The 2026 NFL Draft is in the books, and the fantasy football landscape is already shifting. The draft featured several key developments, from top rookies landing in strong situations to veterans facing new competition, that will impact draft boards this summer.
Here’s a breakdown of the biggest fantasy winners and losers after the conclusion of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Winner: WR Carnell Tate, Tennessee Titans
Tate was expected to be a top-10 pick, but it was a surprise that the Titans selected him in the top five. The best-case scenario is that he ends up like Ja’Marr Chase or Malik Nabers, both of whom were top-six options at their position in their rookie seasons. Jaylen Waddle, Garrett Wilson and Tetairoa McMillan were other recent top-10 wide receivers who immediately worked out to be fantasy starters.
Tate joins Tennessee, where he should be the Titans’ top outside receiver. Tennessee restructured Calvin Ridley, who will likely be the other outside option, while Wan’Dale Robinson was a notable free-agent addition to line up in the slot. In 2024, Robinson played alongside Malik Nabers as a rookie and ranked second in target rate (29.8%). There is a chance Tate could rank among the top 10 wide receivers in target share as a rookie.
Tate’s fantasy production in his rookie season will largely depend on how much better Cam Ward plays. The two will be tied together for the foreseeable future, but Ward’s 56.4 passing grade last season was the fifth-lowest among those with at least 150 dropbacks.
Winner: WR KC Concepcion, Cleveland Browns
Concepcion started his career as a slot receiver for NC State but was more well-rounded in his alignment at Texas A&M. According to our draft guide, he wins with quickness, allowing him to gain separation. He had a problem with drops throughout college, but that hasn’t been a predictive number heading into the NFL. His player comp was Luther Burden III — someone who can play multiple offensive positions.
He joins Cleveland, which had the biggest need among all teams for a wide receiver. Last season, 10 teams had a team PFF wide receiver receiving grade below 70.0. Seven teams have made one or more moves in free agency to improve their team, and two teams dealt with significant injuries at the position. The one wide receiver room that looks similar to last season is the Browns, and they had the lowest team PFF receiving grade of the group.
Jerry Jeudy, Cedric Tillman, Isaiah Bond, Malachi Corley, Gage Larvadain and Jamari Thrash were the six wide receivers for Cleveland last season, and they remain the top six on the depth chart at the moment. Corley was the only one with a PFF receiving grade above 60.0, at 65.1, but he only caught 11 passes for 789 yards. Jeudy was the only wide receiver with more than 25 receptions, and he caught 50 for 602 yards.
Concepcion has an opportunity to lead the Browns in targets as a rookie, giving Concepcion possibly higher upside in 2026 than some of the wide receivers drafted ahead of him, but less long-term upside, as the Browns will likely invest more at wide receiver in the coming seasons.
Winner: WR De’Zhaun Stribling, San Francisco 49ers
Stribling was once ranked 20th in my dynasty rookie wide receiver rankings, but he was the sixth wide receiver selected, landing in San Francisco with the first pick of the second round. He is a big-bodied receiver who impressed at the combine, running a 4.36-second 40-yard dash and posting a 10-foot-7 broad jump.
He projects as an X receiver in the NFL, a role currently held by Mike Evans. Stribling will likely rotate with Evans at times as a rookie, which limits his initial fantasy value. However, Evans is unlikely to remain with the 49ers beyond a season or two, giving Stribling a path to a long-term starting role in a Kyle Shanahan offense with Brock Purdy at quarterback. There is a chance he could become the 49ers’ top receiving option by 2027.
Winner: WR Caleb Douglas, Miami Dolphins
The second round and early third round were not kind to fantasy managers with early second-round picks in dynasty rookie drafts. No running backs were selected in this range, and most wide receivers landed with teams that did not have a direct need at the position. Antonio Williams of the Washington Commanders and Malachi Fields of the New York Giants project as backups, while Germie Bernard will likely be limited to three-receiver sets.
Douglas may have the best chance to play in two-receiver sets as a rookie among Day 2 wide receivers, outside of Denzel Boston, who landed with the Cleveland Browns after falling out of the first round. Douglas was not very productive in college but posted excellent measurables, including a 6-foot-4 frame, a 4.39-second 40-yard dash, a 10-foot-6 broad jump and 10.13-inch hands.
He projects as an X receiver, and Miami does not have a clear option at that spot on the roster. The three biggest names — Tutu Atwell, Jalen Tolbert and Malik Washington — profile more as Z or slot types. New offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik has a track record of productive X receivers, including Brandon Aiyuk with the San Francisco 49ers and Nico Collins with the Houston Texans.
Miami also drafted Chris Bell 19 picks later, but he suffered an injury late last season that could limit his availability early. Douglas may not be the best long-term option, but he should be more productive than a typical third-round wide receiver.
Winner: WRs Tre Tucker, Jalen Nailor and Jack Bech, Las Vegas Raiders
There were several wide receivers taken over the first five rounds of the NFL draft, with most teams that had a large need at the position adding multiple rookies. Las Vegas was the one notable team that had a potential need at wide receiver, but didn’t significantly address the position. The Raiders drafted Malik Benson with the 195th overall pick, but he’s no threat to the top four players on the depth chart.
The Raiders had a great wide receiver duo at the start of the 2024 season in Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers, but both were traded away. Tre Tucker, who started that 2024 season as the third wide receiver, served as the Raiders' top wide receiver at the end of last season.
Las Vegas spent two early picks on wide receivers last season in Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton, but neither was able to maintain a starting job consistently. They were held to a combined 30 receptions.
The Raiders made one free agent addition in Jalen Nailor, who had been the Minnesota Vikings‘ third wide receiver. He is the highest graded wide receiver currently on the roster, but he’s never had a game of more than five receptions in his four NFL seasons.
There is still a chance the Raiders add a veteran or two to help bolster the wide receiver room, but for now, Nailor, Tucker and Bech all have a chance to become a favorite target for Fernando Mendoza.
Winner: RB Jadarian Price, Seattle Seahawks
Price has emerged as the second-best running back of the class, despite being a backup last season. He has the least collegiate experience among the top-10 running backs of the class, but his 6.0 yards per carry were second-best among the top-20 running backs behind Love. He is tied for the most yards after contact per carry at 4.3.
Where he really stands out is his rate of making big plays. He has both the best rate of runs with a 1.5 grade or better, as well as the highest rate of runs with a 1.0 grade.
His inexperience is a red flag, particularly as a receiver. He has 15 receptions over the last three seasons. His 9% targets per route are by far the lowest among the 20 running backs. However, our draft guide notes his strength and willingness as a pass protector could still make him a three-down back.
Most big boards had Price as a second-round player, but he went higher than expected to the Seahawks. Seattle was the team most in need of a running back after losing Kenneth Walker III in free agency and Zach Charbonnet due to an ACL injury. Price has an opportunity to be an immediate starter for both the Seahawks and fantasy teams. There is a concern Price could get stuck in the Walker role once Charbonnet is healthy, but he might not be fully healthy at any point this season.
Winner: RB Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland Browns
The first round was full of offensive tackles, all of whom graded well as pass blockers in college. Spencer Fano stands out among the group for his run blocking. He earned a 91.6 PFF run-blocking grade over the past two seasons, while all other first-round linemen graded below 80.0 in that metric. Fano was also the first offensive lineman selected, going ninth overall to the Cleveland Browns.
There were high expectations for Judkins in his rookie season, but he struggled behind the Browns’ offensive line. Judkins ranked last among running backs with at least 100 carries in yards before contact per attempt (0.4). Fano should help increase that figure moving forward.
Winner: RB Mike Washington Jr., Las Vegas Raiders
Washington’s statistics are in the middle of the pack for running backs in this class. His runs lasted for at least 10 yards on 18% of his carries in his final year, after jumping from one school to the next. However, he has the potential to be a great early down back.
He’s 6-foot-2 and 228 pounds, making him one of the biggest running backs in this draft class. The only running backs of that size or larger to see at least 1,000 snaps over the last eight seasons are Derrick Henry, Latavius Murray and Brian Robinson. Where Washington stands out is his speed relative to his height. He ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at the combine, and the tracking data backs up. He is the most athletic and best at accelerating in the draft class. Even without accounting for size, he is among the faster running backs of the draft class.
Washington lands with the Raiders, where he should have no problem earning the backup job behind Ashton Jeanty. Washington’s size could lead him to take goal-line touches from Jeanty, and at the very least, he will be the handcuff. There is a higher chance he has fantasy value over the two running backs drafted ahead of him.
Winner: Most Veteran Running Backs
The Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans, New York Giants and Washington Commanders were all potential landing spots for Jeremiyah Love. The Cardinals landed him, while the Titans and Commanders didn’t add a running back until after pick 160, while the Giants didn’t address the position. This is good news for Tony Pollard, Cam Skattebo and Rachaad White, as they all project to lead their backfield in fantasy production.
Similarly, the Minnesota Vikings, Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars all have backfield committees that could have been prioritized. The Vikings added Demond Claiborne at pick 198, which is no threat to Aaron Jones or Jordan Mason, while the other two didn’t add a running back.
Teams like the Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals used late-round picks on running backs last season, but ended up not trusting them with much playing time. Those teams didn’t address the backup spot in free agency. The only one who drafted a running back was the Indianapolis Colts, adding Seth McGowan at pick 237. The lack of significant investment at running back will give D.J. Giddens, Jaydon Blue and Tahj Brooks a second chance.
There are still plenty of veteran running backs who are free agents who could shake up a backfield, but for now, there are several running backs who can move up the rankings because their roles are safer now than they were a few days ago.
Winner: QB Ty Simpson, Los Angeles Rams
Simpson was a surprise pick for Los Angeles, as many expected him to be selected late in the first round or early in the second. He started only 15 games in college, beginning his short career strongly but struggling as the season progressed. Our draft breakdown of Simpson called him a solid starter, and that he ideally would have had another year to improve his decision-making and get a better feel in the pocket.
Luckily, Simpson will have another year, but will need to improve during practice rather than during games. Matthew Stafford was the NFL’s MVP last season and will be the Rams' starter for as long as he is healthy. This means Simpson will need to sit for at least one season. Stafford is 38 years old and may not be in Los Angeles much longer after 2026, especially if Simpson develops.
Luckily, whenever Simpson is the starter, he will be in an excellent situation. Sean McVay is arguably the best coach in the NFL, and the Rams had by far the highest offensive grade among teams last season at 92.0, even when excluding quarterbacks from every team. Simpson would be a borderline fantasy starter in single quarterback leagues once he’s in the starting lineup, and certainly a starter in superflex leagues.
Winner: TE Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens lost both Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar in free agency. Andrews averaged under 63% of offensive snaps each of the last two seasons because of Baltimore’s tight end rotation after playing over 80% of snaps during the peak of his career, when he was a top-tier fantasy tight end.
Baltimore added run-blocking tight end Durham Smythe in free agency, but had no other tight end on the roster heading into the draft. During the Ravens' pre-draft press conference, general manager Eric DeCosta suggested Baltimore would draft multiple tight ends.
Several tight ends were drafted earlier than expected, so Baltimore didn’t draft a tight end until the 133rd overall pick, with Matthew Hiber, who primarily played on special teams before transferring to SMU. He was 392nd overall on our big board. Baltimore then added Josh Cuevas at pick 173, who is more of a hybrid fullback. This makes it unlikely that any of the new tight ends will be a threat to Andrews’ playing time, and he should receive as much playing time as he can handle.
Loser: RB Tyler Allgeier, Arizona Cardinals
Giants or Washington Commanders. Regardless of the destination, the other running backs on the roster were always likely to be among the biggest losers of Round 1. Love is expected to step in as an every-down back immediately, leaving others in backup roles at best.
In this case, it’s Tyler Allgeier. He went from fifth on the depth chart to a starter as a rookie, lost his job to Bijan Robinson, then landed on a team with a chance to start — only to lose that opportunity again. Arizona also retained James Conner and Trey Benson, although it remains possible one of those players is traded in the coming days.
Loser: RB Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders
As mentioned above, the Raiders have a new big backup in Mike Washington. Las Vegas has a new head coach in Klint Kubiak, who was just with the Las Vegas Raiders, where Zach Charbonnet (220 pounds) was consistently stealing goal-line touches from Kenneth Walker III (211).
Now, Kubiak has a back heavier than Charbonnet in Washington (223), and a back lighter than Walker in Jeanty (208). While Jeanty still has an opportunity to be among the league-leading backs in touches, a lack of goal-line touches will hurt his chances of finishing among the top-5 fantasy running backs.
Loser: RB J.K. Dobbins, Denver Broncos
Denver was the first team to select a running back in the fourth round, adding Washington’s Jonah Coleman.
Coleman stands out among running backs in this class for a variety of reasons. He is the third-highest graded runner of the top 20 running backs with a 95.1 PFF grade. His 4.3 yards after contact per carry are tied with Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price for the best in the class. Coleman’s is arguably more impressive, finishing with 1.3 yards before contact per carry, which were the lowest in the class. His 148 avoided tackles on carries are the most among running backs in the class. He has 249 pass-blocking snaps, which makes him the most experienced pass blocker of the top running backs of the class.
He is also a unique size for a running back, listed at 5-foot-9 and 220 pounds on Washington’s website, and weighed at 228 pounds at the combine. No current NFL running back weighs that much while being that short. Doug Martin is the best comparison to Coleman’s unique size, who has found success in the NFL in the last 20 years.
Denver utilized a three-person committee last season, with J.K. Dobbins as the bigger back, RJ Harvey as the change-of-pace back, and Tyler Badie as the third-down back. There are a few possibilities, including a four-person rotation, someone taking over third downs for Badie, or Denver choosing to go younger at running back and move on from Dobbins. Regardless, Denver could use Coleman at the goal line, hurting the value of both Dobbins and Harvey.
Loser: WR Jordyn Tyson, New Orleans Saints
Tyson was the second wide receiver selected, and, in general, top-10 wide receivers have significant potential, even in their rookie season. Our draft guide gave Tyson excellent marks in every category outside of his blocking. The biggest concern was his various injuries, but recent reports suggested NFL teams weren’t as worried about them, and that showed in how early he was selected.
He joins the Saints, where he will be the second option across from Chris Olave. Tyson projects as an outside receiver, and that becomes more likely in New Orleans, where Olave plays well in the slot, and third receiver Devaughn Vele is primarily a slot receiver.
While Tyson is very talented and was highly sought after, this was not the best landing spot compared to other teams he could have joined. Most other teams that could have considered a first-round wide receiver had a better offense, had a better quarterback, had a high chance of adding a great quarterback in the 2027 draft, or had minimal competition for targets. Most teams were better than the Saints in two or three of these categories. In Kellen Moore‘s offenses, most wide receivers who find fantasy success are slot receivers. However, those situations could be temporary, and if Tyson plays well enough, he will overcome those challenges.
Loser: WR Omar Cooper Jr., New York Jets
Cooper is a well-balanced receiver with significant experience out of the slot, but should be able to play the Z receiver role for an NFL team. Cooper was the second receiver taken by the Jets on the first day of the draft after taking Kenyon Sadiq 14 picks earlier.
Cooper will likely help the Jets more than he helps fantasy managers, at least early in his rookie season. Both he and Garrett Wilson fill more of a Z/slot role, while Adonai Mitchell is a clear X receiver. New offensive coordinator Frank Reich is used to having a tall X receiver like D.J. Chark, Alec Pierce and Michael Pittman Jr.; however, T.Y. Hilton at 5’10” also filled that role at times in the Colts offense. This makes it questionable if Cooper will play in two-receiver sets. The Jets also appear to be a team that will use a lot of 12 personnel after drafting two tight ends early in the last two seasons.
However, Cooper was the 24th overall player on our big board, and fourth among wide receivers. There have been plenty of situations where a wide receiver appears slated for a lower-than-ideal snap rate, but ends up playing much more than expected. Cooper is still a better bet than any wide receiver selected later than him.
Loser: WR Jerry Jeudy, Cleveland Browns
Jeudy was the clear top wide receiver for Cleveland last season, totaling 602 receiving yards on 50 receptions, while no other wide receiver recorded more than 21 receptions. Cleveland’s only free-agent addition was Tylan Wallace, who has 22 career receptions in five seasons.
Cleveland added KC Concepcion in the first round, putting Jeudy’s role as the top wide receiver in question, though his starting job initially appeared safe. The Browns doubled down at the position by selecting Denzel Boston with the 39th overall pick. Boston projects as an X receiver and Concepcion as a Z or slot option, which could push Jeudy to third on the depth chart. Browns head coach Todd Monken most recently coached Baltimore, one of the teams that used 12, 13 and 21 personnel most frequently.
Jeudy’s playing time could be significantly reduced.
Loser: Third Receivers across the league
Last season, teams used 12 personnel on 24.2% of plays and 13 personnel on 5.4%. Both were the highest rates in a season over the 20 years for which PFF has data. That trend is unlikely to reverse, as seven tight ends were selected among the first 73 picks. The last time that many tight ends were selected that early was 1974.
Some of those tight ends, such as Nate Boerkircher of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Marlin Klein of the Houston Texans, project more as run blockers than receiving threats with eventual fantasy value. However, their presence suggests the Jaguars and Texans could increase their use of 12 personnel next season, which is bad news for Parker Washington, Travis Hunter and Jaylin Noel. Others, such as Max Klare, Sam Roush and Oscar Delp, are expected to be third on their teams’ depth charts as rookies.
Going forward, the number of viable bye-week fill-in wide receivers will likely shrink compared to recent seasons.
Loser: TE Mason Taylor, New York Jets
Taylor was a second-round pick last season and found some early success, including back-to-back 60-yard games. However, he and the rest of the Jets’ offense struggled over the second half of the season.
Taylor was the consensus TE26 before the draft, placing him on the borderline of being selected in redraft leagues, though he was more highly regarded in dynasty formats at just 21 years old. However, the Jets used a first-round pick on Kenyon Sadiq, a receiving tight end who projects to push Taylor into 12 personnel and other run-first sets. The best scenario for Taylor’s fantasy value is a potential trade.
Loser: TE Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles
Goedert was among the NFL’s elite tight ends at his peak, earning a 91.1 PFF receiving grade in 2021. His grade has declined since, with receiving grades below 70.0 in two of the past three seasons. He scored 11 touchdowns last season, tied for the most among tight ends, which helped him finish as the TE7 in fantasy football.
There was some uncertainty at the start of the offseason about whether he would return to Philadelphia, but he ultimately took a pay cut to remain with the team for one more season. The Eagles re-signed their backups and added Johnny Mundt, but no one projects as significant competition for his playing time.
The Eagles added Eli Stowers in the second round, the clear second tight end in the draft. This makes it likely that this will be Goedert’s final season in Philadelphia, and Stowers could cut into his playing time.
Goedert’s fantasy value was already fragile, as eight of his touchdowns came from within 6 yards of the end zone. If the Eagles adjust their approach near the goal line, he may no longer be a viable fantasy starter. With Stowers in the mix, it’s even more likely that Goedert falls outside the top 12 tight ends.
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