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The Fantasy Football Roundtable will run each week this preseason, with RotoWire football writers answering the most important questions facing fantasy managers this draft season. Their advice and insights will help you win your leagues.
In a fantasy football draft, opportunity cost is the best player left on the board you passed on. And because picks are scarce -- you only get so many, and once you use one, you can't take it back -- the goal isn't just drafting good players; it's drafting players who outperform their draft slot, i.e. draft value. Finding draft value is the only way to consistently come out ahead of opponents making those same trade-offs. Which brings us to the question at hand ...
This week's question: Who is this year's biggest draft value?
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Jared Goff, QB, Lions
ADP: QB16
Boring, old Jared Goff. And hey, why not? The man has done largely nothing except smash preseason ADP in recent years.
- 2022: QB27 ADP, QB13 finish in fantasy points per game
- 2023: QB18 ADP, QB15 finish
- 2024: QB19 ADP, QB7 finish
- 2025: QB18 ADP, QB12 finish
Goff has ripped off three consecutive seasons with at least 4,500 passing yards. The rest of the NFL has *six* combined. He leads the NFL in passing touchdowns since 2022! Still only 31 years young, DraftKings has Goff's passing yards over/under (4,099.5) 100 yards higher than any QB, and his passing touchdown over/under (29.5) ranks third. RotoWire Projections have him in the position's top-4 in both. Fantasy nerds will claim he has "no upside," but in reality Goff has eight top-5 finishes the last two seasons, which only trails Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts and Joe Burrow. That's it. That's the entire list. I'd say the man is pretty capable of putting up big point totals!
Ultimately, it's the home league prices that really have me excited to lean on Goff as THE late-round QB of 2026. In ESPN drafts, there's no reason for Goff (QB16, pick 151.3) to be going 5.5 rounds after guys like Matthew Stafford (QB8, 95.3) and Dak Prescott (QB9, 98). Maybe the utter lack of any rushing production hinders Goff's chances of putting up sky-high top-5 numbers, but it's tough to find another late-round QB with an easier and more realistic path to being a consistent top-12 performer this season. Only catch: Start looking for a reasonable QB streamer well in advance of Goff's Jan. 3, Week 17 matchup in Chicago.
-- Ian Hartitz
Ian's 2026 Fantasy Football Rankings
Check out the industry-leading fantasy football live draft assistant to get custom rankings for your league and follow along with a live draft on most major platforms.
Brock Purdy, QB, 49ers
ADP: QB13
Waiting on quarterback remains one of the biggest team-building advantages in fantasy football. Quarterback is loaded with value this season, allowing you to hammer the premium positions early before taking your quarterback in the double-digit rounds. While the temptation will be there to join the run on quarterbacks in the middle rounds, Brock Purdy is the safety blanket waiting on the other side.
QB11 in FFPC ADP, Purdy carries an 11th-round price tag that makes him one of the best values on the board. His current cost feels much closer to his floor than his ceiling. After finishing QB5 in fantasy points per game last season and QB6 overall in 2023, Purdy has already proven he can produce as a top-end fantasy starter.
Brock Purdy has everything he needs to post the best fantasy season of his career. After playing through an injury-ravaged supporting cast a season ago, San Francisco has reloaded around him. Mike Evans gives Purdy the type of dominant boundary receiver capable of turning efficient drives into touchdowns. Second-round pick De'Zhuan Stribling adds another explosive playmaker, Ricky Pearsall is poised for a leap after an injury-plagued first two seasons, and there is optimism that George Kittle could return from his Achilles injury as early as Week 1. Having Christian McCaffrey catching passes out of the backfield certainly doesn't hurt, either. Purdy quietly has been one of the NFL's most efficient quarterbacks since taking over as starter, consistently ranking near the top of the league in multiple advanced passing metrics. At an 11th-round price, Purdy isn't just a value -- he's one of the biggest ADP wins at any position.
-- Theo Gremminger
Theo's 2026 Fantasy Football Rankings
Check out our fantasy football ADP report for a comprehensive tool with live-updated ADP data for multiple league formats and sites.
Jordan Addison, WR, Vikings
ADP: WR43
Jordan Addison is WR43 in our PPR ADP report and often sits on the board past pick 100, which looks like drafters have forgotten his 2023-24 breakout stretch entirely. Addison posted 911 yards and 10 touchdowns as a rookie, then followed with 875 yards and nine touchdowns in 15 games in 2024. J.J. McCarthy's rough 2025 dragged down the entire Vikings offense, and Addison's production fell to 610 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games.
The fantasy community has punished every Vikings player this offseason for the McCarthy debacle, and that's a mistake. Is new Vikings QB Kyler Murray Superman? Of course not, but neither was Sam Darnold when he stepped into this offense in 2024. Behind coach Kevin O'Connell's play calling, a strong offensive line and weapons like Justin Jefferson and Addison, Darnold posted a career year with 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns. Murray brings a stronger track record than Darnold carried into Minnesota, and Addison profiles as a top-30 WR with more upside than his price suggests, check our rankings to see where he stacks up. Grab him after pick 90 and say thank you.
-- Jim Coventry
Jim's 2026 Fantasy Football Rankings
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Sam LaPorta, TE, Lions
ADP: TE8
How easy it is to forget that Sam LaPorta steadily outproduced teammate Jameson Williams throughout the first half of last season. Williams started to heat up after a Week 8 bye and largely remained productive down the stretch, getting a boost from both Dan Campbell's pass-heavy playcalling (Week 10 onward) and LaPorta's prolonged absence (starting Week 11).
LaPorta, meanwhile, largely missed the part of the season when Dan Campbell had Jared Goff chucking the ball all over the place. Goff averaged 38.1 attempts in Weeks 11-18, adding 25.7 percent more volume compared to the nine games in which LaPorta played (30.3 pass attempts in Weeks 1-10). The Lions surely hope to restore some semblance of balance this year, but with David Montgomery out of the picture and LaPorta fully cleared from back surgery, there's an opportunity for the 25-year-old TE to match his rookie-year volume (120 targets, 7.1 per game) without sacrificing the efficiency gains of 2024-25.
-- Jerry Donabedian
Jerry's 2026 Fantasy Football Rankings
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