Way-Too-Early "My Guys" For 2026 Fantasy Football: Malik Willis, Chase Brown and More

You gotta be a real sicko to even THINK about fantasy football at a time like this.

So yeah: Welcome, fellow sickos!

What follows are six "my guys", AKA players who I plan on drafting quite a bit this offseason. Could this change as new information reveals itself throughout free agency and the draft? Yes! Is this still a fun time to shed some light on potentially undervalued fantasy footballers? Also yes!

As always: It's a great day to be great.

Early "My Guys" For The 2026 Fantasy Football Season

QB | Malik Willis | Free Agent

Underdog ADP: QB26 (147.6)
My rank: QB21

It's actually kind of alarming how efficient Willis was as a passer during his two seasons with the Packers. The former third-round pick ranks *first* among all quarterbacks with at least 100 dropbacks over the past two seasons—and it's not particularly close!

The rushing goodness on display has been pretty special as well: Willis posted 6-41-0, 6-73-1, 10-44-0 and 9-60-2 rushing lines in four extended appearances over the past two seasons, demonstrating the tried-and-true dual-threat upside that fantasy nerds and virgins always look for in the later rounds.

Of course, it remains to be seen where Willis will land in free agency, but the lack of depth in the class makes it possible that we see a bidding war of sorts emerge. Cardinals? Jets? Dolphins? It's a matter of when, not if, Willis becomes a very rich, hopeful franchise QB. Don't be surprised if the 26-year-old talent emerges as THE trendy late-round option at the position this season—Willis and Kyler Murray are currently my two favorite clicks at the position at their current ADP.

RB | Chase Brown | Bengals

Underdog ADP: RB12 (23.1)
My rank: RB4

Brown has a solid case as a true five-tool RB:

Big-play ability: Check. The speedster joins Jahmyr Gibbs, Jonathan Taylor and TreVeyon Henderson as the only RBs to crack 22 miles per hour as a ball carrier since 2023 (Next-Gen Stats).
Pass-catching goodness: Check. Brown has caught 54 and 69 passes over the past two seasons. His 142.7 PPR points from receiving ranked fourth at the position in 2025.
Good offensive environment: Check. The Bengals are candidates to participate in a fantasy-friendly shootout whenever Joe Burrow is healthy enough to suit up.
Offensive line: Check. Cincy might not employ the league's best pass-protecting group of big uglies, but this o-line really came together on the ground last season: They ranked 14th in RB rush yards before contact per carry and
Talent: Check. At the level of Bijan Robinson? No, but the 25-year-old talent has racked up 2,806 total yards and scored 22 touchdowns during his last two seasons. It's safe to say Brown is good at football.

I'll admit Brown doesn't check the latter two boxes with flying colors, but the explosive, three-down skill-set in an elite offense is good enough for me. The rest of the Fantasy Life crew has Brown as a borderline RB1, and hey, that's where his average draft position is, so I get it. But as Abraham Lincoln once said, "February is not the time to pay a bunch of attention to ADP. Rank the players where you think they belong".

RB | Tank Bigsby | Eagles

Underdog ADP: RB59 (193.6)
My rank: RB52

Here's a funny thing about Mr. Tank Bigsby: He's been one of the best tackle breakers that the position has to offer over the past two seasons.

Sure, a lot of those numbers are from 2024, but Bigsby's time in Philly sure seemed to also indicate the 24-year-old bulldozer is a problem with the football in his hands. Small-sample be damned: Bigsby averaged a whopping 5.9 yards per carry behind the same offensive line that held Saquon Barkley to 4.1—and he looked good doing it!

Tank Bigsby pic.twitter.com/hpiJu4SFtX
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) February 7, 2026

Bigsby isn't going to overtake Barkley anytime soon; just realize the former Jaguar will be on the cover of every waiver wire article in the industry should an unfortunate injury force him into RB1 duties. There is HIGH-end handcuff upside here.

WR | Ricky Pearsall | 49ers

Underdog ADP: WR38 (76.9)
My rank: WR23

Is having Pearsall as a top-24 receiver in the first edition of my 2026 ranks aggressive? Yes, but we're also talking fantasy ranks in … February … so let's have a little bit of an open mind here!

Injuries have unfortunately robbed us as a society of seeing Pearsall operate at full health for any level of extended stretch during his short two-year career. And yet, one quick look at the #film reveals that we are truly looking at one of the league's top-tier route tacticians here.

Ricky Pearsall pic.twitter.com/NmVgZjmdzn
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) February 5, 2026

And then there's the whole target competition side of things:

Brandon Aiyuk has seemingly played his last snap in San Fran.
Jauan Jennings is hitting free agency.
George Kittle figures to miss early-season action while recovering from a torn Achilles.

The 49ers will obviously need to add resources to their WR room this offseason, but there seems like a better than decent chance that Pearsall is THE No. 1 pass-game option for a Brock Purdy-Kyle Shanahan partnership that has, you know, arguably been the most efficient duo in league history.

Maybe your attitude on Pearsall is simply, “He'll just get hurt again”. My counter? What if he doesn't?

WR | Matthew Golden | Packers

Underdog ADP: WR54 (123.2)
My rank: WR52

On the one hand, Golden only caught 29 passes for 361 scoreless yards as a rookie. This came in a season that featured Jayden Reed, Christian Watson and Tucker Kraft missing bunches of time. The opportunity to earn a bigger role was there, and Golden simply didn't do it.

On the other hand, we're still talking about a 22-year-old speedster who at least flashed some tantalizing big-play ability just one year removed from being the 23rd pick in the draft. The potential departure of free agent Romeo Doubs would help solidify Golden as a weekly starter inside a passing game that has generally produced top-tier efficiency under Matt LaFleur.

Now, the history of Round 1 wide receivers failing to reach even 500 yards as rookies is littered with busts, but doesn't that seem more than baked into the price here? Golden isn't a guaranteed smash—that's why he's priced outside the top-50 players at the position—but his big-play profile inside an offense we really like seems worth targeting at this price. Do guys like Alec Pierce (WR39, 79.7) and Xavier Worthy (WR45, 99) REALLY deserve to be going ROUNDS ahead of Golden?

WR | Chris Brazzell | Free Agent (Rookie)

Underdog ADP: WR89 (220.2)
My rank: WR68

The case for Brazzell:

6-foot-5 and weighs 200 pounds with legit field-stretching ability.
Racked up 711 yards on his way to earning freshman All-American honors at Tulane.
Had the second-most receiving yards and tied for the most touchdowns in the SEC in 2025.
Had an electric 6-177-3 boom vs. Georgia.
Despite his offense deploying their WRs in a limited manner, Brazzell put some pretty damn nice routes on tape against top-tier SEC competition. He's flashed the footwork of a much smaller receiver.
His favorite TV show is Rick and Morty.

The case against Brazzell:

He's just another overrated Tennessee/Josh Heupel bust.

… and that's basically what we're dealing with here! Note that others have penalized Brazzell for his seemingly lackluster effort on run plays and routes where the ball isn't going his way, but this largely seems to be a strategy inside a Tennessee offense that weaponizes spacing and tempo more than most.

Ultimately, Brazzell is big, fast, and displays far more route-running nuance than given credit for. The alleged draft experts of the world have him as a potential top-50 pick on the early big boards. Seems like a pretty fun LATE-round dart to throw to me!