Fantasy Football News

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed is likely headed for a larger role on offense in 2026. Not only is Reed fully healthy after recovering from last year's injuries, but he also faces slightly less competition for targets after Romeo Doubs departed for New England in free agency. Injuries limited Reed to just 19 catches, 207 yards, and one touchdown last year, but he finished as the WR29 or higher in PPR leagues in both 2023 and 2024. Even if he doesn't return to his top-30 receiver form, he can still be a WR3/flex in fantasy leagues with 12+ teams. His biggest competition for targets is Matthew Golden, and the good news is that Reed has more experience in the NFL than Golden. Plus, Golden still needs to prove that he's worthy of a larger role after catching just 29 passes with zero touchdowns as a rookie last year, whereas Reed has more of an established track record. For now, it seems like Reed has the edge over Golden. He currently has an ADP of 117.3, which corresponds to the 10th round of fantasy drafts and makes him the 31st receiver off the board.

Miami Dolphins running back De'Von Achane doesn't have a very strong supporting cast around him, but he should still prevail as a top-10 fantasy running back with elite upside this season. Miami's offense will look quite different this year with Tua Tagovailoa, Jaylen Waddle, and Tyreek Hill gone. The only truly familiar face is Achane, who has been the RB5 in PPR leagues for each of the last two years. In 2025, he tallied 1,350 rushing yards, 67 catches, 488 receiving yards, and 12 touchdowns. He offers game-changing speed and athleticism while still offering impressive touchdown potential, even if the Dolphins' offense isn't expected to see a ton of scoring opportunities. We're also excited about Achane's volume, assuming he can stay healthy. Head coach Jeff Hafley previously said that Achane could get 40+ touches per game. That's obviously hyperbole, but fantasy managers should be excited that the head coach doesn't plan to limit Achane's workload at all. Not only does he project as the Dolphins' workhorse back, but he's really the only flashy option in this offense. We would not be surprised to see him finish as the RB5 (or higher) once again this year. He's currently being drafted near the start of the second round in most leagues, which means managers at the one-two turn could pair him with someone like James Cook, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Chase Brown, or Saquon Barkley.

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor is poised to have another very productive season in 2026. Taylor ranked as the overall RB4 in PPR leagues last year, and even that finish was somewhat underwhelming relative to how dominant he started the season. Through the first 10 weeks last year, he scored a whopping 17 touchdowns while ranking as the RB1 in PPR leagues. In fact, during that span, he scored 25.1 points more than the RB2, Christian McCaffrey. He also had a torrid stretch where he recorded five different three-touchdown games within eight weeks. In other words, Taylor was playing at an MVP level before cooling off after the bye week (and after quarterback Daniel Jones went down with an Achilles injury). Jones is healthy again, restoring a semblance of life to this offense and potentially reigniting Taylor's upside as the overall RB1 if he can stay healthy. He is currently being drafted in the middle of the first round of fantasy drafts, typically as the fourth running back off the board.

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks is expected to occupy a starting role when the regular season gets underway next week. Wicks was traded from the Packers to the Eagles this offseason, and he'll immediately occupy a significant role following the departure of A.J. Brown. All signs point to the 25-year-old opening the regular season as Philly's No. 2 receiver, starting opposite DeVonta Smith. His track record in Green Bay was iffy, but there was never any doubt about his role with the Eagles. After all, he was held out of all three preseason games due to his status as a projected starter. We expect the Eagles' offense to trend upward under new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, which bodes well for Wicks' upside as a low-end WR3/flex. For now, he's an extremely affordable option in fantasy drafts. The latest ADP has him as a fringe draft pick in 12-team leagues and a 14th-round pick in 14-team leagues.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence had an impressive 2025 season, but he could take yet another step forward with a very strong supporting cast at his disposal in 2026. Lawrence has a stacked wide receiver room featuring Brian Thomas Jr., Jakobi Meyers, Parker Washington, and (sometimes) Travis Hunter. Meanwhile, tight end Brenton Strange is expected to make a big Year 4 leap, and Bhayshul Tuten projects as another key target for Lawrence in the short-yardage passing game. Last year, Lawrence completed 60.9% of his pass attempts for 4,007 passing yards, 29 passing touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. He was arguably even more impressive with his legs, rushing for an additional 359 yards and nine touchdowns. Throughout the course of the year, he totaled 38 touchdowns, allowing him to rank as the overall QB4 in fantasy football. He has a chance to replicate (or even improve upon) that career-best fantasy finish from last year. The current rankings are on the safer side, though, as RotoBaller's experts have Lawrence as the QB9 in redraft. He currently has an ADP of 93.7, which corresponds to the eighth round of drafts and makes him the 10th quarterback off the board.

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith could be headed for a breakout season in 2026. The 27-year-old is poised to handle a significantly larger target share after teammate AJ Brown was traded to the New England Patriots. Smith had a total of nine catches and 136 yards across the two games that Brown missed last year, which likely represents his floor for the upcoming season. He is the undisputed No. 1 target in Philadelphia, offering a high-upside weapon for Jalen Hurts in all parts of the field. Perhaps the biggest question mark is whether Smith will take on a larger role around the goal line. He tallied a career-low four touchdowns last year, but he'll presumably get more goal-line targets following the departure of Brown, who scored seven touchdowns in 2025. As it stands, Smith has jumped to WR13 in RotoBaller's latest redraft rankings for 2026. He has an ADP of 31.4, which corresponds to the third round of fantasy drafts and makes him the 14th receiver off the board.

Philadelphia Eagles' second-round rookie tight end Eli Stowers, out of Vanderbilt in the 2026 NFL Draft, has struggled in camp. He has faced heavy criticism and struggled to stand out as a receiver or blocker during practices, including a tough joint practice against the New England Patriots. Ultimately, the learning curve has been steep for him, and while he flashed some upside at the combine with his athleticism, recent reports from camp suggest he's not ready to play at the NFL level. He has also been slowed down by a hamstring injury, and Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice reported that he could be a healthy scratch on Sundays. During his senior season at Vanderbilt, he had 62 receptions, 769 yards, and four touchdowns. At this point, Stowers is a dynasty stash at best. RotoBaller ranks Stowers as the TE64 and 377th player off the board, making him undraftable in most standard-sized redraft formats.

2025 Super Bowl-winning quarterback Sam Darnold enters his second season with the Seattle Seahawks with a chance to emerge as a high-end QB2, alongside star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and the emergence of Rashid Shaheed, with a full offseason under his belt to build chemistry with Darnold. Shaheed was brought over to the Seahawks in Week 9 of the 2025 season. Darnold finished the 2025 season as the QB13, throwing for 4,048 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. This was followed by a season with the Vikings in 2024, where he finished as the QB9. Although he lost his offensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak, who was brought on to be the head coach for the Raiders, RotoBaller currently ranks Darnold as the QB23 and the 140th player taken off the board. Fantasy managers in superflex formats could look to target Darnold as their QB2, as he has finished in the top 15 at the position in back-to-back seasons.

Washington Commanders third-year quarterback Jayden Daniels, out of LSU, had a down season in 2025 after his rookie campaign, in which he finished as the QB5 while rushing for 891 yards and throwing for 3,568 yards, and led the Commanders to the NFC title game. His 2025 season was derailed by multiple injuries, and he played in only seven games. Daniels is healthy entering the 2026 season with an improved receiving group. The Commanders brought in Stefon Diggs over the Patriots, Chig Okonkwo from the Titans, and Terry McLaurin is healthy entering the season. Diggs remained efficient on a per-route basis with the Patriots last season, and McLaurin had a career year with Daniels in 2024, when he had 1,096 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns on 117 targets. Daniels still has elite rushing upside and should bounce back in a big way this season. RotoBaller ranks Daniels as the QB4 for the season and the 60th overall player off the board.

Dallas Cowboys 27-year-old tight end Jake Ferguson restructured his contract with the Cowboys, turning his $7.25 million base salary into a signing bonus, and Ferguson's cap number will increase by $1.2 million, Todd Archer of ESPN reports. Archer also mentions that the adjustments are accounting tools and do not change how much the players are paid weekly. Ferguson finished the 2025 season as the TE5, hauling in 82 of his 105 targets for 600 yards and eight touchdowns. His 7.32 YPR was very modest, and the eight touchdowns were a career high for him. With Dak Prescott leaning mostly on his two stud wide receivers, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, it will be tough sledding for Ferguson to be a reliable fantasy asset if he experiences any sort of touchdown regression. RotoBaller ranks Ferguson as the TE16 for the season, and fantasy managers who decide to wait on the tight end position should look to target Ferguson based on the high-powered nature of this Cowboys offense.

Denver Broncos rookie running back out of Washington, Jonah Coleman, was drafted in the fourth round by the Broncos to work alongside J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey. However, Nick Kosmider of The Athletic wrote about how Coleman could be involved between the tackles as a complementary piece to Dobbins to lessen Dobbins' rushing load with the aim of keeping him healthy throughout the season. Dobbins has a long injury history, having yet to stay healthy for a full season in his six-year career. Last season, Dobbins rushed for 772 yards (5.05 YPC) with four touchdowns before going down with an injury and playing in only 10 games. Coleman was a solid back at Washington, rushing for 25 touchdowns over his past two seasons and 1,053 yards during his junior season. Coleman has a receiving profile as well, as he saw 54 receptions in his final two seasons, but Harvey is expected to assume most of that work. RotoBaller ranks Harvey as the RB54 entering the season, but any injury to Dobbins would propel him into RB3 consideration.

New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith was voted as a captain by his teammates ahead of the 2026 season, according to the team's official website. Smith hasn't played in a regular-season game for the Jets since the 2016 season. He's back after having a resurgence with the Seattle Seahawks and Raiders over the last four years. We'll see what the 35-year-old still has left in the tank after throwing 17 interceptions with the Raiders last season. It's nice to see the Jets players respecting Smith enough to give him the captain status, even with this being his first year back in New York in over a decade.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young will be working with a new play caller this upcoming season. Offensive coordinator Brad Idzik will be taking over the play-calling duties from Dave Canales, according to Mike Kaye of ESPN. Idzik is entering his third season as the OC in Carolina. Young recently described the new play calling as aggressive, so we'll see what that means during the regular season. Young completed eight of 11 passing attempts for 67 yards during the preseason. The Panthers are limited in terms of offensive weapons, but Tetairoa McMillan could be in for a big year.

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix recently received praise from his teammate, defensive back Patrick Surtain, Susanna Wier of the team's official website reports. Surtain talked about the growth in Nix and how he believes he'll take another step forward this upcoming season. He continued by saying Nix can bring all the guys together and that he's a tremendous leader. Both tight end Evan Engram and offensive tackle Garett Bolles also praised Nix for his leadership. Nix has made a full recovery after suffering a broken ankle during the AFC Championship Game last season. He threw a league-high 612 times this past season, so it wouldn't be shocking to see the Broncos attempt to run more this season. The 26-year-old should remain a top-10 quarterback this upcoming season.

Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft (knee) appeared to be running without any issues ahead of Thursday's practice, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports. Kraft continues to work his way back from a torn ACL that he suffered in November of last year. He missed all of the preseason, but was able to take part during joint practice with the Arizona Cardinals last week. It seems that Kraft is trending in the right direction ahead of the Week 1 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. He appears to be moving well and could very well be ready to go in time for the first game of the season.

According to Adam Schefter, Chicago Bears running back D'Andre Swift (abdomen) left early during Thursday's practice due to a cramp. Swift was reportedly in significant discomfort when he was forced to leave due to abdominal cramping. This is not good news for the Bears, who are already without Kyle Monangai (knee) right now. The hope is that this is a day-to-day issue for Swift and that he'll be back before the season opener. If not, Roschon Johnson could be a popular waiver wire pickup over the next few days. Fantasy managers will need to stay tuned for more updates on Swift.

Chicago Bears running back Kyle Monangai (knee) missed another practice on Thursday, according to Zack Pearson of 247 Sports. Monangai suffered a hyperextended right knee in training camp practice on Aug. 16 and was deemed week-to-week earlier this week, but the good news is that the 24-year-old "looked good" while running on a side field on Wednesday, per starting RB D'Andre Swift. Monangai's status for Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Sept. 13, is firmly up in the air, and with Swift suffering an undisclosed injury of his own in Thursday's practice, Chicago's backfield is banged up with the regular-season opener closing in. With the statuses of both Monangai and Swift now in question, Roschon Johnson is becoming a bit more popular for some potential short-term value in Chicago's offense against Carolina in Week 1. Monangai produced an impressive 783 rushing yards and five rushing scores on 169 carries as a rookie after being taken in the seventh round out of Rutgers, but when Swift is healthy, he will continue to be the clear RB2 with little pass-catching upside. RotoBaller currently has him ranked as the No. 42 fantasy RB for the 2026 campaign.

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson has been liking what he has seen out of quarterback Caleb Williams as he prepares to take a step forward in his third NFL season in 2026, according to Larry Mayer of the team's official website. "I've seen a very composed person every time he steps into the building," Johnson said. "I think his teammates feel that as well. He's getting to the practice field early. He's making sure his part is taken care of. He's warmed up, he's ready to go. He stays after with the guys after practice on a regular basis. He's taking a lot of pride in his approach right now, and it trickles down to everyone around him. I think it's a great thing. He continues to grow up, and he's going to be a huge leader for us this year." The 24-year-old former first overall pick from USC has also been a more vocal leader after finishing as the QB8 in fantasy football after throwing for 3,942 yards, 27 touchdowns, and only seven interceptions in 17 regular-season starts in 2025 after taking a league-high 68 sacks as a rookie. Williams has shown a flair for the dramatic late in games, and his ability to produce off-script has been a strength of his. Despite losing receiver DJ Moore in an offseason trade, Williams still has plenty of weapons around him, and if he cleans some stuff up, he could take the next step as a passer for an up-and-coming Bears squad. Williams has plenty of appeal as a midrange to low-end QB1 in fantasy drafts for managers who wait a bit on the position.

New York Jets running back Breece Hall (groin) has been working his way back to full fitness after dealing with a groin injury in training camp this summer, and he is expected to be back and take his place in the starting backfield for Week 1 against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, Sept. 13, according to Jack Bell of NewYorkJets.com. The 25-year-old former second-rounder from Iowa State is coming off his first 1,000-yard season in 2025 and was rewarded with a three-year, $45.75 million contract extension in May to solidify his position to see the lion's share of the backfield work again in 2026 in a new offense led by veteran quarterback Geno Smith. Hall was seen running on a side field last week, and he should be back at practice with the rest of the team next week as they prepare for the season opener. If Hall has his snaps limited at all in Week 1, Braelon Allen would see a larger piece of the pie, but he will not be a realistic standalone fantasy starter. Hall is a do-it-all back who should see plenty of volume, but the less-than-ideal QB situation in NY makes him more of a high-end RB2 than a low-end RB1 in fantasy drafts.

Former Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis tried out for the New York Jets on Thursday, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Levis, a second-rounder by the Titans in 2023 from the University of Kentucky, was cut by Tennessee this summer after he failed to win the backup job over Mitchell Trubisky. The 27-year-old missed the entire 2025 campaign after having surgery on a right-shoulder injury that he suffered in 2024. In his 21 starts for the Titans in 2023 and 2024, Levis struggled for consistency, completing 61% of his 556 pass attempts for 3,899 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions. He added 70 carries for an additional 240 rushing yards and just one touchdown on the ground. Levis also had a very strong arm, but questionable decision-making came with it in his limited time as the Titans' starter under center. If Levis latches on with the Jets, he would most likely be the QB3 option behind veteran Geno Smith and rookie Cade Klubnik.