Every year, fantasy football managers head into their draft hoping that they land the No. 1 pick. What if they are thinking about it wrong?

We’ve long associated getting the top pick with the best run of luck you can get. But that’s not necessarily true. While it’s nice to take the best player on the board and relax until the picks come back around, last year the best spot to pick from was  No. 4, and the year before, you wanted No. 9.

This summer, the No. 5 spot is the place to be.

Think about it like this. The top of the draft has a handful of clear studs. Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson are incredible. Each deserves to be the top pick in any 2026 draft. There is no wrong answer there.

This year also has three wide receivers who stand out above the rest: Puka Nacua, Ja’Marr Chase and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. All three have a case to be the first WR off the board.

And if you’re picking fifth in your draft, you are guaranteed to get at least one of those five players. (Full disclosure: I originally planned on featuring six players and the top-six picks, but I’ve downgraded Christian McCaffrey from the top tier because of the injury that kept him out of practice Monday and his 413 regular season touches last season, among other reasons).

The benefit of picking at the bottom of your tier is that while it takes away agency and limits your options, it also means you get one of your top players and a higher pick in Round 2.

The fifth pick in the first round gives you the 20th-overall pick (assuming a 12-team league) in Round 2. The options are pretty good there (ADPs are via FantasyPros for a half-PPR league).

At No. 20 you have several great options. You can take the top tight end in the draft. Both Trey McBride (20.0) and Brock Bowers (20.7) are projected to be available there. While there are significant downsides to picking a tight end that high, this year, Bowers could be the kind of TE who wins your league for you.

You could also choose to pair your top pick with an elite QB in Josh Allen (21.7), but that might be too early with several top quarterbacks still projected to be on the board several rounds later. A more intriguing option would be to pivot off your top pick. If you went RB early (unlikely as that would’ve likely required Gibbs and Robinson dropping), you can start building your WR corps with A.J. Brown or Nico Collins. More likely, you’ll want an RB after going WR early. Derrick Henry (21.7) and Jeremiyah Love (26) should still be there for you at No. 20 and there’s a chance that Kenneth Walker (18.7) falls.

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Whatever you do at No. 20, think about that pick in conjunction with who will be there in the third round. The top options at No. 29 are likely to be wide receivers. Chris Olave (28.7), Rashee Rice (29), Malik Nabers (31.3), and Devonta Smith (34) may all be available for you. There should be some RBs on the board too, but the options don’t look that enticing: Josh Jacobs, Kyren Williams, Javonte Williams. All three are at risk of losing their premier workloads. Jets running back Breece Hall (33.7) is the top pick if you want to go RB in Round 3.

The choice looks a lot better by the time No. 44 rolls around. Garrett Wilson (43), Ladd McConkey (44.3), Luther Burden (48), and Jaylen Waddle (48.3) all loom as intriguing picks in the fourth round. It’s possible to start the draft with JSN, Derrick Henry, Nabers and McConkey, which would leave your team with three possible WR1s this season all starting for you, and you still have a strong lead back. Bhayshul Tuten (55.7), Terry McLaurin (53), Drake Maye (52.7), and Jayden Daniels (59.7) could all be there in the fifth round if you need help at one of those positions.

The sixth round could be a great spot to land your starting tight end — Tucker Kraft and Harold Fannin both have an ADP of 68, or you could try to wait for Sam LaPorta (77.3). You can also still land a starting WR; Carnell Tate (73) could be an interesting option. Since 2019, Travis Hunter was the only receiver to go in the top 10 in the NFL draft and not amass at least 734 receiving yards. Five of the 10 hit the 1,000 yard mark. Tate, who went No. 4 to the Titans, will be WR1 in Tennessee.

The key to the first few rounds might also be understanding 2026 draft trends. Running backs are pushed up just a little bit this year. The ADP for the No. 25 RB was 59 last year; this year it’s currently 55.7. The ADP for RB10 is 15.7; last year it was 19.7. Receivers are up, too. WR12 has an ADP of 29; last year it was 31.7. But WR36 is going later in the draft: 79.3 ADP last year and 85.7 this year.

It’s possible to get starting WRs later this year, but you’ll probably have to jump on RBs a little earlier. Parker Washington seems ready for a breakout year after he finished last season on a tear (WR19 from Week 9 on); he’s going as WR32 with a 77.3 ADP. Jordyn Tyson, also a top-10 pick at WR, is going at an ADP of 84. If Alec Pierce is healthy, he could be the Colts’ WR1 and a steal at his ADP (89.7).

Or you could take the opposite approach and try to bet on fantasy trends reversing themselves. The NFL has seen an unusual amount of healthy running backs over the past two seasons. That’s benefited anyone who has taken RBs early in those drafts. If you think that trend ends this year, it would make sense to go WR early in the top rounds, then bet on a number of up-and-comers and backups later to make up ground. Betting big at receiver and making up ground late and on the waiver wire at RB could be the winning strategy this season.

But whatever you do, just don’t draft a kicker before the last round.

LOS ANGELES — Dave Roberts was as direct as he’s been all season when assessing his ball club’s play as of late.

“We’re a wild-card team right now,” the long-time skipper said Monday afternoon, acknowledging the Dodgers’ recent slide in the playoff picture. “We have to get going and play with urgency. We have to make sure we don’t get ahead of the playoff situation, and talk about winning now, winning today, winning tomorrow.”

“That part of the, ‘We’re gonna be OK and we’re good,’ that’s not good enough,” he continued. “Clearly it’s not, given how we’ve played over the last month. We put ourselves in this position. A lot of talent. But I think across the board, we need to play with more urgency. And our guys know that.”

It was notable then to see struggling closer Edwin Díaz pound his fist into his glove repeatedly and let out a triumphant yell after notching a perfect ninth inning to preserve the Dodgers’ 6-5 win over the Kansas City Royals. It was one of several little moments in which the Dodgers’ urgency was on display, palpable not through rushed processes or pressed approaches, but by concerted efforts to be more aggressive — by players and manager alike.

Monday’s game was not played nor managed like a mid-August contest against a team 22 games under .500. Losing eight of their last nine games and falling behind the Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves in the National League standings served as a wakeup call for the back-to-back champs. That was evident when Roberts elected to pinch-hit Kyle Tucker for a slumping Teoscar Hernández with two on and two out in the bottom of the sixth and the Dodgers trailing by one. Or by the dugout reaction one batter later, when Max Muncy cleared the bases with a three-run double, providing an offensive jolt that has felt much too scarce lately.

Max clears the bases on his bobblehead night! pic.twitter.com/TvD1DXeKqc

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 11, 2026

That dugout could’ve soured when Royals No. 9 hitter Kyle Isbel parked a two-run homer minutes later, extinguishing the Dodgers’ short lead and tying the game back up at 5-5. Instead, Shohei Ohtani singled, stole second base and came around to score the go-ahead run on Freddie Freeman’s single to right. Ohtani’s run was aided by Freeman intentionally advancing from first to second, hoping the Royals would concede a run to guarantee an out at second base. Given the throw home from right fielder Starling Marte, that ultimately wouldn’t have been necessary. But given how dire a win felt, Freeman was taking no chances.

That same intensity showed up in the top of the ninth. Díaz, whose season ERA had ballooned to 10.80 since returning from early-season elbow surgery, took the mound fresh off blowing back-to-back saves in a frustrating series loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks over the weekend. The Dodgers were clinging to a one-run lead. Immediately the right-hander’s stuff played up, with his fastball averaging a full mile per hour above his season average, and his slider much tighter and better located.

The result was a 12-pitch top of the ninth to cap off a Dodgers win that signaled a change in operations.

The back-to-back world champions have a title they’d like to defend. They’ll have to start playing better to do so.

“We know what we have to do to win games,” Freeman said. “We got a good group that’s been together for a long time, that knows how to win.

“There’s going to be no panic out of this clubhouse,” he added. “I understand what Doc’s saying. Baseball’s a little different. I can’t go out there and swing harder and throw harder. That’s just not how it works.”

What does work is identifying moments within the game when they can up the intensity. Monday’s contest was centered on the home debut of the Dodgers’ newest ace. Tarik Skubal fought to find his rhythm and battled erratic fastball command, but still posted five innings of three-run ball with six strikeouts. When Skubal departed with the Royals up 3-2, the game started to feel ominous. If the Dodgers could not beat the last-place Royals with their marquee trade deadline acquisition on the mound, it would lead to their first time losing nine of 10 games since May 2018 — and certainly invite more skepticism over their recent play.

So Roberts, an experienced manager who usually trusts his veterans to hit out of their struggles, made the decision to play the matchup instead. Presented with their best scoring opportunity yet, Roberts yanked Hernández from the on-deck circle and opted for Tucker (who was given a scheduled day off) from the bench. The thought process was simple: Hernández has struggled to hit right-handers all season, especially as of late. Tucker has actually posted reverse splits this year, but he’s swung one of the hottest bats for Los Angeles over the last couple of weeks.

Tucker worked a five-pitch walk and scored from first on Muncy’s double. Hernández was the first player out of the dugout, greeting and celebrating each player who scored.

“We’re past letting (guys) play out of it,” Roberts said. “We’re in a playoff race. Trying to win the division, number one. Number two, capture one of the first two playoff spots. This is go time. I’m going to manage accordingly, like I said. We’ve seen enough of a sample of guys and what they’ve done this year. Everyone understands it’s about winning. It’s not about feelings.

“If I talk about urgency from our guys, I’m going to manage accordingly,” Roberts added. “A guy like Teo, who I run out there every day essentially versus right, versus left, but the body of work certainly recently hasn’t been good versus right — Tucker was the guy in that spot. It’s about winning the baseball game.”

Edwin Diaz (right) shook off his recent struggles to earn a dominant save against the Royals. (Harry How / Getty Images)

That mentality seems to have shifted to Díaz as well. His fastball velocity had been down since coming off the injured list at the end of July and he had not been able to command his slider. That led to earned runs in four of his first five outings back from surgery, including the two crucial blown saves over the weekend. After several talks with bullpen coach Josh Bard, Díaz emerged for the ninth inning with one thing in mind.

“Be aggressive from the first pitch,” Díaz explained, saying he had felt something shift after Saturday’s outing, in which he allowed two triples to send the game into extra innings.

“I told my mind to put everything together and stay in the game,” he said. “It’s been a rough week, so having the chance to save the game, give our team a chance to win made me really happy. It was something I needed today.”

It was something the Dodgers needed as well. They have earned a longer leash during bad stretches (given how rare those are) and their star-packed lineup plus their overall winning track record allows them to play the patience card. But sometimes, as Monday night showed, a mid-season push is needed.

“It’s not trying harder. It’s just more honing your focus,” Roberts said. “That’s what I see as urgency. Every play matters. We got to go. Today was a good start.”