# Pat Fitzmaurice: Fitzmaurice lays out a round-by-round 2026 fantasy draft plan, ordering his first-round board (Bijan Robinson slightly over Jahmyr Gibbs, then the 'Big Three' receivers), flagging Trey McBride and Jerry Jeudy as players to avoid at their cost, and naming mid- and late-round values including Brock Purdy, Justin Herbert, Trevor Lawrence and several tight ends and Round 3 targets. **Claimed:** Aug 8, 2026 **Pundit:** Pat Fitzmaurice — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/pat-fitzmaurice **Outlet:** FantasyPros — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/fantasypros **How it reached us:** published in writing **Original:** https://www.fantasypros.com/2026/08/2026-fantasy-football-draft-strategy-guide-expert-advice/ 8 checkable claims — 5 sleeper calls, 2 fantasy bust calls and 1 fantasy ranking — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 8 players and teams, each linked to their own record. None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in. > Round 1 starts with a coin flip between Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs at the top — Fitzmaurice gives a slight edge to Robinson’s bigger frame. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Josh Allen to fall short of his draft cost (ADP sits right around where Ladd McConkey goes)** - Kind: Fantasy Bust Calls · About: Josh Allen - Verdict: not settled yet - **Trey McBride to fall short of his draft cost (the second round)** - Kind: Fantasy Bust Calls · About: Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals - Verdict: not settled yet - **Zay Flowers to outplay his draft cost (Round 3)** - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Zay Flowers - Verdict: not settled yet - **Colston Loveland to outplay his draft cost (Round 3)** - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Colston Loveland - Verdict: not settled yet - **Tetairoa McMillan to outplay his draft cost (Round 3)** - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Tetairoa McMillan - Verdict: not settled yet - **Round 1 starts with a coin flip between Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs at the top ... Next come the “Big Three” receivers — Ja’Marr Chase, Puka Nacua, and Jaxson Smith-Njigba ... After that, it’s a McCaffrey-vs-St. Brown decision ... followed by Ashton Jeanty, James Cook, Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, and Jonathan Taylor rounding out the round.** - Kind: Fantasy Rankings - Verdict: not settled yet - **Jeremiyah Love to outplay his draft cost (Round 3)** - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Jeremiyah Love - Verdict: not settled yet - **Brock Purdy to outplay his draft cost (ADP sits around where Michael Wilson goes)** - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Brock Purdy - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Josh Allen — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/josh-allen - Trey McBride — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/trey-mcbride - Arizona Cardinals — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/cardinals - Zay Flowers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/zay-flowers - Colston Loveland — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/colston-loveland - Tetairoa McMillan — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/tetairoa-mcmillan - Jeremiyah Love — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jeremiyah-love - Brock Purdy — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/brock-purdy ## What others said about the same people - Nathan Jahnke on Devin Duvernay: PFF's preseason usage recap makes a number of depth-chart and roster projections, including nine rookie receivers slotting as top-three options on their teams, sleeper tight end usage, and specific depth-chart placements for Cardinals, Falcons and Ravens players. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/8f52d1f8-91ed-459c-99a7-30c2d3fb38e0 (scored 100) - Nathan Jahnke on Devin Duvernay: An unsigned PFF preseason recap makes numerous depth-chart, roster and usage projections across the league, based on Week 3 preseason playing time — including Roman Wilson winning Pittsburgh's third receiver job, Luke McCaffrey's roster spot being in danger, Charlie Kolar as the Chargers' top tight end, and Kendre Miller as the Saints' RB2. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/47566b48-8024-4960-b25c-11c03fe43543 (scored 100) - Nathan Jahnke on Devin Duvernay: PFF's preseason fantasy recap makes a series of depth-chart, roster and usage projections based on final-week preseason snap counts, including Ja'Kobi Lane locking down the Ravens' third receiver role, Luke McCaffrey's roster spot being in danger, Kyle Pitts facing reduced 12-personnel usage, Kendre Miller as the Saints' RB2 and Emmett Johnson as the Chiefs' backup running back. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/265cbdba-b0e0-4f80-9665-a4ca5aaec53e (scored 100) - Donnie Druin on Jalen Brooks: Druin suggests Jalen Brooks has broken out in Cardinals camp and could land a roster spot as Arizona's sixth wide receiver, though he won't displace any of the top wideouts. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a199c40d-87c8-4034-a6a8-e042c68652f3 (scored 100) - Donnie Druin on Eku Leota: Previewing the Cardinals' final 2026 preseason game, Druin identifies roster bubble players: he favors Jalen Brooks over Ihmir Smith-Marsette for a sixth receiver spot, expects Oli Udoh to miss out, projects BJ Ojulari to be cut with Eku Leota making the team instead, and names Elijah Jones as the likely cornerback casualty. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/5ab6b69b-7514-4c48-9ad4-a6495e981071 (scored 100) - Randy Gurzi on Josh Allen: Gurzi predicts the Buffalo Bills' final 53-man roster ahead of Week 1 against Houston, naming every player who makes it, who gets cut, and a few depth-chart outcomes (Damar Hamlin as backup safety, Alec Anderson as a new starter on the offensive line, Shane Buechele back on the practice squad). — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/95db61d4-3514-4d17-aa02-ed56a31ecabf (scored 100) ## More sleeper calls The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Derek Brown on Travis Hunter: Derek Brown ("Debro") laid out a slate of wide receiver breakouts — Ricky Pearsall, Jalen Coker, Egbuka, Jalen Waddle, Joshua Palmer, George Pickens, DeVonta Smith and Travis Hunter — while fading Xavier Worthy, Tyreek Hill and the cheap Cleveland/late-round types, and gave his own rankings well ahead of ADP for several of them. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/effe2fda-3dcb-489f-a1e1-f8fa5b11ada7 (scored 100) - Tom Strachan on Ricky Pearsall: Tom Strachan backed Xavier Worthy, Jalen Coker, Egbuka, Jalen Waddle, Darnell Mooney, Zay Flowers, George Pickens, DeVonta Smith and Travis Hunter as values at their draft costs, while avoiding Jerry Jeudy and the Cleveland receivers. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c42eacc5-eb10-4103-a94d-50545a487cbb (scored 100) - Ryan Wormeli on Ricky Pearsall: Host Ryan Warmley endorsed Ricky Pearsall as a bet worth making and put his rookie-receiver capital in Tetairoa McMillan, while fading Zay Flowers at his cost and opting out of Marvin Harrison Jr. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/192d6e67-2e0e-49b3-bc82-4c8a77bd5950 (scored 100) - Chris Welsh on Tyler Warren: Welsh drafted Christian McCaffrey, Breece Hall, RJ Harvey, Tetairoa McMillan, Travis Hunter, the Rams and Saints receivers, Justin Fields (a top-10 QB), Drake Maye (QB10-14), Travis Kelce and Tyler Warren, while passing on Joe Mixon, the Commanders backfield, Tyreek Hill, Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/9f0f2132-f3b8-4813-b2b1-374b827d86a8 (scored 100) - Joe Pisapia on Tyreek Hill: Joey P (Joe Pisapia) played draft-or-pass on 2025 fantasy values: he passed on Christian McCaffrey at pick 7, Breece Hall, Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, Travis Hunter and Chris Olave, while drafting RJ Harvey, Tyreek Hill, Tetairoa McMillan, Puka Nacua, Tyler Warren and a late-round Joe Mixon. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c3c95c1c-64a4-42b6-9389-58d5fb5b27d1 (scored 0) - Derek Brown on George Pickens: Brown's five-to-one breakout list was Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Tucker Kraft, Ricky Pearsall, George Pickens and Tetairoa McMillan; he forecasts Brian Robinson Jr. being cut or traded, Kraft finishing as a top-five/six tight end, Pickens as a top-15 receiver and McMillan spiking for double-digit touchdowns. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/9d95277c-e110-411f-8934-9a1282c3286e (scored 100) --- Accuracy is 0-100 against what actually happened. The naive guess is what a strategy requiring no knowledge would have scored on the same call — the difference is the skill, and it is what the MissedTakes Score averages. Full method: https://missedtakes.co/methodology We summarize what a pundit said and quote a short span for attribution; we never republish their article. If this is wrong, tell us: https://missedtakes.co/corrections?pundit=pat-fitzmaurice