The Chippewa Champions League · 2026 drafts
MacDougall makes all fourteen picks himself, machine owns the three finals
Fourteen picks, none of them autodrafted. Going back as far as this archive counts autopicks, MacDougall has never managed that: four went to the machine in 2019, three in 2020, two in 2021, and in 2022 he handed over the keys entirely and let it make all fifteen. The climb back has been methodical — fifteen, ten, seven, one, and now none. The uncomfortable footnote is what the machine did with those keys. The all-robot 2022 team reached the final. So did the ten-autopick 2023 team. So did the 2019 team, which also had four picks made for it. Three championship games, three losses, and the common thread in every one of them is that Gordon MacDougall was not entirely the one drafting.
This time he was, and the first thing he did with full control at 82 was have the Dallas Goedert Buyer's Club buy Dallas Goedert, two spots ahead of the market, one pick before George Kittle and his 155.0 points came off the board at 83. Later he took the Chiefs defence at 175 and the Chiefs kicker at 178, back to back, which is simply the Justin Tucker standing order of 2015, 2018 and 2024 relocated to Missouri.
The top of the roster is genuinely fine. Derrick Henry at 267.7 points is the fifth-best RB1 in the league and A.J. Brown at 220.0 points is the seventh-best WR1, on Brown's third MacDougall draft after 2019 and 2023. Then the floor gives way. DJ Moore is the WR2 at 173.0 points, twelfth of sixteen at the slot. Justin Herbert is twelfth of sixteen among starting quarterbacks at 303.4 points, which would be survivable if Baker Mayfield and his 289.4 points were not sitting on the bench where they cannot be started, bought at 111 while the receiving corps stayed exactly as thin as it is. Goedert is the tenth-best TE1 at 147.7 points and has missed at least two games in each of the last six seasons, a fact MacDougall clearly knows, because he spent pick 210 on Pat Freiermuth to cover it. The lineup projects to 1552.6 points, eleventh of sixteen. Nothing here is last in the league. Nothing is close to first either.
| Slot | Player | Proj | At this slot |
|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Justin Herbert | 303.4 | 12 of 16 |
| RB | Derrick Henry | 267.7 | 5 of 16 |
| WR | A.J. Brown | 220.0 | 7 of 16 |
| WR | DJ Moore | 173.0 | 12 of 16 |
| TE | Dallas Goedert | 147.7 | 10 of 16 |
| DST | Chiefs D/ST | 104.8 | 11 of 16 |
| K | Harrison Butker | 147.0 | 7 of 16 |
| FLEX | Bhayshul Tuten | 189.0 | 9 of 16 |
| Bench | |||
| QB | Baker Mayfield | 289.4 | QB17 overall |
| WR | Jordan Addison | 148.7 | WR37 overall |
| RB | Tyler Allgeier | 88.5 | RB51 overall |
| WR | Keenan Allen | 112.4 | WR62 overall |
| RB | Najee Harris | 66.0 | RB60 overall |
| TE | Pat Freiermuth | 104.0 | TE24 overall |
Half-PPR season points. The lineup is fixed by draft order, so switching service changes the numbers and never who is in the chair. The written copy above is from the median and does not move.
| Rd | Overall | Player | Pos | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 | Derrick Henry | RB 10 vs 8 | routine |
| 2 | 18 | A.J. Brown | WR 7 vs 8 | routine |
Third time MacDougall has drafted Brown, after 2019 and 2023, and the first time he has had to check which team the man plays for. | ||||
| 3 | 47 | Bhayshul Tuten questionable | RB 21 vs 23 | questionable |
Tuten was listed Questionable on draft day and went two spots ahead of the market anyway, on 83 career carries. Cam Skattebo and his 208.6 points sat there for two more picks and went at 49. | ||||
| 4 | 50 | DJ Moore | WR 20 vs 23 | reach |
Three spots ahead of the market for a receiver coming off a 16% target share, while Tee Higgins (195.2 points) lasted until 56 and Davante Adams (187.9 points) until 55. Moore is the WR2 here at 173.0 points, 12th of 16 at the slot. | ||||
| 5 | 79 | Justin Herbert | QB 10 vs 10 | routine |
| 6 | 82 | Dallas Goedert | TE 9 vs 11 | questionable |
The Dallas Goedert Buyer's Club bought Dallas Goedert, two spots ahead of the market, and George Kittle and his 155.0 points went one pick later at 83. Goedert has missed at least two games in each of the past six seasons and is coming off eleven touchdowns against an expected 5.1. | ||||
| 7 | 111 | Baker Mayfield | QB 16 vs 18 | questionable |
Herbert was already in at 303.4 points, which makes Mayfield's 289.4 points the most expensive bench ornament in this draft. The starting receiver corps behind A.J. Brown is DJ Moore at 173.0 points, and Quentin Johnston (152.8 points) was still on the board until 117. | ||||
| 8 | 114 | Jordan Addison | WR 45 vs 43 | routine |
| 9 | 143 | Tyler Allgeier | RB | questionable |
Allgeier is the insurance policy on Jeremiyah Love, a running back who belongs to somebody else in this league. Zach Charbonnet and his 121.0 points went four picks later at 147. | ||||
| 10 | 146 | Keenan Allen | WR | routine |
Third Keenan Allen draft, after 2019 and 2020, and the services cannot agree what is left of him: ESPN says 96.7 points, CBS says 128.4 points. | ||||
| 11 | 175 | Chiefs D/ST | DST | routine |
| 12 | 178 | Harrison Butker | K 7 vs 8 | routine |
The Chiefs defence at 175 and the Chiefs kicker at 178, back to back. He drafted Justin Tucker three times across 2015, 2018 and 2024, so the standing kicker habit has simply moved cities. | ||||
| 13 | 207 | Najee Harris | RB | questionable |
Harris at 66.0 points, with RotoBaller down at 54.6, when Jauan Jennings and his 106.0 points were sitting right there and did not go until 219. | ||||
| 14 | 210 | Pat Freiermuth | TE | routine |
Goedert has missed at least two games in each of the past six years, so the backup tight end is the one piece of forward planning in this draft. | ||||
Keeps going back to
- Keenan Allen — 2019, 2020, 2026
- A.J. Brown — 2019, 2023, 2026
- Justin Tucker — 2015, 2018, 2024
- James White — 2016, 2019, 2021
- Vikings D/ST — 2016, 2017, 2020