Tom StrachanAug 23, 2026
In a guide to drafting from pick 1.08, Strachan targets Jonathan Taylor, CeeDee Lamb and James Cook (plus Amon-Ra St. Brown), arguing Taylor and Cook have top-two RB upside and St. Brown could finish as the overall WR1, while warning against taking elite tight ends Brock Bowers or Trey McBride or Ashton Jeanty that early.
Published in writing · FantasyProsRead the original
What Tom Strachan said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromThere's a very real world where Taylor is a top-two back this season.
- Where it was published
- FantasyPros
- The piece
- Fantasy Football Mock Draft: How to Approach Pick 1.08 (2026)
- The original
- Read the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- 1Brock Bowers to fall short of his draft cost (1.08)“Whether you prefer Brock Bowers or Trey McBride doesn't really matter. Neither should be drafted this high.”
- 2CeeDee Lamb to outplay his draft cost (1.08)“If you're happy to believe 2025 was a blip rather than the new normal, it becomes easier to see Lamb as a value pick in this range.”
- 3Ashton Jeanty to fall short of his draft cost (1.08)“Jeanty has bags of talent, and he's a fine pick at the back end of the first round, but taking him over proven assets in better environments would be a mistake.”
- 4Trey McBride to fall short of his draft cost (1.08)“Whether you prefer Brock Bowers or Trey McBride doesn't really matter. Neither should be drafted this high.”
- 5Jonathan Taylor to finish top 2 at his position, by fantasy points“There's a very real world where Taylor is a top-two back this season.”
- 6Amon-Ra St. Brown to finish top 1 at his position, by fantasy points“it's fair to point out that not much more would need to swing his way for a WR1 overall finish”
- 7James Cook to finish top 2 at his position, by fantasy points“If reports from training camp are true and the Bills do use Cook more in the receiving game, a top-two finish is within his range of outcomes.”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brock Bowers to fall short of his draft cost (1.08)1 | Fantasy Bust Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| CeeDee Lamb to outplay his draft cost (1.08)2 | Sleeper Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| Ashton Jeanty to fall short of his draft cost (1.08)3 | Fantasy Bust Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| Trey McBride to fall short of his draft cost (1.08)4 | Fantasy Bust Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| Jonathan Taylor to finish top 2 at his position, by fantasy points5 | Positional Finishes | — | — | — | — | |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown to finish top 1 at his position, by fantasy points6 | Positional Finishes | — | — | — | — | |
| James Cook to finish top 2 at his position, by fantasy points7 | Positional Finishes | — | — | — | — | |
| 7 calls · 7 waiting | — | — | ||||
How each call scored
7 checkable claims — 3 fantasy bust calls, 3 positional finishes and 1 sleeper call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 13 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in.
Of the 2 unsettled calls enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands below the rest of the room on every one.
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.
1Fantasy Bust CallsBrock BowersLas Vegas Raiders
Brock Bowers to fall short of his draft cost (1.08)
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
2Sleeper CallsCeeDee LambDallas Cowboys
CeeDee Lamb to outplay his draft cost (1.08)
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
3Fantasy Bust CallsAshton JeantyLas Vegas Raiders
Ashton Jeanty to fall short of his draft cost (1.08)
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
4Fantasy Bust CallsTrey McBrideArizona Cardinals
Trey McBride to fall short of his draft cost (1.08)
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
5Positional FinishesJonathan TaylorIndianapolis Colts
Jonathan Taylor to finish top 2 at his position, by fantasy points
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
6Positional FinishesAmon-Ra St. BrownDetroit Lions
Amon-Ra St. Brown to finish top 1 at his position, by fantasy points
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
7Positional FinishesJames CookBuffalo Bills
James Cook to finish top 2 at his position, by fantasy points
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Who this take is about
Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders, CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys, Ashton Jeanty, Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals, Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions, James Cook, Buffalo Bills
Others on the same people
Pete Prisco · Score Predictions · Buffalo Bills · Close 76
Prisco picked the Bills to win 21-14 at Minnesota.John Breech · Score Predictions · Buffalo Bills · Close 76
Breech picked the Bills to beat the Vikings on Monday night by a score of 24-17.Jordan Dajani · Score Predictions · Buffalo Bills · Close 62
Dajani picked the Bills to edge the Vikings 24-23.Jared Dubin · Score Predictions · Buffalo Bills · Close 74
Dubin picked Buffalo to win a low-scoring Monday night game in Minnesota, 20-14.Tyler Sullivan · Score Predictions · Buffalo Bills · Close 76
Sullivan picked the Bills to beat the Vikings 24-17.
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.