This fantasy analyst is all about accountability—especially when I'm right.
And in the inaugural edition of Close Calls for the 2026 season last week, I was right more than I was wrong.
Granted, my biggest miss was a staggeringly bad call. Picking Arizona wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. over Green Bay's Christian Watson was—I'm sorry. Harrison caught one pass for 33 yards against the Chargers. Watson posted a 6/147/2 line against the Vikings and was second among receivers in PPR points.
That was—dumb. Quentin Johnston of the Chargers over Wan'Dale Robinson of the Titans was a whiff too, but not a bad one—they both rather stank.
Jacksonville's Bhayshul Tuten didn't exactly blow up against Cleveland, but he had more PPR points at running back than Marshawn Lloyd of the Packers. Where I hit big was New York's Jaxson Dart over Washington's Jayden Daniels at quarterback and Dallas Goedert of the Eagles over Michael Mayer of the Raiders at tight end.
Two sizable hits. One massive miss. Two "mehs." And a difference in scoring over all five players of about -4 PPR points.
OK, so maybe I wasn't that right. Damn you Christian Watson.
That's rather the point of this column, though. These aren't layups, people! These are deep threes! The tough calls. The brain-benders that leave you waffling more than a Chocolate Chip Eggo.
That's why I'm here. To settle the most difficult of decisions. With a success rate hopefully marginally higher than 50 percent.
Damn. This intro was more inspirational in my head.
Whatever. 3-2 is 3-2. Calling it a win.
Every week, we're going to look at some of the closest calls. Make the case for both players. And then offer up this analyst's take on which player is the correct play.
For the sake of this exercise, we'll only consider quarterbacks and tight ends outside the top 10, running backs outside the top 20, and wide receivers outside the top 30 in Footballguys' Weekly Rankings. If you have Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs and Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson and can only start one, then you'll have to figure out that first-world problem on your own.
Week 2 Close Calls
Jaxson Dart, NY Giants (QB13) vs. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville (QB15)
The Case for Dart: The first game of Dart's second season was arguably the best of his career—he threw three touchdown passes, posted a passer rating north of 130, and topped 50 yards on the ground on the way to top-five fantasy numbers. In the opinion of Brandon Funston and Jess Bryant of The Athletic, Dart is already a locked-in QB1.
"Dart led all quarterbacks in a variety of metrics during his first game under a new coaching regime led by John Harbaugh," they said. "He had the highest designed rush rate (11.9%), tied for the highest EPA/DB mark, and had the highest third- and fourth-down conversion rate (90%). In Week 2, he'll face the Rams, who gave up 21.1 fantasy points (10th-most) to Brock Purdy. If you were wise enough to draft Dart, he's already paying dividends and is a must-start in Week 2."
The Case for Lawrence: As good as Dart was last week, Lawrence was even better—he roasted the hapless Cleveland Browns with a 78.3% completion percentage and four touchdowns. That was good for a top-five fantasy finish, and Jamey Eisenberg of CBS Sports sees the potential for a repeat performance in Week 2.
"He's now scored at least 23.1 Fantasy points in nine games in a row, going back to last season, including the playoffs," Eisenberg said. "Lawrence faced Denver during that stretch in Week 16 and was 23-of-36 passing for 279 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, along with 20 rushing yards and a touchdown for 37.2 Fantasy points. Mahomes just scored 25.7 Fantasy points against the Broncos in Week 1, and Lawrence should produce a solid stat line in Week 2."
The Verdict: Lawrence. Both of these quarterbacks are on the road this week against supposedly stout defenses that crapped the bed in Week 1. But the Los Angeles Rams at least have the excuse of having to time-travel for their game. Denver just looked terrible against Kansas City. The Jaguars are the real deal, y'all—and Lawrence is going to deliver that message Sunday at Mile High.
Chuba Hubbard, Carolina (RB21) vs. Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland (RB22)
The Case for Hubbard: Apparently, someone forgot to tell Hubbard that he's a second-team nobody behind the greatness of Jonathon Brooks. Last week against Chicago, Hubbard out-touched Brooks 13-5 and found the end zone twice. Per Joel Smyth of Yahoo, Hubbard needs to be in fantasy lineups.
"Hubbard's fantasy volume, based on expected fantasy points, ranked fifth among RBs in the NFL last week. Jahmyr Gibbs, Ken Walker III, Javonte Williams and David Montgomery were the only players with a more valuable workload in Week 1," he said. Last season, Hubbard had 16+ opportunities (rush attempts + targets) in each of his first three games, and 2026 looks very similar. The Falcons defense impressed in Week 1 against the Steelers' RB duo, but RB1 volume is RB1 volume."
The Case for Judkins: Volume certainly isn't an issue for Judkins either—with Dylan Sampson now on injured reserve, Judkins should dominate the backfield touches in Cleveland even more than we expected. Last week's 50 total yards on 14 touches was admittedly disappointing, but Mark Morales-Smith of SI wrote that it's too early to throw dirt on the second-year pro.
"Judkins played on 65% of the snaps and saw 12 carries and two targets. If he could get that passing volume up to about four targets, he would even hold some decent PPR value," he said. "While Judkins only rushed for 33 yards on 2.8 yards per carry and posted 17 receiving yards, it was a very difficult matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. We are optimistic about Judkins moving forward."
The Verdict: Hubbard. This is where we are one week into the season, folks—a back who was dead to many fantasy managers is now a better fantasy play than a guy who was drafted as an RB2 in most leagues over the summer. Until the Cleveland offense shows any kind of pulse, none of their players can be started with confidence—Judkins included.
