DAVID'S DAILY DIGEST: 002-26

David’s Daily Digest

July 28th, 2026

Tuesday Night Edition

My Early 2026 Fantasy Rankings

Hands down my number one, no surprise is Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs. He's the most explosive and dynamic back (in my opinion) in the game today. Over the past three Seasons, Gibbs has been a staple in the Top 10 fantasy running backs (including Top 3 the past two seasons) and with the departure of David Montgomery, he's set to take the top spot.

It's hard to argue Rams wideout Puka Nacua off the mantle of fantasy receivers, but I really believe it's a toss up between Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Nacua. JSN will benefit greatly with the return of Sam Darnold as his signal caller, following a season with 119 receptions for nearly 1800 yards. 

1. Jahmyr Gibbs*

2. Bijan Robinson

3. Puka Nacua

4. Christian McCaffrey

5. Jaxon Smith-Njigba*

6. Jonathan Taylor

7. De'Von Achane

8. Amon-Ra St.Brown*

9. Justin Jefferson

10. Ja'Marr Chase

11. CeeDee Lamb

12. James Cook

13. Derrick Henry*

14. Saquon Barkley

15. AJ Brown

16. Chase Brown                                                                              

17. Chris Olave

18. George Pickens

19. Kenneth Walker III

20. Josh Allen*

If JSN is not available, the next receiver to target has to be Amon-Ra St.Brown. The Sun God has only finished as a Top-5 fantasy receiver three straight seasons, averaging 117 receptions for nearly 1,400 yards, and double-digit touchdowns. He figures once again to be a major part of the Lions passing game and should put up similar Top-5 numbers.

I was watching a video a few weeks ago of Derrick Henry's training regiment and I am convinced he is part Terminator or machine. The odds are he should fall-off, but I would not bet against him. He's coming off a season where he rushed for nearly 1,600 yards with a 5.2 yards per carry average. At the moment Henry seems to be out-running Father Time and I can see another season of 280 carries for 1,400 plus yards and 12 rushing scores - numbers that should keep him Top-10.

At number 20, Josh Allen is a back-end round two pick, but one that is worthy in my opinion. Allen has finished as a Top-2 fantasy QB in five consecutive seasons as well as Top-5 overall. That type of consistent production has all of the ingredients of a winning fantasy team. Give me Josh Allen as my fantasy QB and I like my chances every week.

That's My Take.

~David Ortega

DAVID'S DAILY DIGEST: 001-26

David’s Daily Digest
July 27th, 2026
Monday Night Edition

The 2026 Fantasy Season is Here.

I've been playing fantasy football for over 25 years now and this time of season never gets old. It's the peak of summer and with the temperatures on the rise, the trash talking and draft day hype starts heating up just as much!

That traditional age old conversation of who's going at number one continues with names like Ja'Marr Chase, Jahmyr Gibbs, Puka Nacua, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the mix. Is a running back first the right strategy this year or is this the year that wide receivers dominate the top slots of fantasy scoring.

Last season, four of the top six fantasy scorers (FPPG) were running backs with Christian McCaffrey leading the way. The only wide receivers to finish top-10 were Nacua (#2) and Smith-Njigba (#7), standard PPR scoring according to FantasyData.

For season long numbers, Arizona Cardinal Trey McBride (#14) was the only tight end to enter the top 25; the distant number two tight end was Kyle Pitts Jr (#56).

A successful draft requires finding value wherever you can; if you took McBride early last season it probably paid huge dividends. The next three scoring tight ends, points per game had their seasons cut short due to injury. If you ignored the injury joo-joo talk surrounding McCaffrey and snagged him after Gibbs and Bijan Robinson, you made out like a bandit.

This season, Nacua and JSN should sit atop the receiver boards, returning with the same game slingers that vaulted them to the top a year ago, but Chase could be a risky bargain this season. Even with a healthy Joe Burrow (#15-fantasy QB), one has to wonder how bad will his offensive line be this season; the same one that saw Burrow go down in week 2 and only play 8 games last season.

How about under center this season, will Caleb Williams provide an encore performance to 2025 or will the league DC's use last season's film to pikc holes in his game? Can a healthy Baker Mayfield in Tampa and a healthy Lamar Jackson in Baltimore bounce back in 26? There's plenty of reason to believe so, but are names like Jaxson Dart, Justin Herbert, or even Jordan Love worth waiting on and taking later?

As you can see there is so much to dive into and plenty to talk about and were still in the month of July. Let the countdown begin and the fantasy smack talk unleashed, we're just getting started in here. It's time to hit the magazine stands, printout those cheat sheets, open a browser or two and dive into your research, the 2026 Fantasy football season is here.

That's My Take.
~David Ortega