Tom Strachan | Wed, Jul 8th 2026, 7:31am EDT

Fantasy Football Mock Draft: How to Approach Pick 1.03 (2026)

There’s no hiding it, fantasy football redraft season is looming large right now. In two weeks, training camps will open; in less than a month, the NFL Hall of Fame Game will take place, and things will start happening thick and fast. It feels like plenty will change over the coming weeks in fantasy football, but the top few picks on the draft board seem locked, aside from potential injuries. As things stand, this is your complete guide to drafting from pick 1.03 in 2026. Test out your own strategies with a fantasy football mock draft.

Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: Pick 1.03

Players to Consider at 1.03 Fantasy Football Draft Pick

These players will likely be available when you make your selection:

It’s fair to assume at least one of Bijan Robinson or Jahmyr Gibbs will be gone, if not both, as they’re the consensus top two picks. There isn’t a clear consensus choice at 1.01, but both players are strong selections. If either should fall to the 1.03 pick, they’re incredibly easy picks. Following them, the selection gets tighter between the cluster of top wide receiver talent.

Players to Target at 1.03 Fantasy Football Draft Pick

Bijan Robinson (RB – ATL)

Last year’s PPR RB2 in fantasy points per game, and now free from Tyler Allgeier, Bijan Robinson feels primed to take a big step forward in 2026.

Allgeier tied Robinson for 43.5% of the team’s carries inside the 5-yard line last season, and had 32 carries inside the red zone, compared to Robinson’s 35. The Falcons did add Brian Robinson Jr. in free agency, but they weren’t rushing to add a second body to this backfield, waiting almost two weeks before adding their second back.

Robinson led the league in missed tackles forced (75), with 27 more than any other player, while also ranking in the top five in rushing yards, explosive run rate and yards per carry, while topping the league in yards after contact per attempt (3.06).

Where Robinson can take the leap is simple — touchdowns. Robinson scored only seven rushing touchdowns, which resulted in the lowest touchdown rate (2.4%) among the top seven running backs in fantasy. Nobody else was below 3%. He’s unlikely to make it past the 1.02 too often, but a great selection if he does.

Jahmyr Gibbs (RB – DET)

Another young running back who has seen things clear out behind him is Jahmyr Gibbs, with the departure of David Montgomery, and only Isiah Pacheco added to the running back room. The reality is that Pacheco has gone under four yards per carry in each of the last two seasons, has missed time in each of the last three seasons and has recorded more than 19 receptions just once in the past four seasons.

Perhaps a change of scenery helps Pacheco find his feet again, but Gibbs has the clearest avenue he’s ever had and is coming off a career-high 94 targets. Gibbs has had over 50 receptions in each of his three NFL seasons and has averaged 13 touchdowns per season. With more touches, Gibbs could be one of the highest-ceiling plays in fantasy football.

With more touches, Gibbs could be one of the highest-ceiling plays in fantasy football and an auto-click if he makes it this deep.

Ja’Marr Chase (WR – CIN)

The Bengals might have slightly improved their defense, but they’re unlikely to become a unit that consistently allows them to move away from the passing game, and that continues to be excellent news for Ja’Marr Chase.

For two consecutive seasons, Chase has led the league in targets with 175 and 185, respectively. Chase also has two years with 1,400+ receiving yards, and his consistency is worth paying for. Much of Chase’s ceiling is tied to Joe Burrow ‘s health. In games with Burrow at quarterback since Chase was drafted, he averages 0.78 touchdowns and 20.67 PPR points. In the games without Burrow, those numbers drop to 0.33 touchdowns and 15.48 points.

Those aren’t terrible numbers, but the lack of touchdowns hurts. Burrow is fully healthy this offseason, and the ceiling is the name of the game at the top of the draft. Lock in Chase for another WR1 overall season.

Puka Nacua (WR – LAR)

Off the field, Puka Nacua hasn’t had a great offseason, and the Rams seem to be slightly hesitant to extend him, with reports suggesting that’s not in their immediate plans despite Nacua being extension-eligible and watching Jaxon Smith-Njigba reset the market.

Things can change quickly, but for now, it sets Nacua up for what should be a massive prove-it year, both on and off the field. Nacua is coming off a career-high 10 receiving touchdowns, which, until 2025, had been the only area of his game that lacked, having scored nine in the previous two seasons combined. Perhaps with an improved defense, the Rams won’t be quite as pass-heavy this year, but Sean McVay has nearly always been aggressive. As long as Matthew Stafford is healthy, Nacua deserves to be a top pick.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR – SEA)

It was a truly special year for Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who led the league in receiving yards (1,793) and helped the Seahawks reach the Super Bowl. He also scored 10 touchdowns and was targeted a whopping 163 times (119 receptions).

The only cause for concern is that offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak left to become the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, which could lead to a dip in Sam Darnold’s efficiency. The positive side, though, is that the team didn’t make any massive additions at receiver, aside from bringing back Rashid Shaheed. Seattle let Kenneth Walker III go despite Zach Charbonnet still recovering from his ACL injury. If Charbonnet isn’t back and rookie Jadarian Price can’t adapt to the NFL quickly, could we see even more volume for Smith-Njigba?

Most Likely Selection

Ja’Marr Chase. Assuming Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs are both gone, Chase is perfect for PPR, half-PPR and standard leagues due to his insane volume and touchdown equity.

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Players to Avoid at 1.03 Fantasy Football Draft Pick

Christian McCaffrey (RB – SF)

Plenty of people have been hurt by fading Christian McCaffrey over the years, and it feels like a dangerous prospect when he was the RB1 in PPR points per game last season, averaging 24.5 per game — 2.5 more points per game than Bijan Robinson.

The trouble is that McCaffrey’s PPR scamming landed him first place despite his worst rushing production in a while. McCaffrey recorded 3.9 yards per carry, his lowest mark since 2020 in Carolina. This ranked 48th among running backs with 50+ rush attempts, while also ranking 47th in yards after contact per attempt and 29th in missed tackles forced. McCaffrey turned 30 on June 7th, and while 129 targets last season isn’t to be sniffed at, this bet does feel slightly thin at times. McCaffrey is a strong pick later in drafts.

Jonathan Taylor (RB – IND)

Another tough fade for this selection is Jonathan Taylor, who, according to teams synced to our FantasyPros tools, led all players in playoff advance rate (66.8%). Simply drafting Jonathan Taylor gave you a two-in-three chance of making the playoffs.

Sadly, though, that wasn’t the whole story.

Taylor was the fantasy RB4 in points per game, but from Week 12 onwards, he was the RB21, with an explosive run rate of 0.7% (41st), and he ranked 36th in yards after contact, while scoring only three rushing touchdowns. Of course, much of this inefficiency came amidst quarterback turmoil as Daniel Jones got beaten up and eventually tore his achilles. If you’re that vulnerable to poor quarterback play, do you deserve to be drafted with the third overall pick when your quarterback is coming off said achilles injury and is also named Daniel Jones?

Roster Constructions to Consider at 1.03 Fantasy Football Draft Pick

We’re most likely looking at a wide receiver from this selection, with Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs the favorites for the top two picks. Starting WR/WR could let you lean into Zero RB, and that’s also an option with an elite tight end such as Brock Bowers or Trey McBride. The choices for your first running back will be between Breece Hall, Jeremiyah Love and Travis Etienne Jr.

If a running back does fall for your first pick, then your wide receiver selections in the next two rounds are likely A.J. Brown, George Pickens or Chris Olave. Either strategy can work, but it’s good to decide if you’d rather have Ja’Marr Chase/Bowers/Pickens or Chase/Hall/Etienne.

Running back tends to dry up more quickly than usual this year, but having only one wide receiver through three rounds can leave your wide receiver room struggling to catch up.

Fantasy Football Mock Draft From the 1.03 Pick

We used our FREE fantasy football mock draft simulator to show you an example of a draft from the 1.03 position. You can sync your league for free and mock draft against your fantasy football league settings to better prepare for your draft. Here’s how our fantasy football mock draft went from the 1.03 position.

In this draft, Brock Bowers fell to us at an excellent value. We were slightly shut out at running back, pushing us towards a non-extreme version of Zero RB, but by waiting on quarterback, we were able to balance things out and create a nice roster.

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