Draft Sharks - Fantasy Football Podcast

The 2026 NFL free agent class looks thin. The rookie offense class isn’t inspiring. And that puts extra pressure on how teams value the few true difference-makers available.

In the first Draft Sharks podcast of the 2026 offseason, Matt Schauf and Jared Smola break down the top 10 NFL free agents that actually matter for fantasy football, with a focus on how contracts, landing spots, and market signals could reshape early projections.

We cover:

George Pickens as the potential crown jewel of free agency

Big questions around Breece Hall, Kenneth Walker, and Travis Etienne

Which WRs and TEs could turn into fantasy winners… or landmines

And more

Plus, we introduce the NFL Free Agency Tracker, now live on DraftSharks.com, and explain how free agency chaos affects early best ball drafts and dynasty decisions.

Free agency is coming fast.

We’re already in the numbers.

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro

1:59 Daniel Jones

4:45 Malik Willis

9:37 Breece Hall

15:23 Kenneth Walker III

19:17 Travis Etienne Jr.

21:49 RB sleepers

27:04 George Pickens

32:52 Alec Pierce

35:45 Wan’Dale Robinson

37:54 Mike Evans

39:41 WR sleepers

43:38 Kyle Pitts

48:12 TE sleepers?

EPISODE LINK

NFL Free Agency Tracker


DRAFT SHARKS - YOUR UNFAIR ADVANTAGE
Award-winning fantasy football rankings, projections and draft tools. Live-draft sync, player analysis, draft strategies and expert advice to dominate your leagues.

HELPFUL LINKS
Draft War Room - Featuring Live Draft Sync
Think of the Draft War Room as a “dynamic fantasy football cheat sheet”. As you draft, your live-synced Draft War Room automatically updates your board as players are selected.

Award Winning Fantasy Football Rankings
We calculate floor, ceiling, and consensus projections for all fantasy-relevant players. These projections all feed into our 3D Value system. 3D Values are calculated using a cross-positional algorithm based on your exact league setup and scoring.

Mock Draft Simulator
Our Mock Draft Simulator will help you prepare for your upcoming drafts, allowing for a customized setup to fit your specific league settings.

Trade Calculator and Trade Value Charts
We made winning fantasy football trades easy. Powered by real-time player stats, our award-winning 3D projections and expert rankings, these trade tools assign each player a value based on your league's unique scoring system.

Week 18 is here, and if you’re still setting lineups, you already know what comes with it: rested starters, snap-count roulette, and late-week chaos.
In this episode, Matt Schauf and Jared Smola break down the toughest Week 18 start-sit decisions, focusing on teams expected to rest starters like the Chargers, Packers, Bills, and Eagles. We cover how aggressive to be with the Rams, whether any Packers or Bills backups are actually usable, why Eagles players might be impossible to trust, the Bears’ motivation, and the uncertainty surrounding the Cowboys. All of it is backed by Draft Sharks’ Week 18 projections and rankings, with updates continuing right through inactives to help you squeeze every last edge out of the final week.
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
1:11 What to do with Chargers
4:48 Stay away from Packers
6:09 What to do with Bills
10:52 Are we underrating the Rams in Week 18?
13:58 Start Tanner McKee, Tank Bigsby, or Jahan Dotson?
17:00 Trust the Bears?
18:58 What does Rams decision mean for Jacoby Brissett and the Cardinals?
21:40 Trust the Cowboys?
23:41 Dallas backfield gets complicated
25:38 Trust Lamar Jackson?
29:03 What Riley Leonard means for Michael Pittman and Colts offense
32:08 Seahawks RBs still annoying
34:02 Which Commanders RB should you play?
EPISODE LINKS:
Week 18 Rankings
Week 18 Start-Sit
Week 18 QB Preview
Week 18 RB Preview
Week 18 WR Preview
Week 18 TE Preview


DRAFT SHARKS - YOUR UNFAIR ADVANTAGE
Award-winning fantasy football rankings, projections and draft tools. Live-draft sync, player analysis, draft strategies and expert advice to dominate your leagues.

HELPFUL LINKS
Draft War Room - Featuring Live Draft Sync
Think of the Draft War Room as a “dynamic fantasy football cheat sheet”. As you draft, your live-synced Draft War Room automatically updates your board as players are selected.

Award Winning Fantasy Football Rankings
We calculate floor, ceiling, and consensus projections for all fantasy-relevant players. These projections all feed into our 3D Value system. 3D Values are calculated using a cross-positional algorithm based on your exact league setup and scoring.

Mock Draft Simulator
Our Mock Draft Simulator will help you prepare for your upcoming drafts, allowing for a customized setup to fit your specific league settings.

Trade Calculator and Trade Value Charts
We made winning fantasy football trades easy. Powered by real-time player stats, our award-winning 3D projections and expert rankings, these trade tools assign each player a value based on your league's unique scoring system.

Championship week is here, and setting a clean Week 17 lineup is harder than ever. Matt Schauf and Jared Smola break down the toughest start-sit decisions of the season, navigating injuries, tough matchups, a weird holiday schedule, and playoff-clinching scenarios that could change team plans. We dig into what to do with Lamar Jackson, how to handle the Steelers backfield, whether Michael Carter is a real option, how to approach Justin Herbert after last week’s bounce-back, and the impossible Justin Jefferson conversation, plus more tough calls for Week 17.
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
1:19 Playoff-clinching scenarios
6:12 Start or sit Lamar Jackson
9:10 Start or sit Steelers RBs
11:48 Start or sit Michael Carter
15:06 Start or sit Justin Herbert (and other Chargers)
21:54 Start or sit Taysom Hill (and other Saints)
28:22 Start or sit Justin Jefferson (and other Vikings)
35:25 Top 5 Week 17 team defenses
EPISODE LINKS:
Week 17 Fantasy Rankings
Week 17 Start-Sit
Week 17 Matchups That Matter


DRAFT SHARKS - YOUR UNFAIR ADVANTAGE
Award-winning fantasy football rankings, projections and draft tools. Live-draft sync, player analysis, draft strategies and expert advice to dominate your leagues.

HELPFUL LINKS
Draft War Room - Featuring Live Draft Sync
Think of the Draft War Room as a “dynamic fantasy football cheat sheet”. As you draft, your live-synced Draft War Room automatically updates your board as players are selected.

Award Winning Fantasy Football Rankings
We calculate floor, ceiling, and consensus projections for all fantasy-relevant players. These projections all feed into our 3D Value system. 3D Values are calculated using a cross-positional algorithm based on your exact league setup and scoring.

Mock Draft Simulator
Our Mock Draft Simulator will help you prepare for your upcoming drafts, allowing for a customized setup to fit your specific league settings.

Trade Calculator and Trade Value Charts
We made winning fantasy football trades easy. Powered by real-time player stats, our award-winning 3D projections and expert rankings, these trade tools assign each player a value based on your league's unique scoring system.

Matt Schauf and Jared Smola break down the toughest start-sit decisions of the week, starting with the Chargers mess and what to do with Justin Herbert in his best passing matchup of the season. We also dig into uncomfortable but viable QB starts such as Trevor Lawrence, J.J. McCarthy, Bo Nix, and C.J. Stroud. And we’ll hit the post-Mahomes Chiefs, sort Packers receivers, and ponder the usability of Michael Carter and Kenneth Gainwell. If you’re staring down tough lineup calls, this episode’s built to help you advance through the fantasy football playoffs.
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
0:42 Start or sit Justin Herbert and other Chargers
11:31 Non-obvious QB starters for Week 16
13:11 Start or sit Trevor Lawrence
16:08 Start or sit Chiefs without Patrick Mahomes
20:38 Tua Tagovailoa benched
25:37 Start or sit Packers WRs
28:50 Start or sit Michael Carter
33:01 Start or sit Steelers RBs
EPISODE LINKS:
Week 16 Fantasy Rankings
Week 16 Start-Sit
Strength of Schedule
Week 16 Matchups That Matter
Week 16 Expert Moves
Don’t Trust the Box Score


DRAFT SHARKS - YOUR UNFAIR ADVANTAGE
Award-winning fantasy football rankings, projections and draft tools. Live-draft sync, player analysis, draft strategies and expert advice to dominate your leagues.

HELPFUL LINKS
Draft War Room - Featuring Live Draft Sync
Think of the Draft War Room as a “dynamic fantasy football cheat sheet”. As you draft, your live-synced Draft War Room automatically updates your board as players are selected.

Award Winning Fantasy Football Rankings
We calculate floor, ceiling, and consensus projections for all fantasy-relevant players. These projections all feed into our 3D Value system. 3D Values are calculated using a cross-positional algorithm based on your exact league setup and scoring.

Mock Draft Simulator
Our Mock Draft Simulator will help you prepare for your upcoming drafts, allowing for a customized setup to fit your specific league settings.

Trade Calculator and Trade Value Charts
We made winning fantasy football trades easy. Powered by real-time player stats, our award-winning 3D projections and expert rankings, these trade tools assign each player a value based on your league's unique scoring system.

Week 15 is here, and the start-sit calls are getting especially uncomfortable. We dig deep on DeVonta Smith’s shaky recent efficiency despite steady volume, figure out what to do with Justin Jefferson after another quiet outing, and look into what’s changed with Jaxson Dart. We’re also sorting through a messy QB tier with Dart, Patrick Mahomes, and Lamar Jackson, breaking down TE decisions around Isaiah Likely, and ranking tricky RB spots like Rico Dowdle vs. Chuba Hubbard, Giants backs, and Chris Rodriguez.
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
2:35 Start or sit DeVonta Smith
12:16 Start or sit Justin Jefferson
16:56 Start or sit Jaxson Dart
21:46 Start or sit Patrick Mahomes
25:03 Start or sit Lamar Jackson
27: 52 Who’s Isaiah Likely starting over
31:09 How to sort Panthers backfield
35:34 What to do with Giants RBs
39:18 Start or sit Chris Rodriguez
42:33 Start or sit Colts offense
EPISODE LINKS:
Week 15 Fantasy Rankings
Week 15 Start-Sit
Strength of Schedule
Week 15 Matchups That Matter
Week 15 Expert Moves
Don’t Trust the Box Score


DRAFT SHARKS - YOUR UNFAIR ADVANTAGE
Award-winning fantasy football rankings, projections and draft tools. Live-draft sync, player analysis, draft strategies and expert advice to dominate your leagues.

HELPFUL LINKS
Draft War Room - Featuring Live Draft Sync
Think of the Draft War Room as a “dynamic fantasy football cheat sheet”. As you draft, your live-synced Draft War Room automatically updates your board as players are selected.

Award Winning Fantasy Football Rankings
We calculate floor, ceiling, and consensus projections for all fantasy-relevant players. These projections all feed into our 3D Value system. 3D Values are calculated using a cross-positional algorithm based on your exact league setup and scoring.

Mock Draft Simulator
Our Mock Draft Simulator will help you prepare for your upcoming drafts, allowing for a customized setup to fit your specific league settings.

Trade Calculator and Trade Value Charts
We made winning fantasy football trades easy. Powered by real-time player stats, our award-winning 3D projections and expert rankings, these trade tools assign each player a value based on your league's unique scoring system.