If You Want to Lose Your Fantasy League, Draft Like This...

You don't win your fantasy league in the draft. But you can absolutely lose it there, and it usually happens in the first twenty minutes.

Kendall Valenzuela and Peter Overzet go pick-by-pick through every single draft slot, 1.01 through 1.12, and lay out the worst possible way to start your 2026 draft from each one. Not bad players — bad combinations. The two-pick starts that look defensible on the clock and leave your roster broken by Round 4.

Then they flip it. Every slot also gets the best way to open, so you're not just walking away knowing what to avoid. Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, Christian McCaffrey, Ja'Marr Chase, Puka Nacua, Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, Ashton Jeanty, Saquon Barkley, De'Von Achane, Jonathan Taylor, James Cook, Chase Brown, Kenneth Walker, Josh Jacobs, Kyren Williams, Omarion Hampton and Jeremiyah Love all come up, along with Malik Nabers, Nico Collins, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Rashee Rice, Drake London, George Pickens, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Brock Bowers, Derrick Henry and Josh Allen.

Some of these guys show up on both lists depending on where you're picking from — which is the whole point. There is no universally correct start. There's only the correct start from your slot. Find your pick number in the timestamps below and skip right to it.

🔍 Topics in this video:

2026 fantasy football, fantasy football draft strategy, worst draft picks, best draft picks, draft slot strategy, first round picks, second round picks, Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, Christian McCaffrey, Ja'Marr Chase, Puka Nacua, Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, Ashton Jeanty, Saquon Barkley, De'Von Achane, Jonathan Taylor, James Cook, Chase Brown, Kenneth Walker, Malik Nabers, Nico Collins, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Rashee Rice, Drake London, Brock Bowers, fantasy football rankings, ADP, PPR draft strategy

Timecodes:

00:00 - Coming Up
00:18 - 1.01 + 2.12
06:31 - 1.02 + 2.11
12:07 - 1.03 + 2.10
17:40 - 1.04 + 2.09
23:49 - 1.05 + 2.08
27:54 - 1.06 + 2.07
32:26 - 1.07 + 2.06
39:01 - 1.08 + 2.05
45:32 - 1.09 + 2.04
48:57 - 1.10 + 2.03
52:56 - 1.11 + 2.02
55:40 - 1.12 + 2.01