Fantasy Genius Analyzed Thousands of Drafts This Year. Here's What They Found In The Data...

September 11, 2026

Fantasy Genius analyzed thousands of 2026 fantasy football drafts. Read this real (yet not so serious) analysis of what that 2026 fantasy football draft data reveals ahead of Week 1.

Now that draft season is over, it's time to take a look at what we can learn from looking at last year's drafts and comparing them to this year. The time between drafts ending and the season beginning is ripe for...shall we say... spirited debate. About who is an idiot for taking a player two spots above ADP, which draft grades are terrible, or the most serious of accusations: who doesn't know ball.

Fantasy Genius has enough data - with thousands of leagues synced on their platform - to see what they could prove with that data. Before we dive in...for those new around these parts. Yes, this data is legitimate. Will it be useful? Maybe...we don't know...Probably not! Our goal is primarily to play around with data, have some fun, and maybe learn a thing or two along the way. Basically, we're here to check out some interesting trends in the data and see how many folks we can get riled up.

The TLDR version? This data is real. This analysis is fun. If you get a smile out of this info - or just like having tons of fun with your buddies throughout fantasy football season - think about syncing your league to Fantasy Genius in 2026...you can save 20% (and get three FREE months of RotoBaller's Big 4 Premium) when you use code BALLER at checkout!

Who Did Ball-Knowers Draft The Most This Year?

Fantasy Genius looked at who last year's champions are drafting this year. For the purposes of this analysis, we'll call these folks Certified Ball Knowers. Here are the most common draft selections per round:

1. Puka Nacua
2. Omarion Hampton
3. DeVonta Smith
4. Garrett Wilson
5. Bhayshul Tuten
6. Christian Watson
7. Rhamondre Stevenson
8. Rico Dowdle
9. Blake Corum
10. Jayden Reed
11. KC Concepcion

Folks, do you see the trend here? No..? Seven out of the 11 players here have names that end in either "on", "en", or "um". What do the Certified Ball Knowers know about these names that we don't? Go pick up Case Keenum right now.

Who Did Non-Ball-Knowers Draft The Most This Year?

Fantasy Genius also looked at the opposite side of last year's results. Who did 2025's last-placed finishers draft the most in 2026?

1. Christian McCaffrey
2. De'Von Achane
3. Ladd McConkey
4. David Montgomery
5. Terry McLaurin
6. Jaylen Warren
7. DK Metcalf
8. Courtland Sutton
9. Kenny Gainwell
10. Wan'Dale Robinson
11. Matthew Golden

Another obvious trend emerges here: three of the top four players have named ending in an -ey sound. Something to consider. Would have pretty much always been wise to avoid Kadarius Toney in fantasy.

What Were The Biggest Areas of Disagreement Between Ball-Knowers and Non-Ball-Knowers?

Next, FG decided to look at the largest gaps in ADP between champions and sackos from last year. Put another way, who did champions and last-place teams disagree on the most during this year's draft?

Preferred by Ball Knowers

1. Jordyn Tyson (+8 spots)
2. Michael Pittman (+7 spots)
3. Aaron Jones (+6 spots)
4. Trevor Lawrence (+6 spots)
5. Zay Flowers (+4 spots)

Preferred by Non-Ball-Knowers

1. Dalton Kincaid (+11 spots)
2. Josh Downs (+8 spots)
3. Lamar Jackson (+7 spots)
4. Patrick Mahomes (+6 spots)
5. Caleb Williams (+5 spots)

Now, We Know What You're Thinking...

"Ok...But do we have any data that shows us that the previous year's winners are indeed better fantasy players?"

Not to worry. The crew at Fantasy Genius pulled 2024 and 2025 finishes to see how correlated finishes are across seasons. Keep in mind that these are redraft leagues, so a complete reset happened between each season.

In 12-team redraft leagues, 2024 champions won the following year's title 10.4% of the time, 25% more than random chance, which is 8.3% (1/12). However, looking at all slots 1-12, there is basically zero correlation between how a team does from one year to the next on average.

Did you see a player you drafted in any of these lists? Please remember that any time a data point is included here, it is meant as a personal attack on you as an individual. Act accordingly. Some of you are already doing this correctly.

Crack a smile while reading this article? Sync your fantasy football league with Fantasy Genius to receive hilarious weekly recaps (written by humans, not AI overlords) after every matchup! The perks don't end, as your entire league gets access to all the bells and whistles with one premium subscription. Use code BALLER to save 20% for the whole 2026 season!

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