Best Fantasy Football Landing Spots in the 2026 NFL Draft

WACO, TX - SEPTEMBER 20: Wide Receiver Jordyn Tyson #0 of the Arizona State Sun Devils leaps for a touchdown reception during the college football game between Baylor Bears and Arizona State Sun Devils on September 20, 2025, at McLane Stadium in Waco, TX. (Photo by David Buono/Icon Sportswire)

Most fans, analysts and everyone in between would’ve expected the Saints to add a defensive player with the eighth overall pick. Instead, they make Arizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson a top-10 pick after he entered the predraft process with concerns about injuries, specifically his hamstring. Tyson now joins Chris Olave as a top target in New Orleans. Last season, Olave led all Saints with 156 targets followed by tight end Juwan Johnson (102) then receivers Rashid Shaheed (66), Devaughn Vele (39) and running back Alvin Kamara (39). Shaheed was traded to the Seahawks in October! Second-year quarterback Tyler Shough averaged 250.6 passing yards per game across his nine starts as a rookie. That would have ranked eighth among quarterbacks over a full season. Tyson’s ability to get open and line up all over the field is a massive boost to the Saints’ passing game especially in head coach Kellen Moore’s offense. It’s worth noting that with Moore as the Eagles’ offensive coordinator in 2024, A.J. Brown (WR12) and DeVonta Smith (WR17) both finished as top-20 fantasy wide receivers on a points per game basis; and that was on the league’s run-heaviest team. While Olave finished as WR8 in 2025, there’s plenty of meat on the bone for Tyson to eat as a rookie.

Makai Lemon, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

It appears all but done that A.J. Brown will be playing elsewhere in 2026. The Eagles not only traded for Dontayvion Wicks, but signed Hollywood Brown, Elijah Moore and then traded up from 23rd to 20th overall to select Makai Lemon all in the last month. Meanwhile, the Patriots, who are the expected lone suitor for A.J. Brown, didn’t add a single wide receiver in the draft. Lemon is often mistaken as a smaller slot receiver, but he’s 5-foot-11 and 192 pounds with great hands. There should be a lot more creativity deploying Lemon alongside Smith, Dallas Goedert and a field stretcher like Hollywood Brown in the 2026 Eagles’ offense led by first time player caller, Sean Mannion While this selection draws the attention to A.J. Brown’s departure, and an obvious boost to Smith, don’t underestimate Lemon’s rookie production.

Jadarian Price, RB, Seattle Seahawks

After letting Kenneth Walker III walk in free agency, the Seahawks entered the 2026 NFL Draft with a backfield of Zach Charbonnet, Emanuel Wilson, George Holani and Kenny McIntosh. Charbonnet probably won’t play until November as he recovered from a January ACL tear while the others have a combined 334 career touches between the three of them. Price doesn’t have a notable production profile, either, as he was a secondary option to Jeremiyah Love at Notre Dame. While Love totaled over 3,000 all-purpose yards and 40 touchdowns over the last two season, Price logged 756 and 761 yards respectively with 20 total touchdowns on 243 total touches. The landing spot has a wide-open opportunity and it’s easy to have interest considering the Seahawks used the 32nd overall pick on him. However, his lack of pass catching and explosiveness give me a bit of pause as far as investing right away.

Eli Stowers, TE, Philadelphia Eagles

AUSTIN, TX - NOVEMBER 01: Tight end Eli Stowers #9 of the Vanderbilt Commodores breaks free from a tackle attempt by defensive back Derek Williams Jr. #2 of the Texas Longhorns during the SEC college football between Texas Longhorns and Vanderbilt Commodores on November 1, 2025, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, TX. (Photo by David Buono/Icon Sportswire)

Kenyon Sadiq came off of the board first to the Jets at 16th overall, but there’s reason to be excited about some other tight ends drafted later that can be had at a lower cost in fantasy drafts, as well. Eli Stowers at 54th is one of them. He may not have an immediate impact, but he’s seemingly the heir apparent to Dallas Goedert, who reworked his contract to remain with the Eagles in 2025 then signed a one-year deal to stick around for 2026. It’s unlikely Goedert returns in 2027. It’s worth noting, too, that he has missed at least two games, and 19 total, since the 2021 season.

Antonio Williams, WR, Washington Commanders

The Commanders selected linebacker Sonny Styles with the seventh overall pick then did not make another selection until 71st overall. They took Clemson wide receiver Antonio Williams, who should be busy right away. Not only is Terry McLaurin turning 31 in September, but behind him on the depth chart are Luke McCaffrey, Treylon Burks, Dyami Brown and Van Jefferson. There’s an easy pathway for Williams to earning targets from Jayden Daniels especially in a new offense, run by David Blough, that clearly prioritized drafting him with the team’s second pick. Williams has an opportunity to feast in the slot considering Deebo Samuel and Zach Ertz, who ran 225 (58.9%) and 194 (58.6%) routes from the slot last season, are no longer on the team.

Honorable Mention

Ty Simpson to the Rams is probably the biggest surprise of the 2026 NFL Draft. While he may not have an immediate impact, especially for fantasy football, Simpson does get to sit and learn behind Matthew Stafford with Sean McVay as his head coach. There’s always an emphasis on acquiring offensive weapons, too, among the Rams front office. The downside here is that if Stafford plays beyond 2026, Simpson may not assume the starting role for a few years which is especially concerning as he started just 15 games at Alabama. Caleb Douglas and Chris Bell both came off the board in the third round to the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins had three picks and used 75th overall on Douglas, 87th overall on tight end Will Kacmarek and the 94th pick on Bell. The current competition for targets in Miami are just Malik Washington, Jalen Tolbert and Greg Dulcich. It’s not an offense that will draw a lot of hype, but there is a low-cost, high-reward potential for one of these rookie receivers to thrive with Malik Willis at quarterback. Nicholas Singleton is an explosive running back who lands with the Titans, a team rumored to be targeting Jeremiyah Love with the fourth overall pick. Tennessee did not select Singleton until the fifth round, but he has just 29-year-old Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears in front of him, both of which are set to be free agents in 2027. He’s mentioned here as a high-upside stash for rookie dynasty league purposes. Seth McGowan was mentioned in the NFL Draft Wish List series on FTN as a potential fit for the Colts. Well, Indianapolis got their guy, albeit in the seventh round as the RB12 of this rookie class. Still, McGowan has a large, solid frame that should be an asset in pass protection and as a downhill runner in place of Jonathan Taylor if need be. He has just 2025 fifth rounder DJ Giddens and 2025 undrafted rookie Ulysses Bentley IV in front of him, too. Unfortunately, McGowan is 25 years old so there isn’t a ton of long-term value here.