Fantasy Football with Ian Hartitz

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Welcome to Fantasy Football with Ian Hartitz — your home for winning fantasy football advice, powered by RotoWire. Ian breaks down everything you need to dominate your leagues: draft rankings and tiers, sleepers and breakouts, busts to avoid, waiver-wire pickups, start/sit calls, and the stats that actually matter — all season long, from training camp through your championship week. No fluff, no hedging. Just sharp, research-driven fantasy football analysis with the occasional hot take that ages beautifully (or doesn't — we keep the receipts). 🏈 New shows multiple times a week, all season long 📊 Rankings, tiers, sleepers, waiver wire, start/sit, DFS and betting angles Get 20% off any RotoWire subscription with code IAN20 → https://www.rotowire.com/?ref=owmwyje Subscribe and let's win your league.

  1. 9h ago

    Fantasy football handcuffs: Where would every backup RB rank if every starting RB took a season-long vacation?

    Not injuries. Let's say every starting running back in the NFL won the lottery, retired, or just took a season-long vacation. Where would his backup finish? Ian Hartitz ranks all 32 of them, one per team, in five tiers, counting up from the guy he would want most. The board on screen fills in as he goes. 📈 Get 35% OFF Ian's Rotowire 2026 Draft Kit — promo code IAN35 👉 https://www.rotowire.com/football/draft-kit/ian/?ref=owmwyje Timestamps: 0:00 The premise: every starting RB takes a vacation 0:57 RB1 TreVeyon Henderson, Patriots 1:55 RB2 Blake Corum, Rams 2:56 RB3 Tank Bigsby, Eagles 5:39 RB4 Ray Davis, Bills 7:58 RotoWire, code IAN35 8:47 RB5 Rico Dowdle, Steelers 11:36 RB6 Kyle Monangai, Bears 13:21 RB7 Rachaad White, Commanders 15:38 RB8 Woody Marks, Texans 18:19 RB9 Mike Washington, Raiders 21:10 RB10 Jonathon Brooks, Panthers 24:27 RB11 Kenneth Gainwell, Buccaneers 27:05 RB12 Brian Robinson, Falcons 29:10 RB13 Tyler Allgeier, Cardinals 31:27 RB14 Jordan Mason, Vikings 33:04 RB15 Chris Rodriguez, Jaguars 35:13 RB16 Isiah Pacheco, Lions 38:11 DraftKings 40:08 RB17 MarShawn Lloyd, Packers 42:17 RB18 RJ Harvey, Broncos 44:48 RB19 Keaton Mitchell, Chargers 46:36 RB20 Alvin Kamara, Saints 49:03 RB21 Tyjae Spears, Titans 50:43 RB22 Dylan Sampson, Browns 53:08 RB23 Braelon Allen, Jets 54:51 RB24 Emmett Johnson, Chiefs 57:25 Splash Survivor 58:20 RB25 Kaelon Black, 49ers 59:54 RB26 Jaydon Blue, Cowboys 1:01:55 RB27 Tyrone Tracy, Giants 1:03:40 RB28 Jaylen Wright, Dolphins 1:05:20 RB29 Samaje Perine, Bengals 1:07:08 RB30 Seth McGowan, Colts 1:08:36 RB31 Adam Randall, Ravens 1:09:58 RB32 George Holani, Seahawks Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  2. 1d ago

    5 Must-Draft Fantasy Football SLEEPER Wide Receivers

    Five wide receivers going outside the top 120 in home leagues that Ian Hartitz is willing to make an exception for. For each one: where Sleeper, ESPN and Yahoo are drafting him, where Ian has him ranked, and why the gap exists.  KC Concepcion is the headliner. A great preseason debut, lightning in a bottle as an all-purpose weapon, and Todd Monken's new Zay Flowers. The market has him between WR50 and WR63; Ian has him WR46 at pick 99, inside his top 100 and well ahead of all three sites. The one catch is that it would be a lot cooler if this team had a quarterback.  Matthew Golden is the favorite to work alongside Christian Watson in two-receiver sets, and Ian's WR44 ahead of Makai Lemon, Xavier Worthy and Alec Pierce. 361 receiving yards as a rookie is light, but he had competition and a shoulder issue, and if we trust Love and LaFleur we should probably like the cheapest clear-cut starter too.  Rashid Shaheed got three years and $51 million to be New Orleans' No. 2, and Darnold and Goff are the only quarterbacks over 4,000 yards in each of the last two seasons. Ian's WR53, though he thinks the price sits closer to Shaheed's floor than his ceiling.  Tre' Harris is the value: WR74 on Sleeper and undrafted on both ESPN and Yahoo. Per ESPN's camp reporting the Chargers are not planning to add a veteran receiver, he rested alongside Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston, and in eight games at Ole Miss in 2024 he put up 1,000 yards and seven scores. Ian's WR58.  And Travis Hunter, where the answer depends entirely on the price. The No. 2 pick from last year's draft is often free, everything out of Jacksonville says he stays involved, and if there was ever a high-end receiver handcuff to keep on your bench this is it. But at the Sleeper price he's fine and inside the top 120 Ian is out.  Rankings, tiers and the Draft Assistant are all at RotoWire. Use code IAN35 for 35% off any subscription: https://www.rotowire.com/?ref=owmwyje Timestamps: 0:00 Sleepers outside the top 120 0:42 KC Concepcion 4:07 RotoWire, code IAN35 4:49 Matthew Golden 9:42 Rashid Shaheed 13:53 Tre' Harris 20:02 Splash Survivor 21:22 Travis Hunter   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  3. 2d ago

    KEY Fantasy Football Preseason Week 1 Takeaways For All 32 Teams

    After six long, cold months we finally had a full slate of NFL football back on our screens. Ian Hartitz goes team by team through all 32, covering the usage and key plays from every quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end room, then gives the one fantasy takeaway that actually matters for each.  It is August, so keep your composure out there. Usage matters more than performance in these glorified scrimmages. The point is working out who each team's starters actually are instead of trusting those silly unofficial depth charts.  Some of what came out of it:  Jeremiyah Love hit his signature hurdle inside his first 30 minutes of football and looked the part as the No. 3 overall pick, but he has a high ankle sprain and is not expected to play again this preseason, which does drop him down the ranks.  MarShawn Lloyd was THE running back in Green Bay with Josh Jacobs and Chris Brooks out, playing all 12 snaps of the first two drives. Tank Bigsby played every snap of Philadelphia's first three drives with Saquon out and, encouragingly, was not taken off the field on pass downs. Washington fed rookie Kaytron Allen 23 carries, which is a wild number for a preseason game.  In Buffalo the real story might not be DJ Moore, whose ankle is a genuine worry, but Khalil Shakir finally getting downfield usage. Cincinnati leaned into under-center play action on 43% of Joe Burrow's dropbacks after doing so on just 8.3% of them last season. Chicago's Luther Burden was moving laterally a week after the groin injury, and Ian is buying the dip.  Plus Anthony Richardson's full first half in Indianapolis, Emmett Johnson and Cyrus Allen in Kansas City, KC Concepcion moving up to WR46, whether Fernando Mendoza should just start Week 1 in Las Vegas, and a whole lot more.  Rankings, tiers and the Draft Assistant are all at RotoWire. Use code IAN35 for 35% off any subscription: https://www.rotowire.com/?ref=owmwyje Timestamps: 0:00 The plan 0:31 Arizona Cardinals 4:12 Atlanta Falcons 7:35 RotoWire, code IAN35 8:25 Baltimore Ravens 12:04 Buffalo Bills 17:49 Carolina Panthers 20:49 Chicago Bears 22:14 Cincinnati Bengals 25:43 Cleveland Browns 30:30 Dallas Cowboys 32:41 Denver Broncos 36:09 Detroit Lions 37:03 Green Bay Packers 40:13 Houston Texans 41:34 Indianapolis Colts 44:36 Jacksonville Jaguars 45:07 Kansas City Chiefs 49:09 Las Vegas Raiders 53:15 DraftKings 55:12 Los Angeles Chargers 57:18 Los Angeles Rams 59:31 Miami Dolphins 1:03:12 Minnesota Vikings 1:05:56 New England Patriots 1:08:29 New Orleans Saints 1:10:13 New York Giants 1:14:21 New York Jets 1:16:55 Philadelphia Eagles 1:18:26 Pittsburgh Steelers 1:20:01 San Francisco 49ers 1:21:56 Seattle Seahawks 1:23:00 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1:24:55 Tennessee Titans 1:27:02 Washington Commanders Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  4. 3d ago

    WASHED? 10 veterans who could be fantasy football BUSTS

    There are a handful of players who get the same response every time you suggest they might do something good this season. That guy is washed.  Father Time is undefeated, and the overwhelming majority of top fantasy performers have been under 30. So Ian Hartitz takes the 10 veterans he keeps getting yelled at about, works out how bright the red flags actually are, scores every one of them on the WASHED SCALE out of 10, and figures out who benefits if the player really is finished.  Rankings, articles and the Draft Assistant are all at RotoWire. Use code IAN20 for 20% off any subscription: https://www.rotowire.com/?ref=owmwyje Timestamps: 0:00 The washed scale, explained 0:33 No. 1 Alvin Kamara 4:42 RotoWire, code IAN20 5:32 No. 2 Mike Evans 10:37 No. 3 Davante Adams 16:18 No. 4 Christian McCaffrey 20:03 No. 5 Aaron Rodgers 24:57 No. 6 DJ Moore 32:07 No. 7 Geno Smith 38:35 Splash Survivor 40:15 No. 8 Mark Andrews 44:52 No. 9 JK Dobbins 50:09 No. 10 Travis Kelce Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  5. 4d ago

    How to DOMINATE your fantasy football auction draft with Drew Davenport

    Ian Hartitz is joined by Drew Davenport of Footballguys, host of Auction Brief with Drew Davenport, to break down how to actually win a fantasy football auction draft.  If you have never done one, this is the episode to start with. If you have done twenty, Drew has been doing them for 25 years and still has to work at keeping up with the room.  Rankings, tiers and the Draft Assistant are all at RotoWire. Use code IAN20 for 20% off any subscription: https://www.rotowire.com/?ref=owmwyje Timestamps: 0:00 Talking auctions with Drew Davenport 1:20 The biggest mistake new auction drafters make 5:32 Chill or pounce in the first few picks? 9:02 Nominating strategy 14:31 Stars and scrubs, or balanced? 18:58 RotoWire, code IAN20 19:32 The par sheet 23:28 What changes from a snake draft 28:10 Lawyer hat on: the Josh Jacobs update 31:33 How to prep in 10 minutes 34:26 Wrapping up Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  6. 5d ago

    BIGGEST Fantasy Football Questions for the Vikings with Matthew Coller

    Ian Hartitz is joined by Matthew Coller of Purple Insider, author of "Football Is a Numbers Game", to work through the fantasy questions that actually decide your draft in Minnesota.  Matthew was at every single practice of the quarterback competition and charted every pass, so this is what he saw with his own eyes rather than what the box score says.  Some of what came out of it:  Kyler Murray is QB1, and it was a real competition that was not close. The total rep count over about nine hard practices came out 50/50, which is not what a locked-in starter's camp looks like, but Murray played par golf across those nine holes and J.J. McCarthy was five over. Murray moves through his progressions faster and the accuracy gap is the thing that decided it.  On Justin Jefferson: the camp looks much more like 2022 through 2024 than last season. Ian's numbers have Murray at a 9% better catchable ball rate to receivers than what Jefferson dealt with last year, over the first five weeks with screens removed. And the two plays Matthew keeps coming back to are a fourth-down heave that he calls a bad throw, which Jefferson goes and wins anyway, and a deep corner where the ball was gone before Jefferson had even broken.  On the middle of the field: there are always going to be realities to Murray's size. But when he sees it and throws on time he was something like 30 for 41 in the intermediate middle in 2024. It just was not a high percentage of his passes, and Kevin O'Connell's job is building the throwing lanes for it.  Jordan Addison is in a prove-it year with an extension in front of him, off a season with more drops than he has ever had. Jauan Jennings might be the second best receiver Murray has ever played with, and he is the WR3 here.  Plus the backfield, where Matthew clears up a quote of his that went around the fantasy world in a form he did not say, the rookie Demond Claiborne, and a bold call to finish.  Follow Matthew at @MatthewColler, read him at Purple Insider, and pick up "Football Is a Numbers Game".  Rankings, articles and the Draft Assistant are all at RotoWire. Use code IAN20 for 20% off any subscription: https://www.rotowire.com/?ref=owmwyje   Timestamps: 0:00 Talking Vikings with Matthew Coller 1:22 Was it ever really a quarterback competition? 5:19 How Matthew actually scored it 10:54 Is the Kyler and Jettas connection back? 14:17 Can Kyler work the middle of the field? 17:51 Jordan Addison's prove-it year 21:21 Jauan Jennings, T.J. Hockenson and the target math 27:05 The Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones committee 30:36 What to make of Demond Claiborne 33:29 Matthew's bold call 35:56 Wrapping up Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  7. 6d ago

    The BIGGEST Fantasy Football Questions Facing The Green Bay Packers with Eli Berkovits

    Ian Hartitz is joined by Eli Berkovits, who covers the Packers for 247 Sports and Packer Report and co-hosts the Pack-A-Day Podcast, to work through the fantasy questions that actually decide your draft in Green Bay.  Boots on the ground beats a depth chart. Eli has been at camp, so this is what he has seen with his own eyes rather than what the box score says.  Some of what came out of it:  MarShawn Lloyd looks explosive and is making plays as a receiver, and with Josh Jacobs out he is the running back right now. He played 11 snaps in the one preseason game and turned them into four targets and six rush attempts, and he is still basically free at the end of Yahoo and ESPN drafts.  When Jacobs is back it stays his show, especially at the goal line, but Eli does not rule out something closer to a committee than the last two years. LaFleur has the history for it, going back to Dion Lewis and Derrick Henry in Tennessee and then Jones, Williams and Dillon in Green Bay.  On the receivers: Doubs and Wicks leaving has cleared the room out. When Eli was at camp, Matthew Golden looked like Jordan Love's first read on roughly 70% of plays. Watson is still his top target, Golden his next, then Reed. And the Jayden Reed two-tight-end dream has a hard number attached to it: Fantasy Points has him at one career target in those looks.  On the offense: LaFleur has emphasized getting to the line faster, and he told NFL Network that Love is the best pre-snap processor at calling out protections he has been around, Rodgers included.  And Tucker Kraft, back from the knee, passed the eye test. Eli calls him "a legitimate psychopath, in the best way possible", has him TE4 for 2026 behind Bowers, McBride and Loveland, and says he is the one Packer he wants in his drafts this year.  Plus a bold call to finish that has nothing to do with Green Bay.  Follow Eli at @BookOfEli_NFL, read him at 247 Sports and Packer Report, and listen to the Pack-A-Day Podcast.  Rankings, articles and the Draft Assistant are all at RotoWire. Use code IAN20 for 20% off any subscription: https://www.rotowire.com/?ref=owmwyje Timestamps: 0:00 Talking Packers with Eli Berkovits 1:46 Has MarShawn Lloyd looked like the real deal? 3:59 Could LaFleur go back to a committee? 7:09 Will Jayden Reed finally play in two tight end sets? 8:49 Has the receiver room consolidated? 15:12 More pace and more passing this season? 20:08 Tucker Kraft after the knee 23:09 Eli's bold call 24:31 Wrapping up Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  8. Aug 12

    How To DOMINATE Your Fantasy Draft From a Late Draft Position (1.09-1.12)

    Ian Hartitz breaks down exactly how to attack a fantasy football draft from a late first round position, picks 1.09 through 1.12, then runs three full mock drafts from those spots to show what the finished rosters actually look like.  Using Yahoo ADP for the first five rounds in a full PPR league with two RBs and three WRs, the shape of the board at the turn is the whole story. Ian calls it the Great Wall of RBs: a few receivers go inside the first seven or eight picks, and then Cook, Jeanty, Achane, Walker and Henry come off the board in a run, with only a couple of receivers creeping into that range.  That is why he is happy to double-tap running back from these spots. Could Jefferson and Lamb boom and make it look silly? Sure. But one is not guaranteed a better quarterback situation than the one that made him a WR3 last season, and the other has a non-zero chance of being the second most productive receiver in his own offense. Give him James Cook, Saquon Barkley or Chase Brown instead.  Also covered: why Brock Bowers is a round 2 target rather than a pick at this turn, where Colston Loveland fits in the early part of round 4, the receiver values in rounds 3 and 4, and when a mid-round quarterback makes sense.  Then the three mocks: 1.09, the elite tight end build. James Cook and Chase Brown to open, Malik Nabers in round 3, then Colston Loveland at pick 40, with Kyler Murray waiting all the way until 136.  1.11, the hero RB build. Jonathan Taylor alone at running back early, then Justin Jefferson, DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle and Mike Evans stacked up, with Rico Dowdle money-balling the RB2 spot and Isaiah Likely at tight end late.  1.12, the RB-RB build. Chase Brown and Saquon Barkley at the turn, three receivers behind them, and a more balanced middle-round approach at quarterback and tight end with Trevor Lawrence and Isaiah Likely. All three finished teams are shown side by side at the end.  Rankings, articles and the Draft Assistant are all at RotoWire. Use code IAN20 for 20% off any subscription: https://www.rotowire.com/?ref=owmwyje Timestamps: 0:00 The setup: drafting from 1.09 to 1.12 0:28 The draft board, Yahoo ADP rounds 1 to 5 0:46 The Great Wall of RBs 1:13 Why I'm off the receivers at the turn 2:40 Where Brock Bowers fits 4:26 Rounds 1 and 2: double-tap running back 5:02 Rounds 3 and 4: receivers, or Loveland 5:39 Rounds 5 and 6, and the moral of the story 7:39 If and then: where you go next 11:11 Mock draft 1, from the 1.09 21:53 Mock draft 2, from the 1.11 31:42 Mock draft 3, from the 1.12 39:50 All three teams compared Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Welcome to Fantasy Football with Ian Hartitz — your home for winning fantasy football advice, powered by RotoWire. Ian breaks down everything you need to dominate your leagues: draft rankings and tiers, sleepers and breakouts, busts to avoid, waiver-wire pickups, start/sit calls, and the stats that actually matter — all season long, from training camp through your championship week. No fluff, no hedging. Just sharp, research-driven fantasy football analysis with the occasional hot take that ages beautifully (or doesn't — we keep the receipts). 🏈 New shows multiple times a week, all season long 📊 Rankings, tiers, sleepers, waiver wire, start/sit, DFS and betting angles Get 20% off any RotoWire subscription with code IAN20 → https://www.rotowire.com/?ref=owmwyje Subscribe and let's win your league.

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