Transcription
Over the last three years, the UNKs have been correct. The double hero running back strategy has been the best way to win your fantasy football leagues, and we're going to tell you how to use it in 2026. Yeah, the old school way of playing fantasy football. I'm sure your dad, your granddad, your uncle, they've been playing fantasy football since the 1980s, the 1990s.
The old school way of thinking is you grab your two running backs early, secure down the position, you take them with two of your first three picks, even, you know, your first two picks for that matter. You're locking down two guys that you feel confident can have top five level upside, and then using rounds four to eight to primarily catch back up at wide receiver, catch back up at quarterback, at tight end, securing the foundation of your team with those two running backs.
Yeah. And uniquely this year and in recent years, this strategy can actually go hand in hand with hero wide receiver as well. Because unlike 5 years ago, you don't have to take your running backs with your first two picks. You can do a double hero RB in round two and three and have a hero wide receiver attached to it because as you guys can see here, percentage of players drafted in each round to become league winners on ESPN formats 2017 to 2024. In the first four rounds is when that spike is going to happen for running backs. And as you can see further down the board, you can get some guys at wide receiver, at quarterback, and at tight end there. So, if you want to secure your anchors like those want to do, we can definitely go ahead and do that with, let's say, two of our first three picks. We're going to do a robust RB video as well where we're getting more than just two running backs in the early rounds, but we're going to talk more about your bog standard double hero RB, the two anchors that you elevate uh to become your top two running backs and and fill out the rest of your roster there.
So, running back profiles, we've talked about this already, are no longer getting elevated to outrageous prices, which is why there's deviations of double hero RB that we'll talk about in this video. We've gone through this top 50 in other videos as well. But from the context of double hero RB, running backs hit over the last 3 years on average at a 50.98% rate. Even if we exclude last year's outlier season at wide receiver, which as we've talked about probably won't happen again, wide receivers are hitting at a similar 47.7% hit rate from 2023 and 2024. Translation, the ADP of these two positions has become efficient. We are no longer elevating running backs where they shouldn't be going. No longer obvious to make wide receivers the best player on the board. You we're basically just taking DPA in the early rounds.
Yeah, I mean, you just do the math there. 51 total running backs selected in that range in the last three years. You translate that to wide receiver, 67 selected in that range. So, we're just a lot more efficient with running back pricing. You're able to get now two of the top 17 or so projections in the first three rounds. Cory, back in 2018, the first 17 picks might have had 15 running backs. So, the fact that you're getting the top 17 projections disperse across the first three rounds make it so much more affordable to actually take running backs with upside and not be pigeonholed into trying to catch up.
Yeah. And the double hero RB strategy specifically allows you to do it from any position of the board. Because back in 2020, the only way you could run double her RB is if you had a late pick because you weren't going to draft the, you know, 22nd best running back off the board with the the 301 or whatever in uh in 2020 because you'd be elevating a sub-optimal profile. So, it does make sense why running backs used to bust more when you just factor in the simple math that 24 of them would go in the top 50 versus 17 of them on average the last three years going in the top 50.
Yeah. I mean, if running backs are inherently going higher and more are going in higher ranked rounds, yeah, wide receiver is going to be optimal in that setup. If you're getting the wide receiver three off the board when the running back 14 is the best available, inherently you're going to be better off taking the receiver. However, mathematically now RB 14 versus wide receiver 13, like yeah, like you said, it's a best player available approach, which is kind of just the thesis of all these draft strategies put together. You're going to be basing your preferred strategy based off what people around you are doing.
Exactly. And value over replacement, basically how good is your running back relative to a replacement level waiver wire running back is a huge thing especially in the last couple of years because we've said things Danny like running backs are scarce. It's been used to describe the position. But this statement is actually more like elite running backs are scarce. This chart kind of demonstrates how exponentially it's more valuable to have the RB1 overall than it is to have a top six running back, a top six running back to a top 12 running back. It starts to flatten out a little bit. Still more valuable to have a top 12 running back than a top 18 running back, 18 then 24, but generally speaking, it's an exponential curve. Christian McCaffrey is irreplaceable. You know, DeAndre Swift is not irreplaceable. There's a reason that having these like high high-end guys, two of them, Christian McCaffrey and Jonathan Taylor, is what Sal had last year in the Flock League.
Not a bad thing for a setup. Obviously, he ends up winning the Flock League off of that. If you have multiple running backs that can contribute 18 plus 19 plus points per game, you're just so far ahead of the eight-ball because overall too um yeah, sure people may be arguing it's easy to stream the position, pick a guy that's going to assume a workload, but just because that guy's getting the workload doesn't mean he's going to outscore Christian McCaffrey on a given week.
Yeah. And even if you look at the guys who didn't win the Flock League last year, I had Bejon almost carry me directly to the playoffs minus the Dicker Heartbreak at the end of the year. The Devs made the finals on the back of Jir Gibbs. Sammy got carried to the playoffs despite all of his injuries by Devon Achan. Badaki started 0 and 5 or 0 and 6 or whatever it was and nearly came back because he had James Cook and Chase Brown who were both top eight running backs in value over replacement.
Yeah. And conversely, if you're lacking those high VORP running backs, if you're lacking that true high-end upside at the position, maybe your core is like, oh, I don't know, Ken Walker, Trevian Henderson, Quenton Judkins, Isaiah Pacheco. And yes, I'm speaking from heart right now. That's kind of how you end up going to the toilet bowl from a 4 and 2 start.
Yeah. And that's why you're going to be at Denny's. So, how do we identify who is worthy of being the heroes? I think it's pretty straightforward that people understand get your running backs early. But which running backs you're taking is is how you win your fantasy league. Because if you took Josh Jacobs and Alvin Chimera as your heroes last year, you probably didn't win. We still want to take away one thing from the Zer RB era and that is only draft heroes with elite upside, top five potential finish, value over replacement level at their position. Those 16, 18, 20 plus point per game running back upside type of guys.
Yeah. And this is why in my opinion RB selectivity matters so much. This is a term that we've phrased on the channel a lot before, but it's understanding what running back you're taking. you're taking a running back if they have that top five upside, if they have that high elite vort potential. If that's not in their range of outcomes, bypass that option for an option that does have that type of upside. Depth can always be figured out. You can find a guy that can give you 12 points per game, 13 points per game very easily at the running back position, but truthfully, hitting on those guys that could be a staple of the season a lot harder.
Yeah. Yeah. And I do a video every year called This Will Change the Way You Draft Early Round running backs. And the TLDDR version of it, cuz it's going to come out about a week from now, is your best chance at identifying those high value over replacement running backs is to refine what you're looking for and bucket them into different kind of hit rate categories. You can see breakout candidates, trusty veterans, and running backs in their prime. Running back ones in their prime, the definitions of them on the screen. These were last year's results. If you followed the blueprint identified in that video, the guys that are in green are the best bets. They've been RB1's before and they're young enough that they don't have elevated injury risk, elevated bust risk. And that would have highlighted Bejian Gibbs, Achan, Jonathan Taylor, Kairen Williams, James Cook, Bree Hall, Kenneth Walker, Chuba Hubard, and DeAndre Swift. Not a perfect hit rate, but generally very, very good. And you would have ended up with a lot of good options.
Running backs that are in yellow, a little bit more risky bets, right? They can smash their ADP if things go well for them, but they've never been RB1's before. So, they are a little bit more elevated risk than the guys that are in green. Trusty veterans, those are the guys in blue, more injury prone, more likely to just be kind of guys that get you by like a Jacobs last year or a Henry last year. But if they project very well and they're going high in ADP, you don't need to automatically fade them. It's when they slide into the dead zone that you want to be worried about those trusty veterans. Well, looking at 2026, the guys that it highlights, Gibbs, Bejan Cook, Achan, Chase Brown, Kenneth Walker, Bree Hall, Kairen Williams, and Javvante Williams, those are all guys under the age of 27 who've been RB1's in fantasy before, and they are the best bets essentially at cost of their ADP. Genty Hampton and Love are guys in yellow. They're risky but high upside. If you love them, you take them. Trusty veterans that are going after rounds uh, you know, Arby's 8 to 10 in ADP. Be wary of Derrick Henry. Be wary of Josh Jacobs. be wary of Travis ETN, Swift, Montgomery, and then of course those really big dead zone guys like Pard Warren, Chuba Hubard, and Stevenson. So again, this map is made to identify what running backs are better bets than others based on their expected hit rates. The mid round breakout candidates is a interesting wrinkle that we have this year as well because so many young running backs are going in the mid rounds. Scataboo, Irving, Judkins, Henderson, Tuton, and Price. that also presents like a weird dynamic of how to run a double hero RB as well.
Well, that's the beauty of it. And we'll talk about uh talk about the modified double hero where if you're picking at the one and two slot, um at that four, five turn, there's a lot of upside at the running back position. You mentioned some of those profile names. The pass catching of a guy like Trevian Henderson, the workload potential and youth of a guy like Quinn Sean Judkins, Bashel Tudin taking that RB1 role in Liam Con's offense. Those profiles typically would be third round picks, would be top of the fourth round picks. This year specifically, they're very affordable. And if you do have one of the top two running backs of fantasy, Bejan or Gibbs, you're so far ahead of the eight-ball that taking one of those upside shots next to them could be a very good compliment to your team. I would say though based off the dh data this year, based off the contextual ADP, the cut off for what I would describe as true top five running back upside to me would be Javvante Williams. And I think the cut off for true running back one top 12 upside would be until Jarian Price goes off the board, which is usually about the end of the fifth.
Yeah. And when it comes to like implementing this strategy into your home leagues, it's pretty simple. In these formats, you're going to want to probably get two running backs with your first three picks or your first four picks if you get a sliding ADP value. Kind of tie breaking to a running back if you feel similarly about a wide receiver on the board or a running back on the board. knowing that the more casual your league, the better people are going to give you values in the mid rounds on wide receiver and the more they're going to reach as well in the mid rounds on running backs.
Yeah. Like if you start your draft with James Cook and Chase Brown, if you're in a casual league, there's a good chance people are going to see that turn. People are going to see that, oh RB8 just went off the board. I don't have my RB1 cuz I selected Jamar Chase because I selected Puka Aua, Ammon St. Brown, CD Lamb, Justin Jefferson. So, we'll start to see a run. Especially too if you're in a lot of drafts between pick 109 and pick 208. How many running backs usually go off the board? Cory?
There's like eight or nine in my rankings in that territory. So.
So when those guys are off the board, if you're in a more casual league and somebody's picking at the 210, at the 209, they may feel panic and reaching up the board to grab a Kyrie and reaching up the board to grab a Javvante. Conversely, if they don't grab a running back in the first two rounds, maybe they're the team that reaches on like a Cam Scataboo in the mid third just to fill out the position.
Yeah. It's all about how these positions interact with each other. So, I think that picking at the end of the board works best for double hero RB because you can very easily just double tap running backs. I think you can do it at the middle of the board as well with a Christian McCaffrey, Jonathan Taylor, maybe one of those guys slide to you in the second round. It's a little harder to do it at the early portion of the board, but because you're getting Gibbs and Bejon with picks one and two specifically, you can probably afford, like you said, to deviate for a different kind of double hero RB and grab your second hero in round four or even early round five. The hardest position to run a double hero RB by far though is number three and number four. Pick 103 and 104 because Chase and Nua is who we have ranked there. So, you have to get your double hero RB rounds two to four, which the value might not line up for. You might look at the board and AJ Brown slid to you at the ear the late second round and you're just like I can't pass on AJ Brown for Jeremiah Love or whatever at the uh at the 209 or 210.
Yeah. And that's also hoping like oh maybe Derrick Henry falls. It's like if you're also just nodding on a guy like Derrick Henry and vice versa too in more home leagues he probably even doesn't even make it to that pick. Like you might be left behind the eight-ball too.
So before we get into the mock I'm going to be picking from two. Danny's going to be picking from 12. We'll showcase how the double hero works. I just wanted to quickly remind you guys that using our season pass and we're going to showcase it here. You can get our real time draft assistant that will help you out during your sleeper and ESPN drafts. You can see it right here. You can sort by our rankings. It goes through, it tells you who the top guys in every tier are. You can sort by expert rankings, our rankings, Mason's rankings, whoever you want to use. And you can download it using the Chrome extension that you can see right beside Danny's head right here. And if you're on mobile as well, you can also uh customize your draft sheets specific to your league settings. So, if you're in an ESPN standard 12 team, two running back, two wide receiver, one flex, the rankings are going to come out differently than they're going to come out in a a 12 team PPR, two flex, three wide receiver type of league. So, if you guys want access to the draft sheets, to the real-time draft assistant, our draft guide, and our 2026 projections, all live on the site. Head on over to get the season pass, that'll be linked down below in the description. If you want to get it for free, you can sign up on underdog with 10 bucks. New underdog code users with promo code FSE at sign up will get it for free within 24 hours of their first play. But Danny, let's get into the actual draft here. So, I'm gonna be picking at 102. You're going to be picking at 112 at the end of the board here. We're going to do the mock on Sleeper to showcase the draft assistant, but we do have mocks available in the uh the Flock Fantasy Mockdraft tool as well. So, Jamir Gibbs actually falls to me at 102, which is nice, but I would have been fine with Bejon as well. I'm gonna try and run the modified double hero where I maybe take my hero with my 302 or maybe I take him in the fourth round. I think you're gonna probably run the more bog standard, you know, double running back start. I would imagine.
And I would say this is probably a perfect draft to do it knowing that Amra, Jefferson, Lamb, JSN, they are all off the board right now. I think running back position is actually the best available. I look at my highest rated player here. If you guys sort to the gra uh draft sheets, you can see PPR start 8. My highest ranked player is going to be Ashen Genty. So, he'll be on my team and I'll pair him up with uh one of my favorite turns this year. It's just the second year uh running back upside with Amarian Hampton.
Yeah. And I'm going to actually zoom in one here so that we can see a little bit better. Um, the like you said, the custom sheets, a 12 team PPR start eight shows up. It also showcases kind of the expert rankings versus the sleeper rankings, which is also important, too, because if you're in a casual league, people are going to generally stick to the ADP of the platform that you're on. So, if you use kind of what the experts or what we think specifically versus the sleeper ADP, you can also kind of better predict what guys are going to fall back to you based on the ADP if your league mates are drafting based on that ADP. So, I'm on the board here and I get an absolute gift on Sleeper with Chase Brown falling to me. I have Chase Brown ranked Danny as my 109 in fantasy football drafts. To get him at the 211 is absolutely insane. So, while I would have liked to showcase what it would have looked like to take, you know, let's say George Pickkins and, you know, AJ Brown with this turn and try and get my double hero later, I think I'm just going to I'm just going to take the gift that fell to me with Chase Brown here and I get my classic double hero RB. Very very easy decision for me to make there.
Yeah. And this is uh so we've done most of our mock drafts on flocky.com. You typically will have a lot more, I'll say, realistic scenarios happening, but maybe it prepares you. you're in a sleeper league draft and you kind of notice, oh shoot, the Flock fantasy guys are so high on these players and Chase Brown shouldn't be available at my 211 like that that that's a contextual clue that you can, you know, chime into.
Yeah. Especially if you're drafting on Sleeper. I know his ADP is a little bit um down from where we have him ranked. And also another thing that I should point out here is it says best picks right now and it will say specific experts uh logos. You can see right there it says best picks right now AJ Brown based on our rankings, Zach's rankings, and Mason's rankings. So, we're all on the same page that the best pick on the board here is AJ Brown. And I have him, I believe, the highest on the site at 18 overall. So, he was definitely the pick I was going to make.
Yep, for sure. Um, I'm both to be back on the clock here. We see a third round Lamar Jackson. Wow. That Yeah, that's not happening in uh Flock Flock fantasy drafts, but I'm back on the clock here. Um, I don't know how this guy is available. Rasheed Rice falls to the end of the third, so I'm just not going to ask any questions. And then the next ranked player for me here would be Devonte Smith, who is kind of buried at 44.9 overall here.
Yeah. And again, we're we're gonna go through like the best picks on the board on Sleeper, the best picks on the board on ESPN, etc. And I've noticed Devonte Smith is one of the best picks on the board on Sleeper because I have him ranked near the two-3 turn. And on Sleeper, he goes by the 3-4 turn like where you just took him there. So yeah, I mean, you you started your draft, Danny, with two with four of my top 25 players in my rankings, which is insane. the my team's feature is going to like me.
Yeah. Exactly. So, um, Llad Mcconkey, Amecha Ibuka, Trevian Henderson. I've already started with my two anchor running backs to stick true to the the both of us are running your bog standard double running back start. Fill out your wide receivers, quarterbacks, tight ends in the mid rounds. I'm going to just take my highest two ranked receivers here most likely. I am a little worried that one of them goes off the board because I would really love to get both Makoni and Ibuka here. I don't think I'm going to. Uh, my highest rated receiver is a Mecha Ibuka. The expert uh of Zach here agrees with me. Lad McConi is kind of the domain and Mason pick here, but I'm gonna go with Ibuka and you. So, Manki does go off the board so I don't end up getting both of them unfortunately.
Do I want to deviate away from it and take a running back here? Because my highest rated player at running back is.
We're doing a double hero, brother.
I know. I know. Judkins is my highest rated player on the board though. So that's why I'm like I could deviate and take him, but for the purpose of this video, I will stick with the the the strategy of just taking my highest rated receiver here, which would be Terry McLaren.
Hey, stay tuned for the next video we drop though. Robust running back. Uh, you would be taking the running back there.
Yeah, I would have been. So, uh, you're on the board here. You do also have the same decision point as I do, which is Beel Tutin falls to you and he would probably be your highest rated player, I'd imagine, or one of the highest rated.
Yeah, for the purpose of the video, I'm just going to go with uh two wide receivers here. Uh, but at the same time, if you're just doing best player available, Tutin would be my highest. Next highest would be Jarian Price. But I also just have two receivers that I feel very confident in here. Taking Mike Evans with one of these picks, taking Brian Thomas Jr. with another one of them.
Yeah. And again, we're going to rank all of the strategies. We're going to go through and tier list rank all of the strategies. And Double Hero comes out looking pretty good in this draft so far.
Um, I'm on the board here because I already have three receivers. Again, we are, if you can see the top of the board here, it says, u actually, you're blocking it at the moment. Let me move you out of the way just so people can see it. Um, we're doing a 12 team PPR, one quarterback, two running back, two wide receiver, one tight end, two flex. So, whatever player I take, if it is a receiver here, I can start them every single week in my flex spot. I could also go and opt for a tight end in in, you know, a Tucker Craft or a Kyle Pitts or something like that and lock down that position for me. I don't really love the quarterback position. All the guys that I would have maybe been interested in went off the board minus Caleb Williams or Justin Herbert. I definitely could go with one of those guys. I'm just going to grab my highest rated receiver on the board. I could go with Jadarian Price though who is the best player on the board. Yeah, I'm going to take Jarian Price here. He's going to be my flex. We're going to go with the uh it's still a double hero. We didn't take our next running back until the 611, but uh I'm going to grab another receiver on the board. Unanimously on the site, Marvin Harrison being the best available, so I'm going to be taking him.
Yeah. Uh, good looks from you. Um, I am just going to see who ends up following to me at this next turn. Oh my god, Jackson Dart went. Please, please, please, please. Yes. Yes. Caleb Williams, welcome down, baby. What the heck? Um, I'm just not going to have any complaints here. 712 Caleb Williams. Uh, have strong two running backs, very, very well-built receiver core. Get a quarterback that I have ranked extremely high in my own rankings. So, don't feel bad about that at all. And then the next highest rated player by my rankings would be one, Rain Dakota, but obviously because I have a quarterback, I'm not going to go that direction. Um, I'm going to take my first receiver through the flex just because I see running backs that I like further down the board and I really like Quinton Johnson's value here.
Yeah. So, you went with the the standard I'm banking my season on Genty and Hampton. You don't really have a whole lot of backup plan behind those guys. And obviously the one downside risk with double hero RB as it is with any running back-based strategy is injury, right? Running back, you know, Genty goes down, misses significant time, you're going to be scrambling the waiver wire, filling out your bench and that type of thing. At least in my situation, I would have Jadarian Price that I could plug into my RB2 spot if one of my guys miss time. But I am still forth through the flex if I need to at the wide receiver position. I'm on the board now at the quarterback and tight end position, having nobody really to to work with. I I don't need to take a tight end considering most of the the guys in the league have one already. So, I probably won't take one. Do I want to grab another receiver for insurance and a Chris Godwin or somebody like that?
Given my team's stacking opportunities, I I can wait on Mayfield. I could wait on I mean, Daniels is gone already. Drake May is gone already. I'm not going to stack with Jacobe Brassette. Maybe I would go with a quarterback here. I'm going to I'm going to grab a receiver and then see what quarterback falls back to me. This guy doesn't have a quarterback, but I'm pretty comfortable with one of them falling back to me. And I think I'm going to punt tight end, given that most of the guys in this league already have one. So, I'm going to take an upside swing for me. Michael Pitman is my highest rated receiver, and I do believe he can lead the the Steelers and targets this season. And then I'm going to grab um I'll grab Trevor Lawrence. Trevor Lawrence to me would be my highest rated quarterback. He has rushing upside. And.
I mean, for waiting on quarterback and tight end, I feel like I'm still going to have decent options there. the backups are starting to come off the board for some of the sleeper bots. In a casual league, maybe I would factor that in and I would have maybe taken Daltton Concade or Travis Kelce with one of my picks, but I'm fine with whoever falls back to me still.
Yeah, that's kind of where I'm at as well. Um, I'm back on the clock here. My clear highest rated player left is going to be Jonathan Brooks. So, going to take that upside right here, fill out my running back core with him. And then I'm also going to fill it out with Rashad White.
Yeah, because for you, you don't have really any backup running backs behind your heroes. So, you're going to have to really line your bench with that position. Again, I'm kind of getting screwed at the tight end position. I still get Isaiah likely falling to me. And I'm not huge on Isaiah likely this year, but especially at the beginning of the season, I feel confident that he could have um a big time role with Malik Neighbors coming in banged up. I would have ideally in a sharper league hoped that a Gadson or a Concaid or a Ferguson or a Kelsey had fallen back to me. Those guys all get ripped off the board because I forgot sleepers got casual ADP format where people are going to take backups. But I'll take Isaiah likely there and feel pretty confident that I'll still have um some upside at that position. And then I'm kind of just filling up my bench at this point. I have three running backs I feel like I can rely on. Um, I do think the running back position is going to kind of fall off a cliff after this. So even though I think Josh Downs is, you know what, Josh Downs the best player on the board, I'm just going to take it.
Good pick.
Yeah, I like that pick. Um, knowing that a lot of these teams have a backup tight end and the two that don't are probably going to take one relatively soon, I think I can just keep punting the position cuz I don't think the sleeper is programmed to take three backups or two backups in a starter, sorry. Uh, with that being said, uh, a lot of receivers that I like here. Let me take a look at the running back position. Oh, I lose Jordan Mason. That would have been a smash auto pick for me. I mean, the receivers on the board with worthy, concession, and Hunter feel like the best players on the board to me.
Um, and I don't disagree. I have four receivers, five, so I can round out a core with one more. And I probably take two tight ends with my last two picks. Okay. Um, I'm going to go with Travis Hunter here, uh, just because I feel confident in filling out my receiver core in terms of production that I want to prioritize just complete ceiling as a bench play there. And then with my other pick here, like I said, probably going to have to round out with two tight ends. I like the upside of pairing a Chigga Conquo type with potentially maybe if I can get like an AJ Barner down the board. So, I like that.
Yeah. Nothing says upside like AJ Barner.
He's a good player, man. You're sleeping.
He's useless.
Good player.
Um, so I was really hoping Jonah Coleman would fall to the not. Um, so I am on the board. I'm hoping because I like I only have three running backs, so I'm hoping to double tap running back probably with my last two picks. Cam Scatter is coming into the season with an injury. So, I'll go with Tyrone Tracy with one of these and then um I was kind of actually I I would have maybe taken Conpsion had he fallen to me. I'll probably just take one more dart throw at the running back position. What direction do I want to go here? Let's go with um this is a bench player. Let's go with a pure upside swing who I probably know what he is early on in the season. I'll take Nick Singleton here at the 132 because if he's completely useless at the beginning of the season, I can just cut bait with him and work the waiver wire.
Yeah. And do I want to just take the second tight end for aesthetic or do I want to just say, "Hey, Chiga Conunk is going to be my tight end one going into week one. I don't have to roster a second one." And if I need to make a pivot after week one, all these other teams have two tight ends. So.
I was only doing a 13 round draft. In an ideal world, this would have been a 14 or a 15 round draft, but for time purposes, nobody really cares about these picks. So you could always just have, you know, in the back of your mind, if this was 14 or 15 rounds, I would take a guy later. Well, if I was drafting like in a real league right now, I wouldn't take a second tight end because I would be like, well, Chig can get me through week one and I can make that pivot later if I need to. And I'm going to draft this like it's a real league. Truthfully, my main option here would be either taking an ambiguous backfield, which again, I already took the starter in my opinion with Rashad White, but a guy like Kron Allen would make a lot of sense here if I didn't have Rashad White. The other option, too, would be Saquon Barkley, older running back, big-time workload. Tank Bixby looked efficient when he got the ball last year and I do believe if Saquon Barkley were to go down, he would inherit at least a top 15 to 20 level type of role. So, um, rounding him out with Tank Bixby. I feel really confident about this core. Genty Hampton up top. You got your upside there with Brooks and White. You got your contingent play with Tank Bixby. I think in terms of ideal running back core, I think I did a really good job there.
Yeah, like you're never going to start Brooks and White over Rice, Smith, Evans, or Thomas anyways, unless they smash. Like if Brooks is like a league winner and he's an RB1 in fantasy, then maybe he would find your flex spot. But generally, you are going to rely and hit your wagon to Genty and Hampton being workhorses for you. And then your running back or your wide receiver position is going to fill out your two wide receiver spots and your two flex spots. We are doing this from a full PPR frame of mind. And then you go a little weak at the tight end position, but you do get the sliding value at the quarterback position in Caleb Williams.
Yeah, no complaints with how you filled filled it out. Um, you have any other thoughts on the team? Yeah, I mean, it would have been nice if uh let's just say hypothetically in an opportunity bundle perspective I was able to get Sam Laaporta on that turn with Caleb because then at that point if you told me I got Leaporta instead of Quentyn Johnson and then maybe where I took Chiga Conquo I take the upside of a guy like Xavier Worthy probably would have liked that combination a little bit more but can't really control just how rampant the tight end ADP is on sleeper.
Yeah. And again, maybe this is reflective of your league market and you know people are going to take backup quarterbacks and backup tight ends and you have in the back of your mind that wide receiver and running back values are going to slide later down the board. Maybe you do get an early tight end as a result of that knowing you can fill out your wide receivers and running backs later. Looking at my team, I do do the deviation in the mid rounds for the last top 12 upside uh guy that you mentioned in the um in the strategy portion and Jadari and Price, but Gibbs and Chase Brown are going to be primarily my main guys at least early on in the season because I don't know Price's workload right away. I would go AJ Browning, Buka, Mcccluren, and Harrison probably in my flexes. Maybe Pitman, uh, Price get in there at some point in better matchups. Trevor Lawrence and Isaiah likely for punting the tight end and quarterback position. I feel really good about both of those guys. I got a guy who can be a top two target on his team and I got a quarterback who literally was on the MVP ballot last year. And then I grabbed Tyrone Tracy, Josh Downs, and Nick Singleton to line my bench with some upside. Again, if we were drafting 14, 15 rounds, I probably would have just continued to draft more running backs or more late round wide receivers. But overall, I feel really good about this. Again, you can do mock drafts on flockfantasy.com and I can show you guys really quick. If you go to the draft section of the site, you can join a private draft and draft against the uh expert rankings. You can do a draft simulation. You can uh do rookie drafts still if you're doing dynasty stuff. And you can also join a mockdraft lobby, enter a PPR draft, and these fill pretty quick, especially this time of year. So, you should be able to mock draft against a bunch of different people and get some different ADPs and, you know, uh builds in mind to test out all these different strategies we've talked about.
Yeah. And uh let's just say real quick a disclaimer. If you do do mocks over on flockfanasy.com, just understand you're probably not going to like your team as much because you don't have these absolute sleeper bots that are pushing down elite values. Like, you're going to have some really competitive people in those rooms. But like we always say, Corey, if you're preparing for a fight, would you want to prep against Muhammad Ali or would you want to prep against a guy that's three grades lower than you?
Yeah, exactly. And here's the other thing, like pro athletes do this, too. Like Jaden Daniels when he does his VR training, he practices at like 1.5x speed of reading the field because then it looks like it's slower for him in a real life game. Golfers use a training stick that's way heavier than an actual driver so that they can hit their driver harder than they normally do. So practicing against the best ADP, the sharpest rooms via underdog drafts or via our Flock fantasy mock draft simulator will get you overprepared for your fantasy draft. So, if you're doing a sleeper draft and they're drafting based on the ADP, you are going to laugh at how good your team is after drafting on on Flock or drafting on Underdog. And again, if you guys want the season pass, head on down to the link in the pin comment or the description. 34 bucks covers you from now till the end of the season. So, you'll get all of our bonus content, all of our draft guides from all of your favorite creators for the entire season and rest of season rankings, weekly rankings once we get to that point. And of course, if you don't want to sign up for the season pass, you can just sign up on underdog. Use promo code FSE at signup and first deposit within 24 hours of your first play. You will get access to our 2026 projections, our reddraft rankings manifesto, our draft guide, and our Dynasty rookie draft guide from back during the Dynasty offseason and our weekly start set rankings once those become relevant during the fantasy football season as well. So, all that will be linked down below in the pin comment. Like, comment, subscribe if you enjoyed. We're trying to get to 100K by the end of the year. But with that being said, peace out. We'll talk to you soon. You me.