Draft THESE Players in Every Round! | 2026 Round-By-Round Fantasy Football Guide (Ep. 2119)

This episode of the FantasyPros podcast turns into a round-by-round draft board built through head-to-head "pitches," with Andrew Erickson and Derek "D-Bro" Brown each nominating a player at every pick from Round 1 through 15 while Alfredo Brown judges the winner. The frame is a scoring gimmick, but underneath it is a real argument about where value concentrates in 2026 drafts — touchdown regression, offensive scheme fits, and which running back committees actually funnel receiving work to one back.

The arguments

James Cook profiles as a true RB1 outlier if Buffalo expands his receiving role. Erickson built the case on Cook's rare three-year trend line — 44 catches in 2023, 18 touchdowns in 2024, over 1,600 rushing yards in 2025 — arguing that if he combines all three in one season, he's RB1 overall, not the RB5 he's being drafted as. D-Bro's counter, Puka Nacua, was conceded as "too easy" a pick by comparison; Alfredo gave the round to Cook specifically because of reported plans to get Bills backs more involved in the passing game.

Zay Flowers is a lock for touchdown regression. Erickson pointed out that every other receiver with 1,200+ yards last year scored at least eight touchdowns except Flowers, and that he's now a paid, featured, top-five target-share piece in a Ravens offense that ranked only 15th in red-zone pass rate — a number likely to climb. D-Bro's Javonte Williams pitch (RB11 in points per game last year despite an RB2 price) was acknowledged as a legitimate value case, but Alfredo sided with Flowers' ceiling over Williams' proven-but-capped role.

Colston Loveland has TE1-overall upside as a discounted second-year target. D-Bro leaned on Loveland's Weeks 16–20 stretch, where his target share, yards per route run, and first-read share outpaced last year's Trey McBride and 2024's Brock Bowers in their respective title runs. Erickson's Jalen Waddle counter (top-12 in only 62.8% of his career games) lost this round because the new-offense variables — Bo Nix's health, Sean Payton's usage — were seen as too unresolved.

Jalen Hurts is a discounted floor-and-ceiling quarterback play. D-Bro argued Hurts is being drafted as a QB6-8 despite delivering what amounts to Lamar Jackson's QB2 production, and that his expected-fantasy-points profile last year was actually QB2 overall. Both hosts agreed the touchdown-vulture role in Philadelphia's offense is being underpriced given Hurts' career 13 rushing TDs/season average versus last year's outlier-low eight, with Erickson conceding this was the biggest point swing of the episode.

Late-round tight ends are worth doubling up on. D-Bro took Isaiah Likely in Round 10 as a clear No. 2 in the Giants' passing game once healthy; Erickson countered with Dalton Kincaid, who led all tight ends in target rate, yards per route run, and yards per target last year despite playing only 33.5% of Buffalo's snaps. Both were ruled a push — the argument being that tight end has enough per-play efficiency at the position now that rostering two late fliers is reasonable roster construction.

Malik Willis is a legitimate last-round quarterback insurance policy. D-Bro's closing, tiebreaking pick argued Willis' rushing production (over the last three years, top-four among QBs in rushing yards per game) combined with Miami's negative game scripts makes him a top-12 QB streamer even in relief duty. Erickson's Greg Dulcich counterpick (second among tight ends in yards per route run from Week 9 on) was praised but ruled a smaller swing than what Willis offers as a true QB2 fallback plan.

What it means for your roster

• Consider James Cook as a Round 1 running back target if you believe reports of an expanded Buffalo passing role for backs — the hosts view him as a potential RB1 finisher at an RB5 price.
• Prioritize Zay Flowers over touchdown-regression-proof running backs in Round 3 given his target share and Baltimore's red-zone pass-rate upside.
• Draft Colston Loveland in Round 4 over Round 4 wide receiver names if you want the highest tight-end ceiling on the board.
• Take Jalen Hurts as a Round 6 QB2/streamer-proof pick — both hosts agree he's being priced like a QB6-7 while carrying QB2 upside.
• Double up at tight end late — pairing a Round 10 flier (Likely or Kincaid) with your starter is endorsed as sound roster construction, not wasted bench space.
• Stash Malik Willis as your final-round "Konami code" QB if you miss out on Hurts or Jackson Dart earlier — he's framed as the last-round contingency plan at the position.
• Keep Parker Washington and Emeka Ibuka on watch lists as the hosts' single "must-leave-every-draft-with" upside wide receiver plays, even outside the round-by-round structure.