2026 Dynasty Post-Draft Analysis
Reiterating the same thing I do every year, what you’ll see below are my opinions, so don't take them to heart, because I’m far from perfect, and if you look back at the past iterations of this I’m sure you’d see that. What you will see is which pick from each team intrigued me the most and a brief analysis on that pick, or the team's draft as a whole, or maybe their season outlook because of the draft....who knows what my brain will come up with as I write, I certainly don't.
Curt
Most Intriguing Pick: RB Jeremiyah Love (Arizona) 1st Round
Analysis: How can I not list the best Running Back prospect we’ve seen since Bijan Robinson came out in 2023. Love is dealing with a high-ankle sprain right now, but that’s far from season ending. The biggest hold-up for Love could be just how bad Arizona is going to be this season. Each game script could quickly change to pass, pass, pass! Fortunately, Love is supposed to be a spectacular receiver, looking like a “natural pass catcher” when he was split out wide is what I believe the beat reporters put out during this offseason.
Joel
Most Intriguing Pick: RB Jonah Coleman (Denver) 2nd Round
Analysis: Two picks to choose from, and while I do really like Elijah Sarratt, I was shocked Coleman lasted this long. First of all, round of applause for all of you picking from 6 down to 12 in the first round for your self-control. Two years ago we saw two “handcuff” Running Backs drafted in the first round, Trey Benson and Blake Corum. This year I thought for sure we’d see the same, at the very least with Coleman, maybe even Singleton or Allen tossed into that mix, but that didn’t happen! I wouldn’t have blamed you for taking Coleman though, he’s pretty much guaranteed a piece of the starting rotation in Denver with Dobbins all but a lock to get hurt, and he’s reportedly looked good in camp.
Bryar
Most Intriguing Pick: K Trey Smack (Green Bay) 3rd Round
Analysis: A KICKER?! Bryar made history with this pick. I know I mentioned that it was just the second time we’ve ever had a Kicker drafted (Jake Elliott by Fred in round 4 of the 2022 draft was the other), but he actually makes history by drafting the first ROOKIE kicker! Here’s the next step, break the record for most points by a rookie Kicker in league history. Back in 2020 Alex picked-up Rodrigo “Specs” Blankenship right after our draft if memory servers. Blankenship went on to score 109 points and finish SECOND in our Rookie of the Year race. There’s the history Smack, now go break it.
Rob
Most Intriguing Pick: WR Zachariah Branch (Atlanta) 2nd Round
Analysis: During mini-camp and OTAs Branch was who I was hearing the most buzz about. I believe Tagovailoa even compared him to Jaylen Waddle at one point. He’s considered a little undersized, but he’s very fast, great as a gadget player which might be exactly what Atlanta needs this year, and with a lackluster receiving corps behind London, he could quickly work his way into that starting lineup. His other two picks had me wondering if Trey was drafting, he took CMC’s handcuff, Kaelon Black, and a Panthers receiver, Chris Brazzell. Black has had the Niners beat writers pretty excited so far. I know the Niners have been saying they want to cut down on CMC’s workload to keep him fresh and healthy, but they’ve also said that line the last two years and then not delivered, so we’ll see. Brazzell was a draft and stash. Some thought he had a good chance of replacing Legette in Carolina’s starting trio, but the knee injury cut that hope short. He’ll be back next season to give it another go, and in a weak draft class like this one, I like the dart throw at the end of the draft.
Lance
Most Intriguing Pick: WR Bryce Lance (New Orleans) 3rd Round
Analysis: I’m going to analyze my most intriguing pick and my entire draft all at once! I was ecstatic that Lance fell to me in the third round. In the words of my son, who basically says the same thing every time he opens a gift he is super excited about, “this is just what I’ve always wanted!” Lance was who I wanted all along.
Matthew
Most Intriguing Pick: RB Jadarian Price (Seattle) 1st Round
Analysis: I considered listing Antonio Williams because he was receiving buzz before Washington signed Diggs. Diggs is on a one-year deal though, and McLaurin is getting older, so the future is still bright for Williams. I chose Price instead because there’s always going to be that tie to Saquon Barkley. The trade was for a bit more than pick 1.02 and Barkley, but that was the main focus of it, which means it’s Price vs Barkley. Barkley is staring down that 30-year-old Running Back wall, he turns 30 shortly after the season ends, so Matthew definitely got younger at the position. Now we sit and wait to see if Barkley leaving costs Matthew wins/a shot at the playoffs, and if Price can match Barkley’s output, not necessarily as a rookie, that would be unfair to expect, but in the next few years.
Fred
Most Intriguing Pick: QB Fernando Mendoza (Las Vegas) 1st Round
Analysis: Fred has sooo many picks for me to choose from and it wasn’t an easy decision. I chose Mendoza because he became just the 6th Quarterback we’ve seen selected in our first round. I know you are now wondering “who were the other five?” I got you: Trevor Lawrence, Trey Lance, Kenny Pickett, Bryce Young, and Caleb Williams. Kind of a mixed bag and now I’m excited to see how Mendoza pans out. You can pretty much call year 1 a wash. He likely won’t see the field until mid-season at the earliest, and you’d be asking him to do a lot with a Raiders team that still needs a lot of help, so we’ll wait for 2027 to make any snap judgements.
Ryan
Most Intriguing Pick: WR Omar Cooper Jr. (NY Jets) 1st Round
Analysis: Lemon is the jewel of his class, but Cooper intrigues me. There has been, somewhat surprisingly, a lot of buzz about a good chunk of the Receivers in this class. At different times this offseason I’ve heard hype for Tate, Tyson, Concepcion, Boston, Stribling, Branch, Lane, Antonio Williams, and even some mid-round guys. I have not heard anything for Cooper. His preseason stats look modest at first glance, but when you compare it to the number of snaps he’s played it becomes far more impressive. He’s already considered a starter with the Jets (and rightfully so, they don’t have any reason not to), and the Jets are going to suck, so there should be a lot of passing happening. Perhaps he proves to be a sneaky value pick.
Anthony
Most Intriguing Pick: WR KC Concepcion (Cleveland) 1st Round
Analysis: Tate was the WR1 in this draft, but I’m more interested in if all of Anthony’s trades played him out of a second future star or if it landed him one. For those keeping score at home, Anthony started with Pick 4, then he traded for pick 5, then he traded pick 5 for pick 2, then he moved pick 4 for pick 3, and then he traded pick 2 for pick 6 (obviously there were players involved, but this is the simplified version). Up until a few days ago he had picks 2 and picks 3. By moving out of 2 he ultimately lost the chance at pairing Carnell Tate with Jadarian Price, Jordyn Tyson and Makai Lemon. So, will Concepcion prove to be their equal (or superior), or will he wither under the weight of the Cleveland bleakness.
Alex
Most Intriguing Pick: WR Denzel Boston (Cleveland) 1st Round
Analysis: I don’t know if I heard more buzz about a rookie from this class than I have Boston to this point, although Stribling and Lane would give him a run. Alex is all set with his starting Receiver duo, but he could use a more reliable 3rd option, perhaps he found that with Boston. I guess we’ll see if Watson or Sanders can get this pass game going under Todd Monken.
Trey
Most Intriguing Pick: WR Chris Bell (Miami) 2nd Round
Analysis: How about that auto-draft?! Sadiq adds a nice young piece to pair with Bowers when Kelce does decide to hang up the cleats. And Keaton Mitchell in the third was only the second veteran to go in this draft (the lowest total we’ve had ever, which isn’t surprising since free agency opened back in April, I was more surprised that we saw any veterans drafted). Bell is easily the most intriguing though. Had it not been for a late November ACL tear he likely would’ve gone in the first round of the NFL draft. Nine months later the Dolphins have activated him off NFI, with no stated timetable for when he will see contact. If he gets back to 100% soon the Dolphins Receiver room is so devoid of real talent that he could be handed the keys to the stadium very quickly.
Nathan
Most Intriguing Pick: WR Ja’Kobi Lane (Baltimore) 3rd Round
Analysis: I went back and forth between Stribling and Lane for most intriguing here. Both have had a ton of smoke coming out of their training camps. I opted for Lane because Nathan was able to snag him in the third round (I was surprised he lasted that long). This is even more intriguing now with the news on Rashod Bateman. We’ll see what Baltimore decides to do though, should Bateman receive a suspension. Sure, Lane has had the most buzz, but Sarratt saw more than double the targets in their first preseason game.
As you already know I don't give out grades, but I do like to speculate on who I think had the best draft. If I were to give that achievement to anyone this year it would be Ryan. I already addressed Cooper above, I really like Lemon and the target opportunities are there for him, and while I’m not a fan of Singleton, I do like the sneaky future value of Randall when Henry retires (or if he gets hurt). Thank you all for another amazing draft and I wish you all the best this season!
Here’s a look ahead at week 1:
BUT FIRST, a fun stat with Lance: We have had 7 seasons, and 7 champions crowned to this point. Of those 7 champs, only ONE has lost their week 1 game, that was Fred in 2020. So don’t lose people!
Fear Itself (0-0) vs ay_Bilat (0-0)
When looking over the matchup possibilities for the reigning champs to kick our season off with, league management decided a Championship rematch was the way to go. Just kidding, it was always going to be this one. Trey really has his work cut out for him. Nathan is the only team with a winning record against him (Nathan is 7-4). And bonus, Nathan hasn’t lost a week 1 game since year 1. Nathan has the longest active win streak (playoffs included) at 9, and he’s tied with Anthony at 6 for the longest active regular season win streak. That puts Nathan 2 wins away from tying his “playoffs included” win streak record, and he and Anthony 3 wins away from tying Nathan’s regular season win streak record.
Fantasy Fairies (0-0) vs Space Rangers (0-0)
Ryan leads our series 5-3. I’ve only won 2 of my week 1 games to date. The last one I won was 2022 which also happens to be the last season I didn’t start the year against Nathan. Ryan has never won a week 1 game. As a matter of fact, Cody and Ben never won a week 1 game when they were running this team either.
Michael Style (0-0) vs Ferocious Felines (0-0)
Fred leads this rivalry 8-6. Their matchups bookend their season, and getting off on the right foot matters, so who is going to get it done? Both of these coaches are 3-4 on the opening week, and they both won their week 1 games last year.
Bolt Battalion (0-0) vs Storm Surge (0-0)
These two newer coaches split their games last year 1-1 and that is what their record holds at. Joel carries the longest active losing streak into the year at 8. Five more losses and he will tie the league’s regular season losing streak (held by Ryan and Simon). Matthew lost the only week 1 game he’s had, and Joel is 1-1 in week 1. Matthew is looking to make his first playoff appearance in year 2, and in honor of that here’s another fun stat: There have been 3 years where 2 teams have made the playoffs in a after losing week one, there have been 2 years where 3 teams have made the playoffs after losing week one, and there’s been 2 years where 1 team has made the playoffs after losing week one. To put that another way: Teams that have lost week one have made the playoffs roughly 33% of the time.
Shadow Legion (0-0) vs NUKEM (0-0)
Anthony is up 2-0 in this one. Anthony is also 1-0 in week one, which just so happens to be the first time these two met, a fun little rematch of sorts. Rob is 4-3 in week 1 but hasn’t won a week 1 matchup since 2023.
The Empire (0-0) vs Kade’s Dawgs (0-0)
Curt has dominated Bryar to date 7-2. There’s a twist to that though, both of Bryar’s wins in this series came last season in weeks 1 and 14. That week 1 win also made Bryar 5-2 in week 1 on his career and dropped Curt to 3-4.