Fantasy Football 2026: 3 players whose name value is boosting their ADP

Concern lingers for Josh Jacobs: The Packers running back is amid legal trouble and also faces a new-look offensive line.

D.K. Metcalf may suffer from more competition: New Steelers receiver Michael Pittman Jr. could siphon targets away from Metcalf.

Jaxson Dart‘s ADP might be too rich: Situated behind numerous elite quarterbacks, Dart also navigates a changing receiver corps.

Fantasy football is all about playing the board and trying to maximize value in each round reactive to ADPs. Some players hugely outperform their ADP, in which case you feel like the smartest GM out there. And in many cases, players don’t live up to their ADP and burn you over and over again.

Big-name players often hold their ADP value longer than most, regardless of the situation around them — or their play the previous year or two. But don’t be afraid to fade big names if all signs point to them being a less-than-stellar fantasy asset this season.

Here are three players who are getting big ADP bumps due to name recognition. We will be using Sleeper’s ADP for this list and the rankings are based on a PPR super flex format.

RB Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers (ADP: 40.1)

Jacobs is coming off a down year with the Packers. He’s also entering the 2026 offseason with some legal issues hanging over his head. On the field, questions about the Packers’ shuffled offensive line will be raised during camp, and if the unit can’t run-block for Jacobs, his production may stagnate again.

Even though Jacobs turned in a sub-1,000 yard-rushing season (he finished with 929), he still notched 11 touchdowns and 4.0 yards per carry on his way to a top 10 PFF-rushing grade (82.2) and an RB13 finish.

But the former Las Vegas Raiders first-round pick has an ADP higher than Bucky Irving, Derrick Henry, Breece Hall and Kyren Williams. Irving had his season cut short due to injury and finished as a disappointing RB34, and Hall was the RB21 — eight spots below Jacobs — but that equated to just 33.6 points in the standings.

Williams and Henry both sat ahead of Jacobs as the RB9 and RB7, respectively. Yet the ADP seems to be baking on Blake Corum meddling in the case of Williams and the specter of age (again) when it comes to Henry.

However, even with all those qualifiers, it could be argued that all four of those players will be more productive than Jacobs in 2026.

WR D.K. Metcalf, Pittsburgh Steelers (ADP: 94.0)

Metcalf finished as the WR26 last season which, depending on the size of the league you’re in, was a middle-of-the-pack WR3 in many circles. Metcalf posted five-year lows in targets (99) and catches (59) and career lows in receiving yards (850) and average depth of target (11.3).

Then, the Steelers added Michael Pittman Jr from the Indianapolis Colts who, since his rookie season, has logged at least 100 targets every year. Pittman finished as the WR22 in standard PPR formats last season, and yet his ADP is 127.0.

Given Aaron Rodgers’ penchant for now getting the ball out very quickly — his 2.58-second time to throw was second-quickest amongst qualifying quarterbacks — partnered with a 6.4 average depth of target — last among qualifying passers — it feels very much like Metcalf’s better qualities may go to waste. Pittman may actually be the better receiver from Pittsburgh to roster, and at a cheaper cost.

QB Jaxson Dart, New York Giants (ADP: 23.2)

Dart had an outstanding rookie season from a fantasy perspective, finishing as the QB14 with four top-five weekly finishes — including the overall QB1 in Week 10’s win over the Chicago Bears.

The problem is Dart’s ADP has him as the QB7, with only Josh Allen, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson and Caleb Williams ahead of him.

Dart’s 15 passing touchdowns in 2025 were 25th among qualifying signal-callers last season, and he may be facing a stretch of time without Malik Nabers again. Also, the loss of Wan’Dale Robinson looms. Dart’s 2,272 passing yards ranked him 26th out of quarterbacks, and he simply didn’t have the volume to give him elite passing numbers with just 339 attempts — 24th among qualified quarterbacks.

His fantasy production was very much propped up by his rushing output. Dart’s 188 designed scramble yards were first at the position, and his nine rushing scores ranked second. But, he also has a reckless playing style that he has thus far hesitated to rein in, which gives him a greater injury risk than most.

Given that so many other extremely good quarterbacks like Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott and Jordan Love go, in some cases, well after Dart and can offer better passing with a passable rushing output, an early-third-round ADP is too rich for Dart.