Jakob Poeltl vs Jeremiah Fears: who to draft in 2026-27
Draft Jeremiah Fears in points leagues (26.2 fantasy points a game to 25.6) and Jakob Poeltl in 9-cat leagues (109th against 195th). The two go close together on our board, which is our own ranking order from 2025-26 box scores, not ADP.
- Points leagues
- #133
- 25.6 FP/G, slot 12.01, $5
- 9-cat leagues
- #109
- -1.6 z, slot 10.01, $7
The pick in 9-cat leagues.
- Points leagues
- #130
- 26.2 FP/G, slot 11.10, $5
- 9-cat leagues
- #195
- -3.7 z, slot 17.03
The pick in points leagues.
The call
Points leagues: draft Jeremiah Fears. 26.2 fantasy points per game against 25.6, 130th on our board to 133rd.
9-cat leagues: Jakob Poeltl instead, -1.6 in summed z-scores against -3.7 (109th to 195th), because the categories pay for a different mix.
Category by category, Jakob Poeltl is ahead in 4 (REB, BLK, FG% and TO) and Jeremiah Fears in 5 (PTS, AST, STL, 3PM and FT%).
Per 36 minutes, Jakob Poeltl produces more: 36.9 fantasy points to 36.7, on 25.0 minutes a night against 25.8. He does it in fewer minutes, so a bigger role would widen the gap.
Jakob Poeltl plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Jeremiah Fears 3. For that week alone, start Jeremiah Fears: 78.7 projected fantasy points to 76.9 for Jakob Poeltl.
Slots are where our board's order lands in a 12-team snake draft (round.pick), and dollars are auction value over replacement for 12 teams with $200 each. Neither is ADP: no free draft-position feed lets us republish it.
Per game, side by side
| Per game | Jakob Poeltl | Jeremiah Fears |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasy points per game | 25.6 | 26.2 |
| Minutes | 25.0 | 25.8 |
| PointsPTS | 10.7 | 14.3 |
| ReboundsREB | 7.0 | 3.7 |
| AssistsAST | 2.0 | 3.4 |
| StealsSTL | 0.9 | 1.2 |
| BlocksBLK | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Threes3PM | 0.0 | 1.2 |
| Field goal %FG% | 70.0% | 43.4% |
| Free throw %FT% | 60.2% | 78.9% |
| TurnoversTO | 1.2 | 2.2 |
| Games, 2025-26 | 46 | 82 |
Bold is the better number. The line blends 2025-26 with 2026-27 games as they are played, the same numbers the rankings use.
Per 36 minutes
| Per 36 | Jakob Poeltl | Jeremiah Fears |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasy points | 36.9 | 36.7 |
| Points | 15.4 | 19.9 |
| Rebounds | 10.1 | 5.1 |
| Assists | 2.9 | 4.8 |
| Steals | 1.3 | 1.7 |
| Blocks | 1.0 | 0.5 |
| Threes | 0.0 | 1.7 |
| Turnovers | 1.8 | 3.0 |
Each per-game number divided by minutes and scaled to 36: the rate a bigger role would carry.
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9-category z-scores
| Category | Jakob Poeltl | Jeremiah Fears |
|---|---|---|
| PointsPTS | -1.0 | -0.4 |
| ReboundsREB | +0.5 | -1.0 |
| AssistsAST | -0.8 | -0.1 |
| StealsSTL | -0.4 | +0.5 |
| BlocksBLK | +0.0 | -0.7 |
| Threes3PM | -1.7 | -0.4 |
| Field goal percentageFG% | +2.3 | -1.0 |
| Free throw percentageFT% | -1.3 | -0.1 |
| TurnoversTO | +0.8 | -0.4 |
| Total | -1.6 | -3.7 |
Each number is standard deviations above or below the top 156 players (a 12-team league's rosters). Field goal and free throw percentage are weighted by attempts, and turnovers count against.
If you punt a category
Punting field goal percentage flips the 9-cat answer to Jeremiah Fears.
| Punt | Jakob Poeltl | Jeremiah Fears |
|---|---|---|
| PTS | -0.6 (#86) | -3.3 (#242) |
| REB | -2.5 (#153) | -2.9 (#187) |
| AST | -0.8 (#88) | -3.7 (#231) |
| STL | -1.2 (#109) | -4.2 (#252) |
| BLK | -1.9 (#123) | -3.2 (#184) |
| 3PM | +0.1 (#62) | -3.3 (#195) |
| FG% | -4.8 (#242) | -3.0 (#162) |
| FT% | -0.3 (#68) | -3.7 (#203) |
| TO | -2.6 (#124) | -3.4 (#152) |
Value is the sum of the other eight z-scores, recomputed with the punted category left out of the pool that sets them; the rank is among all 406 ranked players.
Week 1 (Oct 19-25)
- Jakob Poeltl: 3 games (Wed CHI, Fri @WAS, Sun @MIN).
- Jeremiah Fears: 3 games (Wed IND, Fri @UTA, Sat @DEN), 1 back-to-back.
Recent games
- Jakob Poeltl: 25.1 fantasy points a game over his last 10 of 2025-26, against 25.6 on the board.
- Jeremiah Fears: 40.7 fantasy points a game over his last 10 of 2025-26, against 26.2 on the board.
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Other picks at the same spot
NBA fantasy rankings · Draft cheat sheet · Sleepers
Common questions
Should I draft Jakob Poeltl or Jeremiah Fears in 2026-27?
Points leagues: draft Jeremiah Fears. 26.2 fantasy points per game against 25.6, 130th on our board to 133rd. 9-cat leagues: Jakob Poeltl instead, -1.6 in summed z-scores against -3.7 (109th to 195th), because the categories pay for a different mix.
Who wins more categories, Jakob Poeltl or Jeremiah Fears?
Category by category, Jakob Poeltl is ahead in 4 (REB, BLK, FG% and TO) and Jeremiah Fears in 5 (PTS, AST, STL, 3PM and FT%).
Who should I start in Week 1, Jakob Poeltl or Jeremiah Fears?
Jakob Poeltl plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Jeremiah Fears 3. For that week alone, start Jeremiah Fears: 78.7 projected fantasy points to 76.9 for Jakob Poeltl.
By the Parlae deskBoard updated Oct 13, 2026 at 5:20 PM ETHow this is builtReport a wrong number