn’t in shambles.

Round 3 – Jeremiyah Love – RB – ARI

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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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