# 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 call.

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

- **Brock Purdy to outplay his draft cost (ADP sits around where Michael Wilson goes)**
  - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Brock Purdy
  - 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
- “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
- **Zay Flowers to outplay his draft cost (Round 3)**
  - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Zay Flowers
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **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
- **Tetairoa McMillan to outplay his draft cost (Round 3)**
  - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Tetairoa McMillan
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Jeremiyah Love to outplay his draft cost (Round 3)**
  - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Jeremiyah Love
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Colston Loveland to outplay his draft cost (Round 3)**
  - Kind: Sleeper Calls · About: Colston Loveland
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Brock Purdy — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/brock-purdy
- 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
- Josh Allen — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/josh-allen
- Tetairoa McMillan — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/tetairoa-mcmillan
- Jeremiyah Love — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jeremiyah-love
- Colston Loveland — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/colston-loveland

## What others said about the same people

- Garrett Podell on Carson Beck: Podell argues the Cardinals have maxed out with Jacoby Brissett and that rookie Carson Beck should be ramped up to replace them as starter, targeting Week 8 at Dallas for Beck's regular-season debut. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2f499498-ebbe-41f8-8ea3-41fe96f79432 (scored 0)
- Jesse Holley on Arizona Cardinals: Jesse predicted the Cowboys finish 10-7 but still win the NFC East with 10 wins, picking Dallas over the Giants, Commanders, Texans, Buccaneers, Colts (loss), and losing to Baltimore, Green Bay, Philadelphia twice, Arizona, Seattle and the Rams. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c8bf64dc-c1b3-42db-86f8-51b862676332 (scored 100)
- Garrett Podell on Arizona Cardinals: For Week 7 of the 2026 season, Podell predicts Daniel Jones plays a clean, turnover-free game against Minnesota's top-ranked defense, Bijan Robinson rushes for 150-plus yards against the undefeated 49ers, and the Cardinals upset the Broncos at home without scoring a touchdown. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/5e8e3212-036d-46f2-8339-92fbb0e4be71 (scored 0)
- Tyler Sullivan on Arizona Cardinals: In his Week 7 upset alert column, Sullivan expects the Cardinals to score in the low-to-mid 20s and beat the visiting Broncos, whose offense he views as broken under Bo Nix. He also suggests Sam Darnold's turnovers will let the Chiefs win in Seattle and remain undefeated. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/acdebc00-85f6-4a9d-9cd8-f803aaebe525 (scored 0)
- Tyler Sullivan on Arizona Cardinals: Sullivan projects final scores for every Week 7 NFL game, including a comfortable Vikings home win over the Colts, a Jets win over the winless Dolphins, a Browns road win in Tennessee, another Cardinals upset over Denver, and a Bengals win in Baltimore. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/97bc793d-c9fd-46fc-9ecb-2df22b1100ac (scored 23.81)
- Donnie Druin on Jacoby Brissett: Following the Cardinals' decision not to make staff or lineup changes, Druin states that Jacoby Brissett will remain Arizona's starting quarterback for another week, with rookie Carson Beck staying behind them. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/cb29b9b6-2fbf-4df8-8438-ac3f0b9b9566 (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 their 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 their rookie-receiver capital in Tetairoa McMillan, while fading Zay Flowers at their 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: they 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; they forecast 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