Projecting the First Round | The Top 12 Fantasy Football Players in 2026 (Ep. 1939)

·1 hr 6 min·5 clips

Joey P. Zappia reveals they're projecting the 2026 fantasy football first round with experts Jake Seeley and Andrew Erickson.

This episode of the FantasyPros - Fantasy Football Podcast features hosts Joe P. Zappia (Joey P.) and guests Jake Seeley from The Athletic and Andrew Erickson from FantasyPros. They conduct a speculative exercise to project the first round of fantasy football drafts for the 2026 season. The discussion builds on a previous conversation analyzing the 2025 season to inform future player valuations. Joey P. mentions his first-round projection changed following the earlier show with Jake Seeley and Pat Fitzmaurice. The hosts emphasize that draft strategies and player rankings are fluid and evolve constantly throughout the offseason. They note that drafts conducted in July typically look nothing like final drafts by the end of August. Adjustments are driven by new information, injuries, and shifting Average Draft Position (ADP) data. The exercise aims to translate lessons from the 2025 post-mortem into actionable 2026 first-round picks. Collaborative discussion is presented as key to refining rankings for experts who analyze year-round. A key insight is that for dedicated analysts, talking through projections is essential for producing the best possible rankings. The hosts affirm that being adaptable and willing to change opinions based on new data is a professional necessity. The speculative nature of projecting two seasons ahead highlights the challenge of long-term fantasy forecasting. The conversation underscores how much player values can shift in a short period before the draft. The tone is collaborative and conversational, focused on expert analysis and strategy. The style is educational, aimed at helping listeners understand the process of forming early draft projections. Fantasy football managers who enjoy deep-dive, process-oriented discussions about future draft strategy will find this episode valuable. Listeners seeking concrete player recommendations or analysis for the upcoming season might prefer more immediate content.

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