Fantasy Football Roundtable: Here's the rookie each of our analysts is most excited for in 2026

We’ve got a long way to go until the 2026 NFL season and fantasy football. But now that the 2026 NFL Draft is complete, there’s plenty to discuss pertaining to the incoming rookie class. Yahoo analysts Justin Boone, Joel Smyth, Matt Harmon and Scott Pianowski join the roundtable to share the rookie they’re most excited for in fantasy for 2026.

Nothing but love for Love

Jeremiyah Love. While I’m taking the low-hanging fruit here, it’s important that fantasy managers know how well early first-round backs have performed during their rookie seasons. History has been extremely kind to backs who earned top-12 draft capital, with all eight ball carriers chosen in that range over the last 13 years finishing as RB14 or better during their debut campaigns, including Ashton Jeanty (RB14), Bijan Robinson (RB12), Jahmyr Gibbs (RB9), Saquon Barkley (RB3), Leonard Fournette (RB8), Christian McCaffrey (RB11), Ezekiel Elliott (RB2) and Todd Gurley (RB6). Robinson even accomplished that feat while sharing a backfield with Tyler Allgeier, who is Love’s teammate now in Arizona.

When an organization invests this heavily in a player, you know they’re going to give them plenty of volume and Love has the size, talent, athleticism and receiving skills to be a three-down workhorse in the NFL. The Cardinals offense is also loaded with pass-catching weapons, which will force defenses to stay honest. It’s hard not to get excited about Love’s potential, making him a strong second-round selection in redraft and the clear 1.01 in dynasty rookie drafts. — Justin Boone

Match made in heaven in New Orleans

Jordyn Tyson. The pairing in New Orleans can be perfect for fantasy. At first glance, Tyler Shough with Chris Olave already there doesn’t seem ideal, but with Kellen Moore calling plays, it opens things up. The Saints play faster than any team in the NFL and ranked ninth in WR targets last season despite having no threat outside of Olave. There is ample volume to go around in a motion offense that suits Tyson’s skill set well.

Although he was a top-10 draft pick, his early average draft position is at WR34, much lower than past seasons. For example, Tetairoa McMillan was drafted as the WR25 last season and Malik Nabers as the WR24 the year prior. If Tyson can stay healthy through the offseason and prove to be an immediate threat in the passing game, his upside in comparison to the receivers in his draft range is on the high end of the spectrum. —