Let's win some fantasy championships, people!
What follows is my one-size-fits-all fantasy football cheat sheet and draft strategy for traditional 1-QB, half-PPR, 12-team leagues. Of course, RotoWire has you covered with more customizable options, but if you're just looking for some general strategy points, rankings, tiers and the players I'm higher and lower on relative to ADP — you've come to the right place!
And check out my rankings for the latest updates.
As always: It's a great day to be great.
Use code "IAN35" for 35 percent off a RotoWire subscription.
2026 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet
Streamline your draft-day decisions using our printable Cheat Sheet and stay ahead of the competition with our up-to-date Rankings for all fantasy football formats.
Quarterback
- General strategy: WAIT. It's fine, even encouraged, to be the last team without a QB this year. Then feel free to throw two late-round darts at the position.
- QBs I'm targeting at cost: Justin Herbert (QB7), Brock Purdy (QB10), Jared Goff (QB14), Kyler Murray (QB18)
- QBs I'm avoiding at cost: Joe Burrow (QB6), Matthew Stafford (QB15)
Don't be afraid to be the last man standing without a QB. Reigning QB1s like Brock Purdy and Bo Nix regularly slip past Round 10. Miss out on them? No worries, feel free to pair up Jared Goff and Kyler Murray. You'll see RB and WR dry up once 100-plus total players are off the board — THAT is when we pounce.
Of course, things change a bit if you're
Let's win some fantasy championships, people!
What follows is my one-size-fits-all fantasy football cheat sheet and draft strategy for traditional 1-QB, half-PPR, 12-team leagues. Of course, RotoWire has you covered with more customizable options, but if you're just looking for some general strategy points, rankings, tiers and the players I'm higher and lower on relative to ADP — you've come to the right place!
And check out my rankings for the latest updates.
As always: It's a great day to be great.
Use code "IAN35" for 35 percent off a RotoWire subscription.
2026 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet
Streamline your draft-day decisions using our printable Cheat Sheet and stay ahead of the competition with our up-to-date Rankings for all fantasy football formats.
Quarterback
- General strategy: WAIT. It's fine, even encouraged, to be the last team without a QB this year. Then feel free to throw two late-round darts at the position.
- QBs I'm targeting at cost: Justin Herbert (QB7), Brock Purdy (QB10), Jared Goff (QB14), Kyler Murray (QB18)
- QBs I'm avoiding at cost: Joe Burrow (QB6), Matthew Stafford (QB15)
Don't be afraid to be the last man standing without a QB. Reigning QB1s like Brock Purdy and Bo Nix regularly slip past Round 10. Miss out on them? No worries, feel free to pair up Jared Goff and Kyler Murray. You'll see RB and WR dry up once 100-plus total players are off the board — THAT is when we pounce.
Of course, things change a bit if you're in a league that rewards five or six points for passing TDs. I took a sliding Josh Allen in Round 4 in a league featuring the latter format this week. Generally, though: If you're going to go early on QB, refrain from doing so on TE, and vice versa. I'm only devoting two early-ish round picks on the onesie positions in smaller leagues and/or in situations where I'm especially confident in my ability to run HOT getting all of my desired late-round RB and WR sleepers.
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Running Back
- General strategy: Get two RBs sooner rather than later. Then chill until it's time to load up on RB3-RB4 types in ambiguous backfields as well as late-round handcuffs.
- RBs I'm targeting at cost: Chase Brown (RB4), Saquon Barkley (RB6), Javonte Williams (RB12), D'Andre Swift (RB18), Rico Dowdle (RB27), MarShawn Lloyd (RB28), Jacory Croskey-Merritt (RB30), Jordan Mason (RB31), Keaton Mitchell (RB41), Tank Bigsby (RB48), Ray Davis (RB49), Kaelon Black (RB50)
- RBs I'm avoiding at cost: Jonathan Taylor (RB7), Jeremiyah Love (RB15), Cam Skattebo (RB23), Quinshon Judkins (RB24), RJ Harvey (RB39), Josh Jacobs (RB55), Jonah Coleman (RB57)
You might very well get your top-two RBs inside the first two rounds if you're picking at the turn. Maybe you start off with a Round 1 RB and then scoop up another in the early parts of Round 3. We can't control every draft, but ideally we'll get that RB2 no later than Round 5.
This philosophy is a combination of: 1) Preferring my builds when getting to the position early (why I have Christian McCaffrey as my third-ranked player overall) and 2) Saving mid-round resources to attack a loaded tier of receivers.
After that: Scoop up 1-2 more backs in the muddled RB3-RB4 range in Rounds 7-10 (Pittsburgh, Washington and Minnesota backfields) before closing things out with several late-round handcuffs.
Most of my fades come down to players I believe will be in bad offenses (the historical hit rate is quite low) and backup Broncos RBs who look to be MULTIPLE injuries away from being someone we can overly trust in fantasy lineups.
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Wide Receiver
- General strategy: Try to scoop up 5 WRs by the end of Round 9.
- WRs I'm targeting at cost: A.J. Brown (WR5), Jaylen Waddle (WR13), Ladd McConkey (WR14), Christian Watson (WR22), Parker Washington (WR23), Chris Godwin (WR31), Jayden Reed (WR37), KC Concepcion (WR42), Rashid Shaheed (WR52), Chris Bell (WR56)
- WRs I'm avoiding at cost: Rashee Rice (WR19), Garrett Wilson (WR22), Courtland Sutton (WR47), Alec Pierce (WR50)
Getting "5 in 9" is ESPECIALLY vital if you're in a league that requires you to start three receivers every week. Feel free to go a bit harder in the paint at RB if you only have to start two receivers.
Consider: There have actually only been 24 wide receivers drafted outside of the position's top-50 in preseason ESPN ADP that went on to post top-24 numbers in PPR points per game over the last decade: We're far better off saving late-round picks on QB, TE and handcuff RBs.
Don't be afraid to only roster 5-6 receivers and 8-9 running backs in a 16-round draft: The injury-contingent upside of later-round handcuff backs far outweighs what we can expect from sleeper wide receivers.
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Tight End
- General strategy: Ricky Bobby "First or last" approach.
- TEs I'm targeting at cost: Brock Bowers (TE1), Colston Loveland (TE2), Dalton Kincaid (TE9), Isaiah Likely (TE10), Terrance Ferguson (TE18)
- TEs I'm avoiding at cost: Trey McBride (TE3), George Kittle (TE11)
Round 2 Brock Bowers? Sign me up. Round 4 Colston Loveland if that doesn't work? Absolutely. Neither? Relax and get ready to play the late-round TE game.
Similar to QB, I'd much rather throw multiple late-round darts at the position than sacrifice very solid RB and WR picks in the middle rounds that I feel good about. Dalton Kincaid and Isaiah Likely are my favorite late-round bets, but you can also go with more of a floor/ceiling combo in the form of someone like Dallas Goedert and Terrance Ferguson.
DST
- General strategy: Get the Ravens DST.
They boast a borderline erotic combination of having multiple real-life blue-chip talents (Kyle Hamilton, Trey Hendrickson), an elite play-caller (Jesse Minter) and an awesome early season schedule (IND, NO, DAL, TEN, ATL, CLE). If the Rams, Texans, Broncos, or Seahawks fall, fine, but otherwise: Give me the Ravens.
Kicker
- General strategy: Don't play in fantasy leagues with kickers.
But if you insist, we want to target guys with big legs in good, not great, offenses. This is because kicker fantasy scoring is actually negatively correlated with being in elite scoring offenses; we want units good enough to move the ball down the field, but not great enough to finish drives with six points.
Four kickers who I believe accomplish this:
- Jaguars K Cam Little
- Chargers K Cameron Dicker
- Texans K Ka'imi Fairbairn
- Vikings K Will Reichard
Dominate your fantasy football league this season with our 2026 RotoWire fantasy football draft kit. Use code "IAN35" for 35 percent off. Packed with expert insights, rankings and strategy tips, the kit features our interactive mock draft simulator to prepare you for every scenario. Streamline your draft-day decisions using our printable cheat sheet and stay ahead of the competition with our up-to-date rankings for all formats.
