Draft Information

The draft is almost here! We'll be drafting at 2:30 PM at Dave's house this coming Sunday, August 23rd. Check your email for more details and, as we get closer to the date, a video call link for those of you joining remotely.

Keepers

If you have the feeling that there are a lot more top players available to draft this year, you are not wrong. While keeper cost doesn't correlate perfectly with player ADP, there are just two first-round slots being used on keepers this year - the fewest since 2020! It's also a big step down from the past two season; in both 2024 and 2025, half of us gave up our first round picks to keep players.

(All ADP data below is taken from Fantasy Pros on August 17.)

Rabbit

• Jonathan Taylor, 1.14 (ADP: 1.06)
• Chase Brown, 4.01 (ADP, 2.01)

Rabbit had a lot to choose from - unsurprising, given how dominant he was in 2025 (CTRL+F for "2025 Rabbit" and be impressed) - and settled on two RBs with top-15 ADPs. Hard to nitpick these choices, which means Rabbit should be seen as the team to beat heading into 2026.

Schertz

• Omarion Hampton, 2.02 (ADP: 2.02)
• Dallas Goedert, 9.13 (ADP: 9.07)

Schertz, despite also making the Blingabowl, was in the opposite situation as Rabbit: he didn't have many good choices. While Hampton's keeper cost and ADP are the same, because of other players being kept, Schertz still gets value for him. Goedert, who - given how long he's been in the league and how good-not-great he always is - might be the most boring keeper we've ever had, even if he provides value in the same way.

Kevin

• Ja'Marr Chase, 1.12 (ADP: 1.03)
• Jaxson Dart, 13.12 (ADP: 7.03)

Kevin kept the players with the earliest ADP (Chase) and lowest cost (Dart) among this year's keeper choices. There's not really much more to say here, as he's positioned himself well heading into the draft.

Richie

• Breece Hall, 3.11 (ADP: 3.06)
• Brock Bowers, 5.11 (ADP: 2.07)

Richie held onto Bowers for another year for great value. Hall might not profile as a top ten RB any more, but his slide in last year's draft resulted in him being a solid option for Richie to keep, too.

Rob

• Emeka Egbuka, 7.10 (ADP: 3.11)
• Michael Wilson, 9.10 (ADP: 7.02)

Rob will head into the season with a pair of WRs. One of them (Egbuka) had a huge first half in 2025, while the other (Wilson) had a huge second half. Making them even more attractive is that Rob didn't use much capital on them; only Babel (see below) spent less in total on his keepers.

Scott

• Garrett Wilson, 3.09 (ADP: 4.02)
• Chris Godwin, Jr., 7.09 (ADP: 7.08)

Scott's keepers look a lot like Schertz's, in that they don't appear to be much value compared to their ADP on paper. But pick 3.09 is really like pick 4.11 after you account for how many players were kept with earlier ADPs, which makes these choices look a good bit better.

Dave

• D.J. Moore, 4.07 (ADP: 4.12)
• David Montgomery, 5.08 (ADP: 4.06)

Moore is a lot like Garrett Wilson (see Scott's section above); his "real" cost is more like pick 5.08 once you account for other keepers, meaning he does have net keeper value. Montgomery provides positive - if not exciting - value, too.

Pulley

• Jaxon Smith-Njigba, 4.08 (ADP: 1.07)
• Christian Watson, 9.07 (ADP: 5.09)

Here we come to the single most valuable keeper this year, Smith-Njigba. Pulley also kept Watson, who won't turn as many heads, but also was a very good choice.

Ed

• Kenneth Walker III, 3.06 (ADP: 2.03)
• Cam Skattebo, 9.06 (ADP: 3.07)

Ed held onto Walker, whose Super Bowl MVP performance led to him landing in one of the better situations he could for keeper value. Skattebo provides even more on-paper surplus, but does anyone have faith he'll stay health for a full season?

Mike R.

• Chris Olave, 5.10 (ADP: 2.13)
• Rashee Rice, 6.05 (ADP: 3.02)

Mike's keeper duo of WRs looks great, unless you insist on comparing them to Pulley's and only Pulley's pair. Olave is coming off a career-best year and just got a big extension, and Rice - when healthy - was among the top handful of WRs in 2025.

Matt

• Bucky Irving, 7.04 (ADP: 4.04)
• Javonte Williams, 9.04 (ADP: 3.03)

Matt threw the commissioner a curveball by switching to Irving at the 11th hour on Sunday, keeping the Buccaneers RB for the second straight year. But the real centerpiece for our Monster Heel is Williams, who has one of the highest net keeper values this season.

Babel

• Luther Burden III, 8.12 (ADP 4.08)
• Drake Maye, 9.03 (ADP: 4.10)

Babel hung onto two ninth-round players (giving up his eight round pick to do so) who are both being drafted in the fourth. He might not have as much total value kept as some other teams, but he spent less than anyone else to obtain it, which pus him in a good spot heading into the draft.

Pat

• D'Andre Swift, 4.14 (ADP: 4.09)
• Jayden Daniels, 6.14 (ADP: 5.03)

Pat's keepers are fine, that's basically the bottom line. Both provide net value, but aren't especially exciting. But that's probably OK, as he - for the first time in eleven years - has his choice of every unkept player at 1.01.

Derrek

• Ladd McConkey, 5.02 (ADP: 4.01)
• Colston Loveland, 8.13 (ADP: 3.14)

Derrek spent a modest amount to keep two guys who are currently be drafted back to back a few rounds earlier than they cost. That's a good start towards avoiding a third straight last-place finish.

Closing Thoughts

Can't wait to see you all for our nineteenth season!

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