FantasyPros Fantasy Football Podcast

Episode: 2026 Fantasy Values For This Season’s League Winners | Which Players Were on The Most Championship Rosters?
Date: January 13, 2026
Hosts: Joey P (Joe P. Zeppia), Jake Seeley (The Athletic), Pat Fitz Morris

Episode Overview

This lively, data-driven episode breaks down the biggest fantasy football trends of the 2025 season—focusing on which players drove league championships, strategic lessons learned, and the evolving draft landscape for 2026. Joey, Jake, and Pat analyze actionable takeaways from this year’s league winners, wrestle with positional volatility, and debate draft strategies amid a shifting landscape of running back usage, volatile quarterbacks, and a maturing wave of young talent at wide receiver and tight end.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Reflections & Opening Banter

• The hosts open with banter about NFL rivalries and recent playoff games, setting a light, competitive tone.
  • Pat, a Packers fan, jokes about becoming a Rams fan after the Bears’ resurgence and Ben Johnson’s trash talk (01:01–03:05).

2. 2025’s League Winners & Positional Review

Championship Rosters: Who Was There?

• Despite high ADP, top names like Jamar Chase and Amon-Ra St. Brown were less common on winning teams than expected.
• Only two elite WRs (Chase, St. Brown) were on more than 25% of championship teams; in contrast, several first-round RBs (Bijan Robinson, Christian McCaffrey, Derrick Henry) cracked the top-12 presence on these rosters. (04:30–05:52)

3. Draft Strategy Update: Is Hero RB Supreme?

• Pat: "I do think we’re going to get a lot of people going for the hero RB strategy… But are there enough RBs to go around?" (05:52)
• Jake: Emphasizes value-based drafting and flexibility, cautioning “sometimes you're going to have to pivot... Forcing yourself into a poor return on value.” (07:44)
• Both stress not being rigid; value and adaptability matter more than positional dogma.
  • Notable quote:

    "I want the player, the value that I think is going to give me the best return—position kind of be damned." – Joey, (09:44)

4. Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley & the Curse of 400 Touches

• Heavy workloads (400+ touches) historically doom fantasy output the following year.
• Jake: “There is a significant risk with the 370 [touch club]; at the same time, it doesn't mean it's guaranteed to happen. I will take Christian McCaffrey, but because of that risk, I wouldn't take him in the first four or five picks.” (13:29)
• Pat: “If you’re getting a healthy Christian McCaffrey, he is going to give you an avalanche of fantasy points... he’s RB3 for me.” (15:16)
• Joey runs through a cautionary list of RBs who collapsed post-400-touch seasons, warning “The data is just not on the side of Christian McCaffrey. For me, spoiler alert, he might not even be in my first round.” (15:16)

5. Wide Receiver Breakouts & Hidden Value

Four Most Common WRs on Championship Teams

• Puka Nacua, Jackson Smith-Njigba (JSN), Chris Olave, George Pickens—each delivered return-on-investment well beyond ADP. (19:46)
• Jake: “JSN is in the tier one of wide receivers... but I would go Puka [as WR1], if Stafford is healthy.” (20:35)
  • Warns: "Trying to predict injuries is actually more of a trap than anything." (20:35)
• Pat: On Pickens and Olave: “Sniffing is the appropriate term. I've got Pickens WR11, Olave WR13. Pickens showed he can produce even with CeeDee Lamb.” (22:42)
• Discussion on rookie QBs and the maturation curve, with Pat noting, “Bo Nix and Brock Purdy are two really good examples of guys who had a lot of college playing experience and made a surprisingly smooth transition.” (25:41)

6. Quarterback Lessons & the Late-Round Edge

• Elite QB investments (outside Josh Allen) often flopped due to injuries/underperformance.
• Pat: “That’s maybe one of the biggest edges…to find a good mid-round quarterback and just hammer RB/WR early.” (27:12)
  • Champions Drake May, Tyler Shough, and teases Malik Willis as 2026 breakout value plays.
• Jake: “Biggest key: pick the right QBs to stay healthy... If a Joe Burrow slips or Lamar Jackson slips, there’s extreme opportunity in 2026.” (29:15)
• Superflex and late-round strategies will be “all over the place this year.” (31:07)

7. Rookie RB Mojo & The Ashton Genti Conundrum

• Ashton Genti, hyped rookie, underperformed, but context matters—Raiders O-line injuries, poor offensive flow.
  • Pat: “I think things are going to be looking up for him. I've got him ranked RB7 for next year.” (34:39)
  • Jake: “I could still see Genti being at the back end of RB1 territory... as of right now he's a little riskier than the other names.” (35:17)

8. Tight End: Trey McBride and the Young Studs

• Only Trey McBride, George Kittle, Harold Fannin Jr. featured heavily on championship rosters; Kittle’s Achilles injury removes him for 2026.
  • Jake: “If you want to make the argument for McBride or even a healthy Bowers early, okay... But I’m never going to do it. Do not take a TE in the sixth—second tier has more misses than hits.” (38:23)
  • Pat: “I absolutely will not be touching Trey McBride in drafts in 2026. He’s going near the first/second turn—people will have the same debates they had about Travis Kelce. But this year, rookie TEs have bolstered the position, making it deeper. I still have Brock Bowers ranked ahead of McBride.” (41:32, 42:22)

9. Injuries That Shaped Seasons

• Marvin Harrison Jr.’s injury opened the door for Michael Wilson to be a WR1.
  • Jake: “Rico Dowdle stepping in for Chuba Hubbard… possibly the two biggest [RB] performances back to back in a long time.” (48:02)
  • Pat and Joey note how negative injuries (e.g., Daniel Jones for the Colts) tanked seasons for Jonathan Taylor, Michael Pittman, and Tyler Warren. (47:32–48:02)

10. Waiver Wire & Sleeper Analysis

• Waiver wire league-changers were rare in 2025: Michael Wilson, Rico Dowdle, and a few QB injuries led to streaming cycles.
  • Jake: “If there was waiver value, there was no league winners really—maybe two or three.” (55:41)
  • Pat: “It was a bad year for waivers… I think we judge a year by running back availability, and we didn’t get big RB injuries opening opportunities.” (52:53)
  • WRs like Alec Pierce and Quentin Johnston provided some midseason help; Harold Fannin named “waiver pickup of the year.” (54:19)

11. Kickers, Defenses & Late-Round Strategy

• Four kickers made the top-100 championship presence but unpredictability and matchups still rule.
  • Pat: “I’m still going to wait on kicker and defense… they’re just so wildly unpredictable. I always play the opposing offense more than the actual defense.” (57:36)
  • Jake: Endorses defensive streaming: “A lot of times I’ll just attack the best matchups for the first three weeks and figure it out after.” (59:23)

12. Drafting For 2026 – What Will Change?

• Jake: “WR2s have become more volatile than ever—wide receiver twos and fours are almost like the Spider-Man gif just pointing at each other at this point.” (60:52)
• Pat: “That’s the argument against hero RB—maybe stack two WR1s with your first two picks if you can. And… waiting on TE is the thing to do next year.” (62:20)
  • Pat prefers Brock Bowers at the 23/24 turn over McBride at the 12/13 turn; likes Brenton Strange as a sleeper.

Memorable Quotes & Segment Timestamps

| Quote | Speaker | Timestamp | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------|---------------| | "I want the player, the value that I think is going to give me the best return—position kind of be damned." | Joey P | 09:44 | | "There is a significant risk with the 370 [touch club]; at the same time, it doesn't mean it's guaranteed to happen." | Jake Seeley | 13:29 | | "If you’re getting a healthy Christian McCaffrey, he is going to give you an avalanche of fantasy points... he’s RB3 for me." | Pat Fitz Morris | 15:16 | | "JSN is in the tier one of wide receivers... but I would go Puka [as WR1], if Stafford is healthy." | Jake Seeley | 20:35 | | "Sniffing is the appropriate term. I've got Pickens WR11, Olave WR13." | Pat Fitz Morris | 22:42 | | "That’s maybe one of the biggest edges…to find a good mid-round quarterback and just hammer RB/WR early." | Pat Fitz Morris | 27:12 | | "If there was waiver value, there was no league winners really—maybe two or three." | Jake Seeley | 55:41 | | "WR2s have become more volatile than ever… they're almost like the Spider-Man gif pointing at each other." | Jake Seeley | 60:52 |

Key Takeaways for Fantasy Managers

• Value and flexibility rule the draft—adapt when positional runs break out.
• RB heavy/"Hero RB" worked in 2025, but thin elite talent supply means not everyone can play the same way.
• Monitor high-volume RB wear and tear (the “Curse of 400 Touches”).
• Late-round and mid-round QB value remains huge for single-QB leagues—but beware injuries.
• 2025 was tough for impactful sleepers and waiver pickups; prioritize offensive line and real NFL context when evaluating breakout potential.
• Tight end landscape looks deeper, making early picks on McBride riskier—young talents (Loveland, Bowers, Warren) could shift tiers.
• Prioritize streaming defenses/kickers rather than early investments.

Final Thoughts

The 2025 season’s lessons caution against rigid adherence to “trendy” strategies and reinforce the necessity of reading league trends, understanding NFL context, and adapting to positional volatility. The RB landscape, young WR surges, and deepening tight end field will shape a strategic, fascinating 2026 draft season.

For more, subscribe to FantasyPros on YouTube and all podcast platforms!