In the past, I have done a HOLY players report in July/August ahead of the new FF redraft season. But this year I am going to start the process early and weave in a Dynasty slant to it.
Let’s define HOLY, so we’re all on the same page.
The HOLY list of players for fantasy football is a vision I have, a label that I give to players who we have no doubt (as much as one can) about them delivering FF numbers at a high, predictable level.
You’d think that would be pretty simplistic to put a list like this together but it’s not as simple as one might think.
With so many coaches, coordinators, O-Line changes happenings...it throws some situations into a question mark for some FF-elite players to safely assume ‘things remain the same’. Example: What will the new regime in Miami think about/do with De’Von Achane? How important was Mike McDaniel to that? What does Achane’s contract situation (final year) play into it?
If McDaniel was still in Miami we’d know EXACTLY what to think of Achane for FF...but now, a new regime that may prefer a power run game and might use Achane far less in the pass game...and might bring in a Malik Willis at QB, which puts headwinds on the TDs and target numbers for the RBs...and if Miami wants to undergo a 2-3 year rebuild, is Achane going to get a big extension or he’s gone after this year or is he just gonna get traded now while the value is high?
If Achane was a ‘10’ of 10 (hypothetical 0-10 scale) valuation for PPR 2026 season with McDaniel firmly in place...that is a peak valuation. It can’t get better than that...it only goes down from here with the regime change. How much does it drop with the new regime...enough to matter...enough to get scared? We’ll examine in the reports to come. But this Achane ‘case’/situation shift might lead us to try to sell him (if you have him) at a 10 of 10 value...or try (for example).
I want to identify the HOLY, undisputed players (like Achane WITH McDaniel)...and do a few things with that info...(1) Judge our current Dynasty teams by how many of the HOLY an owner might possess, and (2) it is a ‘shopping list’ of sorts...if there are any HOLY players that the public doesn’t think are, then the valuation is ripe for a move. (3) If we have a player as NOT holy, but the public thinks they are HOLY...then would it be wise to trade them (at a HOLY valuation)?
We’ll identify/debate the HOLY...and the near HOLY...and discuss what we want to do with the near HOLY and the unHOLY.
And some of my HOLY and near-HOLY and unHOLY designations will be a surprise or cause a debate and/or be hated...and that’s OK. We’re trying to figure out the value of players -- we all need to really consider what the value of all our players and all their (the league’s) players are. You have to put/figure out ALL the player values and put them in your own HOLY buckets...or you trust mine...or mix & match...and then plan/make moves. Just making moves on one or two players that pops into your head, at random times, on an urge/thought whatever...it’s the death of FF teams/owners. You can’t deal on ‘emotion’, good or bad...I mean you can, but it’s not wise to. Sadly, from my vantage point ‘emotion’ and ‘limited scope’ is often the #1 motivation behind FF deals...random emotion turned to an urgent to-do list item people then desperately try to execute on/cross off the to-do list.
And I emphasize that we need to know/consider ALL the player values...ALL...not the ones that give you a tingle because you have a good vibe on them today, or we saw a salacious headline blurb from a beat reporter, etc.
Here’s an example (below) of what a sudden focus on ONE player, randomly, emotionally, looks like...the problem with the whole line of thinking. All throughout January 2026, I’ve had people ask me my thoughts about them acquiring a specific player...the conversation goes a little something like this (and I am using Breece Hall as the example because he is the #1 player people are asking me about this first month of the offseason).
PERSON: I want to make a trade for Breece Hall! How do I best do that?
ME: Why Breece?
PERSON: When he lands on another team, he’s gonna be a star!
ME: What if he lands bad?
PERSON: Anything is better than the Jets.
ME: True, but what if he joins a team to be part of a duo you don’t like?
PERSON: Won’t happen.
ME: What if it does? The NFL is continuing to shift that way...are you valuing him as a strong lead in a split or the next CMC/all the touches dream valuation? Are you 100% sure of Breece landing perfectly or are you creating a utopian world in your mind and now nothing will stop you from getting him?
PERSON: He could be the #1 RB in FF if he lands right! He’s got that talent, right?
ME: He does. But what if the Jets tag him or give him a boat load of money to stay?
PERSON: They wouldn’t do that! Would they do that? Don’t tell me he’d stay with the Jets?
ME: He may have no choice.
PERSON: Still, his upside...
ME: Don’t you think his current owner knows this? Don’t you think the owner is thinking (today) Breece is going off to some great situation?
PERSON: Yeah, probably.
ME: So, are you buying high or low on Breece?
PERSON: Grrrr...probably high. But I’ll buy quality!
ME: So, you want to buy high to get a theoretical high output, but this all could wind up with long term Jet Breece Hall and you get sucker punched on your ‘purchase’? You want to buy a dollar for one dollar...with the risk it’s .70 this season? Where’s the upside in that?
PERSON: But I really like Breece.
ME: I do too...but do you like Breece, or do you just like the thought of buying Breece pre-free agent move, and then he goes to ____ Utopia team and he pops and you win a gamble? Is that what you are chasing? And then you gotta pay up to take the gamble because his current owner is thinking the same thing...I’m not getting asked about acquiring Breece from so many people because Breece’s free agency is a secret. Breece just isn’t HOLY (as a Jet right now), but you want to pay a HOLY-ish price to see?
PERSON: But I need RBs.
ME: Well, there’s a ton of options to consider pursuing...who else do you want to look at and pursue?
PERSON: I don’t know, I haven’t checked all the options.
ME: So, you need/want an RB...and your Plan A is ‘trade (higher than you think) for Breece’ and Plan B is ‘I don’t know’?
(end scene)
The reason I am doing the HOLY list research and pondering on it is -- we tend to fall for/focus on one player by whatever means the thought hit us (I need an RB...or ‘I just like ____’...or ‘the new coach should be good for him’...’or he has a nice schedule for 2026’, etc.)...and we haven’t really stopped and said to ourselves...(example)”I like this Breece situation, I might want to gamble on it...but after looking over all the NFL RB situations, I see these 2-4-9 other options that might be way more prudent and just as effective...thank God that I went through ALL the teams and their RBs and boiled the ocean down to these handful of undervalued assets I can organize in a priority list to attack in order.”
If I ask someone with the hots for Breece, “What about pursuing Javonte Williams at a lesser value instead?” (example)...when I ask that, people are repulsed. Ewww, that old news RB? Javonte Williams was the #11 RB in FF PPR points total Weeks 1-17 (no Week 18). Breece was #17. Breece is all of 11 months younger than Javonte.
If you're gonna pay hot for Breece in his jumbled current situation...why not first try to pay hot for a real SURE THING? What is that/are those sure things...the HOLY out there? That's what we're gonna identify in this series.
You probably didn’t do an every team/depth chart deep research of every RB situation’s risk and reward and analyze through their levels of under/over value in the marketplace, I bet. I don’t blame you. It’s a big undertaking.
That’s what you are paying me to do.
I’ve just been pre-researching while waiting for these coach opening situations to start filling in to do the best job possible on round one of this series of reports. I know we wanna make moves and fix the entire team a week after the season ends...but there are too many moving parts in the NFL right now with all the mass coaching turnover to start locking in the total analysis. Well, the coaches are about all hired and we’ve got just a couple of coordinators left to fill.
Now, it’s time for me to start officially setting the HOLY board by position. The HOLY player research is the way/method I will do this job...and report it out to you. I will go position by position and lay it all out for your consideration.
And it will be fluid...as things change, we change. 2026 Free Agency, at RB, is gonna be a wakeup call for all football analysts and FF owners on just how deflated the RB market is in the NFL...that there are WAY too many talented RBs in the NFL and that all teams are gonna start to have for sure one but now many will have two great RB talents to utilize, more so teams having two after this free agency and draft...and more and more teams moving towards having three top RB talents in their possession (think Tampa Bay Bucs 2024-2025: Bucky-Rachaad-Tucker). Many/some backfield flows are going to be changed and warped all over the next 6 months with trades, free agency, and the draft.
There will be a lot of talented RBs available in free agency...and only a scarce few places to go to be ‘the guy’...maybe none of them will sign in places to be ‘the guy’...it may wind up that they are all destined to be in a split. And teams can now buy free agent RBs for cheaper and cheaper contracts (on the supply and demand) and situations you never would’ve imagined to get blown up...get a little blown up. What if the 49ers decide to add Rachaad White because he is so cheap...what is CMC’s value then? What if the Panthers land Rachaad to make him a pass game specialist...what is Chuba’s value then? What if Seattle adds Rachaad to go with Jeanty, to not wear him out, because Klint Kubiak (new LV HC?) wants a true split like Walker-Charbs in Vegas and Tom Brady loves Rachaad from their days in Tampa...what do you value Jeanty at then? Rachaad is one example. What about Rico Dowdle’s landing spot? What about if David Montgomery is cut (or traded) and Ben Johnson signs him...what does that mean for Swift or Monangai? And those are just a few scenarios of the long list of available RB talent. And we don’t even know the full impact of the draft RBs.
I’m just saying...the FF world is getting turned upside down and I am trying to be the trailblazer that (a) recognizes how vast and rapid the talent glut issue is and (b) develop a strategy to be ahead of the competition/league mates within this new world order and take advantage of it before all of them even realize what is happening.
The HOLY research and reports are forthcoming. They take time. So many moving parts in the NFL. I’m gonna start with the QBs because that market may be the craziest positional market change of all.
When I think the 1.0 version of the QBs is ready...it will be out. I am hoping sometime this week of the QBs, then the other positions will quickly follow.
