"My Guys" For 2026 Fantasy Football - Thunder Dan's Favorite Draft Picks

August 26, 2026

Thunder Dan's favorite 2026 fantasy football sleepers, draft values and targets that he can't stop drafting. He discusses fantasy players he is all-in on this season.

No preseason is complete without going on the record with your favorite players for the upcoming season. Last year I had a few nice hits with JSN and Tyler Warren having big seasons, but also whiffed on Bucky Irving and Jalen Hurts. I'm getting sucked back in on Bucky this year, but he's not one of the players that I'm featuring in this piece.

This article will be another installment of the "My Guys" series here at RotoBaller, in which our fantasy football analysts go on the record with their "flag-plants" and "must-own" players for the 2026 season.

I tried to pick at least one player at each position and from different parts of the draft, too. You can find the rest of our staff's favorite picks here. All ADP referenced is from Yahoo and current as of August 26th. Let's talk about some players who I think could be league-winners this season!

Tyler Shough, QB - New Orleans Saints

ADP: 130

By this point in the preseason, I've recommended each of these players at least once before in another article, so I try not to be overly redundant, and I like to keep it somewhat short and sweet as I tend to get long-winded at times.

But this is not a research piece, and there's no need to throw a bunch of data and charts at you, because I've already done that!

One of my flag plants this year is going with late-round quarterbacks. I'm comfortable taking Shough and another QB in the late rounds over spending an early-round pick on a more proven passer.

Shough averaged 18.6 fantasy points per game over the final eight games of the season, while completing nearly 70% of his throws. He's playing for an elite offensive coach in Kellen Moore, who had the Saints offense playing at the fastest pace in the league last year.

TYLER SHOUGH. SAINTS LEAD.

NOvsTB on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/SHsqgDKaGA

— NFL (@NFL) December 7, 2025

And while he's certainly not a "running quarterback," he showed the ability to scramble effectively and finished with three rushing touchdowns. New Orleans should be more competitive this year, and Shough should only be better in his first full season at the helm.

David Montgomery, RB - Houston Texans

ADP: 52.5

The latest report that Monty may be heading for a 50-50 split for touches this season with Woody Marks makes me happy. Because I don't believe that for one second, and I hope some others buy into that coachspeak, so we can get a little discount on Montgomery.

I've got nothing against Marks; he has looked good this preseason and could be much better this year than last. But he's not built to handle the between-the-tackles grind of a 17-game season, and that's okay! That's why teams have moved to this shared backfield model, to maximize the strengths of backs like Marks who are better utilized in the passing game and to mix in for a handful of touches as a change of pace.

#Texans RB1 David Montgomery touchdown catch out of the backfield from C.J. Stroud @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/jBV91ncANu

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) July 30, 2026

We know what David Montgomery can do, and just because he was in the smaller half of a platoon with Jahmyr Gibbs the last three seasons, it doesn't mean that he can't handle 250 touches this season. If anything, the 29-year-old back is fresher than some other backs his age with fewer miles on the tires.

We know Monty will be the goal line back, as that's an area where Marks really struggled. We also know that the offensive line should be improved this season. But he also should handle some work as a receiver, too. Our projections have him conservatively projected for 29 catches and 215 yards, but he's gone over the 300-yard receiving mark in four of his seven seasons in the league.

The Texans are a legitimate Super Bowl contender this year on the strength of their defense, and this offense's identity this season is likely going to be tied to running the football and utilizing play action in the passing game. Demeco Ryans is going to feed Monty the football, rather than ask C.J. Stroud to go out and throw the football 50 times per game.

I know his ADP has been rising, but Monty is about as safe of a mid-round pick as you can make in drafts this season!

Bhayshul Tuten, RB - Jacksonville Jaguars

ADP: 62.5

Maybe Monty was a chalky pick, but I know that this player has been a bit more polarizing. In the same ADP range as Montgomery, we have Bhayshul Tuten, who is set to take over as the primary bellcow in the Jacksonville backfield.

Or is he?

There's a lot of discussion about how Tuten will be used, with concerns about Chris Rodriguez Jr. usurping some touchdowns in a short-yardage role and Laquint Allen Jr. stealing some catches as the third-down back.

But I'm not buying it! The Jags were quite comfortable letting Travis Etienne Jr. walk in free agency because I think they know what they have in Tuten. Just because he had a fairly small as a rookie, that doesn't mean that he won't have a major role and a vast majority of the touches this season.

Bhayshul Tuten More Involved in Passing Game in Jacksonville https://t.co/skv3h7lQef

— RotoBaller NFL (@RotoBallerNFL) August 24, 2026

Reports out of camp have been very favorable, with beat reporters suggesting that he looked dynamic in live sessions, and just another one surfaced yesterday that he broke off an impressive long run. C-Rod definitely runs hard and will get some touches, but I think this is Tuten's backfield and he is still going to get plenty of receiving work even if Allen works in on some passing downs.

Liam Coen used Travis Etienne as a weapon in the pass game last year, and Bucky Irving in Tampa the year before. Tuten has a lot of appeal in the fifth round as a back who could easily outperform his ADP if he indeed does get the bulk of the running back touches in what should be a very good Jacksonville offense this year.

Matthew Golden, WR - Green Bay Packers

ADP: 128

I like Christian Watson as much as the next person, but he's becoming a very trendy pick and has had his fair share of health issues. The Packers' receiving corps is definitely a group I want to target this year; however, Tucker Kraft and Matthew Golden are also making appealing targets and potential values. Both Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks are elsewhere, and the always-too-crowded Green Bay receiver room is finally...less crowded.

Golden, like Watson, has the type of speed that the Packers will utilize to create mismatches in the secondary. While Jayden Reed has been used mainly in the slot and on short routes, Golden saw 27% of his targets over 20 yards last year, which was the second-highest rate on the team.

WHAT A TIME FOR MATTHEW GOLDEN'S FIRST TOUCHDOWN OF THE SEASON

GBvsCHI on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/s0j2j3XGKC

— NFL (@NFL) January 11, 2026

I suppose some folks are bailing on him after an uneven rookie season, but Golden is a first-round pick who has showcased both elite speed (4.29 40-yard dash) and good hands. His 65.9% catch rate is pretty solid considering that 51% of his targeted air yards were deemed uncatchable. Jordan Love throws a nice deep ball, but couldn't get on the same page as Golden last year. I think that changes in year two.

Golden feels like an easy bet for a second-year breakout and is one young player who hasn't seen a lot of buzz this preseason; therefore, we can still take advantage of an ADP that is too low for his upside.

Dontayvion Wicks, WR - Philadelphia Eagles

ADP: 163

It's easy to like DeVonta Smith this year with A.J. Brown out of town and a new offensive coordinator in town. But Smith is going to cost you a late-second or early third-round pick. I'm fine with that, but I think the real value could come from targeting some of the other Eagles with much lower ADPs.

Dallas Goedert is one candidate to soak up more targets, while Wicks and rookie Makai Lemon are the two receivers who are expected to compete for the WR2 role. Lemon was a first-round pick of Philadelphia's this year, but he just returned to practice this week after missing three weeks with a hamstring injury.

The learning curve for rookies can be steep, and while Lemon will most certainly have a role this year, his absence from practice has led to Wicks establishing very good chemistry with Jalen Hurts as he's turned heads with his ability to get open and run crisp routes.

Dontayvion Wicks gets separation on Charles Woods in 1v1s pic.twitter.com/tUCdmggkTI

— Brooks Kubena (@BKubena) August 19, 2026

Wicks wasn't on the field a lot for the Packers, playing just 38.8% of the offensive snaps. But he made some very big catches during the course of the year, two of which came in the playoffs against the Bears. He actually led the Packers in first-read target rate at 87% and was second behind our guy Matthew Golden in route participation rate. When he was used, he was productive, and the opportunity to be used more often in another good offense (that can hopefully get back to being elite under new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion) makes him a very appealing late-round target.

I'm drafting him every chance I get as I think he has some of the most upside of any player being taken that late in drafts.

Isaiah Likely, TE - New York Giants

ADP: 109

Like the quarterback position, I am completely fine waiting on my TE1 this year. There are more than enough solid targets in the late rounds, but one of them who happens to really stand out to me is Likely.

The 26-year-old Likely spent his first four seasons in Baltimore, where he shared tight end duties with Mark Andrews, but is now slated to be the starting tight end in New York. He's reunited with his coach in Baltimore, John Harbaugh, who I'm going to assume didn't hand Likely a 40-million-dollar contract (now the third-highest-paid TE in the NFL) to do anything other than feature him in his offense.

Likely had himself a day 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/xPr9E4fOCT

— New York Giants (@Giants) August 20, 2026

The Giants don't really have a ton of talented pass-catchers behind Malik Nabers, and I expect Jaxson Dart to hone in on Nabers, Likely, and Cam Skattebo out of the backfield this year in what should be a pretty consolidated target distribution.

Granted, Nabers was out for most of last year, but Dart targeted his tight ends (Daniel Bellinger and Theo Johnson) 100 times last season.

Likely can line up like a traditional tight end, but also has the speed and athleticism to line up in the slot or out wide, so I won't be surprised if New York is creative with how they use him and tries to get him the ball in several different ways.

Why draft Kyle Pitts in the seventh round, when you can draft another freakishly athletic tight end (who probably has a better QB situation) about 30 picks later?

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