8 Players Going at a Discount in 2026 Salary Cap Drafts

Aug 15, 2026

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

If you're gearing up for a salary cap fantasy draft, you should have already made your way through my tips and tricks piece and my nomination strategies piece. But while there were various highlights on certain players throughout each of those articles, both were meant as bird's-eye-view strategy guides. What about the specific players worth targeting at discounts in 2026 drafts?

I've got you covered there too. Here are my eight favorite "discounts" in salary cap drafts right now — notably, not all are "bargain bin" prices, but all are going for less than they're worth. If you come away with these guys at "consensus cost," you're getting major value ... and I wouldn't mind spending a little extra to lock a few of them down. For reference, I'll be using FantasyPros' Dollar Value Calculator and our 4for4 Salary Cap Cheat Sheets to ballpark the consensus cost and maximum suggested bid for each player based on 12-team, half-PPR, $200 salary formats.

And always remember, these numbers are subject to shift dramatically from league to league — be adaptable!

WR Malik Nabers

FantasyPros Value: $26

4for4 Max Bid: $26

The general consensus, 4for4 maximum bid, and July mock are all in agreement on this one: Malik Nabers is going for right around $25 (plus or minus a dollar). That's in the same range as Rashee Rice, Chris Olave, and DeVonta Smith ... which I simply refuse to accept. Drafters and rankers seem to still be hung up on Nabers' ongoing recovery from a torn ACL, even amid consistent reporting that he's on track to play in Week 1. And as I've said before this offseason, I wouldn't even mind if he started the season absent or slow — he will hit full stride sooner than later, and full stride for Nabers is a top-five fantasy wide receiver. In his first 18 NFL games (mostly rookie year), with highly irregular quarterback play and Wan'Dale Robinson present, Nabers averaged 11.2 targets and 14.7 fantasy points per game. Those are monster numbers worth taking well ahead of his current draft position in the early teens among wideouts and late 20s overall. Sure, there's arguably less risk with Olave or Smith, but the ceiling is stratospherically higher with Nabers.