7 Fantasy Football Players You MUST DRAFT in 2026!
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
11 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Aug 20, 2026
Published
Thu, August 20, 2026
5
Player insights
5
Players mentioned
Topics
Carnell TateDe'Zhaun StriblingJadarian PriceMatthew GoldenTre Harris
Player analysis
Player insights
Carnell Tate
PositiveUsage6:53
Carnell Tate is expected to be the top wide receiver in Tennessee, benefiting from high draft capital and a lack of competition for targets, making him a steal in round five.
Insight pageDe'Zhaun Stribling
PositiveSleeper9:08
Deshaun Striebling is a major sleeper with 4.36 speed and a significant opportunity to shine due to injuries to teammates like George Kittle and Mike Evans; his ADP has risen to rounds 10-11.
Insight pageJadarian Price
PositiveRole10:47
Jadarian Price is an ultra-elite talent with no real competition in the Seahawks backfield, making him an RB1 value in rounds 5-6; he is expected to secure the starting role quickly.
Insight pageMatthew Golden
PositiveProjection13:52
Matthew Golden is projected to be the team's WR1, with high expectations for volume due to his first-round draft capital and explosive playmaking ability shown in the previous postseason.
Insight pageTre Harris
PositiveSleeper2:34
Trey Harris is recommended as a sleeper stash to target later in drafts.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00I'm pulling zero punches today. I'm going to give you guys 7 players you must draft.
0:05Draft these guys. Don't ask questions. Not going to go into a deep dive analysis on every player.
0:10I'm going to give you a quick breakdown. I'm not going to go into a deep dive.
0:15Just draft these guys. I've done the research for you.
0:187 must draft players. Amazing talent. Amazing value. Draft them.
0:21Get them on your rosters. You want to win your leagues?
0:24This is the episode to listen to. This is the podcast to listen to.
0:28Let's get to it. Subscribe, thumbs up, grab 60 rounds.
0:31Do not draft without it. Grab it below. This is like 3 more weekends left until draft time.
0:36I know a lot of you guys are drafting.
0:39This weekend. Make sure you guys are prepared. I'm telling you guys.
0:42You'll be a significant disadvantage if we do not get 16 rounds.
0:46So make sure you're not at that disadvantage and that you are prepared.
0:49Sleepers, breakouts, full mock drafts, printable cheat sheet. All updated.
0:52I'm handing you the championship on a silver platter.
0:55Grab 60 rounds right now. I've linked it below.
0:58Okay. Let's dive into these 7 players. Hit the thumbs up.
1:01First one is Omari Hampton. Omari Hampton is 26 overall.
1:04Love this guy. Ultra elite talent. Strong, capable, can run, can catch.
1:07Great offense. Mike McDaniel offense. Amazing. Amazing. Improved O-line.
1:10I understand their center went down with injury. I don't care.
1:13I like the talent. I love the value. I love everything about Omari Hampton.
1:17In fact, I see this guy finishing as not only the top 10 running back, but as the top running back in fantasy football, barring any injury.
1:25And yes, if he gets injured, injuries count. I think he put that behind him.
1:29Mike McDaniel did amazing things with Devin Achene. And I believe that Omari Hampton is going to absolutely crush it this year.
1:36There was a recent video I saw with Justin Herbert talking about how amazing of a talent and athlete Omari Hampton is.
1:42I posted a video where he is like just smashing through 49ers defenders this year.
1:46Love him. Draft him. Okay. Since we're talking chargers, I'm going to add number two here.
1:51Lad McConkie, 33 overall. Yes, it's okay to own two chargers.
1:54And listen, I like Trey Harris later as a sleeper stash him as well.
1:58But Lad McConkie is the clear cut wide receiver one, the way that it sits going into the season.
2:04And I love him. And here's the thing, right?
2:06You don't have to spend a first round pick on a wide receiver one like a Puka who's already dealing with off
2:13field stuff, potentially going to see a suspension, dealing with some sort of injury, running through windows or whatever the heck he's doing.
2:19You don't have to spend a first round pick on JSN knowing there's going to be a decline in a regression based
2:26on a Super Bowl hangover, ultra elite talent year, pinnacle year.
2:29Like we know JSN is going to decline, but what you can do is get another wide receiver one.
2:35Lad McConkie could be the absolute PPR monster this year and you get to draft him in around round three after you've gotten two running backs.
2:42I mean, that's a steal. That's a bargain. Draft Lad McConkie.
2:45Okay. Like again, rookie year, don't be a donkey.
2:48Draft Lad McConkie. Sophomore year, you're a donkey if you draft Lad McConkie.
2:52I stated this. Don't draft Lad McConkie last year who's way too overinflated.
2:55And this year he's trending back up. I suggest you do draft him.
2:59He's definitely going to be worth your while. Okay.
3:02Pick number three here is, again, listen, I'm not pulling any punches.
3:05If you guys are regular to the show, you've heard me say this a hundred times and I don't care about no toe injury.
3:12I'm not, it's not going to hold it back and let people get afraid of Emika Ibuka because of his toe.
3:18But that's number three, Emika Ibuka. Listen, this is a must draft player.
3:22I've got him on all my rosters. Great situation.
3:25No Mike Evans. Wide receiver one. Elite talent was drafted in the first round last year.
3:29Give you five reasons just off the top of my head.
3:33I'm not even thinking about this. I'm just like rhyming it right off the top of my head.
3:38Listen, last year, 127 targets out targeted guys like T Higgins who are coming off ahead of him.
3:43And are the wide receiver twos on their team?
3:46Always aim high on the depth chart. Always draft young talent.
3:49Always draft high capital talent. Always draft talent that is trending up and Emika fits that entire mold.
3:54So when I'm looking at a wide receiver round three, again, you got to make a decision.
3:59Do you like decisions? Do you like Gladman Conker?
4:02Do you like Emika? These guys are must draft players.
4:05Draft Emika Ibuka. Okay. Again, stay to the end.
4:07The last guy is a major sleeper. Love him.
4:10All right. All right. Number four. We're on number four already.
4:13Wow. Don't be late. Draft Carnell Tate. Listen, I love Carnell Tate.
4:17I understand the offense has its question marks. I understand there's some uncertainty around Cam Ward.
4:21But Carnell Tate is set for an amazing year based on elite talent, based on high draft capital guy.
4:27They're going to feed him. Based on literally there's nobody else around him.
4:30I don't believe in Callum Ridley. I don't believe in Elik Ayamanor.
4:34I don't believe in Shimmery Dyke. I don't believe in anybody else other than Carnell Tate.
4:39Sure-handed, Paul Shortrunner, top wide receiver prospect at this draft.
4:42Cam Ward's got a chip on his shoulder. And Carnell Tate has been doing phenomenal in camp.
4:46Now, mind you, the first preseason game didn't look that good.
4:50Hopefully he approves on that. I think he had like three targets, didn't catch much or anything at all.
4:55But listen, it's preseason. I'm not concerned. He's going to be the top dog in Tennessee in a team that's looking to
5:02improve all around and just become a better organization overall.
5:04So don't be late. Draft Carnell Tate. And what I love about Carnell Tate is he's a wide receiver one, and he's
5:11going to get a ton of volume, and you get him in round five.
5:15I mean, what a steal. This is what I'm saying.
5:18There's a ton of depth at wide receiver, okay?
5:20Speaking of which, which leads us to number five here.
5:23Amazing talent at later in wide receivers and value.
5:26Again, Carnell Tate is 64 overall. We talked about round five.
5:29This guy's 146 overall, the time that sits right now.
5:32Three weeks going into, you know, three weeks left into the season.
5:36Let me tell you a little bit of prospects about him, a little bit of specs.
5:406'2", 207, 4.36 speed. Listen, he's an amazing, he can block.
5:43He's a good runner. He's got phenomenal hands. He did good preseason, you know, week one.
5:48He's out of Ole Miss. The guy is Deshaun Striebling.
5:51And listen, it's about situation, right? It's all about situation.
5:54And everybody's banged up. Everybody's hurt. George Kittle's not going to play, right?
5:58Or he's going to play, but he's banged up, whatever, right?
6:01Mike Evans already dealing with some sort of injury, muscle tightness already.
6:04He should have never been re-signed. He was done.
6:07His career was over. They bring in Striebling. They draft him.
6:10There's an opportunity here, a major opportunity for him because everybody's either not playing Aiyuk.
6:15All these guys are banged up, not playing. It's a huge opportunity for Deshaun Striebling to really shine here and get a ton of work.
6:22Now, again, you don't have to spend a first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth round, seventh, eighth round.
6:27Like, you get this guy 10th, 11th round. Now, mind you, his ADP's gone up.
6:31This guy was a guy we were stashing round 16.
6:34One preseason game is already up to round 10, 11, give or take.
6:38Again, 146 overall. Do the math, depending on how many people are in your league.
6:42Deshaun Striebling, amazing value. Big time sleep. Or just draft, like, put him on your roster, man.
6:47Like, for that ADP, that is amazing, okay? Number six, a guy that I've got on all my rosters.
6:53Again, I see so many people hesitating on this guy, which makes zero sense.
6:57Zero sense because you're getting an RB1 in round five to six.
7:00Like, again, the logic here is not registering with me on why people are afraid to draft this guy, okay?
7:06We're talking about a top guy out of Notre Dame, ultra elite talent, was drafted in the first round by his team,
7:13ready to go, doing well in training camp, has no competition.
7:16The guy I'm talking about is Jadarian Price. Now, some people say, well, Joe, Seattle Seahawks are the definition of committee.
7:22Well, listen, Chabernet sucks. He was never that good, and then he got hurt.
7:26He's not going to come back. And if he does come back, some people say he will.
7:31He's not going to be 100%. Worst case, he does steal some goal line work.
7:35But by the time that happens, Jadarian Price has run with the job.
7:39Jadarian Price has no competition. I don't believe Helani or the other guy behind him will say, I don't care whatever their names are.
7:46One was undrafted. One was drafted in the fifth round, his backups.
7:50Jadarian Price is a high draft capital guy, ultra elite talent, who lived in the shadow of Jeremiah Love in college.
7:56He's ready to shine and prove to the world that he is elite.
7:59Draft this guy. Put him on your roster as part of a robust RB strategy, as part of your core four.
8:06What is the core four? All laid out in 16-round draft solutions.
8:09So if you guys want to build the optimal roster, bulletproof, optimal, iron cloud, backup plan for a backup plan, grab 16 rounds.
8:16I've linked it below or head on over to thefantasyfootballcounselor.com.
8:19Also, join the Patreon group, guys. If you want direct access to me, specific draft questions, I'm dropping Q&As in there.
8:25You drop your question, get back to me. All-access war room.
8:28In-season, starts and sits, waiver wire. Get in the all-access war room, okay?
8:32The last guy here is 128 overall. Put him on your roster, okay?
8:35And I'm going to give you guys all the reasons on why to do it and why you should draft.
8:41And first and foremost, like I said, 128 overall.
8:44We're talking around 9, 10. He's the wide receiver one on his team.
8:48I'm calling it right now. And if he busts, I don't care.
8:51It's a 10th round pick, whatever. But I believe, based on what I'm going to tell you, this guy will not bust, okay?
8:58Matthew Golden's the guy, first round draft capital pick.
9:00A team drafts a player first round, they want to use him.
9:04They want to give him the opportunity. They're not going to draft a player in the first round last year and just
9:10say, hey, we're not going to give you a chance.
9:13They did that last year and it was a huge mistake.
9:16They got rid of Romeo Dobbs. They got rid of Dontavian Wicks.
9:20And that was for good reason, didn't draft anybody else in the early rounds that's going to pose a threat to Matthew Golden.
9:27Now they re-signed Christian Watson, which was a huge waste because the guy has not cracked 620 plus yards.
9:32I think he has 620. He hasn't cracked 625 plus yards.
9:35And he hasn't finished a season. He's going to go down again.
9:39It's inevitable. And even if he does finish a season, Matthew Golden is going to get a ton of volume.
9:45How do I know that? Preseason, postseason game last year.
9:47It was Romeo Dobbs and Matthew Golden getting the bulk chunk of the volley in that playoff game.
9:53It was Dobbs and then Golden. And Golden looked splashy.
9:56He looked explosive. He looked good. And he's the second year.
9:59I'm telling you guys, Matthew Golden is going to be the wide receiver one.
10:03Matthew Golden is going to be the guy everyone's going to be wanting to trade you for.
10:08He's going to do well this year. I believe it because just based on the landscape and Tucker Crafts coming off injury,
10:14dude, I'm telling you, and Josh Jacobs is possibly facing a suspension for off-field stuff.
10:19I'm telling you, man, Matthew Golden is going to be heavily relied on.
10:22Don't sleep on him. Draft him, right? So Omari and Hampton, Lad McConkie.
10:26We talked about the other guys that I like here.
10:29Carnell Tate, DeJount Striebling, Jadarian Price, Matthew Golden. Just draft these guys.
10:33Put them on your roster. And Emika Ibuka. Put them on your roster.
10:36You will not be disappointed, okay? Grab 16 rounds.
10:39I got Walter Football come back tomorrow. We're talking top 10 players to avoid.
10:43Very important episode. Subscribe. Turn on the bell. And I'll see you guys every night at 9 going live on Underdog.
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11:06Grab 16 rounds. And I will see you guys next video.
11:09Enjoy preseason games tonight.
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