Fantasy Football News

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders was the first quarterback to take reps during team drills at voluntary minicamp on Wednesday, according to Kelsey Russo of the Browns' official website. Although Sanders opened the workout, the Browns rotated through quarterbacks, with Deshaun Watson and Dillon Gabriel also getting heavily involved. "We were just rotating who was first reps," head coach Todd Monken said. "It was set up in a way for us to get a look at all of them. The plan was to have Shedeur have a few more reps, but to let Deshaun and Shedeur both have reps with the ones." We can't read too much into the breakdown of drills more than four months ahead of the regular season, especially when the difference in the number of reps was marginal. At the same time, it's interesting to see Monken establish a sort of pecking order, allowing Sanders, the less-experienced quarterback but incumbent starter, to get the first nod over Watson (Achilles), who has more experience but is returning from a lengthy injury absence.

Miami quarterback Carson Beck has a chance to be selected in the first round of this week's NFL Draft, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com. In a conversation on the Rich Eisen Show, Pelissero said that he "can't 100% rule out" the possibility of Beck being a first-round pick. Even if Beck doesn't hear his name called within the first 32 picks, Pelissero indicated that the quarterback prospect is essentially a lock to be selected higher than most analysts and mock drafts are projecting. Up until recently, Beck was a projected fourth-rounder, according to aggregate data compiled by NFLMockDraftDatabase.com. However, on Wednesday, his projected draft position skyrocketed to #65, placing him just on the fringe of the second and third rounds. It's a shocking turn of events, but perhaps not as surprising as it seems given the thinness of this year's quarterback class. Beck was a three-year starter in college and completed an ACC-high 72.4% of his passes for 3,813 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions at Miami in 2025. Fans should now expect to hear his name called in the middle of Day 2, but we also can't rule out a late first-round pick if a team wants to guarantee an extra year of control in his rookie contract.

Dallas Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said that wide receiver George Pickens will play under the $27.3 million franchise tag in 2026, according to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports. "There won't be negotiations on a long-term deal," Jones says. Pickens has not signed the franchise tag, so he isn't under contract and can't be fined for missing voluntary or mandatory team activities. If Pickens' holdout drags into the 2026 regular season and he doesn't report, he could miss out on game checks of $1.5 million each week. The Cowboys and Pickens have until July 15 to work out a long-term deal. The Cowboys calling off extension talks doesn't sound like a good thing for the team or for Pickens. This could get messier in training camp and as the start of the season nears in early September. The 25-year-old had a career year with a 93-1,429-9 line in 17 games played in his first year with Dallas, and he will have a WR1 price in fantasy drafts this fall. Fantasy managers considering taking Pickens early in 2026 drafts should be wary of what is shaping up to be a messy contract situation. UPDATE: Pickens might sit out the team's offseason program, but Dallas is optimistic that he'll sign his franchise tag before Week 1 of the regular season.

Cleveland Browns running back Quinshon Judkins (knee) was spotted on the field during Tuesday's voluntary minicamp, according to Browns beat writer Camryn Justice. It's a positive development after the second-rounder's rookie season was cut short by a knee injury. The Browns drafted the Ohio State star with hopes that he'd eventually take over for Nick Chubb as the team's primary back in Cleveland, and he quickly did in 2025, running for 827 yards and seven touchdowns on 230 carries (3.6 yards per tote) in 14 starts. The 22-year-old added 26 catches for 171 yards through the air on 36 targets. Judkins' presence on the field for the start of the voluntary offseason program is a good sign that he should be fully healthy for the start of the 2026 season. There's plenty to like about Judkins in the long-term, but he'll need to be more efficient in Year 2 in what could once again be a very inconsistent Browns offense if he wants to take the next step and become a reliable RB1 in fantasy football.

New York Jets running back Isaiah Davis began the 2025 season as his team's RB3 behind Breece Hall and Braelon Allen. However, Allen went down with a season-ending knee injury in Week 4, opening the door for Davis to play a more prominent role. Despite the opportunity, Davis finished the year with 422 scrimmage yards and a touchdown on just 64 touches across 16 games. Allen should be fully healthy for the 2026 season, pushing Davis back down the Jets depth chart. While Davis has been efficient (6.5 yards per touch) throughout the first two seasons of his NFL career, his pathway to fantasy-relevant playing time is currently difficult to see. As a result, dynasty managers may want to consider selling Davis for whatever value they can still get before it's too late.

There is a possibility that the Atlanta Falcons trade tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. during the 2026 NFL draft this week, according to John Breech of CBS Sports. New Falcons general manager Ian Cunningham already admitted that the team will listen to offers for Pitts and other players. Breech thinks that if Atlanta is serious about trading Pitts, the Kansas City Chiefs should give them a call as they look to grab their next TE for life after Travis Kelce. KC currently has two first-round picks in this year's draft, and they would likely be able to get a deal done for Pitts by giving the Falcons one of those first-rounders. The Falcons don't have a first-round pick this year (and have only five total picks in the draft), and if they trade Pitts away, they'd free up $15 million in salary cap space for this season. Pitts finally broke out for fantasy managers in 2025 and was the TE2 overall in half-PPR scoring with 88 catches, 928 yards, and five touchdowns in 17 games. A move to KC would be attractive in the long-term, but with Kelce still around for another season, it would seriously hurt Pitts' 2026 redraft value.

A third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson failed to carve out a role in his team's offense as a rookie. Across 10 games played, the 22-year-old recorded just 28 carries for 69 yards. He spent the year buried on the Steelers' running back depth chart behind Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell. While Gainwell departed Pittsburgh in free agency, the team brought in former Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle to replace him. As a result, Johnson appears to remain stuck in the RB3 role in Pittsburgh heading into 2026. While Johnson showed dynasty managers little reason for optimism in 2025, there would be little point in selling him now when his value is at its lowest. Johnson has the advantage of working with an entirely new Steelers coaching staff in 2026, which could provide him with the fresh start he needs. If Johnson can be had for pennies on the dollar, deep-league dynasty managers may want to consider buying very low on him.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf had an underwhelming season in his first year with the team in 2025, finishing the year with 59 receptions for 850 yards and six touchdowns on 99 targets across 15 games. Despite profiling as the obvious number one pass-catcher in Pittsburgh, Metcalf set career lows in both targets and receiving yards. To fortify their receiving corps, the Steelers swung a big trade for former Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. earlier this offseason. While Pittman Jr.'s presence could relieve some defensive pressure from Metcalf, it could also lead to Metcalf seeing yet another reduction in targets. Additionally, the Steelers quarterback situation currently remains in flux while the team waits for Aaron Rodgers to make a decision on whether or not he will play in 2026. Dynasty managers may not want to sell Metcalf at an apparent low point in his value, but there's a real possibility that his stock could sink even further as he enters his age-29 season.

Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride took his already stellar production to an even higher level in 2025, recording 126 receptions for 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns on 169 targets across 17 games. The 26-year-old finished the year as the runaway fantasy TE1, and he's now hauled in a remarkable 237 receptions over the last two seasons. McBride's production in 2025 surged once veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett took over under center for the Cardinals in Week 6. Heading into 2026, Brissett appears poised to remain Arizona's QB1 for at least one more season. While the Cardinals have other capable pass-catchers in wideouts Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson, McBride is the clear focal point of the team's offense and should remain that way even under new Arizona head coach and play caller Mike LaFleur. In dynasty formats, McBride and Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers profile as the obvious top two players at their position.

Across 16 games with the New York Giants in 2025, wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson posted the best season of his career by recording 92 receptions for 1,014 yards and four touchdowns on 140 targets. The 25-year-old was rewarded for his efforts in free agency by the Tennessee Titans, who signed him to a four-year, $70 million deal. Robinson has always been a high-volume target earner from the slot who excels in the short area of the field. However, he showed an ability to do a bit more down the field in his last year with the Giants, upping his yards per reception from 7.5 in 2024 to 11.0 in 2025. In Tennessee, Robinson currently profiles as the number one target for Titans quarterback Cameron Ward. As a young quarterback, Ward will likely lean heavily on Robinson as a security blanket. If Ward takes a significant step forward in his second season, Robinson's production could reach an even higher level with the Titans.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy had the first half of his 2025 season disrupted by toe and shoulder injuries that forced him to miss eight games. Still, the 26-year-old was effective down the stretch of the season, finishing the year with 2,167 passing yards, 20 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Purdy also added three touchdowns as a rusher. Heading into 2026, Purdy could be without star tight end George Kittle (Achilles) to start the year. Wide receiver Jauan Jennings also currently remains unsigned and is not a lock to be back with the 49ers. However, San Francisco made a big splash in free agency by signing veteran wide receiver Mike Evans, giving Purdy a true number one option on the outside and in the red zone. Given the unsettled nature of the offense around him in San Francisco, there might be a window for dynasty managers to buy low on Purdy.

The dynasty value of Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Jalen McMillan has been difficult to gauge through his first two seasons in the league, making him an attractive low-cost buy before this week's NFL Draft. A third-round pick in 2024, his rookie season began slowly but took off late in the year. On the strength of eight receiving touchdowns across his final five games, McMillan was the WR7 from Weeks 14 through 18. Peaking as KeepTradeCut's WR30 in the early 2025 offseason, any hopes of a true sophomore breakout were suppressed when the Buccaneers used the 19th overall pick on Emeka Egbuka and then fully extinguished when a scary preseason neck injury cost McMillan all but four games in 2025. With the Buccaneers' offense struggling as a whole by the time he returned, McMillan still managed to top 100 yards in Week 17, providing a WR10 finish in fantasy championship week and reminding managers of his spike potential. With Mike Evans signing a three-year deal with the 49ers in free agency, McMillan could be primed for his biggest role to date as the most prototypical boundary receiver remaining in Tampa. At RotoBaller's dynasty WR65, McMillan is a low-cost acquisition who has already shown the ability to win weeks, making him particularly undervalued in best-ball formats.

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson is coming off the worst season of his six-year career. He hit single-season yardage and touchdown lows, while his 4.9 receptions per game were approximately a catch and a half below his career average. And yet, Jefferson is still RotoBaller's dynasty WR4, largely because his 2025 struggles can be almost entirely explained away by some of the worst quarterback play in the league. Vikings quarterbacks threw for 3,176 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 21 interceptions in 2025, bottom-four numbers across the board. While Minnesota may not have found a long-term solution at the position, they've at least brought in a Band-Aid for 2026, signing Cardinals castoff Kyler Murray to a one-year deal at the start of free agency. While Murray has had his own struggles of late, he can stand on a proven record of supporting a true number one receiver, peppering DeAndre Hopkins with over 150 targets in their first season together, en route to a WR7 finish in 2020. Even if a clear path out of the darkness wasn't evident at the time, Jefferson was one of the smartest buy-lows of the 2025 season, and at just 26 years old, his cost to acquire may still be suppressed enough to make him a worthwhile buy before the new season starts and he reminds the league of what he's capable.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy has had a tumultuous start to his NFL career. While Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, and Bo Nix, fellow quarterbacks taken in the 2024 NFL Draft, have all seen their dynasty stock rise tremendously through their first two years in the league, McCarthy's has been in free fall. After missing the entire 2024 season with a torn meniscus sustained in the preseason, McCarthy struggled mightily in what was essentially a redshirt rookie season, throwing for 163.2 yards per game while tossing 11 touchdowns to 12 interceptions, all the while dealing with nagging injuries and rumors of a soft benching. Heading into his third season, the Vikings have brought in former Cardinal Kyler Murray on a one-year deal. While Murray has faced his own on-field struggles of late, the presumption is that he should have the inside track to Minnesota's starting job in 2026, and after peaking as high as QB12 before ever taking a regular-season snap, McCarthy has fallen to RotoBaller's dynasty QB28. While things currently look bleak for his NFL future, it's important to remember that McCarthy is only 23 and has made just 10 professional starts. With Murray's deal only tying him to the Vikings for one season, a lot can happen between now and the point when Minnesota will need to make a decision on McCarthy's fifth-year option. Depending on just how low his stock dips, he could still be a worthwhile dart-throw acquisition for rebuilding dynasty managers.

Fresh off the closest MVP race in recent history, New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is RotoBaller's dynasty QB2, though the market would suggest he may be the most difficult player to acquire via trade. The 23-year-old third overall pick from 2024 finished his second season with 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns through the air and an additional 450 and four on the ground, good enough for a QB2 finish in most fantasy formats, and the arrow is still pointing up. Although a trade with the Eagles likely won't become official until after June 1st, dynasty managers are presently treating an A.J. Brown to the Patriots deal as a foregone conclusion, with the upgraded weaponry already baked into Maye's cost. At nearly 29 years old, Brown is still a dominant outside threat who could open things up even further for arguably the best downfield thrower in the league, and his presence would allow the rest of New England's receivers to slot into their more natural roles without having to fight up a weight class. The acquisition of Romeo Doubs to replace Stefon Diggs can be seen as a lateral move given the trajectory of each player, and the Patriots also made moves to bolster an offensive line that had its struggles throughout the 2025 season. Even with his rushing numbers dropping from his rookie season, Maye proved that he belongs among the fantasy elite, and if given the chance to fully utilize all his tools with a better surrounding cast, it should surprise nobody if he claims the QB1 title in the near future.

New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson missed 10 games in 2025, so the business-as-usual start with which he began the year may not be as fresh in the minds of dynasty managers as it could be. Through the first six weeks of the season, Wilson caught 36 passes for 395 yards and four scores, good enough to make him the WR9 on a 17-game pace of 102 receptions, 1,119 yards, and 11 touchdowns until a knee injury derailed his season. By all accounts, Wilson's recovery has gone well, and he should have no limitations heading into the 2026 season, either personally or from a quarterbacking perspective. The Jets traded for former Comeback Player of the Year winner Geno Smith, and while he's coming off a down year with the Raiders, he arguably represents the best quarterback that Wilson has played with in his four-year career. That title is currently held by a past-his-prime Aaron Rodgers, from whom Wilson caught over 100 passes in 2024 despite sharing the field with Davante Adams for much of the year. Wilson's 7.9 targets per game across his 11 games played with Adams showed he can still draw volume even when playing alongside elite target competition, an important factor with the Jets holding four of the first 44 picks in the week's NFL Draft and wide receiver high atop their list of needs. Should the team invest early capital in one of the premier wideouts in the class, Wilson could see a slight drop to his current dynasty status as RotoBaller's WR13, and contending managers should try to buy the dip.

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay said that the team wants free-agent quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to return in 2026, but they are "letting him figure out his future," according to Rams beat writer Stu Jackson. There is no timeline for Garoppolo to decide on his future, and the Rams are not rushing him. It was reported on Monday that Jimmy G is considering hanging up his cleats after 12 seasons in the NFL. The 34-year-old veteran has been with the Rams for the last two seasons, but he's appeared in just four games (one start) while working behind Matthew Stafford, who was named NFL MVP in 2025. With Garoppolo being a free agent, only Stafford and Stetson Bennett are on the roster as QBs. Even if Garoppolo decides to re-sign with the Rams and return for another season, it would not be a surprise to see L.A. address the position in this week's NFL draft on Day 2 or 3. Garoppolo has only made double-digit starts in a season three times in his 12-year NFL career.

Cleveland Browns tight end Harold Fannin Jr. (groin) was present for the start of the team's voluntary offseason program on Tuesday, per Kelsey Russo of ClevelandBrowns.com. The 21-year-old tight end appears to be past the groin issue that kept him sidelined for the Week 18 regular-season finale late last year against the Cincinnati Bengals. The former third-rounder out of Bowling Green had a very special first year in the NFL, leading the Browns in receiving with 72 receptions for 731 yards and six touchdowns on 107 targets in 16 games played. He quickly surpassed David Njoku on the TE depth chart and excelled despite another tough season for Browns quarterbacks. Njoku is on the free-agent market and won't be returning to Cleveland in 2026, either, so Fannin should have an even higher fantasy football ceiling as a TE1 as he heads into Year 2. Fannin will be more intriguing to fantasy managers if Shedeur Sanders wins the starting QB job, as the two have chemistry already from last season.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (Achilles) has gone first in most of the early drills during the team's offseason program over second-year QB Shedeur Sanders, and Watson's arm and agility "look good," according to Mark Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer. Although Watson has not played since October of 2024 due to a twice-torn Achilles tendon, owner Jimmy Haslam said at the owners' meetings in late March that the 30-year-old signal-caller has a "great chance" to compete for the starting QB gig in 2026. Watson is heading into the final year of a five-year, $230 million deal that he signed with Cleveland in 2022. There have been conflicting reports about who is the favorite to win the starting QB job this summer between Watson and Sanders. Watson probably doesn't have a future with the Browns beyond the 2026 campaign, but if he's fully healthy, he has way more experience than Sanders and could give the team's offense a higher ceiling. At best in fantasy football, Watson will be a low-end QB2 with a lot to prove in superflex leagues if he wins the starting job.

Across 12 games in 2025, Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid recorded 39 receptions for 571 yards and five touchdowns on 49 targets. While Kincaid had his most efficient season on a per-target basis, volume continues to be a major impediment to his fantasy production. Kincaid missed time with knee and hamstring injuries in 2025 and has been sidelined for nine contests over the past two seasons. Buffalo also limits Kincaid's snap counts even when he's active, as he played fewer than 50% of the team's offensive snaps in 10 out of his 12 outings in 2025. As a former first-round pick who has flashed upside at certain points throughout his first three NFL seasons, Kincaid remains a somewhat buzzy name in fantasy circles. However, Buffalo is reportedly considering a load management plan for Kincaid once again in 2026 as it works through ways to keep him healthy throughout the season. In dynasty formats, the window to sell relatively high on Kincaid may be slowly closing.