Joe Arpasi
July 20, 2026
I must start by pointing out there is no “one way” to approach drafting a CFF team. This guide represents the strategy I have come up with after reviewing the 2026 player pool. You can follow this guide to the letter, or incorporate ideas into the draft strategy you already use. It is purely up to the reader how to use this information.
TIER ANALYSIS
I assign players into tiers based on several pieces of criteria. I start with the fantasy point projection I have made for the player within the specific scoring format. I then review the player’s position battle status and move players down the more uncertain that position battle status is. Then finally I review the profile I have assigned for that player. Players are moved down again based on the level of fantasy production potential.
Tiers go from 1 being the best, then counting their way downward. I consider all players from a position group in the same tier can be viewed as “equal” which allows a drafter to select the player that they like best.
Once I have finished my first round of player rankings I look at how many players from each position group are in each tier. This gives you a feel for how much depth, or lack thereof you can find at different position groups. Green represents rarity while red represents abundance. I’ve only included the top 10 tiers in this breakdown. This information will also help you determine which positions to focus on or wait for during the draft.
Quarterback: There is a slow and gradual build up of QB’s in tiers 1-5. Because I prefer to wait on QB I would recommend passing on the top two QB’s but focusing hard on landing your QB1 from tier 3. I would be aggressive and try to land my QB2 from tiers 4-5. Tiers 6-7 should serve for your QB3 and toss in tier 8 for your last QB.
Running Back: I would only pursue the tier 2 RB if the top 3 WRs have already been drafted. You’ll need to try and grab as many guys as you can from tier 3-5 as they will go very quickly. With a much larger abundance of backs in tiers 6-9 you can wait on these players while supplementing you roster with other positions.
Wide Receiver: My top priority in drafts would be to land any of the tier 1-3 WR’s. If you miss out then you should get aggressive trying to land one of the guys in tiers 4-5. The quality of WR’s drops off hard here and the fantasy floor of players in tiers 6-9 gets far more shaky. You’ll have to rely on these WR’s for most of your roster so its imperative to get at least one tier 1-5 player.
Tight End: The distribution of TE’s stays fairly similar from tiers 1-8. The key will be focusing on reacting to when new TE runs start, or if you’re drafting on the edges you’ll need to start those TE’s runs.
ADP ANALYSIS
Its extremely important to have an understanding of when players are being taken in drafts. ADP (Average Draft Position) is the tool used to assess this. I’ve pulled the ADP data from the end of June to use for this analysis. I’ve pulled the average ADP for all players within a tier for this review. Since I have players in tiers that are over-valued and under-valued, you will see players drafted earlier and later than these average numbers. The ADP data listed in this article is the average round & draft pick, with 1.01 presenting the first pic of the first round. Green represents the earliest average draft pick for a specific tier, while red represents the latest average draft pick. This ADP is from all FBS drafts which means players will be taken earlier than shown.
Quarterback: That tier 1 QB is going to go fast which is why I like waiting on those later tier 2-3 players so I can focus on WR & RB early. Tiers 4-5 are packed pretty tightly together making that a TE run you can’t afford to miss. Tiers 7-8 are also packed closely for you to grab your final QB.
Running Back: Tiers 2-4 are pretty similar in ADP but their low volume of players means they’ll likely go faster than this ADP value tells us. There’s a decent gap of time before tiers 5-7 will roll around, then tiers 8-10 are packed very tightly together.
Wide Receiver: The tier 1-2 players will likely only be available if you have a top 5 pick. Tiers 3-4 show a gap but I think you’ll need to pounce on those players if you didn’t land a guy form a higher tier. tier 5 stands out as a random island where these WR’s will go quickly and before you hit the bottom half of tiers, so its important to strike hard here.
Tight End: What’s interesting is that tiers 2-4 have small gaps between them before you see a big drop off. All the remaining tiers are packed tightly together and many of the G6 players filling them are dart throw options.
CONCLUSION
Roster Breakdown: QB-4, RB-7, WR-7, TE-2
Rounds 1-3: 2 RB tier 2-4, 1 WR tier 1-4
Rounds 4-5: 1 RB tier 4-6, 1 WR tier 4-5
Rounds 6-10: 2 QB tier 2-6, 1 RB tier 5-6, 1 WR tier 5-6, 1 TE tier 2-3
Rounds 11-15: 1 QB tier 5-7, 3 RB (best available), 1 WR tier 6-8
Rounds 16-20: 1 QB (best available), 3 WR (best available), 1 TE (best available)