Evan TarraccianoAug 12, 2026
In a salary cap draft strategy piece, Tarracciano says they will avoid Rashee Rice entirely this year, is happy taking Matthew Stafford at their depressed QB15 price while passing on Jaxson Dart at QB11 in redraft, and would rather buy Ashton Jeanty, Chase Brown or Saquon Barkley than pay $45 for rookie Jeremiyah Love.
Published in writing · FantasyProsRead the original
What Evan Tarracciano said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromGive me Old Man Winter under center, and I’ll happily pocket a few dollars for later.
- Where it was published
- FantasyPros
- The piece
- Fantasy Football Salary Cap Draft Strategy Advice & Tips (2026)
- The original
- Read the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- 1Matthew Stafford to outplay his draft cost (we rank him as the QB15)“I’m happy with Matthew Stafford as my starting quarterback this season... Yet, since he’s long in the tooth, we rank him as the QB15.”
- 2Jeremiyah Love to fall short of his draft cost ($45)“Jeremiyah Love, despite never taking a snap in the NFL before, is valued at $45. Ashton Jeanty is $42. Chase Brown is $34. Saquon Barkley is $36. I’d rather save a few dollars and roll with one of them instead.”
- 3Jaxson Dart to fall short of his draft cost (currently the QB11)“Jaxson Dart, who showed flashes last season before being injured, is currently the QB11. I understand that sort of ranking in keeper/dynasty formats, but in a redraft league? Give me Old Man Winter under center”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Stafford to outplay his draft cost (we rank him as the QB15)1 | Sleeper Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| Jeremiyah Love to fall short of his draft cost ($45)2 | Fantasy Bust Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| Jaxson Dart to fall short of his draft cost (currently the QB11)3 | Fantasy Bust Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| 3 calls · 3 waiting | — | — | ||||
How each call scored
3 checkable claims — 2 fantasy bust calls and 1 sleeper call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 3 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in.
Each call is scored 0 to 100 against what happened, on its own, by the published methodology. The naive guess is what knowing nothing would have scored on the same calls; the gap, weighted by how hard the call was, is the skill.
1Sleeper CallsMatthew Stafford
Matthew Stafford to outplay his draft cost (we rank him as the QB15)
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
2Fantasy Bust CallsJeremiyah Love
Jeremiyah Love to fall short of his draft cost ($45)
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
3Fantasy Bust CallsJaxson Dart
Jaxson Dart to fall short of his draft cost (currently the QB11)
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
Colin Cowherd · Trade and Signing Calls · Matthew Stafford · Hit 100
Cowherd predicts Matt Stafford stays with the Rams rather than moving on, and says Travis Hunter may underachieve because they're being asked to play both ways — Cowherd doubts they're a No. 1 receiver and would slot them as a No. 2 receiver while being a No. 1 corner.Colin Cowherd · Trade and Signing Calls · Matthew Stafford · Hit 100
Cowherd believes Matt Stafford's public negotiation posturing means he ultimately stays in Los Angeles, and he flags Travis Hunter as a high draft pick who could underachieve because trying to play both cornerback and receiver full-time will hurt him.Lance Zierlein · Mock Draft Picks · Jeremiyah Love · Close 68
Zuerlein describes their mock draft 3.0: Carnell Tate to the Giants at No. 5, Sonny Styles falling to the Cowboys at No. 12, and Colton Hood to Dallas at No. 20. They also expect runs on linebackers from the late twenties to about pick 45, defensive tackles from the early-mid twenties into the 40s, and says Ahvion Terrell's 4.65 forty knocks them out of first-round contention. They call Kenyon Saddiq and Mansoor Delaine the safest picks for Dallas, and thinks Delaine's tape is top-four caliber, while Jeremiah Smith could be a generational, Megatron-type receiver.Danny Parkins · Mock Draft Picks · Jeremiyah Love · Hit 96
Danny Parkins presented their one-and-only 2026 mock draft, including trades: Mendoza at 1 to the Raiders, David Bailey second to the Jets, the Cowboys trading up to No. 3 for Arvell Reese, the Bears trading up to 16 for Kadyn Proctor, and Ty Simpson going to Arizona at 32 at the end of round one.Nick Wright · Mock Draft Picks · Jeremiyah Love · Hit 96
Nick Wright unveiled their full 32-pick 2026 NFL mock draft 4.0, starting with Fernando Mendoza to the Raiders at No. 1 and ending with Avion Terrell to the Seahawks at 32. They also called Carnell Tate the best/safest receiver in the class, projected Ty Simpson inside the top 45, said Mendoza profiles as a low-end top-15 NFL quarterback, and expected the Dolphins to lose 15 games.
More fantasy bust calls
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Derek Brown · Fantasy Bust Calls · Zay Flowers · Miss 0
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.Chris Welsh · Fantasy Bust Calls · Austin Ekeler · Hit 100
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.Joe Pisapia · Fantasy Bust Calls · Rashee Rice · Miss 0
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.Pat Fitzmaurice · Fantasy Bust Calls · Breece Hall · Miss 0
Pat Fitzmaurice gave draft-or-pass calls: reluctant drafts on Christian McCaffrey, RJ Harvey, Tetairoa McMillan (their WR16), Rashee Rice at a ninth-round price, Austin Ekeler, Chris Rodriguez, Chris Olave, Drake Maye (their QB8) and Tyler Warren, with passes on Breece Hall, Joe Mixon, Croskey-Merritt, Tyreek Hill, Travis Hunter, the Rams receivers and Justin Fields.