Fantasy Football: You Are What You Draft (Pt.2)
If you are new here, stop reading before you spoil your appetite (pun intended) and check out You Are What You Draft (Pt.1) first.
For everyone who is back for seconds, here is a quick reminder of the rules:
We are building a fantasy roster the same way we would build the perfect day of eating. Each meal represents a different piece of roster construction, and every food has its fantasy football player equivalent.
So, let’s dig in.
Midday Snack: QBs – The Treat You Only Really Need One Of
QBs are the afternoon snack of fantasy football. You only need one, and they determine what the rest of your day (or lineup) looks like. If you go for a big, filling snack, you will probably have to skimp on dinner. Fantasy drafts work the same way. Spend an early pick on an elite QB, and you’re sacrificing premium talent at other positions. Take it from me, as the girl who drafted the microwave popcorn of fantasy football, Josh Allen, in the second round in 2025.
In Week 11 of 2025 against the Buccaneers, Allen erupted for 48.68 fantasy points, 357 yards, and six TDs. Frankly, that is the absolute peak popcorn experience. That is movie-theater butter. Absolute cinema. I actually happened to be watching this game at a Bills bar, and by the end of it, the entire crowd was practically on its hands and knees praying to Josh Allen.
Josh Allen is microwave popcorn because when he gets hot, he absolutely pops off. One explosive play turns into another, the TDs start piling up, and suddenly you are staring at a fantasy score that felt impossible just a few quarters ago. He is dependable, consistent, universally loved, and delivers exactly what you are craving from your afternoon snack.
Maybe now and then you will get a bag with a few stubborn kernels left behind, but when the bag hits? It explodes. That is Josh Allen. You accept the occasional quiet week because you know the next one might win your matchup all by himself.
Most fantasy points by a QB in a game since 2024:
1. Josh Allen: 51.88 in Week 14, 2024
2. Josh Allen: 42.68 in Week 11, 2025
3. Josh Allen: 41.28 in Week 15, 2024Best fantasy QB without question 👑 #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/PAM3EbOZN5
— SleeperBills (@SleeperBills) November 18, 2025
The challenge with drafting a QB is deciding whether you want to swing for the microwave popcorn or take a chance on someone like Sam Darnold, a classic bag of trail mix. Trail mix is unpredictable because some handfuls can be loaded with the good stuff: cashews, M&M’s, peanuts, all mixed together into a perfect combination. That’s Sam Darnold at his best. In Week 5 of 2025, he put up 27.6 fantasy points, threw for 341 yards and four TDs.
Sam Darnold is one game away from the Super Bowl pic.twitter.com/lQ3NKP14M3
— BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) January 18, 2026
But the risk with opting for trail mix is that not every handful is going to be a winner. Sometimes you reach into the bag expecting the good stuff and come out with a fistful of raisins. In Week 11 against the Chargers, Darnold finished with four INTs, 11 rushing yards, and zero TDs. When you go for trail mix over a reliable bag of movie theater popcorn, you are betting that you will end up reaching for more cashews and M&M’s than raisins.
Ultimately, there are plenty of QBs capable of producing every week. The real goal is finding the ones that give you enough satisfaction to get you through the day.
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Dinner: WRs — The Meal You Have Been Waiting For
Dinner is, without a doubt, the WRs of fantasy football. It is the meal everyone looks forward to, just like how WRs are the players everyone wants to watch. Both are flashy, get all the attention, and somehow turn everyone into a critic. At dinner, people are debating whether the salmon was perfectly cooked; on Sunday, they are debating just how great Justin Jefferson’s catch really was.
WRs are the glamour position, and dinner is the glamour meal. Both are built for highlights. It is the one-handed catch and the perfectly plated steak. The TD celebration and the exquisite table presentation. They are flashy, and they are exciting.
For example, let’s take a player like Puka Nacua, the filet mignon of dinner. When you walk into a steakhouse, your first choice is usually the massive porterhouse or the ribeye. That was Ja’Marr Chase heading into 2025 after finishing 2024 with 339.5 total pts, 17 TD’s, and 1,700 receiving yards. He was the obvious choice on the menu.
But sometimes, the filet ends up being just as amazing, if not better. By Week 16 in 2025, Puka was averaging 107 receiving yards per game and had already posted six weeks of 20+ fantasy points, the most among WRs. He was also an absolute dominator on 50/50 balls, hauling in 27 contested catches, the most by any WR over the last decade. Ultimately, he might not have been the steak you walked into the restaurant planning to order, but by the end of the meal, you realize you ended up getting everything you wanted and more.
However, not every dinner has to be the filet mignon. Sometimes, you are perfectly happy ordering the mac and cheese, and that is where a player like George Pickens comes in. Fresh out of the oven, mac and cheese can run a little hot, and so can Pickens. But give both a minute to cool down, and you know you are getting something good. The talent has always been there with Pickens, and when he gets the opportunity, he has a pretty reliable way of delivering exactly what you ordered.
The thing about mac and cheese, though, is that it does not always have to stay a side dish. Add some bacon, breadcrumbs, and a little extra seasoning, and suddenly you have turned something good into something gourmet. Put Pickens in the right situation, with the right QB and enough opportunities, and the same thing can happen. In fact, we got a taste of that upgraded version in 2025, when Pickens totaled 245.4 fantasy points and 9 TD’s for a WR5 finish.
Dessert: Kickers — The Sweet Treat That Can Make Your Day
Last but not least, we’ve made it to dessert. The sweet addition that can put the perfect finishing touch on your meal, or leave you wondering why you bothered saving room for it in the first place. That is the kicker in fantasy football. A great kicker can absolutely swing a matchup. There is nothing better than watching yours trot onto the field in the fourth quarter and casually tack on another 15 fantasy points while your opponent’s kicker hasn’t seen the field all day.
Both kickers tonight pic.twitter.com/ZXh7CMrYra
— NFL Memes (@NFLMemes) October 15, 2024
Take Brandon Aubrey, for example, the chocolate lava cake of fantasy football, who finished last season with 177.6 fantasy points. That is a pretty decadent dessert.
The thing about dessert, much like kickers, is that you are not always going to go out of your way to spend up for the best one on the menu. The payoff can vary wildly from week to week. I had Jake Elliott as my kicker in 2025, and he was basically the chocolate chip cookie of fantasy football. Sometimes you get one that is perfectly soft, warm, and delicious; other times, it is hard and chewy, leaving you wondering what went wrong. One week, Elliott would serve up 15 points, only to follow it with seven the next. That is life when ordering dessert: sometimes it is the perfect ending to your night, and sometimes you realize you probably would have been fine skipping it altogether.
At the end of the day, fantasy football is about building the perfect meal. Your TE is your breakfast, your RBs get you through the day, your QB keeps you energized, your WRs are the main event, and your kicker is the sweet finish that ties everything together.
Draft wisely, trust your gut, and hope your lineup doesn’t leave a bad taste in your mouth.