Scott’s 2026 Must-Draft List
Secure these five priority targets in Rounds 3, 4, 6, 8 and 9—then use best player available to build the rest of a championship roster around them.
Plan the Targets. Let the Draft Supply the Rest.
“Best player available” is good advice until it becomes an excuse to leave every draft with the same players everyone else values. Championship rosters need value, but they also need conviction.
My approach is to identify a small number of players whose ceiling, role or price I believe the market is still underestimating. I reserve their rounds before the draft begins. Everywhere else, I stay flexible and take the best player on my board.
The objective is not to win ADP. It is to leave the room with the players you believe can win the league. If that requires paying a small premium, pay it. The regret of taking one of these players six picks early is far smaller than watching him disappear six picks before your next turn.
Scott’s Must-Draft Card
| ROUND | PLAYER | POS / TEAM | THE BET |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Jeremiyah Love | RB — ARI | Difference-making talent with league-winning RB1 upside |
| 4 | Colston Loveland | TE — CHI | An emerging difference-maker at fantasy’s thinnest position |
| 6 | Carnell Tate | WR — TEN | Top-five draft capital and immediate breakout potential |
| 8 | Kenneth Gainwell | RB — TB | Independent PPR value with a much larger ceiling |
| 9 | Matthew Golden | WR — GB | Year 2 growth in a receiving corps with newly cleared opportunity |
Target rounds are a draft plan, not a promise that every room will cooperate. If one of these players is routinely going earlier in your format, adjust before the draft—not after he is gone.
Jeremiyah Love, RB, Arizona Cardinals
Draft the season-long ceiling—not one September box score.
Love is the first player I am building around. Arizona did not use the No. 3 overall pick on him to hide him. The appeal is obvious: explosive ability, three-down potential and the kind of talent that can turn ordinary blocking into a week-winning play.
The ankle injury changes the beginning of the story, but it does not have to change the ending. There is real early-season uncertainty, and anyone drafting Love needs enough roster stability to absorb it. That risk is also why a potential first-round fantasy talent is still available in Round 3.
I am not drafting him because I need 18 points in Week 1. I am drafting him because the healthiest and most important version of Love could arrive when fantasy leagues are being decided. If he earns the volume his draft capital suggests, he can finish far above this price.
Scott’s call: Take Love in Round 3, then use the next several BPA selections to protect the roster. Do not pass on a potential league-winning back simply because the first week or two may be uncomfortable.
Colston Loveland, TE, Chicago Bears
Buy the Year 2 leap before the price becomes obvious.
Loveland gave us the foundation as a rookie: 58 receptions, 713 yards and six touchdowns. That is meaningful production at a position where too many fantasy managers spend the season chasing five catches and hoping for a touchdown.
Now comes the part fantasy players often underestimate—the second-year growth of a premium athlete in a creative Ben Johnson offense. Loveland can win in the middle of the field, create after the catch and become a weekly problem near the goal line.
A fourth-round tight end must create separation from the position, not merely fill it. Loveland has that path. If the target share rises with his role, he can give this build an advantage most opponents cannot recreate on waivers.
Scott’s call: Reserve Round 4 for Loveland. You are buying a weekly positional edge and removing the need to chase tight end later.
Carnell Tate, WR, Tennessee Titans
The talent and opportunity are arriving at the same time.
Tennessee selected Tate fourth overall because he brings the traits of a future featured receiver: polished routes, downfield ability, body control and a large catch radius. Those qualities give him more than one way to win immediately.
Rookie receivers no longer require a full season of patience before becoming useful. When a player with this level of investment earns routes and targets early, his fantasy price can move two or three rounds in a matter of weeks.
Round 6 is the right blend of floor and asymmetry. Tate does not need to become an immediate superstar to justify the pick, but a rapid ascent to the top of the Titans’ target tree could make him one of the defining values of the draft.
Scott’s call: Make Tate your Round 6 upside receiver. The ceiling is worth paying for before the breakout appears in the box score.
Kenneth Gainwell, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
A modest projection can still hide a championship-level payoff.
Gainwell is exactly the kind of player high-stakes drafters identify before the broader market catches up. Tampa Bay signed him for his versatility, pass protection and third-down value. That creates a path to useful touches without requiring anyone ahead of him to get hurt.
Our current projection gives Gainwell 107 carries for 468 yards and four rushing touchdowns, plus 46 receptions for 333 yards and three receiving touchdowns. That is 153 touches, 801 yards and seven scores—enough standalone production to matter in PPR leagues.
Scott ranks him as RB25, ahead of both his high-stakes RB31 price and the RB35 consensus. The bullish scenario goes beyond the median projection: Gainwell earns a larger share of passing situations, becomes a trusted red-zone option and turns a committee label into consistent weekly usability.
That is why we take him in the eighth. Waiting another round to “beat ADP” risks losing a back whose receiving role can score now and whose ceiling can grow dramatically as the season develops.
Scott’s call: Pay the Round 8 price. Gainwell does not need an injury to return value, and any expansion beyond the projection creates a path to a much higher finish.
Matthew Golden, WR, Green Bay Packers
The rookie season was the setup. Year 2 can be the payoff.
Golden’s rookie numbers—29 catches for 361 yards—will push some fantasy managers away. Look closer. He averaged 8.2 yards per target, flashed in high-leverage situations and ended the postseason with four catches for 84 yards and a touchdown against Chicago.
The opportunity is also cleaner in 2026. Green Bay moved on from Romeo Doubs and traded Dontayvion Wicks, creating room for Golden to turn last year’s flashes into a much larger role. He already has first-round talent; now he has a clearer path to routes and targets.
Round 9 is where we should be hunting for players whose value can look completely different by October. Golden does not need to dominate every week. If the Packers make him a central vertical and intermediate weapon, the spike weeks alone can swing matchups—and consistent volume would unlock far more.
Scott’s call: Use Round 9 to buy Golden before the Year 2 role becomes obvious. The cost is depth-receiver pricing; the payoff can be a weekly starter.
The Complete Draft Construction
Five conviction picks create the spine. Flexibility everywhere else keeps the roster strong.
Build the Elite Base
Take the two best players available. Do not force a position because of the targets coming later. Bank elite volume and scoring.
Love + Loveland
Secure the upside running back and the tight-end advantage. These are planned picks, not decisions to reconsider while the clock runs.
Take the Fall
Use BPA. This is where a player who slipped can balance the build—often a high-volume receiver or another starting back.
Take Tate
Add the rookie receiver before his ceiling is priced into the market.
Stay Flexible Again
Take the strongest value. Quarterback is acceptable if an impact option falls; otherwise add another RB or WR.
Close with Gainwell + Golden
Complete the five-player core with two affordable bets whose roles can outperform their current prices.
Finish for Upside
Fill quarterback if needed, add contingent-value backs and chase receivers with paths to growing target shares. Avoid low-ceiling bench fillers.
What If the Room Jumps You?
A blueprint is not permission to panic. If a manager takes one of these players well ahead of the planned round, do not chase the loss with a reckless reach somewhere else. Take the best player available and preserve the value of the roster.
The preparation happens before the draft. Know the player pool, know your platform and know how aggressive your room tends to be. If you repeatedly see one of these targets go before your selection, move the reservation up. The small premium is the price of certainty.
The larger principle remains intact: conviction at the planned pressure points, BPA everywhere else. That combination gives you a roster you believe in without sacrificing the value the draft naturally presents.
Do Not Leave Your Favorite Players to Chance
Jeremiyah Love in the third. Colston Loveland in the fourth. Carnell Tate in the sixth. Kenneth Gainwell in the eighth. Matthew Golden in the ninth. Use best player available to build around them—and leave the draft with five players capable of making the entire plan look obvious by December.
Editorial update: September 6, 2026. Draft prices can vary by platform, scoring format and room. Monitor Jeremiyah Love’s ankle status before finalizing Week 1 lineups.
Player and team background: Arizona Cardinals · Chicago Bears · Tennessee Titans · Tampa Bay Buccaneers · Green Bay Packers
