Every year, fantasy football managers head into their draft hoping that they land the No. 1 pick. What if they are thinking about it wrong?We’ve long associated getting the top pick with the best run of luck you can get. But that’s not necessarily true. While it’s nice to take the best player on the board and relax until the picks come back around, last year the best spot to pick from was No. 4, and the year before, you wanted No. 9.This summer, the No. 5 spot is the place to be.Think about it like this. The top of the draft has a handful of clear studs. Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson are incredible. Each deserves to be the top pick in any 2026 draft. There is no wrong answer there.This year also has three wide receivers who stand out above the rest: Puka Nacua, Ja’Marr Chase and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. All three have a case to be the first WR off the board.And if you’re picking fifth in your draft, you are guaranteed to get at least one of those five players. (Full disclosure: I originally planned on featuring six players and the top-six picks, but I’ve downgraded Christian McCaffrey from the top tier because of the injury that kept him out of practice Monday and his 413 regular season touches last season, among other reasons).The benefit of picking at the bottom of your tier is that while it takes away agency and limits your options, it also means you get one of your top players and a higher pick in Round 2.The fifth pick in the first round gives you the 20th-overall pick (assuming a 12-team league) in Round 2. The options are pretty good there (ADPs are via FantasyPros for a half-PPR league).At No. 20 you have several great options. You can take the top tight end in the draft. Both Trey McBride (20.0) and Brock Bowers (20.7) are projected to be available there. While there are significant downsides to picking a tight end that high, this year, Bowers could be the kind of TE who wins your league for you.You could also choose to pair your top pick with an elite QB in Josh Allen (21.7), but that might be too early with several top quarterbacks still projected to be on the board several rounds later. A more intriguing option would be to pivot off your top pick. If you went RB early (unlikely as that would’ve likely required Gibbs and Robinson dropping), you can start building your WR corps with A.J. Brown or Nico Collins. More likely, you’ll want an RB after going WR early. Derrick Henry (21.7) and Jeremiyah Love (26) should still be there for you at No. 20 and there’s a chance that Kenneth Walker (18.7) falls.Fantasy Football Draft Assistant