Fantasy season primetime is already right around the corner, which means Year 2 of the Fantasy Index Invitational is well underway. We have a new, expanded field of at large bids from last year's Blackout/Open contests, along with a familiar cast of experts and FI mainstays.

The fine print: This is still a 12-team, .5 PPR league, but for 2026 we have flipped from 25 passing yards per point to the more conventional (and pocket passer-friendly) 20 yards/point for 2026. This may be our last year doing it, but we keep our '2-2-2' format for year 2: 2 RB, 2 WR and 2 FLEX spots each week.

For some of you that will give you an inkling about there being additional early pressure on running backs, but even those should prepare to be shocked.

Favorite Picks: Seems a little silly to applaud the player taken at the top of the draft, but earlier this summer the perceived gap between Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan was barely wide enough to squeeze a business card in between. With dread for the 2026 Falcons setting in, that is no longer the case. I still think Isiah Pacheco winds up with 4-5 rushing TDs as Detroit's cut rate David Montgomery replacement, but there's no way around it: the runway is clear for Gibbs to bang home his first universal (full, half & standard scoring) RB1 season.

It felt deeply unnatural to pass on him at 7, so to see Amon-Ra St. Brown make it all the way to 10 makes it two Lions in this first Favorites blurb. Three straight WR3 finishes, three straight seasons with 115-120 receptions and 10-12 TDs — that's the definition of rock steady. Great pick Nate!

Worried About: Considering they're both tied to teams widely expected to be punching bags, Jeanty and Achane would probably be the choices of most here. And they do carry some risk, but I'm going to lead off with Jonathan Taylor. The 2025 Colts were almost perfectly partitioned: With a healthy Daniel Jones and an absolute cupcake schedule, Taylor went absolutely nuts thru Week 10. When both the schedule and quarterback situations turned, so did Taylor: 3 TDs and 2 games over 85 total yards in his last seven. Which version of the Colts was closer to reality? I'm not sure, and that's the problem. That, and a 'revamped' receiving corps that would have been a lot better off left alone.

It isn't fun to pick on, but the other one has just got to be Christian McCaffrey. Already visibly slowing down as a runner last year, McCaffrey is coming off of a gasp-worthy 450 touches across 19 games. McCaffrey has twice topped 400 touches before (2019, 2023); he missed 13 games in each of the seasons that followed.

Favorite Picks: A lot of really good ones here, but the value on two stand clear. Derrick Henry is eternal: In a 'down' year, he poured on another 1595 yards and 16 TDs at well over 5 yards per carry. Now he gets what are very likely net offensive line (Ioane, Pocic) and coordinator (Doyle) upgrades and even has pesky lightning bug Keaton Mitchell deleted from the depth chart. He should have gone several picks earlier and was the first of many painful Ian snipe jobs. The second 2025 FII finalist clocks my other favorite pick here, snapping up Brock Bowers as the first TE off the board. The offense, the supporting cast, the sheer vibes: All of it is pointing to Bowers going bonkers. Especially in this format, I can count on one hand the wide receivers I would take over him.

Worried About: I really don't dislike the pick, especially against the backdrop of the blitzkrieg at the position but Josh Jacobs as the RB13 didn't feel great. He's eaten a ton of punishment in his seven NFL seasons, and the Packers' rumored shift away from the run-oriented scheme we've seem from them the last 1.5 seasons makes it feel like they know something we don't but are about to find out. That said, Jacobs poured in 14 TDs in his 15 healthy-ish games last year.

Jeremiyah Love should not be getting drafted up here at all, let alone as someone's RB1. The offense will probably struggle, the team overall will most definitely struggle, and we have far fewer workload assurances than should accompany a top 5 rookie running back even before last week's ankle injury. Now boarding: Nonstop service to Regretsville.

Favorite Picks: Slightly tougher to find favorites in this round, but could just barely make out a pair: Cam Skattebo in the middle of the 3rd round wouldn't normally qualify as a 'slide', but as the 20th RB off the board he certainly does. He was an emerging fantasy darling before last year's season-ending injury, and there's a fair amount of excitement that he can rekindle the magic straight away. He would have been my pick over Rice. The player I nearly took over Rice was George Pickens, who remains about the cheapest buy around with a real shot at 1400-plus receiving yards.

Worried About: I understand why Javonte Williams comes off the board here; it's basically the Josh Jacobs pick from the previous round all over again. But I just can't shake the feeling that Javonte skated by as a three-down back when he really shouldn't have: Long overrated as a receiver, Williams' 3.91 yards per receptions last year was a truly galling number. Dallas cannot let him see even the modest 50 targets he drew last year. It's risky to speak out against the Malik Nabers lobby that considers him an auto-pick in the third round, but with his knee still being managed this carefully 11 months after the fact and the generally dubious nature of a Harbaugh-Nagy-Roman offensive trinity, I'm getting a sinking feeling. That said, there's a ton of variance in this pick — Nabers could smoke this price. He could also break Andy's WR-heavy build.

Favorite Picks: Travis Etienne as one of the last running backs with a plausible path to workhorse volume in an above average offense is tremendous value here. I liked him better than consensus even when Kamara was healthy, so the veteran hitting the shelf with an MCL strain only makes a good pick better. It feels like a dangerous bit of hype-chasing taking Colston Loveland as the far and away TE3, but with the noise coming out of Bears' camp you either have to get on board at a lofty price point or get left behind. I'm willing to do the former. Honorable mention for Zay Flowers, who nearly gets the nod over Loveland, and Quinshon Judkins (another grisly Ian sniping).

Worried About: I didn't particularly object to any of the picks from this round, but if forced to pick my two least favorites it would have to be Tee Higgins and Tetairoa McMillan. McMillan is a very good young player, but I don't buy that a Year 4 leap from Bryce Young is at hand: Canales doesn't want to throw the ball a ton, and even if they did the losses of both of last year's Week 1 starters at tackle will have had them reconsider that plan. McMillan will be the top dog again here, but as the WR16 I don't see a ton of upside; he was the WR15 in our scoring last year. As for Higgins, I'm just over that whole experience: He misses games; he's unable to finish others; he's never topped 75 receptions, nor 1100 yards. There are a lot of ways for him to underperform this price, and I'm not sure the week-to-week ceiling is worth the volatility.

Favorite Picks: The dreaded 5th round. Ours was dog ugly last year, and that song very much remains the same this time around. It still feels reach-y, but in company that's hard to love Parker Washington looks like a solid swing on ceiling — he was last seen being the closest thing Jacksonville had to a No. 1 wideout, and truly no player can be said to have generated more summer buzz. I can't call the other 'favorite' between Christian Watson and Terry McLaurin. I've long been a Watson advocate, but I also bear the scars of Watson's past failings. Can he really hold up to what the Packers need from him for this to work? I hope so, but I wouldn't want my fantasy team to be caught needing it to happen. McLaurin burned a lot of people badly after his career year, but he's got an intriguing new OC that is talking about moving him around the formation, something McLaurin's really never been allowed to do before. Could be fun.

Worried About: Where to start! Jaylen Waddle in the top 50 feels awful thin; is he really going to command the volume he needs to in order to pay off this purchase price? Whether they know it or not, David Montgomery buyers are living on a hope and a prayer — this offensive line and general environment are both steep downgrades from his Detroit days. Some think D.J. Moore is here to remake the Buffalo offense; I suspect he's here to do a Rashod Bateman impression. But I think I have to focus fire on Ian & Andy this time: Chuba Hubbard got outplayed by Rico Dowdle last year, and now he's got Jonathon Brooks coming for his crown on top of the aforementioned offensive line woes.

Jadarian Price is probably my biggest single fade of the top 60, so the fact that he's at least all the way at pick No. 60 is for the best. I just don't buy it: The defending champions are going to kick off their title defense by hitching the offense to a running back who was a strict change of pace back and return man in college? Sorry, I just can't get onboard with that. Andy is well aware of my objections (I made good and sure) and has stuck to his guns on both the rankings and draft fronts. I have a lot of respect for that.

Respect, and maybe a tiny bit of vengeful pity. You're going down this time, Richardson!

Favorite Picks: We got back on track in a major way this round, with maybe only one guy blemishing the sixth. There are several worthy options here, but I think the first favorite's gotta be Tucker Kraft. I wanted him bad, we all wanted him bad, but he goes to Bobby L. at a very agreeable price point. He could lead this offense in receiving touchdowns — perhaps even in yardage. The other favorite goes to Davante Adams. Because really, how often do you get the reigning receiving TD leader this late, and with no injuries, quarterback controversies or suspensions hanging over their head? I have been saying this all summer: Thru Week 13, last year Nacua was the WR4 in this scoring. Adams was the WR5. Honorable mentions for Lamar, Maserati Marv and Dowdle, I loved all those picks.

Worried About: Myself! I'm the blemish! No matter how good he is, no matter how essential of a handcuff he is to one of your starters, a backup in the 6th round is a backup in the 6th round. Taking Blake Corum this early could look really stupid, really soon. My rationale, beyond the obvious: With their offseason additions, could these Rams not simply kick the living crap out of basically everyone and support two top 18 running backs? Because they did the latter for the final six weeks last season, and Corum looked pretty darn good in the process.

I will say, I think the Carnell Tate pick was early. He's a great young player and is poised to make me regret not ranking him a spot higher in this year's rookie rankings, but he is not running unopposed in this offense. Health permitting, Wan'Dale Robinson will comfortably lead the 2026 Titans in receptions. Elic Ayomanor had a decent showing as a rookie, old Daboll favorite Calvin Ridley is still around. This cupboard isn't as barren as we think. Tate could play 17 games and come in under 70 receptions with room to spare.

Favorite Picks: This round was super interesting to me; it had a lot of picks I thought could be argued both ways. If you told someone a year ago that Brian Thomas could slide into the 7th round in 2026 they probably would have assumed that he had suffered a late season ACL tear. Joe Burrow outside the top 75? Sleeper of the Year - March 2026, Jonathon Brooks? A medley of tasty morsels!

I can't quit Jordan Mason, especially with the Vikings now fully in the Kyler business. We know they wanted to run the ball last year — now we know that they have to run the ball if they want to be successful. I had hoped the Demond Claiborne hype might knock him back around the horn to me in the next round, but that was clearly foolish of me.

I'm going to go with Andy's boy Trevor Lawrence as the other favorite. I don't know that he is quite going to reach the heights we have him tracking for in the rankings, but I absolutely see the basis for why he might: After a promising but very clunky first half of the season offensively, the arrival of Jakobi Meyers and emergence of Washington coincided with this whole ensemble coming together wonderfully. For really the first time in now his sixth season(!), Lawrence looked and played like the prodigal prospect he had once been. With how much Coen likes turning the quarterback loose near the goal line, 'T-Law' could even chip in another 7-8 rushing TDs this year. If the Jags are Super Bowl contenders (and I absolutely think they are), then Lawrence has to be at the heart of why.

Worried About: Even if it didn't wind up being by much, making RJ Harvey the first Bronco running back selected smacks of ignoring the arc of Denver's offseason. Back in March, Denver had the option to let all their veteran depth walk so as to clear the way for Harvey. Not only did they re-sign everybody, but they also were one of the first teams to take a running back in the draft. Harvey's 12 rookie TDs look to me like a false throne. I won't stomp on it too hard (I can't; I did basically the same thing the round before), but burning a valuable pick on Tyler Allgeier under any circumstances is a hard one to like. He's not that good, and the Cardinals definitely aren't that good.

Favorite Picks: Another round making it tough to keep the number of favorites to only two. Jalen Hurts could lead all quarterbacks in rushing touchdowns this season and it would come as a surprise to exactly no one. Even with this summer's paydays for other wide receivers, DK Metcalf is still playing on a contract with the seventh highest annual value for any WR and is now set to benefit from one of the sharpest positive passing environment adjustments... like, ever. No telling how long he stays upright, but J.K. Dobbins can return RB2 production every week until the wheels fall off.

But I can't pull my eyes away from Jayden Daniels as the sixth QB selected. A year ago, Daniels was fresh off of probably the most shocking Conference Championship berth of the last several years and had become, to many, the rightful dynasty QB1. He can give Lamar Jackson production and perhaps even eclipse it, and here he'll be doing it for a heck of a lot cheaper.

I've gone around the bend and back with Jacory Croskey-Merritt. I was one of the very first on the entire Internet to sound the alarm about this mystery man, which was of course followed by a summer of quiet hype, the August discharging of presumed starter Brian Robinson and a frenzied ADP climb for 'Bill'. Fast forward to now, and I sure would like to know what Dan Quinn really thinks of the guy. Of course I don't, almost nobody does, and that's the rub: If 'JCM' is even the primary back, the potential for a top 20 finish is very real. The fall from even this reasonable price to his floor could kill on impact, but this is precisely the kind of pick that puts fantasy teams over the top.

Worried About: Can't pretend to be a fan of taking Makai Lemon this early, and I wouldn't if I could. Lemon is a great hold in dynasty, but his summer has been wiped out by nagging hamstring issues and now Dontayvion Wicks is showing every intention of keeping Lemon in a strict subpackage role for the early part of his rookie season. We could be looking at a full-on Matthew Golden situation here.

I really do not want to pick a second player here — so I won't!

Favorite Picks: While a part of me definitely didn't like it since it deprived me of a needed depth chart backstop, Chris Rodriguez could wind up being the pick I thought Jordan Mason would be in 2026... and 2025. He received a pretty big offensive upgrade in the jump from Landover to Duval. Travis Kelce fights off Father Time for yet another year by finishing as the TE3 for a hard luck Chiefs team, shows up to camp in great shape — and this is the thanks he gets?! Great scoop by Zola there. Honorable mentions to Ian, Bobby and Nate for just taking good players with their early backup QB buys, and to Ben for being willing to overlook Alec Pierce's foot maybe not being quite fully attached to his leg at the moment to the potential for high end WR3 production in the first year of his (very pricy) new contract... ya know, at some point.

Worried About: Tyrone Tracy doesn't belong in the top 100 picks. After that pass blocking whiff that almost got Jaxson Dart injured I really don't know if he belongs in the top 150. I don't mind the Woody Marks buy in a vacuum, but when holding it up next to the Aaron Jones pick that preceded it that was a lot to invest in pursuit of an RB3. I'm not sure either pick gets the job done.

What do you guys think of the board so far? What am I missing here, which picks was I too down on? Let's get some discourse going in the comments. Wow me with your insights, sway me with your statistical anecdotes!

—Luke Wilson