DAVID'S DAILY DIGEST: 012-26

David’s Daily Digest

August 11th, 2026

Tuesday Evening Edition

BACK WITH A VENGEANCE

Maybe take this one with a grain of salt, perhaps with a slice of lime and in a tall shot glass! I'm not calling a shot here, nor am I sharing any real new take here, just going on record to say I too am a Omarion Hampton "Believer."

It's just a small sample size, but enough to convince me there's something there. Last season I selected Hampton with my third pick in one of my more competitive home leagues and for the first fours weeks of the 2025 season, I thought with this pick I nailed it.

Hampton was winning the timeshare he was in with running back Najee Harris, before Harris went down in week 3. through two weeks, Hampton had earned 72% of the snap-share, by week 4 it was up to 78%.

In weeks 3 & 4, Hampton posted scores of 24.9 fantasy points with 70 yards rushing, one rushing touchdown, 6 receptions, and 59 yards receiving in week 3 (good enough for the fantasy RB4). He followed that up with 27.5 fantasy points with 128 yards on the ground, another rushing score, 5 more catches for 37 receiving yards (fantasy RB7 for week 4).

Hampton would go down in week 5 and miss the next 8 weeks. He was not quite the same in his return, but with a whole off-season to recover and a new OC (Dolphins former HC Mike McDaniel) the prospects of what he could be look limitless.

In my home league, it's a one player keeper, round protected. I went early with Hampton last season in the 3rd, and current ADP has him at the end of the 2nd round. In my opinion there's enough value there. He's a strong hold and keeper for me. I'm all-in on Hampton.

That's My Take.

~David Ortega

DAVID'S DAILY DIGEST: 011-26

David’s Daily Digest

August 9th, 2026

Sunday Evening Edition

BOUNCE BACK IN 26

One of the most enjoyable parts of fantasy football of course is winning, But when you get it right, that can be nearly as satisfying. It doesn't happen often, so projecting outcomes for the coming season during pre-draft, can be hit or miss. So many variables go into it, off-season changes, new personnel, different role or returning from injury, with so many obstacles, nothing is guaranteed. 

As I am prepping for my upcoming fantasy drafts, I have asterisks on the following players to make big jumps from their 2025 outcome.

In Minnesota, the Vikings acquired quarterback Kyler Murray during the offseason giving their quarterback room a significant upgrade. The improvement should have an immediate impact on wide receiver Justin Jefferson. It's been a while since Murray's had the luxury of throwing to a receiver of Jefferson's caliber, but back in 2020 during DeAndre Hopkins peak run as a pass catcher, in his first season with Arizona, he finished as the fantasy WR5 with Murray throwing his passes. 

Jefferson is more than capable of reaching that plateau and after finishing as the fantasy WR28 (minimum 10 games) last season (84 receptions, 1,048 yards receiving, and two touchdowns). JJ should be a preseason favorite to finish back in the Top-10 in 2026 with a projected outcome of over 95+ receptions, 1,250+ yards receiving, and 8+ touchdowns. 

These projected numbers would have landed him as a Top-10 receiver last season, following his previous finishes of fantasy WR4 in 2024, WR5 in 2023, WR2 in 2022, WR4 in 2021, and WR9 in 2020. He's a good bet to return to the top this season and could be Top-5 once again.

That's My Take.

~David Ortega

DAVID'S DAILY DIGEST: 010-26

David’s Daily Digest

August 8th, 2026

Saturday Evening Edition

WHO IS NUMBER ONE?

While my preference is to take the Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs with my number one overall pick in this year's fantasy draft; that is any draft where I have the first pick. While this may seem like sound advice, don't discount the others in the conversation.

For the most part, the Big-3 include Gibbs, Bijan Robinson (Falcons), and Christian McCaffrey (Niners), but don't forget the Colts running back Jonatha Taylor. He's coming off his best season, since his breakout campaign in 2021, when he rushed for over 1,800 yards, averaging 5.5 yards per carry and 21.9 fantasy points per game.

Last season Taylor continued rise to the top with a 1,585 yards rushing performance with 18 rushing touchdowns, 46 receptions for another 378 yards receiving and two scores. Last season Taylor finished as the fantasy RB4, this following a 2024 campaign where he finished as the fantasy RB7.

Taylor will bring his 21.3 fantasy points per game average from 2025, to the new season, where he's got a legimate shot at finishing at the top. Taylor is a true workhorse in the Colts backfield and should be featured once again. Even if you miss out on the Big-3, Taylor is primed to make a run for the top spot and should be in the conversation.

That's My Take.

~David Ortega

DAVID'S DAILY DIGEST: 009-26

David’s Daily Digest

August 8th, 2026

Saturday Afternoon Edition

Saturday's "FF" Sports Page

Top Tiers

As I prepare for the upcoming fantasy football season and start considering strategies and where I want to target certain players, etc, I  continue to building my own player ranking s and tiers. I have learned and have only recently started to consider that ranking players overall or by position can often be misleading and even confusing. I realize that breaking players up in tiers will help me to identify value and keep me on track during my upcoming drafts.

What I am talking about, is the difference in scoring from one player A, to the next player B, and then to the next player C, is not always the same. Where the scoring difference from player A & B may be a fewer than a point, it won't matter which I take.

Separating tiers by position will help you stay on track when building your team through the draft, as you realize when you are looking a particular player in a particular round there are usually a group of players that will fall in that pocket - following this thinking helps me to stay on track with my picks, as I fill out each position, from running backs to wide receivers to quarterback etc.

But when I look at having a successful fantasy draft, I am of the opinion you can't lose the season on draft day, but your first several picks can certainly lay the foundation to a winning season.

So let me talk about the overall tier for this fantasy season; the 12 players that should be taken in the first round. Let's zero in on the first half of the round; the first six-seven picks starting with the running back position. In this first tier, you can switch them in and out, but Jahmyr Gibbs (21.6 fpts/game), Bijan Robinson (21.8 fpts/game), and Christian McCaffrey (24.5 fpts/game) are at the top, but one more name that should be included (in my opinion) is Jonathan Taylor (21.3 fpts/game). All four are bona fide fantasy RB1's and 20+ fantasy point per game candidates from last season. 

In this same mix at the top of the first round consider wide receivers Puka Nacua, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Ja'Marr Chase. Each of these receivers have averaged over 135 targets per season over the past two. With their talent, skill and that kind of volume, they are embedded at the top of all fantasy drafts. Additional names bringing up the back half of the first round, you need to add are Justin Jefferson (295 targets since 2024), CeeDee Lamb (269 targets since 2024), and Amon-Ra St. Brown (313 targets since 2024). Each of these sure handed pass catchers can provide the steady performance your fantasy teams needs to compete every week. 

Additionally, since we are talking volume plus value, rounding out the first round candidates, rounding out the first round I would like to suggest Bills running back James Cook and Dolphins running De'Von Achane. I am a little down on Achane when you consider all of the off-season changes and new offense. Defenses will stack the box and holes could be hard to find this season. He'll have plenty of volume, but I don't think he'll match his numbers from last season.

Conversely, I think the Bills offense has received a nice upgrade in the passing game with wide receiver DJ Moore. With an improved passing attack, Cook should find more creases in the run game and could see more involvement in the passing game. I like Cook as a top 10 fantasy running back this season, with Top-5 upside (finished as the fantasy RB6 last season).

That's My Take.

~David Ortega

DAVID'S DAILY DIGEST: 008-26

David’s Daily Digest

August 5th, 2026

Wednesday Evening Edition

Wednesday Watercooler

Over or Undervalued

Matthew Stafford (LAR) Over/Under

He led his team to another NFC Championship appearance last season and finished as the Fantasy QB3 averaging over 20 fantasy points per game. It's definitely early in the fantasy season, but Stafford is currently projecting as the fantasy QB9, coming off the boards in the front end of the 8th round (12 team leagues). Although I only project him a couple of spots higher as the QB7, this feels low for me. I'm surprised, coming off his 2025 season with a career high 46 passing touchdowns, he still has wide receivers Puka Nacua and Davante Adams lining up on the outside. Sure there's the expected regression from 46 touchdowns, but I like his chances of having another strong campaign in 2026 under head coach Sean McVay. 

Michael Wilson (ARZ) Under

He won't come off the boards as a sexy pick in this year's fantasy drafts, but the Cardinals wide receiver Michael Wilson (Current Overall ADP 88.0 WR42 - 12 teams) could bring plenty of value. Wilson was targeted last season 126 times, turning in 78 receptions for 1,006 yards receiving and seven touchdowns. While some may expect his teammate Marvin Harrison Jr to make a greater impact in 2026, it's hard to imagine Wilson falling off too great - a mid WR3 would seem to be the comfort zone with the potential of a back-end fantasy WR2.

Christian Watson (GB) Under

A fantasy favorite of mine, Watson's current ADP is 68.1 overall (fantasy WR33) after a 2025 season where he finished as the fantasy WR19, fantasy-points-per-game. Injuries has always been the issue with this Packer, so this is probably more gut-reaction than anything else, but with Romeo Doubs off to New England and Dontayvion Wicks off to Philly, Watson has a good shot to emerge as the teams Alpha receiver; if he can stay healthy. This is a risk-reward pick, but to get Watson as a late WR3 in the 6th round, he could produce as a top-15, mid-WR2 this season.

D'Andre Swift (CHI) Over

I have Swift in my dynasty league, so I watched enough of him and then rookie running back Kyle Monangai last season to know. In 2025 Swift finished as the fantasy RB17 and Monangai the RB40 (Fpts/gm). I'm sure the popular take here is the gap is going to close for sure. It's highly ulikely Monangai's rise will greatly impact Swift's 250+ touches from last season. With this situation having all of the makings of a timeshare, I would favor Monangai as the popular choice to see more work. Swift's current ADP is 44.7 (fantasy RB21). He's more likely to finish outside the top 30 as an RB3 (12 team leagues), around the same place as Monangai (current ADP overall 99.7) or slightly behind. And yes, there seems to be some very good value with Monangai (in 9th round).

That's My Take.

~David Ortega