Karabell's 'Do Draft' list: Henry, Mahomes among undervalued players to pick
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- Josh Allen led all QBs with 364.62 fantasy points last season but outscored barely-top-10 Jared Goff by only 67.56 points, underscoring Karabell's argument that quarterback is a deep position in 2026.
- James Cook anchors the RB tier after turning 342 touches into 1,912 scrimmage yards and 14 TDs, and is going in early Round 2 — pricey but worth targeting as a build-around back.
- Derrick Henry, 32, has posted double-digit touchdowns for eight consecutive seasons and top-10 RB finishes in six of the past seven, following 1,595 rushing yards and 16 scores with 1,921 yards and 18 TDs in 2024.
- Goff is rostered in barely 50% of ESPN leagues and going 16th at his position despite four straight top-10 fantasy QB finishes, a gap Karabell says he may need to correct in his own rankings.
- Patrick Mahomes (knee) is expected to play Week 1, and Karabell is taking the over on 4,000 passing yards and 30 TDs even without last season's rushing production.
- Javonte Williams posted 1,201 rushing yards and 13 total touchdowns in Dallas and would have finished as the RB10 with a full Week 18, making him a value in the same ADP range as Jacobs and Brown.
- Zay Flowers finished seventh in WR scoring last season despite underwhelming QB play yet sits 17th in WR ADP, a disconnect Karabell calls 'indefensible' and plans to exploit with a pair of reliable RBs in his first three picks.
Why it matters: The 2026 draft calculus hinges on a positional scarcity gap: the top-20 RBs are sharply separated from the rest, while QBs from Goff to Allen are nearly interchangeable, so reaching for a second or third workhorse back pays off more than chasing a marginal quarterback upgrade. Mid-round values like Williams, Flowers, and rookie **Jadarian Price** (favored situation with the defending-champion Seahawks) carry top-10 scoring upside at fifth-round-or-later ADPs, giving managers who zig while the league zags the clearest leverage of the season.
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