2026 Fantasy Offseason Week 18

Dear Otiose Members of the Dana Burger Dynasty League,

I was in the middle of writing this weekly letter and then BAM -- Josh and Todd make a trade. I guess we should have figured that Josh would want to sell one of his twenty TEs. Kudos for a (great?) offseason trade!

In other news, we are winding down for our summer hiatus. We'll finish up today with #1-13 in our F.O.R.B.E.S. 26 under 26 feature, but with OTAs wrapping up and then teams going on summer break until late July, I too will be taking a break from weekly emails for a bit. With no news in the NFL, thus no news on our end. However, I do implore you to continue tinkering, using your FAAB, and executing trades like Josh and Todd.

Another reminder that when we do league dues (sometime in early August), we will be returning to $105 so we can fund our mid-season tournament aptly named the Dana Burger Cup! Everything is already set up and organized via this site, so it'll kick off week 4. With that announcement reiterated, let's jump into the top players 26 under 26.

F.O.R.B.E.S (Football Outlook Report: Big Expectations & Standings): 26 under 26, #1-12

Let's review #13-26:

13.Devon Achane
14.Ladd McConkey
15.Ashton Jeanty
16.CJ Stroud
17.Jaxson Dart
18.Jeremiyah Love
19.Tet McMillan
20.Colston Loveland
21.Tyler Warren
22.Emeka Egbuka
23.Omarion Hampton
24.Chris Olave
25.Garrett Wilson
26.Kenneth Walker

And here we go!

12. Quinshon Judkins, RB - Samsonite, I was way off!
Judkins didn't get much fanfare last season and sort of went under the radar, especially with a season ending injury. But he was the real deal. It's somewhat controversial, I guess, putting him over Jeanty, but he was more consistent and, I will say, with such a paltry offense around him, he looks to be the #1 skill player on the Browns. He'll get TDs and be featured, whereas Jeanty does have competition. With Todd Monken coming over from Baltimore, Judkins might see similar usage as Derrick Henry. I would be buying all Judkins futures here on out.

11. George Pickens, WR - Kayes of Thunder
We knew he had the ability, but putting him on the Dallas Cowboys offense really did wonders for Pickens. He's only 25 and just put up 1200+ rec yards and 9 TDs. He's a big play threat, and comes down with some circus catches. The only question is whether the Cowboys reluctance to hand out long term contracts clashes with Pickens's penchant for going insane. But barring any off-the-field issues/contract negotiations, he's probably the best 1B receiver in the league (alongside Tee Higgins).

10. Malik Nabers, WR - Critical Gase Theory
This could all come crashing down based on his injury recovery, but Nabers is only 22 years old and his rookie year was as good as it gets (109 rec, 1200+ yards, 7 TDs). With an ascending offense and a young QB to pair with, Nabers should be a top WR for years to come. But his injury is worrisome and the question of whether it saps some of his dynamism remains to be seen. Barring injury, he belongs up here in the top group of young fantasy assets.

9. Brock Bowers, TE - Critical Gase Theory
Bowers had a down year, and the incoming class of young TEs shakes up the TE hierarchy a bit. Bowers should be better with Kubiak as head coach and a better QB in Mendoza/Cousins, but last year was rough after a fantastic rookie year. Hopefully with injury behind him, he's the top target earner in Las Vegas.

8. Drake London, WR - I Believe in Harvey (DEN)
Here's a fun fact: Drake London is only 24 years old. This seems ridiculous to me because it feels like he's been in the league forever. And I mean, he sort of has, at least in relation to his age. He will be entering his 5th season, and he's been productive ever since he entered the league at 20 years old (!!). He hasn't even entered his prime, and London has emerged as one of the top jump ball, big bodied X receivers in the NFL. The only question is QB play, and while Penix likes to sling it, the question is whether Tua is good enough to get the ball to him. But he's great, young, and has room to improve upon an already strong career.

7. Jayden Daniels, QB - Samsonite, I was way off!
Here comes the QB hydra. Daniels is ranked #3 QB and at #7 only because of the relative fall off from his rookie season, and the fact that he's on the older side compared to the other players in this range. That's right: Jayden Daniels is already 25 and has only two seasons to show for it. However, his place at #7 overall is nothing to scoff at; he's a young, dual-thread QB who can take over games. He has deep ball accuracy, can scramble for TDs, and will lead his team for the foreseeable future. There are just two QBs who I think are better than him (and happen to be younger).

6. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR - Critical Gase Theory
JSN just won OPOY (or was it DPOY?) after a phenomenal season behind a Kubiak-run offense. He's good, perhaps great. However, I'd like to see it just one more time before crowning him the top dynasty receiver. Outside of the arbitrary 26 year old cut off, JSN is probably up there overall top 5 dynasty wide receivers, but with Chase and Nacua ahead (perhaps Jefferson pending this season with Kyler), JSN could even jump them depending on how this next season goes. He's not physically imposing, but technical, and should provide incredible value well into his 30s.

5. Caleb Williams, QB - I Believe in Harvey (DEN)
We're getting into superflex value debate here, but I just find the next 4 guys are a slightly more dynamic than Caleb. Plus, he's only been good for one season where he didn't even break 4,000 yards. I anticipate that he will, especially with Ben Johnson, and maybe then he'll jump up to #2 on this list, but for now, #5 is respectable after a really, really bad rookie season. Caleb has a high ceiling, and if he can improve upon last year's strong numbers, he could fight for the spot of top dynasty QB.

4. Puka Nacua, WR - I Believe in Harvey (DEN)
Man, Josh has a lot of guys up here in the top of this list. Puka's only downside is his crazy off-the-field antics, which actually is sort of concerning. I don't think he's at Antonio Brown levels, but biting a woman, being generally antisemitic in public, and already doing one stint in rehab should worry Josh slightly. On the football side, there are also questions of whether he can do it without Matt Stafford. But Puka is probably one of the few wide receivers that could hit 2000 rec yards, and for that, he's the top WR under 26 years old.

3. Jahmyr Gibbs, RB - Mr. Slippyfist
It's a coinflip between Gibbs and Bijan, and you could argue that Gibbs has been better (more TDs definitely). They both are great runners and pass catchers, so the race is close. You can't even say that their timeshares put one over the other, because they have both had to fight off Montgomery and Allgeier stealing touches and TDs. But here's my rationale: Bijan is great despite his pretty mediocre team with mediocre QB. Gibbs has done what he's done on fantastic offenses. If the Lions take a step back, I wonder what that does to Gibbs's numbers. But overall, Gibbs at #3 should make sense.

2. Bijan Robinson, RB - Superflexwent2EpsteinIsle
Bijan is the best non-QB fantasy player. He's just so good. He can score from anywhere on the field, and as I mentioned earlier, he's doing it without a good QB or a fancy playcaller. Does Stefanski improve the offense? Even if it's slightly better, think about how much better Bijan is than Nick Chubb and Quinshon Judkins. Then think about what they did in Stefanski's offense in Cleveland. I think Bijan breaks records soon.

1. Drake "Drake Maye" Maye, QB - Q-A Johnston
While this may look like a homer pick, let me just say that in his second year, Drake Maye was the runner-up for both a Super Bowl win and league MVP. And this was after not starting a full rookie season and having Jerod Mayo as head coach. With another season with Vrabel and McDaniels, Maye could even be better. He can run, has one of the best deep balls in the league, and the offense is only getting better with the additions of AJ Brown and Romeo Doubs. Given the value of QBs at this time in our league, Drake Maye is hands down the most valuable player under 26 in fantasy, and arguably the most valuable player of any age.

Alright that was a fun exercise. I hope you enjoyed some of this offseason content, and in the meantime, find some time to go to the beach or pool or wherever you want because it's the summer. I'll be back as things get back up and running sometime in late July/early August. Until then...

Yours in Football,
Doug